 September 2021 Early Intervention (EI) Month Continues A special thank you to all who joined us for the kickoff event for Early Intervention (EI) Awareness Month; it was a blast!
Our next event will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2021, at the Rochester Public Library from 10am-12:30pm. Please join us for a playdate and an opportunity to have your child get a developmental screening with referrals for follow-up supports if needed. This event is being brought to you by Nazareth College, Get Ready to Grow, and the Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County. Please come out and let's "Go and GROW" at the Central Library. For more information, please call the Library’s Children’s Center: 585-428-8150.
Check this calendar for all the Early Intervention Awareness Month events happening in the Rochester area. Read the latest Kids Can't Wait newsletter  Back to School - Back to Health & Safety The challenge of just getting to school, both nationally and locally, has dominated headlines as children returned to the classroom this month. But busing is not the only challenge students face in returning to a normal school day experience.
An issue brief published by the Kaiser Family Foundation outlines the myriad of health issues children have been dealing with in absence of a full school day experience. The brief found:
These physical and mental health challenges are just part of what a growing body of evidence shows students have missed without the daily interactions of a normal school day.
Locally, ROC the Future has published an overview entitled “Emotional and Educational Recovery” which quantifies the education losses of RCSD students during the pandemic. Some of their key findings were:
Clearly, the stunning education losses children have felt and the losses in health and mental health supports are palpable consequences of the lingering pandemic. We’re even starting to see studies showing the pandemic’s deleterious impact on the cognitive abilities of infants and toddlers.
ROC the Future’s overview responds to all of this by stating, “Simply ‘going back to normal’ will not be sufficient.”
The Children’s Agenda wholeheartedly agrees. Without acknowledging the staggering losses children have felt during their time away from the classroom, their teachers, their providers, and their friends…. Without identifying the individual needs of students through comprehensive assessments in each class and each school…. And without developing clear, culturally relevant and sensitive plans to address these needs…. We risk a broken future ahead, not just a difficult time behind us. Raising Rochester - New Episodes Available Now The “Raising Rochester” podcast focuses on key issues affecting children and families in Rochester and throughout New York State.
In September, we released two episodes. The first features an interview with Dr. Jack Peltz, a clinical psychologist and researcher who specializes in sleep issues. This episode - especially relevant for back to school - explored the basics of sleep from a developmental perspective, the importance of positive sleep routines, and the challenge that early school start times present to teenagers.
The second episode of September was a conversation with Carmen Torres, our Parent Advocacy Coordinator, exploring the rise of violence in Rochester since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the consequences of violence on child well-being, and the need for RCSD and community partners to address mental health needs as children transition back into the classroom.
Give both episodes a listen, subscribe on your favorite podcast service, and share with your friends and colleagues.  Subscribe to Raising Rochester on your favorite podcast platform!      Reminder - Register for the Violence Hurts our Children’s Mental Health March We invite you to our parent-led Violence Hurts our Children's Mental Health march starting at 5:30pm on Thursday, September 23, 2021. We will meet at City Hall, 30 Church Street, Rochester NY 14614 then proceed to the RCSD Central Office. Click here to register.
Please direct all questions to TCA’s Parent Advocacy Coordinator, Carmen Torres at carmen@thechildrensagenda.org.  Join the 2021 Children’s Interfaith Weekend October 15-17, 2021 Join in the 2021 Children’s Interfaith Weekend on October 15th, 16th, or 17th (or an alternate weekend in October)! This year The Children’s Agenda’s Interfaith Collaborative is once again offering resources to congregations and organizations of all faiths to pray, learn and take action for children. Resources are available on TCA’s website to help plan how to acknowledge the moral imperative to care for all our children, either in a regular weekly service or a special event. Resources include children’s activities and worship ideas for different faith traditions developed by the national Children’s Defense Fund Sabbath Celebrations. To make a change our children need, we will be collecting online signatures for a letter to Rochester City School District (RCSD) leaders urging them to use federal COVID-relief funds to increase mental health and social-emotional supports for students.
The pandemic left tens of thousands of students with inadequate academic, nutritional, and social-emotional support for months. Now that schools are once again a consistent support for children, there must be services and programs to help them recover from the trauma caused by COVID-19 and the social, racial and economic turmoil from the past almost two years. The letter echoes specific recommendations that were developed by a coalition of students, parents, advocates, education experts and community leaders. Register for the Children’s Interfaith Weekend here. For more information, contact Brigit Hurley at bhurley@thechildrensagenda.org or (585) 256-2620 ext. 2602
MARK YOUR CALENDARS/SAVE THE DATE: In recognition of the Children’s Interfaith Weekend, on Sunday, October 17, an interfaith prayer service will be held in front of the Rochester City School District Central Office building. Faith leaders, members of congregations and the public are invited to attend. We will peacefully lift up our concerns for the health and well-being of Rochester students.
 Out-of-School Time Win for Kids The Children’s Agenda and Healthi Kids, co-chairs of the Greater Rochester After School and Summer Alliance (GRASSA) Advocacy Committee, were pleased to learn that before- and after-school and summer programs will be reimbursed for their critical work with students during the pandemic. When Rochester schools transitioned to remote learning, these programs quickly adapted their offerings to support children academically and socially in both in-person and virtual settings, and also connected families with nutrition, transportation and other assistance.
After the NYS Office for Children and Family Services announced that regulations prevented reimbursement to programs for this work, a coalition including the Network for Youth Success, Greater Rochester After School and Summer Alliance, The United Way's Child Care Task Force, and others successfully advocated for a change in regulation. This allows for well-deserved compensation for Rochester’s out-of-school time programs and their valuable work with our children!  Worth a Read TCA In the News
Other News
September 2021 Donors Mrs. Catherine Albin - Ms. Jen Cathy - ESL Charitable Foundation - Dr. Ann Lenane - Mr. Larry Marx & Ms. Deb Rosen - Partnership for America's Children - Mr. Reinhold Samson - Mr. Paul Tremblay and Dr. Jennifer West Sustaining the work we do together is only a click away. Making a monthly donation to The Children's Agenda supports our efforts to help children who are vulnerable because of poverty, racism, health inequities and trauma. October is National Bullying Prevention Month 
The Children's Agenda |
