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2008 ARTICLES

Clouse exemplifies value of volunteers She's making a difference at Hikone

Seeing a problem and finding a solution - that's an important quality of community building, and one that's reflected in the recent successful advocacy of Ann Clouse.

Clouse and her family live in the Hikone neighborhood of Ann Arbor. Her four boys, along with other kids who live in the area, like to play basketball, but the court there is in disrepair - no nets on the hoops, and a pavement that's cracked and dirty.

When she learned that former talk show host Jenny Jones is giving away money nationwide to people who are improving their communities, Clouse jumped at the chance. She made her case in an e-mail:

Jenny Jones surprises Ann Arbor woman with gift

Posted by Jo Mathis | The Ann Arbor News March 14, 2008 19:32PM

2007 ARTICLES

Call it puppy love: Program teaches responsibility

Monday, July 02, 2007
BY AMANDA HAMON
Ann Arbor News Staff Reporter

Six-year-old Antonio Brann loves playing with dogs, but he doesn't know that his interaction with pets can teach him important life lessons.

That's the goal of a new, six-week summer program started by the Ann Arbor Community Action Network. It gives Antonio and other children in the Hikone housing complex a chance to interact with dogs and learn about pet ownership, among many other things.

Although Antonio and many other children don't have pets in their homes, the program has value, says network Director Joan Doughty.

"I'm very sure I don't want our kids growing up to adopt a pet or own a pet and then they don't take care of them,'' she said.

Doughty offered her own dog, Scruffy, to play with the 35 elementary-aged children in the program, called "Puppies Are People, Too!''

The program runs four days a week, with two days for dog-related activities and two days for education-related activities, Doughty said. The network is running a similar program in Green Baxter Court, another housing complex in Ann Arbor.

In addition to learning responsible pet ownership, the children in the program will learn compassion for pets and alternate pet behavior modification techniques, Doughty said. A portion of the program also has children reading out loud to dogs to improve their confidence and to take away the stress of having people listen.

The program will run until the end of July with activities like learning how to groom dogs, watching service dogs in action and going to a dog show in Whitmore Lake, Doughty said.

The children's response to Scruffy, along with other dogs that are part of the program, has been exciting, staff members said.

"At first they're scared, but then they start to interact and take care of the dogs,'' said Jill Tollefson, a staff member and University of Michigan sophomore. "They'll learn how to treat the dogs and relate it to people more.''

To nine-year-old Selena Dailey, the program is just about having fun.

"I came because I like learning about dogs ... because I have a dog and I want to learn how to check on him,'' she said.

The "Puppies'' program is funded with a donation by the local James A. and Faith Knight Foundation. Doughty said the network hopes to organize other similar summer programs in the future.

Community Action Network, started in 1987, is a non-profit organization that provides educational and life skill programs for children, teens and adults living in low-income housing complexes in Ann Arbor.

Reporter Amanda Hamon can be reached at 734-994-6852 or at ahamon@annarbornews.com.

Michigan's child protection system is seriously flawed.

Sunday, April 1, 2007
BY JOAN MADELEINE DOUGHTY

Last year the murder of 7-year-old Ricky Holland in Ingham County garnered a great deal of publicity and public outrage across our state. Before his death, Ricky suffered years of abuse, some of it reported to Child Protective Services (CPS). When this came to light, investigations were launched and law makers held hearings. A report made public blamed flawed policies and poor implementation of existing policies at the Department of Human Services. As a result, at least 13 state employees were transferred or fired. Department of Human Services (DHS) implemented new policies for foster care workers, and improvements to its training for CPS staff.

Young Ricky was front page news. But there are many similar cases that have not grabbed equal headlines. In Washtenaw County we have our own trail of young bodies. Less than a year ago 3-year-old Kayla Joplin died, reportedly at the hands of her mother. Another child from Washtenaw County died in her Canton Township foster home, and two severely abused toddlers were admitted to Mott Hospital, one of whom died. Sadly, none of these cases garnered the media or community attention allocated the Ricky Holland case.

Yet, last year our county was rocked by horrifying stories of mutilated dogs and coyotes dumped by the side of the road. Almost every day another headline was devoted to these awful discoveries, with side stories delving into the psychology of someone who would do something so sick. There were conversations in every work place, in every store, all over the community about these hideous acts. A local legislator introduced a bill proposing stiffer penalties for animal cruelty.

What accounts for the disproportionate measures of attention and outrage? Why has there been no community outcry, demanding that we better protect our children?

Despite knowing that early and effective intervention is crucial to protecting children in the present and optimizing their futures, it seems to be business as usual in the way CPS responds to the plight of abused and neglected children in our community. Despite the research - and common sense - that tell us childhood abuse is a predictor of future substance abuse, incarceration, homelessness, and self-harm, our most vulnerable children are too often left unprotected and alone. Indeed, despite the deleterious impact that child abuse and neglect has on our entire community, we have failed to act to protect children.

Those of us who work with children and families are no longer surprised by appalling stories of preventable child abuse and neglect. We are mandated by law to report any suspected child maltreatment we encounter among the families we serve. Yet too often when we report serious concerns about the safety of children, there is no response or follow up. Even when a case is assigned for investigation, it is too often not substantiated after a cursory investigation. The current system simply does not adequately protect our vulnerable children.

There are many reasons why our current child protective system does not protect children, or support overwhelmed or incapacitated parents to get the help they need. While existing shortcomings within CPS aren't easy to solve, our children deserve better.

The name Child Protective Services (CPS) is misleading. This department is not in the business of protecting children in general. By law, it only investigates abuse and neglect of children occurring at the hands of adult family members living with that child. Grandfather molesting his granddaughter when he visits? CPS will not take the report. Reporters are advised to confront the parent or contact law enforcement; with no follow up to make certain this occurs.

When states were mandated to form separate CPS departments in 1974, it was based on the understanding that family dynamics and power balances are intertwined with the reasons for child abuse. Why does it matter if a grandfather lives with his granddaughter? The complicated family dynamic between parents, grandparents and children requires competent professional investigation and intervention either way. At minimum, our Child Protective System should investigate maltreatment committed by any family member.

It may be surprising to learn our Michigan Child Protection Code does not include educational neglect. In states where educational neglect is within the CPS portfolio, workers report it is one of the most significant ways in which they uncover deep-seated, serious family problems. Simply stated, families that cannot manage to send their children to school regularly are also lacking in the care of their children in many other ways. It is widely recognized that educational neglect almost always masks serious dysfunction and/or abuse or neglect within a family.

Another gap in Michigan CPS investigation procedures is the lack of mandatory collateral contacts. Collateral contacts, routine in most states, include checking with teachers, social workers, doctors, religious leaders, other family members and neighbors to assemble the most complete picture possible. Without making collateral contacts, the only information CPS workers have on which to base their assessments is a report of concern and a parent's explanation. Abusive parents are often very adept at furnishing plausible sounding explanations - it is no coincidence that in cases of fatal child abuse or neglect there is often a history of "unsubstantiated" reports.

The information learned from collateral contacts also allows CPS workers to include a family's support system when services are needed. Teachers, religious leaders, primary care physicians, and childcare staff know a great deal about the children with whom they work, and can contribute to a plan of parent/family support. They are caring resources that go mostly untapped in Michigan's Child Protection System. Imagine how much abuse could be prevented and how many out-of-home placements could be avoided if CPS gathered the most complete picture possible of a child's situation during its investigation. Substantiated cases which warrant intervention could incorporate the child's family and support system in the earliest stage -integrating more protection and better implementation of a culturally competent service plan. Collateral contacts need to be mandatory for every CPS investigation in Michigan.

A centralized reporting and case tracking system such as other states have produces several benefits for a child protection system. First, it relieves local (county) DHS departments from having to staff 24-hour hotlines. Currently, each of our 83 counties has its own system. In a time of budget deficits, this is an inefficient and ineffective way of using scarce resources. Second, a centralized reporting system allows for statewide tracking of reports. Some families move from county to county thereby avoiding detection; a centralized intake system addresses this. Third, centralized reporting allows for uniform interpretation of child protective standards. Local intake procedures are too subjective. Intake workers can feel pressure by overworked co-workers to not assign too many reports for investigation. Further, Protective Service workers' personal opinions about the reporter or the family currently factor in to whether a case is assigned for a field investigation. This puts children at risk. Finally a centralized reporting system allows for simpler and more accurate statewide outcomes tracking. Opponents of centralized reporting purport that it reduces local control. This is untrue. Investigation and family support still occur locally. Michigan must implement a centralized, objective, culturally competent intake procedure.

As a result of the Ricky Holland case, Michigan has improved the training CPS investigators receive. This is a great start, but must be employed consistently for workers statewide. Training should include teaching CPS intake and investigation workers to communicate professionally and courteously with reporters, collateral contacts, families, and other service providers. Community members, including licensed social workers, teachers, health care providers and child care workers overwhelmingly feel distrustful and critical of the vital role CPS plays in the community because they are too often met with hostility and disrespect when they contact CPS. The majority of reports come from those of us who are mandated to report suspected or actual child maltreatment, which means that we are the same people who provide ongoing support and services with the children and families in our community. Children and families are better served-indeed protected-when the adults in the system of care work together collegially and professionally. All reporters of child abuse and neglect must be able to trust and expect that CPS is the capable authority in situations of child abuse and neglect, rather than being met with acrimony.

Even when information cannot be shared, an explanation of confidentiality or the law's limitation is a courtesy every caring community member is owed. Reporting a maltreated child is heart wrenching. Staffing the system with well-trained compassionate workers is imperative to strong child protection. State funding priorities and appropriations - even in a strapped economy - must recognize and support this. There are many competent and professional CPS workers in Michigan. Such workers should be encouraged and supported, through training, easing of workloads, and by creating an culture in which all CPS workers perform at a level commensurate with the responsibility of their critical role in our communities. Support for excellence in protecting children must become the norm.

Finally, Michigan's DHS should embrace transparency and accountability. The publication of the Ricky Holland report was a good start. It should not stand alone. Some communities mandate every DHS office to coordinate a multidisciplinary team to provide feedback on outcomes and procedures. This becomes a vehicle for a collaborative community action plan about how to improve not just CPS, but the entire safety net for the county's vulnerable populations. When the system fails, there should be public accountability - in every case. When a child fatality occurs, secrecy protects only systemic ineptitude or parents with something to hide. The statewide existence of Child Death Review Teams is a helpful measure, but its findings are confidential and it lacks the power to demand that the system do better to protect children. Every fatality should result in a public analysis like the Ricky Holland report.

Child Protective Services is a crucial part of the immense system charged with ensuring basic care for our most vulnerable - and often most disenfranchised - children. The entire system - from prenatal care and infant support to counseling and parent education interventions to foster care and residential treatment - must be reformed. While none of these problems can be solved quickly or easily, we cannot solve them at all if we don't start somewhere. We propose that the whole community start now with reforms to CPS.

2006 ARTICLES

Children from low-income families often suffer exclusion at school

Tuesday, September 05, 2006
BY JOAN MADELEINE DOUGHTY

Imagine this: You live in Ann Arbor. Your first-grade student comes home from school and tells you the teacher handed out cupcakes today - to every child except yours and two others. Why? "Teacher said I wasn't on the list of kids who were paid for.''

You call the teacher and are told you never sent in money for daily snacks. The reason you didn't pay was because you couldn't. With four mouths to feed, living on disability, you struggle to pay your rent, utilities and food bills. There is no money for extras. And now your child watches, while almost everyone in the class enjoys snacks every day.

Does this really happen in Ann Arbor? It does not. If it did, we would collectively rise in protest. We can't imagine a teacher who would skip a student when distributing treats just because his or her parent is too poor to pay. In fact, when research showed hungry children had trouble focusing on academics, policy makers universally embraced the concept of free and reduced school breakfast and lunch programs.

Now ask yourself this: Which would a child rather have - a cupcake or school pictures? A bag of chips or a yearbook? Every year in most of our children's classrooms, teachers hand out school picture packets to some kids, but not others. They give certain children yearbooks, but skip their peers. Why? Because their parents didn't pay. Sometimes by choice, but more often the reason is financial.

Through my work for Community Action Network, I have learned how difficult it is for low-income families to live in Ann Arbor. CAN offers programs and services at two local public housing communities. In the shadow of our world-class university, these families live in extreme poverty. They struggle to pay rent and energy bills. They run out of food at the month's end. And time and time again, their children feel as if they don't quite belong in our classrooms. Our low-income children experience systematic social exclusion in our schools. Let me share a few examples.

School pictures and yearbooks: Anyone who has been in a classroom when school pictures are distributed can tell you this is a social event. Kids compare. They moan about their hair. Best of all are the small wallet-sized pictures, designed for exchange with a message on the back, like "Friends 4-Ever!'' Similarly, when yearbooks come out, everyone looks to find themselves and friends, the track team, a school party. Homeroom teachers set aside time for students to write in each other's yearbooks. Imagine not receiving pictures or a yearbook. It doesn't matter if you are the only child in that classroom, or if there are many of you. You feel left out. It is awkward. You need to do something with yourself, pretend to not care, while all around you peers are writing messages, affirming friendships and creating memories.

Middle school fundraisers: I resent the use of our children to sell things - there is something manipulative about it. I take even more exception to the high pressure incentive system: Winners get a limousine ride to McDonald's for lunch or earn stuffed animals, MP3 players, Rollerblades. Many schools organize it as a contest between classrooms. Some teachers make it into a team building experience. "Our class can earn the pizza party, if everyone contributes!'' A friend of mine works at a large firm, and many of his colleagues are happy to order magazine subscriptions at the reduced rates the fundraiser offers. His son earns many points and lots of prizes.

Imagine you are the teen from an extremely low-income family. Your parents may be barely literate. Your family doesn't have money for magazine subscriptions. Your neighbors don't buy them. You simply cannot participate. You can't be part of the "team.'' Every announcement, every drawing, every tally excludes you, again and again.

Field trips: It's not unusual for me to find a school child playing outside alone on a school day. Sometimes the child is home because a field trip is scheduled. The family can't afford the (optional) contribution, and doesn't want to face the embarrassment of asking for a scholarship. Nor is there money for the McDonald's lunch afterwards. These small amounts can be barriers to participation in field trips - for students who already experience the least exposure to educational events!

Time and time again, the children CAN serves are left out of the social fabric of their classrooms and schools. Book orders? Our kids don't place them. Wear your $25 school sweatshirt every Friday? Not possible. Pizza night, ice cream social, family game nights? Unless they are free, our kids can't attend. This school year, count how many times you pull out your checkbook. It is mind boggling.

Why should we care? First, we should care because we believe in social justice. In our liberal city, where only Democrats can win city council races, we should demand that all economic barriers to social belonging are removed from our public classrooms.

Second, we must recognize, even if only instinctively, that children learn better if they are socially integrated. Most of us have been in situations where we felt out of place. It is uncomfortable and stressful. It is exhausting. Imagine feeling that way every school day. I am convinced this constant stress detracts from our children's ability to focus and learn.

But there is third compelling reason to care: self interest. I believe the effects of social exclusion to be cumulative. In the lower grades, many of our sweet, sweet children naively believe they are the same as their classmates. They make friends easily, with a diverse group. They are eager to belong, eager to please. The constant bombardment of exclusionary experiences erodes their confidence.

By the time our kids are in middle school, the reality - that they do not quite belong and never will - is evident. Many children manage to cope, but in my experience, the most sensitive start displaying "problem'' behaviors. They act indifferent or even hostile. They give up on blending into the mainstream and some eventually give up on school altogether. While our kids as individuals pay a heavy price for this, so do we, as a community. High school dropouts cost us much. We pay for their support, for their housing. And we pay with higher crime and incarceration rates. A recent Alliance for Education publication confirmed what we already knew: "Education has a strong impact on crime prevention and the personal safety of Americans.''

Is systematic social exclusion of low-income children solely responsible for their achievement gap or higher drop out rates? Of course not. Many of our children experience educational challenges and have no at-home academic support to turn to when they need it. It is clear that no individual, family or social factor alone is responsible for the achievement gap and there is no one easy solution. But the social exclusion factor adds yet another reason for our low-income Ann Arbor students to feel inadequate. How can it not?

Community Action Network has been working with the Ann Arbor Public Schools administration and schools our children attend to address the economic barriers to social equality. These are not adversarial discussions. We have become partners in trying to solve this complex problem. The district does not have funds to make a systemic change. Schools depend on their PTO's fundraising dollars to buy special equipment and fund the very field trips discussed. Our district cannot buy yearbooks or pictures for every student who can't afford them.

Some schools have made adjustments. Allen School has not asked for field trip contributions for several years. At King School, every time something requires a contribution, the PTO, teachers and principal work together to make certain every child is included. But these examples are exceptions, dependent on individuals taking initiative, and their solutions are pieced together.

We need a communitywide partnership to tackle this social problem. If all principals, teachers, parents and PTOs at every school in the city resolve to no longer tolerate systematic economic exclusion, it should be one of the easier problems to solve. If it can happen anywhere, it can happen here. And it should. We owe it to the children from low-income families, to our own children and to ourselves.

To contribute essays to Other Voices, contact Mary Morgan, opinion editor, at 734-994-6605 or mmorgan@annarbornews.com.

©2006 Ann Arbor News
©2006 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.

 

2005 ARTICLES

Computers to power families on

Project Power On gathers old, unwanted machines for the needy

By JO COLLINS MATHIS, Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor News
6/19/2005

Until Saturday, April and Len Annaloro couldn't get rid of their old computers. "We tried to give them away to schools, but nobody has wanted them," Len said. "They're in perfect running shape and everything. It's just that we have no use for them." "There's just an overload of used computers," April said. "We wanted them to go somewhere they could be used, instead of putting them on the curb."

They and dozens of other persons found the answer Saturday when they dropped their old computers off at a Project Power On computer drive at the Hikone Community Center. After the computers are refurbished by Scrap Computer on Jackson Road, they'll be given to needy local families. Last fall, University of Michigan student Verdi Ergun started a small business to sell used computers to low-income families. But Ergun didn't feel quite right about the short-lived venture. "A lot of these families wouldn't have enough money for even a low-cost computer," he said. So when he needed to start a community project for his Landmark Education self-development class in Livonia, Ergun thought: What if he and other students could collect used computers and simply donate them to low-income families? Project Power On was born. Ergun and a few friends contacted social service agencies and local schools to get the names of low-income families eager for home computers. Then Scrap Computer donated 51 computers and made sure every family also got a mouse, a keyboard, a 15-inch monitor, instructions in how to use the computer, free delivery and antivirus software. Ann Arbor Computer Systems donated 50 hours of free tech support in case the families have questions. And Provide.net gave them a special rate for Internet access in addition to four free months.

Shamyya Wallace of Ann Arbor, one of the early recipients, spoke Saturday during the collection drive. She said her two daughters do much of their homework on the computer, the family's first. "They have a lot of access to things from the Internet, so this saves me a trip to the library," she said. "It's saved me a lot of money."

Anisa Ahmev of Ann Arbor also received a computer that she uses mostly to send e-mails to her family in Africa. And Michael Brann of Ann Arbor says all five of his children use their new computer, including the four-year-old who loves to play games on it. "It keeps the kids happy and content," said the Ann Arbor resident, noting that he couldn't afford to buy a new computer for the family. Brann plans to take a free computer class at the Hikone Community Center in the fall so he can learn to do more than simply play his favorite solitaire game on the computer.

On Saturday, one person after another drove into Hikone and dropped off their used computers at the Project Power On computer drive. All had a similar story: They were happy to have found a place that will accept used computers free of charge, but will refurbish them and give them to appreciative families. Rick Reid of Ann Arbor stopped by with a bag of computer-related materials. He said his wife had to pay a recycling company $15 to take their old monitor, so he was happy to contribute.

Wendy Henshaw of Ann Arbor bought a new computer a couple of months ago. "I wasn't sure what to do with the old one," she said. "This sounds like a great cause." "We just didn't need it," said Beth Pieh of Ann Arbor. "It still works. But we're updating." Some of the donated computers are too old to be of much use to anyone, but even then, Scrap Computer will be able to use some of the parts. Ergun said the families, all of whom are from the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area, have been deeply appreciative of the computers. Jason Wamp, owner of Scrap Computer, was impressed with Project Power On and happy to contribute. He will take the 45 or so computers, printers, and other materials dropped off Saturday, and refurbish them or cannibalize for parts, then give them back to Project Power On for distribution to needy families during Labor Day weekend. "There are a lot of less fortunate families here that need computers to explore the Internet or (write) papers of their own," said Wamp, who is happy to provide a place people can drop off used computers without having to pay a fee. And he said there is no shortage of needy families who would love a computer, Ergun said. "They say, 'Thanks so much. This is really going to help with my children's education,' " he said. "Or something even like, 'My children can now chat with their schoolmates.' I think that's equally as important. I think chatting really does build social and networking skills."

Jo Mathis can be reached at jmathis@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6849.

2004 ARTICLES

Friday, January 23, 2004 Ann Arbor News Letter to the Editor from CAN Executive Director, Joan Doughty

Let's resolve to include low-income children The beginning of a New Year is a time of renewal. Many of us start the New Year with resolutions. We want to become better people and rid ourselves of bad habits. I propose a Community New Year's Resolution. Ann Arbor is a generous, compassionate city; we care about our neighbors who are less well-off. This is particularly true for children and youth.

One area has been neglected, however. Most of us assume that because public education is free, children from economically disadvantaged families have the same or similar experiences as their peers. Sadly, this is not true.
From my work at two of Ann Arbor's public housing sites, I know that often the children from low-income families do not participate in school field trips. Though scholarships can be requested, many parents don't realize this, or are too embarrassed to apply. Most of the families I work with cannot afford to buy school pictures for their children. They cannot submit book orders. They don't buy school T-shirts and sweat shirts, or attend ice cream socials, book sale evenings, diversity night, pizza night, and school plays - anything that requires transportation and/or costs money. They don't earn any prizes during fund-raising events; in fact, they frequently don't participate at all. Isn't it time to acknowledge that social inclusion, too, is paramount to creating an environment conducive to learning? Maybe Ann Arbor can lead the country to create awareness of the impact financial inequities have on low-income children in our public schools.

Could a Community New Years Resolution be to work together to include low-income children in every aspect of the school experience? We can break down this barrier to full social integration.

2003 ARTICLES

Mike Conboy of Serendipity recognized for his volunteer work (1/26/03)

2002 ARTICLES

Warm the Children program (11/24/02)

Busing All-day Kindergartners (9/9/02)

Letter to the Ann Arbor News Editors (5/5/02)

CAN's Rescue (4/15/02)

New CAN II has can-do attitude (4/20/02)

 

All articles are from the Ann Arbor News unless otherwise indicated.

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Booked for volunteer work
Effort to get local children interested in reading counts
Conboy among leading assets

Sunday, January 26, 2003
By Liz Cobbs, News Staff Reporter

Mike Conboy, 81, has a knack for getting kids enthused about books. The Ann Arbor resident has given away hundreds of books through a reading club since he started it five years ago. Each week, Conboy goes to six sites in Ann Arbor, with his two-wheel cart in tow to carry anywhere up to 100 books. He watches as children gather around the table to examine their gifts, like customers examining store merchandise, deciding which one they want to read. "It's like a sale in Macy's basement, in a way," Conboy mused. The Serendipity Reading Club, which targets third- and fourth-grade students, stemmed from Conboy's participation in a community group concerned about the achievement gap between black and white students in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. The club formed with a goal of boosting the reading levels of children. It began with giving books to children at Hikone Community Center and has since expanded to reaching about 200 children in the housing complexes of Arrowwood, Bryant, Green-Baxter, North Maple Estates, Pinelake and South Maple. Children voluntarily participate in the club. Besides giving out books at the centers, Conboy has signed up children for their own library card and taken them to the Ann Arbor Library's bookmobile to check out books. "He's getting them linked, getting them excited, giving them a foundation for learning," said Betsy Lindsley, executive director of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, which oversees four of the housing complexes where the clubs operate. "He's reaching the kids and giving them lifelong tools." The clubs usually meet with volunteers - community members and local university students - for about half an hour during the after-school programs that the centers already have, Conboy said. In the winter, children take the books home because homework is a priority and sometimes there's not a lot of time to read on the spot. In the summer, however, Conboy said, counselors at the centers' summer camps make a concerted effor to get kids to read each day. Conboy does more than just teach children about reading each week, said Madelaine, his wife of 51 years. He volunteers at Ann Arbor's Thurston School Nature Center, where he plants trees, works on science projects, teaches children the names of plants and trees and acts as a naturalist on field trips with students. "He's interested in so many different areas of teaching," Madelaine said. Conboy also has planted tulip trees, which the children call "learning trees," at each of the club sites and was able to get Dumpsters repaired and new netting for basketball hoops. He has persuaded children to pick up litter around the centers, said Shirley P. Wolfe, a club volunteer for several years now. "He's a hands-on person," Wolfe said. "When he sees something that needs to be done, he does it. He's warm, he's caring and he's very humble." While Conboy said he buys the books with his own money - some used ones cost as little as 25 cents - he also accepts book donations. To see what he considers a "minimum effort" on his part, multiplied by summer counselors and weekly volunteers, is to Conboy, serendipitous. "This whole program is based on what other people do with the resources I make available for them," he says proudly.

© 2003 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission

 

Gifts warmly received
Warm the Children program pairs families, volunteer shoppers to buy clothing for children

Sunday, November 24, 2002
By Jo Collins Mathis, News Staff Reporter

Maria Mlotha pulled her son's winter jacket from the dryer the other day to discover it had shrunk and the lining was ruined. What would have been a small problem to many was a big deal to Mlotha, an unemployed widow who doesn't have money for a new one. "I thought, 'How could I do that?' " said Mlotha, whose son, Timothy, 6, was near tears because she had ruined his jacket. "I was feeling guilty and really starting to panic." That same afternoon, Mlotha's phone rang. It was a call from a staff member at Hikone Center, saying that she had been given a voucher for the Warm the Children program. Mlotha could barely believe it. "God answered my prayer!" said Mlotha, who had been helped by the program three years earlier. "This happened at a time I really needed the help." So last week, Mlotha and her son went shopping at Meijer and happily spent $81 on a new jacket, socks, and some Spider Man underwear. "I really appreciate it and want to say thanks to everyone who gave money, because they really did touch my life," said Mlotha, who hasn't been working due to health reasons, but will soon be job-hunting. "I think Warm the Children is doing a wonderful job helping people in need." Each fall, The Ann Arbor News asks teachers and social workers to submit names of children whose families might not be able to buy the warm clothing their kids need. The News then asks its readers for donations to buy $80 worth of new winter clothing for each child. The money is kept in a tax-exempt account and is only used for Warm the Children. All of the donations are spent on clothing for needy children; The News covers all of the administrative costs associated with the program. With the help of volunteers, The News matches families with volunteer shoppers, usually members of church groups or service clubs, who meet the families at Meijer and shop for winter clothes. The News is then billed for the purchases. Last year, 1,291 readers donated $127,145 to the program. In the last five years, $637,145 has been raised for Warm the Children, which has supported 7,964 children, including those who have received clothing for several years. About 2,000 shopper volunteers have helped with the paperwork. Mejier gave the program $10,000 this year, and volunteers take the families shopping at its local stores. Last year, Warm the Children spent $104,000 for all the coats, jackets, hats, mittens, gloves, long underwear and whatever else the families chose to keep warm in the winter. Tiffany Smith, a University of Michigan intern who is working toward her master's degree in social work and works at Hikone Community Center, was the volunteer who accompanied Mlotha and her son to Meijer last week. "In addition to providing clothes, Warm the Children helps me get closer to the families here," said Smith, referring to the 20 families in Hikone subsidized housing who have received vouchers for warm clothing this year. "Everyone is really excited about the program, and the kids just love it." Joan Doughty, co-director of the Community Action Network in Ann Arbor and director of Hikone Community Center, thinks Warm the Children is "amazing." She said most of the children helped through the program are accustomed to wearing used clothing, so to walk out of the Meijer store with a brand new coat, hat and gloves is a huge thrill. "The kids have a little spring to their walk when they're walking around in their new jackets and their new boots," said Doughty. "It makes everybody a little happier; just a little more smiley. It's pretty incredible, particularly when you think about how many kids this program serves." She said one family she knows had lived in a homeless shelter for three months and had no winter clothes. "So that $80 really, really helps," she said. "It's so nice for our kids to get new, warm, winter clothes. Not to have to feel they're getting discards, or things other people have outgrown. They're always getting discards, so for them, it's almost like a double bonus. They get these warm clothes, and they're new. It's exciting." Jo Collins Mathis can be reached at jmathis

@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6849. © 2002 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission

 

Busing dropped for some full-day kindergartners
No transportation for those who live out of boundaries for nine schools

Monday, September 9, 2002
By Ann Aschimke, News Staff Reporter

Rachal Potter wants her 4-year-old son Robert enrolled in the Ann Arbor school district's full-day kindergarten program, but because she doesn't own a car, she's out of luck. That's because the district no longer provides busing for full-day kindergarten students who do not live within the boundaries of one of the nine schools that offer a full-day program. Potter, a resident of the public housing complex Green Baxter Court, lives within the boundaries of King Elementary, which does not offer full-day kindergarten. In order for Robert to attend full-day, Potter would have to transport him herself to Northside Elementary a few miles away. It wasn't always that way. Two years ago, when Potter's older son attended full-day kindergarten, the district provided busing for him. Although Potter said Robert was recommended for full-day kindergarten by his Head Start teacher last year, she was surprised to learn busing was no longer included. Head Start is a federally funded preschool program aimed at children from low-income families. District administrators said they decided not to continue busing for children living outside school attendance areas because they found that full-day kindergarten students who are bused from other schools do not make learning gains that are as significant as gains made by students who attend full-day kindergarten at their home school. "They're going to make gains. The gains aren't as strong," said George Fornero, deputy superintendent for instruction. He added, "There's a cost factor, too. We make it too expensive and we can't expand." The district was able to expand full kindergarten this year, adding classes at Pittsfield, Mitchell and Logan elementaries, for a total of 10 classes at nine elementary schools. All the schools offering the program are classified as Title I schools, which means they are eligible for federal funds because they have a certain percentage of children receiving free or reduced price lunches. As of Friday afternoon, 137 of 165 full-day kindergarten slots were filled across the district. Administrators expected to fill most of the remaining slots this week. While the district does bus children to preschool programs such as Head Start, even if they're not offered at the home school, that transportation is paid for with federal or state money earmarked for those programs. Funding for full-day kindergarten transportation would come out of the district's general transportation budget. Joan Doughty, a social worker with the Community Action Network, dismissed the district's arguments about switching schools after kindergarten. "What's the difference between making the switch in kindergarten or first grade? A lot of kids start (at a new school) in first grade, even kids who are not in Head Start." She pointed to Robert's case. "If his mother had transportation, there'd be absolutely no discussion," she said. "He'd be going (to full-day kindergarten). That's the bottom line and that's not fair." Robert's next-door neighbors, Jaleean Hall and Taylor Chauncey, who rode the school bus with Robert to Northside last year for Head Start, have stayed on at Northside for full-day kindergarten. That's because Green Baxter resident Seiko Barber, Jaleean's mother and Taylor's guardian, has a car. "I'm just one of the fortunate people on Green Road that have transportation," she said. Neighbor Ann Clouse is not. Like Potter, she has no car and though she'd like her son, Tyler Stewart, to go to Northside's full-day kindergarten, she's sending him to the half-day program at King. "Certain kids get the privilege of going (to full-day kindergarten) and others don't. ... It's like we're neglected," she said. Students are eligible for full-day kindergarten if they are recommended by a preschool teacher after being evaluated in the spring or if their half-day kindergarten teacher recommends them based on evaluations at the start of school. Currently, kindergarten teachers are screening all their students to find out which ones need extra help or full-day kindergarten. Fornero said while full-day kindergarten is an excellent program, it's not the only option available for youngsters who need extra help. He said every school that doesn't have full-day kindergarten is responsible for coming up with options to accommodate kindergartners who may need extra help, whether that means two sessions of half-day kindergarten or other special provisions. Exceptions may be made to the no-busing policy, Fornero said. Last year, three to five children were bused to full-day kindergarten held at schools other than their home schools, he noted. "That's piece-mealing it," said Doughty. "This is a policy issue. Just to make exceptions is really not addressing the big picture." She said it's likely there are children in the district who might benefit from full-day kindergarten but don't live in the right attendance area and don't have parents who can drive them to school or will lobby for an exception to the busing rule. "It's basically unfair to give something to some kids by virtue of where they live." Ann Schimke can be reached at aschimke@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6855.

© 2002 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission

 

From Letters to the Editor of the Ann Arbor News
Sunday, May 5, 2002

CAN founders, board deserve high praise Regarding the News' editorial on April 25 and Don Faber's earlier stories; it is wonderful to read such positive news. The founders and board members of the Community Action Network (CAN) deserved all the praise and more. At the 15-year CAN celebration on Saturday, April 20, Lynn Rivers and Chris Kolb presented the CAN founders, Kathy Baldwin and Nancy Bogen, with recognition plaques from their respective legislative bodies. Many other community leaders and friends recognized Kathy and Nancy for their 15 years of dedication to the Hikone community. As a member of the newly formed CAN II board, I am asked how the new leaders are able to step up to the task so quickly with a proposal to continue the work of CAN. The answer is easy; Mike Conboy, Joannie Doughty, Linda Hiller, and board president Jody Linn are just continuing to serve disadvantaged youth as they have done for many years. It is nothing new for them, just a new framework, and I am confident they will continue to meet the high standards set by CAN. I am especially impressed with their after-school and summer tutoring and enrichment programs for disadvantaged students. It is this spirit of cooperation between the schools and community groups that will help the Ann Arbor Public Schools achieve its mission to educate and empower every student to succeed. Kathy J. Griswold, Ann Arbor

© 2002 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission

 

CAN's rescue proves power of community
Network funders should feel confident in commitment

Thursday, April 25, 2002

In the end, those worrying themselves sick over the impending demise of Community Action Network needn't have done so. The reason: community. Men and women throughout the area committed to continuing the work of the nonprofit started 15 years ago by Cathy Baldwin and Nancy Bogen have come forward. CAN's programs - which focus on economic self-sufficiency and drug prevention and provide mentoring and education in everything from the arts to literature - now stand an excellent chance of being offered uninterrupted to the children and families of Hikone public housing - and to others in some low-income areas. CAN's board of directors agreed in December to close down operations in June in part because of Baldwin's diminished involvement following a series of strokes and Bogen's impending move to Benzonia. But Linda Hiller, Joan Doughty and Mike Conboy, all involved locally with various youth service programs, met with Bogen and agreed to take it over. Hiller then contacted Jody Linn, chairwoman of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Recreation Advisory Commission. Hiller, who knows Linn from their time as volunteers with Food Gatherers, asked her to be chairwoman of a new board of directors. Linn enthusiastically accepted. She now finds herself heading a new board of 16 members, from social workers to attorneys, who eagerly accepted invitations from Hiller, Doughty and Conboy to join. A few members of the current board, including president Janet Johnson Haynes, will continue with the new board once it takes the reins in July. That, along with the experience Hiller, Doughty and Conboy have working with at-risk and low-income children, is impressing many of those in the position to fund the new Community Action Network. Dinella Crosby of United Way says the new Community Action Network looks like it could be "a win-win situation." Betsy Lindsley, director of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, said Hiller did good work when she previously ran the Green Baxter Court Community Center. The new CAN wants to provide services not only at Hikone but at the Green Baxter Court site, and expects to answer requests for proposals soon after Lindsley puts them out to bid. United Way and the Housing Commission currently provide CAN with funding. Linn says Hiller, Doughty, Conboy and members of the new board not only want to continue the kind of work that Baldwin and Bogen have provided, but that they're eager to talk directly with families at and near Hikone and Green Baxter to see what they want and need. That's the way, she says, the new CAN may best serve the community.

© 2002 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission

 

New CAN II has can-do attitude
Revived agency celebrates re-opening today

Saturday, April 20, 2002
By Don Faber, News Staff Reporter

What started as a going-out-of-business sale is turning into a grand re-opening today. The Community Action Network was poised to commemorate 15 years of service with a program and reception today, after its board voted in December to close its doors. But a trio of individuals voiced interest in taking over the nonprofit's operations and board members approved. So today's 2 p.m. reception at Church of Good Shepherd, 2145 Indpendence Blvd., marks the official unveiling of CAN II. "It'll be the same status, the same name, only a new board and a new staff," said Nancy Bogen, who co-founded the organization with Cathy Baldwin in 1987. The duo has been working since to provide programs and services for families in public housing in the Hikone area - from literacy and job training to dance and art classes. "Our mission was to match appropriate services with the folks who needed them," Baldwin said earlier this month after announcing that CAN was closing. A drop in funding levels, Baldwin's health and Bogen's impending move to Benzonia - coupled with the February fire at the Washtenaw United Way building where CAN's offices were located - led to the decision to close. CAN's budget was about $200,000 a year. But Mike Conboy, Linda Hiller and Joan Doughty, who were working at another nonprofit that was restructuring, decided to step in. They had wanted to form their own group, and had filed for nonprofit status under the name Serendipity. Yet after discussions with Bogen, they decided to reconstitute a 16-member CAN board with Hiller and Doughty as executive directors. They also chose board member Jody Linn as president. "We're tremendously excited by this and by the quality of the new board," Hiller said. The old board voted Tuesday to keep CAN in business and turn it over to the new board. "The board will take over the contract of the existing CAN so the transition should be seamless," said Kathy Griswold, a board member and a trustee of the Ann Arbor Board of Education. Bogen said she is elated CAN will continue its programs.Linn said: "We hope to use what's been done successfully and take it further." Don Faber can be reached at dfaber

@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6858. © 2002 Ann Arbor News. Used with permission

 

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