• “Hope” Grows: an Intergenerational Community, 14 Years On

    Fourteen years ago, two researchers turned an abandoned air force base into a vibrant intergenerational community to strengthen foster families and turn seniors into active givers of supports. Now, as sites across the country replicate this approach, Hope Meadows is adapting to the new challenges that come with long-term success.
    more »

  • Youth Advocacy Center teaches teens how to shoot for the stars

    We have written before about the work of New York's Youth Advocacy Center and were once again impressed with this one-to-one learning experience...
    more »

  • The 4 M's of Quality: Quality Matters, is Measurable, Moveable and Malleable

    The 4M framework, developed by The Forum for Youth Investment, puts forth in a few concise paragraphs that "quality matters, quality is measurable, quality is moveable, and quality is malleable."
    more »

“Kid-Powered”: Turning a County-Owned Farm into an Earth School

Earth School December 3—Concerned that young people were increasingly disconnected from the real (read: natural) world, actress and teacher Barbara Sarbin turned a county farm into a hands-on Earth School. Here’s a look at how she did it.
more »

Adoption and Foster Care

  • The need for angels in foster care: You and me

    In 2007 William Bell, President of Casey Family Programs, shared thoughts with a small gathering of advocates for children convened by Harvard Law School and The American Bar Association. His remarks on that occasion deeply influenced my editorial approach to foster care, child abuse and neglect, and to dealing with the nearly 3 million cases of abuse and neglect of young people filed each year.

    "Our tendency is to view and engage children in the context of making sure that the systems respond appropriately," Mr. Bell said. "It's my contention that we should be viewing our actions through a different lens; we should be viewing them through the lens of our own children; what we at Casey Family Programs have called 'The Standard of Our Own.'"

    more »
  • Against the Odds, St. Louis Crisis Nursery Continues to Grow

    The St. Louis Crisis Nursery in Missouri has offered emergency supports to more than 64,000 families and become the largest resource of its kind in the country. How has it managed to grow while staying true to its original mission? Child Advocacy 360 takes a look. Read more...

    more »

Spark Action and CA 360 Content Partnership Update –July 2010

At Child Advocacy 360 we feel privileged to be working closely with Spark Action (www.sparkaction.org)-formerly Connect for Kids- and its parent organization, The Forum for Youth Investment.

Spark Action offers compelling articles that spotlight effective community actionand impact, trends and developments.

Don’t miss the Improve Communications section which highlights CA 360 content—www.sparkaction.org/act/communicate

— Hershel Sarbin, editor and publisher

Breakthrough Messaging Research in Child Advocacy Communication!

The full results of Child Advocacy 360 Foundation’s 2010 national research on “Solutions Storytelling: Messaging to Mobilize Support for Children's Issues,” conducted by Douglas Gould & Company and The Topos Partnership, are now available.

A brief Executive Summary , as well as a short Editor's Note on strategic messaging, are a click away.

To secure access to the full 42-page PDF Report on the Research Findings, click here.

We welcome your interest and look forward to your feedback. Just email Hershel Sarbin, Publisher, at Hershel@gmail.com.

Checking In on Hope Meadows 2010: Influence Far beyond Its Boundaries

We have long recognized and written about the tremendous accomplishments of Brenda Eheart, founder and CEO of Generations of Hope, which created Hope Meadows, the intergenerational community in Rantoul, Illinois, where families adopt neglected and abused children from the foster care system. These families live amidst neighboring "grandparents" who create a supportive environment.

more »

Issues and Insights:

Voices and Views: