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Welcome to the Fall edition of the Mass Kids Chronicle where you can learn about the Enough Abuse Campaign's new website on child sexual abuse prevention, our progress to end Shaken Baby Syndrome, and our work in the current Congress to reduce child poverty and support low and middle income families.
We hope you will consider Massachusetts Citizens for Children when you make a tax deductible donation to an effective and deserving charity this Holiday Season. Click our secure online donation link here and give with confidence because dollars for children have big buying power at MCC.
Many thanks!
Jetta Bernier,
MCC Executive Director
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Enough Abuse Campaign on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Launches New Website
 Do you want clear, useable information that will help you protect the children/grandchildren in your life from child sexual abuse? Check out www.masskidsbuse.org, an online resource developed by MCC and the MA Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership for parents, professionals, and other concerned citizens who want to know about:
- Behaviors that might indicate that an adult poses a risk to children;
- How to differentiate between sexual behaviors of children that are "developmentally expected" and those that are inappropriate, coercive, abusive, or pose a risk to other children;
- Physical and behavioral signs that might indicate a child is being abused;
- Specific ways parents can talk to their children to keep them safe.
Visitors can Get Connected to the local Enough Abuse Campaign sites now operating in the Newton/Waltham area; Gloucester/Cape Ann; the 9-town Orange/Athol North Quabbin area; and the 8-town Greater Lowell area. Persons seeking advice about a possible child sexual abuse situation or looking for resources for a victim or an abuser, can find several sources in the Get Help section.
Citizens can also Get Involved and Join the Movement by agreeing to a three point personal action plan. Members can participate in the Show of Hands by posting a testimonial to encourage others to become part of the effort to end child sexual abuse in Massachusetts.
The website upgrade was made possible through a grant from the Ms. Foundation for Women. For more information about the effort, view a brief video produced by the Ms. Foundation about MCC and the Enough Abuse Campaign as part of its "Voices from the Field" series.
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MCC Launches
Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Quilt Project
 MCC and families affected by Shaken Baby Syndrome / Abusive Head Trauma are working together to produce a quilt to commemorate Massachusetts child victims of SBS and to raise awareness across the state about how to eliminate this devastating yet preventable form of child abuse. A set of national quilts (seen here) were previously loaned to MCC for display at past SBS awareness events. The current Quilt Project will be the first to include only Massachusetts victims and survivors of SBS.
The SBS Quilt Project Committee, led by Bob Logan and Frank Bashore, relatives of 5-month-old SBS victim Devin, also includes Dianne Judd, a seasoned quilter and head of Patchwork Pals of Greater Lowell. Diane and her quilters will assist families in the design and completion of a square in honor of each child and will then assemble the squares into the final quilt. Quilting supplies and materials will be provided at no cost to the families.
Plans are to unveil the SBS Prevention Quilt at MCC's 5th Annual Stroll for Shaken Baby Prevention, to be held later next year. The Quilt will then be available for display at the State House, in hospitals, schools, malls, and other public places across the State to continue building awareness about SBS and its prevention.
Families interested in crafting a square to commemorate their child are encouraged to contact MCC for details at 617-742-8555.
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TJX Foundation Grant to Support SBS Prevention Education in the Hispanic Community
 With support from TJX Companies, MCC will provide targeted training about SBS prevention to professionals and organizations serving Hispanic parents, youth and children. MCC and La Alianza Hispana, a paragon of Latino community leadership in Greater Boston since 1970, have formally agreed to partner in this project. Together they will work with agencies serving Hispanic families in Roxbury, Dorchester and other Boston locations and provide them with high quality trainings and materials in Spanish and English, as well as ongoing technical assistance to prevent infant deaths and injuries from SBS.
Readers interested in receiving up to 5 free copies of our teaching brochure, "Infant Crying and Soothing; What You Need To Know To Keep Your Baby Safe" in English, Spanish and/or Portuguese are welcome to phone Emily at (617) 742-8555 x3.
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MCC Working to Address Child Poverty
in Lame Duck Session of Congress
 MCC and the New England Consortium, a group of top child advocacy organizations in the region, have been contacting members of the Massachusetts and New England Congressional delegations throughout the fall to encourage them to support key policies aimed at supporting working families and children. Specifically, MCC has urged support to:
Reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act which would continue to provide food for the more than half a million Massachusetts children who participate in the National School Lunch Program, nearly 135,000 who participate in the School Breakfast Program, and more than 50,000 who benefit from the Summer Food Service Program.
Extend Unemployment Insurance Benefits without which 52,500 workers in Massachusetts would exhaust their insurance benefits in December alone.
Extend tax cuts for lower and middle class families, and let them expire for the highest income earners. Extending them for the latter would cost about $40 billion in the first year, $90 billion over two years and close to $1 trillion (including interest) over the next decade. Leading economists and the Congressional Budget Office agree that providing tax cuts to the very wealthy would be the least effective way to strengthen the economy.
Make permanent the 2009 improvements to the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit for working families. These improvements promote work, are pro-family, and would be far more effective in generating economic growth than tax cuts for the wealthiest.
See Letter to Senator Scott Brown with details on these policies.
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Count Kids. Anytime. Anywhere. Online.
Looking for online access to the latest data on child well-being in Massachusetts cities and towns? Now you can easily get data on children’s education, family employment and income, child health, poverty and youth risk factors just by clicking on www.datacenter.kidscount.org.
In addition to data breakdowns by state, city and town, a new feature of the KIDS COUNT Data Center allows citizens, state legislators and members of our Congressional Delegation in Washington to view data by Massachusetts Congressional District.
Visitors can rank state, city, and congressional districts on key indicators, generate customized maps and create trend lines. For example, latest data show that Massachusetts Congressional District 10 has the lowest rate of child poverty while District 8 has the highest.
Percent of Children in Poverty by MA
Congressional District - 2009
Massachusetts KIDS COUNT, an Annie E Casey Foundation funded project at MCC, is an initiative that tracks the status of children and families in the Commonwealth. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks for child well-being, Massachusetts KIDS COUNT seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children.
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Massachusetts Citizens for Children
14 Beacon Street, Suite 706, Boston, MA 02108
 (617) 742-8555 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  www.masskids.org
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