Do wrap-around resources, 3 free meals, after-school activities, etc. move the needle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People - if you want to argue that poor people are being mistreated, please keep up. CHIP had been funded through March. It is like every other part of our government: on gap spending.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/21/news/economy/chip-funding/index.html

CHIP is supposed to be funded through March. But in reality, some states will start running out of money next week.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/05/576096900/chip-funding-could-run-out-on-jan-19-for-some-states

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People - if you want to argue that poor people are being mistreated, please keep up. CHIP had been funded through March. It is like every other part of our government: on gap spending.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/21/news/economy/chip-funding/index.html

BTW - 5 year extension passed by the House; same bill in the Senate held up by Democrats.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/house-chip-no-closer-political-games_us_59fc8b8be4b0b0c7fa39c75b

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People - if you want to argue that poor people are being mistreated, please keep up. CHIP had been funded through March. It is like every other part of our government: on gap spending.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/21/news/economy/chip-funding/index.html

BTW - 5 year extension passed by the House; same bill in the Senate held up by Democrats.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/house-chip-no-closer-political-games_us_59fc8b8be4b0b0c7fa39c75b

Do you think that was a good bill, that the Senate should have passed it? I don't. Just fund CHIP, don't defund something else to pay for it.

Do your job, Congress. Gridlock is one thing (most people including me are fine with it), absolute dysfunction is another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My daughter is in third grade in a relatively well-off school, and a lot of kids from her grade, DD included, buy lunch at the school cafeteria. It is not free for us, and it is not 'unpopular'.

Makes me wonder why Title 1 kids don't eat food - for free - that our relatively more affluent children have to buy.

PP, there's no such thing as a "Title I kid".

Title one identifies a school with a high percentage of parents with lower incomes who get free lunches. Many kids bring their lunches as the school lunches are gross. Just because it is free doesn't mean it is good or healthy.

I worked at a Title 1 school where children would bring a gigantic bag (8 to 10 servings) of chips to school and say that was their lunch and I always make them go get the actual school lunch because at least that had some nutritional value. I think the potato chip thing was like a status symbol

[Anonymous]

I have seen children who would otherwise do without if they did not attend schools with caring teachers and administrators. I will give you a few examples:

-Family of 3 kids. Mother is very young and working the streets (if you know what I mean). Eldest would get himself up, dressed, and walk himself to school to school at 6 years old. He knew that he was guaranteed at least 2 hot meals if he could make it school that day.

-Family living in government assisted housing. Child came to school in filthy uniforms because no one was taking clothes to the laundromat. Teachers gathered clean undergarments and donated uniforms so child would not miss school due to not being in uniform.

-Homeless family with 3 children. Filthy, smelly, and unkempt. Bedbug infested place to sleep at night. DC One card get them to school for free. Once at school they receive two hot meals. School staff pitched in to buy new clean clothes and shoes for the children so they could come to school in dignity.

These might not be traditional wrap around services but everyone has a stake in the success of these children. They are our future and we want them to have hope and overcome their messed up station in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think most people are comparing now with pre-welfare. The debate is whether schools should be providing social services (directing time, effort and money away from education). People can feed and clothe their children with existing social services. There are several reasons why this might not happen: 1) the family is illegal and does not qualify for public assistance (although between nonenforcement of fraudulent SS numbers and citizen children, this isn't much of a barrier; 2) the family over spends on housing by living in high cost areas (like MoCo); or 3) they misspend the money they do have by focusing on wants instead of needs (cigarettes, soda, etc.).

The question is whether we want to double spend on feeding, clothing, medical care, etc. or not, and risk providing a low quality education to everyone as our systems reorient toward social services.

First let's establish that people can feed and clothe their children with existing social services and that this actually is "double spending".

Then let's discuss what happens to the children when people don't (whether or not they can).

So you propose taking away free lunch and breakfast and seeing which kids come to school hungry? Interogating every parent who signs up for Farms to see if they really really really need a free meal for their kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have seen children who would otherwise do without if they did not attend schools with caring teachers and administrators. I will give you a few examples:

-Family of 3 kids. Mother is very young and working the streets (if you know what I mean). Eldest would get himself up, dressed, and walk himself to school to school at 6 years old. He knew that he was guaranteed at least 2 hot meals if he could make it school that day.

-Family living in government assisted housing. Child came to school in filthy uniforms because no one was taking clothes to the laundromat. Teachers gathered clean undergarments and donated uniforms so child would not miss school due to not being in uniform.

-Homeless family with 3 children. Filthy, smelly, and unkempt. Bedbug infested place to sleep at night. DC One card get them to school for free. Once at school they receive two hot meals. School staff pitched in to buy new clean clothes and shoes for the children so they could come to school in dignity.

These might not be traditional wrap around services but everyone has a stake in the success of these children. They are our future and we want them to have hope and overcome their messed up station in life.

Its great staff pitch in but I wish that they would reach out to other parents. We have one child who has mostly barely worn clothing, many unworn. I'd gladly donate them to the school for a clothing closet if our school had one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does "move the needle" mean? I am asking sincerely. What are wrap-around resources?

Um, close the achievement gap? Surely you've heard of that, PP.

[Anonymous]

I am a foreigner with a child in a Title 1 school. Sure there is some turning the needle, slowly but surely. Yes, genetics, 0-4 gap, and abuse of generosity do exist. Yet, what else is there to do? Parents won’t step up if kids are made their resposibility.
What I don’t understand is why the US is importing more poverty. Don’t you already have people to take care of who didn’t even ask to be here?
Trump’s remark is rude and gross but...? Not the countries, but why do you guys need more poor uneducated people? They don’t even work in the fields??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a foreigner with a child in a Title 1 school. Sure there is some turning the needle, slowly but surely. Yes, genetics, 0-4 gap, and abuse of generosity do exist. Yet, what else is there to do? Parents won’t step up if kids are made their resposibility.
What I don’t understand is why the US is importing more poverty. Don’t you already have people to take care of who didn’t even ask to be here?
Trump’s remark is rude and gross but...? Not the countries, but why do you guys need more poor uneducated people? They don’t even work in the fields??

so many problems in this country - And you can see them yourself.

Before automation, immigrants were willing to take jobs doing manual labor. My father's cousin, a doctor back home, was digging ditches when he came to the U.S. (This was in the 40s.) He worked his way up and then was able to practice, but it was no easy feat.

Now, with automation, we have far too many uneducated people entering with few to no skills. It's not to say that these new arrivals are balking at the chance to work. But there are only so many jobs around. In this atmosphere, it's also easy to take advantage of people. Having said that, schools - especially in very liberal areas like Montgomery County - don't say no to kids with parents who aren't here legally. We don't punish children and rightfully so, as they are simply victims of the situation.

But how much can a school hold? And are taxpayers willing to cough up more money b/c the infrastructure is imploding?

Where do you draw the line? If you're in the school system, you see firsthand how rigor erodes b/c far too many students are pushed along, as there's fear in failing too many b/c the system failed to address gaps in learning. It's not the fault of any teacher, as the teacher is also a victim in this situation.

So while Title One schools have smaller classes, these schools limit numbers at the elementary level. Their feeder middle and high schools aren't limiting class sizes any longer. They may have academic intervention classes for support, but there simply isn't enough money to limit numbers in all classes. Furthermore, there are multiple elementary schools feeding into very large high schools. Look at Wheaton HS. How can anyone address the needs of kids in Wheaton where FARMs rate is close to 50%?

You can't squeeze 12 ounces into an 8 ounce cup.

[Anonymous]

Caveat: I am one of the few conservatives in MoCo. Yet, I cannot deny a child food when they are hungry. It is a sad reality that there are some recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) that sell their EBT cards "food stamps" for cash to unidentified third-parties or trade the funds for drugs. In cases like these, their children are the ones that end up recieving little-to-no food because their parents are exploiting the system. In other cases, the parents end up using the funds to support new boyfriends/ girlfriends/ family members that are ineligible to apply for their own assistance because they are otherwise disqualified. Again, the children are the ones who end up suffering.

What we need to do is change the law, so that this is not happening at such a great frequency. In 2011, FL enacted their drug testing policy for people applying for assistance. In short, every person that was applying would have to pay for a drug test. If the drug test came back as negative, then the state would refund them the cost of the test with the first assistance payment. If the person tested positive and the applying party had minor dependents, the state would release the funds to a responsible person who could pass a drug test.

Understandably, FL is not a great model for much of anything because Lord knows we all read about the crazy shit that only seems to happen in FL. Yet, they have seen positive results with this policy, which led the way for others to make similar policies in their states. Yet, Maryland is incapable of holding people accountable. They enable the bad choices and bad actions of many residents on assistance. Again, the children are the ones that suffer. So until there is a real change in policy, we are forced to supplement the diets of children.

Is it a little irksome that people are essentially double-dipping into food assistance (getting welfare and children are fed)? Yes. Nevertheless, have you heard a poor child's stomach rumble so loudly because they have not eaten all weekend (besides a bag of Cheetos)? It is heartbreaking. I used to complain at great length about older children in no costume on Halloween, until someone said to me, "maybe they cannot afford a costume and maybe that full-size snickers bar is the only thing they are going to eat until tomorrow when they go to school."

Not only are the children undeniably hungry, but in many cases they do not know when they will eat again. Stress and hunger are two important factors that lead to poor performance in schools, which cause children to fall behind. When children fall behind, they may stop attending or become distracting in general education classrooms (where your own child may be trying to learn how to multiply or diagram a sentence). If they stop attending, then it is likely that other negative consequences will occur, such as pregnancy, making criminal choices, or engaging in other self-harming activity, like experimenting with drugs. The cycle continues and they become that shitty parent unable to take care of their children, which means you have to do that for them. The other option is that they end up in jail and we pay for their food and lodging in prison.

So as a conservative, I am all in favor of giving economically disadvantaged students their meals at school and supplementing the cost of an after-school activity if it dwindles the chances of them becoming a parasite on society for the rest of their natural lives.

[Anonymous]

I would MUCH rather have students get 3 meals a day in school than rely on some of their loser parents to feed them. !any of my students are being parenting by teenagers. They experience arrested development because they have their kids in their teens so they continue to act like teens since they didn't get a chance since they were having babies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another benefit of aftercareis that it can keep kids in a safer environment and might be able to prevent other issues like joining a gang.

Some successful models like Geoffrey Canada’s school in Harlem required full-day participation and year-round attendance.

I saw a study a few years back that showed that increased access to low or no cost aftercare & summer camp programs is strongly correlated with lower youthful offender crime rates, which is a trend that benefits us all.

And, yes, I know that "correlation does not equal causation" but when multiple other contributory factors are accounted for & the correlation between the two remaining data sets is still very strong, there's usually something there.

[Anonymous]

The free, referral based aftercare at our Title 1 is better than the fee based Y. Kids have separate clsssrokms for homework and reading for each grade, outdoor games time, activities etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Caveat: I am one of the few conservatives in MoCo. Yet, I cannot deny a child food when they are hungry. It is a sad reality that there are some recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) that sell their EBT cards "food stamps" for cash to unidentified third-parties or trade the funds for drugs. In cases like these, their children are the ones that end up recieving little-to-no food because their parents are exploiting the system. In other cases, the parents end up using the funds to support new boyfriends/ girlfriends/ family members that are ineligible to apply for their own assistance because they are otherwise disqualified. Again, the children are the ones who end up suffering.

What we need to do is change the law, so that this is not happening at such a great frequency. In 2011, FL enacted their drug testing policy for people applying for assistance. In short, every person that was applying would have to pay for a drug test. If the drug test came back as negative, then the state would refund them the cost of the test with the first assistance payment. If the person tested positive and the applying party had minor dependents, the state would release the funds to a responsible person who could pass a drug test.

Understandably, FL is not a great model for much of anything because Lord knows we all read about the crazy shit that only seems to happen in FL. Yet, they have seen positive results with this policy, which led the way for others to make similar policies in their states. Yet, Maryland is incapable of holding people accountable. They enable the bad choices and bad actions of many residents on assistance. Again, the children are the ones that suffer. So until there is a real change in policy, we are forced to supplement the diets of children.

Is it a little irksome that people are essentially double-dipping into food assistance (getting welfare and children are fed)? Yes. Nevertheless, have you heard a poor child's stomach rumble so loudly because they have not eaten all weekend (besides a bag of Cheetos)? It is heartbreaking. I used to complain at great length about older children in no costume on Halloween, until someone said to me, "maybe they cannot afford a costume and maybe that full-size snickers bar is the only thing they are going to eat until tomorrow when they go to school."

Not only are the children undeniably hungry, but in many cases they do not know when they will eat again. Stress and hunger are two important factors that lead to poor performance in schools, which cause children to fall behind. When children fall behind, they may stop attending or become distracting in general education classrooms (where your own child may be trying to learn how to multiply or diagram a sentence). If they stop attending, then it is likely that other negative consequences will occur, such as pregnancy, making criminal choices, or engaging in other self-harming activity, like experimenting with drugs. The cycle continues and they become that shitty parent unable to take care of their children, which means you have to do that for them. The other option is that they end up in jail and we pay for their food and lodging in prison.

So as a conservative, I am all in favor of giving economically disadvantaged students their meals at school and supplementing the cost of an after-school activity if it dwindles the chances of them becoming a parasite on society for the rest of their natural lives.

I am sorry, beyond the issue of feeding them at school, anyone who observes children in a situation with parents described above needs to call Child Welfare. It is false compassion to leave kids in these families. It is not punishing people for being poor, it is rescuing a child from an abusive situation. Teachers - you are mandated reporters; get cracking!

Fellow conservative - I am to the point where I think all food aid should be replaced by community meals provided at schools and other community centers. Eat the food that is provided. If it doesn't taste good, get motivated to get a job and buy your own food. This is one place where I don't care if government is the most efficient at providing a service. We should be sustaining life and health.