Don't Print That!

Born in the U.S.A.

2010-04-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Sandra Bullock re her new baby boy. According to news reports, Louis Bullock was born in New Orleans and adopted by Ms. Bullock in January. With all the attention on foreign adoptions these days it’s marvelous to see a celebrity respond to a child in our own backyard.

My husband and I had a two-year-old blond, blue-eyed daughter when we adopted a bi-racial boy and girl in the early 70s. People stared at us and asked personal questions that were intrusive and rude, “Where were they born? Do you know anything about their background?”

We politely responded that Elizabeth and John were born in Los Angeles and that’s all we shared with strangers. We had limited information about their biological parents as records were sealed in those days and L.A. County Department of Children’s Services only provided brief knowledge – both were healthy, alert and ready to be placed in a loving home.

In the late 70s fewer couples applied to adopt children born in the U.S. The “crack” pandemic hit urban neighborhoods and women under the horrific influence of drugs gave birth to babies with serious health issues ranging from mental retardation, physical defects and severe emotional disorders. Babies placed in foster care waiting for adoption languished for years in institutions and group homes as families looked to Korea and other Asian outposts for infants. Single women and gay couples were denied the right to adopt a child in this country so they turned to agencies in China where baby girls were readily available.

Today, there are more than 500,000 children growing up in foster care in this country. Substance abuse and HIV among pregnant women has substantially declined. Single men and women and gay couples can adopt infants and older children from public and private agencies but they continue to reach out to Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Families adopting Russian born children are not told the truth about the mother’s prenatal alcohol abuse. One adoptive mother went so far as to return a child with severe psychological problems to Russia without adult supervision on the long flight home.

Madonna, Angelina and Brad, Meg Ryan and others have the resources to provide excellent health care, a superb education and a nurturing environment for their adopted children but they should look closer to home for a child in our welfare system eager to be part of a family.

A Familiar Face in the Crowd

2010-04-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

I watched Jerry Brown standing in the middle of the theater lobby all by himself. I waited to see if a campaign"handler" joined him but no one appeared by his side. He looked uncomfortable as guests mingled in the large crowd greeting one another. This was a night of gaiety -- 62nd independence celebration of the State of Israel. Finally, I walked over to him, "Hello, Jerry, you don't remember me, I worked on your campaign when you ran for community college board."

"Good to see you, not many people worked on that campaign."

The solitary candidate for Governor of California appeared the same to me as he did in the 70s, alone in a crowd, few people recognized him. He looks just like his father, the late Governor Pat Brown, yet he exudes none of the warmth or social skills that people admired in Brown senior.

Jerry needs to loosen up, extend a hearty handshake, a pat on the back or he'll have few voters campaigning for him again.

Paradise or Perfidy?

2010-04-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

There’s no recession in San Francisco. Last weekend I drove down the hill from elegant Pacific Heights to upscale Chestnut street, and then a short distance to the newly-renovated arts and culture Presidio. I smiled at “foodies” lugging bags of fruits and vegetables from the Embarcadero farmer’s market then watched crowds milling in Union Square waiting for the cable car to Ghirardelli Square for a chocolate bar. So many choices in this sparkling emerald city.

Gentrification made its mark -- Victorian homes in the Haight have been treated to a fresh coat of paint and brightly trimmed front doors. Where’s the smell of incense and pot? It’s still a mix of leftover hippie 60s along with moms pushing $800 strollers to nearby Golden Gate Park. I gazed at parents loading babies into car seats in super size BMWs while their golden retrievers swiftly scrambled between the two children ( a perfect family for a Silicon Valley venture capitalist).

Local pride and memory lingers in each community. Stinky fish trails out the door of restaurants in Chinatown while elders smoke in front of shops selling “authentic” Chinese trinkets made in India.

The shimmering Golden Gate Bridge links the city to Marin County where million dollar A-frames stack up the hillside overlooking snug harbors with impeccable yachts.

But there’s more to the “city by the bay.”

Forget cappuccinos and croissants in the Mission or Potrero Hill -- homeless encampments in doorways, worldly possessions stuffed in plastic bags piled high in shopping carts and those fortunate enough to get off the street for a night can get a room in rundown hotels. From former Mayor Willie Brown to current Mayor Gavin Newsome the landscape in downtrodden enclaves of the city haven’t benefited from the dot.com boom. Members of San Francisco’s social and political elite have geographic amnesia, a tradition that lingers from one generation to the next.

I left my heart in San Francisco, not.

Locke High School Students Defy Stereotypes

2010-03-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

February 2002, L.A. Youth writer Bianca Gallegos investigates Locke High School, a campus in need of attention.

Some of L.A. Youth’s most closely read investigative articles are about schools. Readers alert us to problems on their campuses, or we hear stories about something that seems amiss, as in the case of Locke High School. Teen writer Bianca Gallegos, a senior at Marshall High School in leafy Los Feliz, was outraged that two LAUSD high schools could be so far apart in academic achievement, safety, graduation rate, etc.

“Teachers don't teach. Kids sneak textbooks out of the class. The best students leave and the worst students transfer in—that's how things have been at Locke High School in Watts, one of the most troubled schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Senior Lucia Ortiz described classes taught by substitutes, or by teachers who didn't bother with lessons. Other students told her that some teachers slept in class or talked on their cell phones.”

February 2010. Teacher Jerica Coffey invited L.A. Youth editors Mike Fricano and Laura Lee to speak to students in her English class at Locke High School #3. That first visit grew to a core group of young writers sharing their stories of growing up in South Central L.A. They defied the stereotypes as disengaged gangbangers and dropouts with compelling narratives about their goals for college and careers, providing a better life for their parents and changing the negative images of impoverished black and Latino teens by mainstream media. Covette, Gabriel, Yesenia, Maritza and Frank published their stories in our March issue.

We celebrated their achievements with a “blow-out” party – balloons, flowers, speeches and each student reading aloud their personal story. The school auditorium was filled with parents, friends, teachers from nearby middle schools, siblings and the L.A. Youth staff.

The group of five expanded to 12 eager writers in the past week and a commitment to meet every Thursday from 3 – 6 pm in Ms. Coffey’s classroom. Mike and Laura are reaching out to the community for a passionate journalist to share his/her time once a week at Locke so that every teen gets to experience a one-on-one relationship with an adult editor.

We’re a necessary idea.

Protect Children in Foster Care

2010-03-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

L.A. Times columnist Tim Rutten is outraged at the number of deaths of children in the L.A. County foster care system. So am I.

With a $2 billion budget, more than 7,000 employees and the highly experienced Trish Ploehn, Director of Dept. of Children and Family Services, overseeing the agency, where’s the safety net for kids? The tragedy of childhood death is a larger social issue, addressing individuals in their environment with layers of poverty, addiction and domestic violence.

Parents have a duty to protect their children from harm. Children enter the child welfare system unprepared for the onslaught of social workers, police officers, mental health professionals, lawyers, judges and others. Their role is to protect the child. Child welfare practitioners and policymakers must be more responsive to the communities they serve. Private caregiver agencies must be monitored with more frequency and closed for even minor infractions.

I want social workers to be more aggressive in investigating and removing children from parents, foster parents and other caregivers with the first sign of abuse. And, I want child welfare workers and parents to access family support services and reunification where a positive outcome is possible.

L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services reduced staff and cut support services due to the budget crisis. The Board of Supervisors need to rescind the order for budget cuts. The county needs to hire more social workers, lighten the case worker load and provide more staff training before another child dies.

I’ve worked with foster youth who’ve had a positive experience with a social worker. As the publisher of L.A. Youth, the newspaper by and about teens, I’m extremely proud of our special project giving youth in the foster care system an opportunity to tell their personal stories. Through the Foster Youth Writing and Education Project, which began in 2003, we provide foster youth an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and a forum to voice their concerns, while also informing readers about the system and the challenges foster youth face every day.

A Reunion

2010-03-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

“We need progressive health care, tax reform, creative social welfare, job opportunities.” All part of Obama’s 2008 campaign – not! These were 29-year-old Cathy O’Neill’s messages to voters in 1972 as she campaigned for the 23rd District State Senate seat.

I was part of her ambitious and enthusiastic cadre of volunteers in the general and primary elections. We set up campaign headquarters in her neighbor’s garage in Pacific Palisades. Most of us were young mothers, toting diaper bags and strollers in the crowded space. We stuffed envelopes, walked precincts, made phone calls (with crying babies in the background), urging voters to endorse the bright, visionary candidate.

Cathy, a young social worker and political activist, lost the election by a few hundred votes.

Losing the election didn’t stop Cathy. She went on to found the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, a leading United States-based advocacy organization focusing on the needs of refugee women and displaced families. Op-eds frequently appeared with her byline in national and international publications. President Clinton appointed her Director of the United Nations Information Center in Washington, D.C.

Sunday afternoon we held a campaign reunion in the same Palisades home, this time indoors, continuing the “potluck” campaign tradition. How did 38 years passed so quickly? We shared photos of grandchildren, compared Medicare plans, chatted about our winding-down careers and complained about the lack of social reform. Cathy joined us late in the afternoon having spent the past few days in a hospital ICU. Her loving husband, noted journalist and author Richard Reeves, pushed her wheelchair up the stairs while we clapped and cheered at her tenacity to party while immobile and whispered voice. Multiple surgeries in the past 10 years, followed by other complications would depress anyone, yet this vibrant woman managed to join in the laughter as we told campaign stories -- hors d’oeuvres (Lipton onion soup blended with sour cream and a bag of chips served 50 people at one fundraiser) her campaign wardrobe limited to three suits and how she defended her position as a Catholic pro-choice while under attack from local churches.

Cathy never compromised her values, unlike many of our current elected officials. She paved the way for women to seek office and challenged the status quo. The same issues she was passionate about are shouted by community organizers at rallies, in churches, at backyard barbeques, and on the Internet, etc. Sadly, we haven’t made much progress since 1972.

Cathy’s legacy is extraordinary.

A Modest Man

2010-03-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

Tributes to movie executive Gareth Wigan filled the pages of Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times and international entertainment blogs when he passed away Feb. 13. He was a highly respected producer, studio executive and production chief at Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and partnered with Alan Ladd, Jr., Lucy Fisher and others.
I celebrate his life and contributions as a dedicated volunteer and strategic advisor to L.A. Youth. We met last year when he called to inquire about getting involved with us, not just sitting on the board to raise funds, but to participate in day-to-day programs we offer young journalists.
Last night there was a memorial service for Gareth at Sony Pictures. Tributes by top entertainment talent, clips from his many films and amusing stories by his children brought me to tears.
He never mentioned his distinguished career. We were too busy talking politics, L.A.’s high school drop-out crisis, his love of opera and my constant angst about raising money for L.A. Youth. We even branched out to share notes about our families.
Bluster and ego so often displayed by Hollywood executives was not his style. We will miss his quiet dignity and contribution to L.A. Youth.

"Penny Wise, Pound Foolish"

2010-02-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

1. Do you want to see more teens roaming the streets without supervision, joining gangs, creating unsafe neighborhoods?
2. Do you care that more children and youth are obese and at high-risk for serious health issues?
3. Do you enjoy swimming laps in the city pools?

Check off “not applicable” if you live on the Westside or other upscale neighborhood. These issues don’t impact your life. Most homes in Beverly Hills or San Marino have pools in the backyard (some have tennis courts, too). Children who live in these neighborhoods have after school and summer activities -- private college prep tutors, gymnastics class and music lessons or lounging on the couch plugged in to an iPhone and laptop.

But childhood obesity, nowhere safe to play or cool off on a hot summer day are crisis problems for thousands of families in Los Angeles because Mayor Villaraigosa has cut jobs and programs in L.A. City parks and recreation centers.

The city has a huge budget deficit. Cutting these critical “safety nets” will cost taxpayers more money as youth with nowhere to recreate join gangs, commit crimes and are confined in over-crowded juvenile detention facilities. Health insurance rates will rise with the increase of juvenile diabetes and ultimately the city will need to hire more police (or pay millions in overtime) to combat neighborhood crime from aimless teenagers.

This is a short quiz but the answers have long-term consequences.

A Special Teacher

2010-02-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

With more than 20 years in the trenches with teen journalism I still get teary-eyed when I read a note like the one here from a teacher at Locke High School in South L.A. L.A. Youth Editors Mike Fricano and Laura Lee visited her class last week and plan to continue weekly visits. She brought a few students to our Saturday editorial meeting.

Locke has been in turmoil since it opened in 1967. It’s one of the lowest achieving schools in California. Racial tension between black and Latino students brought police in riot gear to the campus to break up fights in May 2008. Faculty and administrative turnover is a revolving door. On September 11, 2007, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) approved a motion to turn over control of Locke High School to Green Dot Public Schools, an outside charter management organization.

“ I just wanted to say thank you for letting me crash the Saturday meeting. As a teacher who has committed my life to working in some of the most disenfranchised urban communities, I have only worked in severely segregated schools. My experience bringing students to the Saturday meeting and hearing such generative discourse representing students from diverse walks of life was inspiring beyond words. It made me think a lot about the importance of integrated schools. My students rarely get an opportunity to interact with folks who are not Black or Latino, nor do they often have the chance to interact with young people who are not living in poverty.

At the risk of sounding overly romantic, I think that LA Youth has the unique opportunity to bring a democratic experience to youth that they are not getting in school. What a rare and sacred thing in today's society.

Thank you so much for making the effort to include my students in your
community. I think they felt intimidated, yet empowered by the experience. It means a lot to them and to our entire community! In fact, Frank's mother has told everyone she knows that her baby is going to be published in a newspaper. For a student like Frank, this is one of the few times in his life that he feels a sense of academic identity. This is why his mother could not believe that he was writing a piece for LA Youth. I am grateful for your time and interest in their stories.”

In community,
Jerica Coffey

A Tale of Two Cities

2010-02-12T20:25:00.000-08:00

The first time I vacationed in Palm Springs I was 12 years old. It was the only place my family could afford -- the prices are low in summer as the temperature climbs to 115 degrees. Palm Springs is located in Coachella Valley, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles. The desert is surrounded by the San Jacinto Mountains. In winter you can swim laps in a heated pool

and look up at snow-capped mountains. Not far from Palm Springs is Joshua Tree National Park, 800,00 acres of massive granite formations, prickly trees, the San Andreas Fault, coyotes and jackrabbits.

Today, Palm Springs is home to aging boomers, retirees, a large gay community, casinos, numerous golf courses and the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation. On the north side of the 10 is Desert Hot Springs, described by locals as "Desperate Hot Springs," home to once fashionable spas, now swarming with meth labs, headquarters for notorious gangs and families struggling to survive above the poverty level. In March 2009 local and federal law enforcement agencies busted these depots of illegal activities.

I shop at Von's, corner of Gene Autry Rd. and Highway 111, in Palm Springs. Standing near the check-out I noticed a tall, glass cabinet with cartons of cigarettes, packs of Nicorette and large containers of Similac (powder baby formula). "Why is Similac under lock and key?" I asked the cashier.

"People steal the baby formula and use it as a "filler" for cocaine."

Two towns in the Coachella Valley, four miles apart, yet galaxies removed in housing, education, and culture. How did this happen and will the balance be restored or will the infection spread?

Trying to Survive Without a Phone

2010-02-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

My friend, former teacher Ken Lawrence, cannot afford an iPhone, Blackberry or any other mobile device. He’s disabled, survives on a frugal budget, and his lifeline to doctors and 911 has been out of order for more than three weeks. When a life-threatening asthma attack occurred in the middle of the night, he reached for his land phone -- no dial tone.

Ken’s neighbors alerted me the next day. I called AT&T hoping to speak to a real live person. No such luck, there’s only a recording with a long menu for services. “Our first available appointment for service is February 1.” I hollered back at the recorded voice, “that’s over a week, he’s disabled in a wheelchair.”

“Thank you for calling AT&T,” was the final message.

The repairman finally arrived Feb. 1. He moved cables, climbed the telephone pole and tested the phone with various devices. “The phone’s working,” he reported and left.

An hour later it was out of order and still doesn’t work.

Superbowl Surprise!

2010-02-05T14:40:00.000-08:00

Eating healthy is a challenge this weekend for Superbowl fans. If you’re the party host Sunday, thrill your guests with Kimchi Chicken Stew, Quinoa with Grapes, Sesame Chicken Salad and Broccoli Puree. Food guru Michael Pollan would approve, you’d be following his “Food Rules.”

I know, you’re thinking, “Yuck!” But you’ll love these dishes created by L.A. Youth’s teen writers as part of our healthy eating package for the March issue. Those nasty nachos loaded with orange, slimy cheese will sit on your hips for days. And the stark, white sour cream dip is definitely a no-no with those “double-dipper” carrot sticks. Remember, the guy on the couch will dip in, take a bite, return for another dip. Did he sanitize his hands?

About those ribs and slaw…..you’ll consume 7,000 calories with sweet b-b-que sauce and tons of mayonnaise burying the cabbage. How about ice tea instead of 4-5 beers?

Let me know if you’re inspired to follow my advice. And, happy game day.

Youth Media Gets Deserved Attention

2010-02-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

I haven’t forgotten you, been soooo busy with new projects for L.A. Youth; watching endless hours of TV coverage of Haiti earthquake and aftermath; business trip to New York; and, raking leaves and other debris in my backyard after the deluge of rain 10 days ago.

Good news……L.A. Youth was awarded a $100,000 matching grant from the Challenge Fund for Journalism VI, a collaborative of The Ford Foundation, McCormick Foundation and Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation. Gotta hustle to identify new donors and diversify our funding base.

Speaking of partnerships, the Youth Media L.A. Collaborative met Jan. 29 in our office to officially launch a partnership among local youth media organizations. Those of us working with young people in print, video, radio and the Web will share resources and collaborate on community reporting projects. Thanks to The McCormick Foundation for bringing us together and supporting the pilot project with a $50,000 grant.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates in a few days.

Surviving and Thriving in Hard Times

2010-01-06T14:42:00.000-08:00

As a couple of friends and I cruised down an alley to find a spot to kick back and smoke a joint, we saw a head with long blond hair pop up from a dumpster. In front of the dumpster was an old 10-speed that had been put together piece by piece. Every piece on the bike was a different color. Someone said, “Oh! It’s only one of those dumpster divers.” Then I realized that it was my mother. I told my friends, “Hey! That’s my mom. Turn around!”

My friends knew my mom was homeless, so they said, “Cool. Maybe she’ll smoke a joint with us!” So we turned around. Now, it had been about two and a half months since I last saw or heard from her. I went through the whole, “Hey! Long time, no see” bit. After the small talk, I realized there was not much else to say. We sparked up a joint and offered it to her. She said, “Geez! That’s a big joint!” Then she told me how she didn’t feel like it because she was too amped.

My mom is a speed addict. Whenever she has money it almost always goes for drugs. Once in a while, she gets a motel room but that never lasts long because the drugs run out and so does the money. My mother is also a dumpster diver. She digs in dumpsters for food, clothes, things to recycle and anything else she can find. On Christmas I got a bag filled with a fluorescent pink Frisbee, silver rings, a plastic watch and other fun things. All of this stuff came from dumpsters. But I don’t care because I love her and it’s the thought that counts. To prove it, I wear all the rings and sometimes even the watch.

The writer was 16-year-old Julie Smit, whose moving story of her mother’s 15-year addiction to drugs and homelessness appeared in L.A. Youth in 1994.

This wasn’t the kind of story found in a traditional high school newspaper.

High school journalism has been losing ground since the 1970s due to education budget cuts. The student press was dealt another blow in 1988 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that administrators had the right to censor articles intended for publication in school newspapers.

On January 11, 1988 I decided to start a teen newspaper. With no money, no office space or even a computer, I gathered a dozen high school youngsters and told them we are going to put out a newspaper they could call their own. I appointed myself publisher, editor, head fundraiser and chief delivery person.

In our first year, we published two issues, circulation 2,500. Twenty-two years later we are publishing six issues annually and circulating 70,000 copies. We distribute the paper, free, to 1,300 teachers in middle and senior high schools throughout greater Los Angeles.

L.A. Youth’s mission is to fill at least some of the gap created by the demise of the student press. We offer teens a haven, a place where they’re encouraged to express their opinions. But I also want the paper to continually remind policy makers of the plight of kids who are marginalized in foster care and elsewhere. And I want to make mainstream media aware of kids who live with trauma and violence on a daily basis.

In their private lives teens write lively, expressive thoughts every day. They scribble in diaries or share their innermost secrets with friends and strangers by posting them on blogs, MySpace and Facebook. Some of the pieces we publish, like Jessica Bernstein’s account of her nose job, require an amazing degree of self-confidence. Jessica interviewed her plastic surgeon and posed for before-and-after photographs. Sherry Lee, in a piece entitled “My So-Called Boobs,” wrote good-naturedly about the advantages of small breasts: she could hug people close to her, run around without a bra and sleep face down! They’re definitely L.A. Youth originals.

Marvin Novelo decided that he wanted to write about being gay:

When seventh grade began and I was 12 years old, I was very much aware that I was gay. It was the little things, such as how I felt when I saw guys in the locker room. I resented being gay and I wanted to think it was a phase I would grow out of. In church, my pastor would explain how homosexuality is an “abomination of nature, the sin that is the worst next to murder.”

At Byrd Middle School the motto should have been, “No fags allowed.” People were yelling, “Look! That guy’s a queer!”

Toward the end of ninth grade, I was jumped on the way home by a group of boys who kicked me in the stomach and head. No one helped me.

The role of adult editors is to coach and nurture the young talents at L.A. Youth, to recognize the value of their ideas and guide each through weeks or months of writing and re-writing until a compelling story emerges. It can be a slow, arduous journey, the teen writer sitting side-by-side with an editor, carefully scrolling through paragraphs on a computer screen and then trying to make them better. A few stories have taken up to a year before they’re ready for publication. But I tell myself it is worth the wait; after all, it takes courage to write something that you know thousands of readers will be judging.

L.A. Youth tilts strongly toward personal journalism. But we don’t avoid controversy and we are proud of the investigative articles that our young writers have produced over the years.

Some of our investigations result from a concern that when awful things happen to teens, almost no one seems to pay attention. Teen staffers Jennifer Clark and Katrina Gibson began one such project by prowling through records at the Los Angeles County Coroner's office. Their assignment was to reconstruct the lives of young people killed by violence during a one-month period in the county.

We knew that most would be homicide victims, their lives ended early by guns and knives in gang initiations, scuffles with police, drive-by shootings and so on. L.A. Youth would try to put faces on some of the victims, whose deaths generally went unnoticed by the outside community.

Morgue records yielded home addresses and next of kin information for the victims. Jennifer and Katrina sent off letters to parents or other survivors, asking for photos of the teens and anecdotes about their lives. We would publish their obituaries.

As our readership expanded and our journalism got better, we made a concerted effort to reach the neediest teens. We had to build relationships with three overlooked groups:

--Young people living on the streets. They lived with trauma and violence on a daily basis, often selling themselves into prostitution and becoming addicted to drugs. They were so marginalized that no one gave them a second thought.

--The hundreds of foster care children moving in and out of group homes or other shelters. Most were refugees from abusive or broken families. Some were so emotionally scarred that they retreated into silence.

--Teens afflicted with various mental disorders. The lucky ones had parents able to afford therapy, medications and special schooling. Others, including those who found themselves on the streets or funneled into foster care, might or might not receive appropriate treatment.

We set out to find writers in the three groups whose first-person stories would convey the reality of their lives. Our intent was to influence policy makers with the power to improve services for these teens, and to remind the mainstream media that they existed.

Our teen writers walk in the door questioning adult assumptions and stay long enough to challenge our values with their honest and sometimes brutal writing. Here is what resulted when they decided to create “The Teen Commandments: 10 Things We Hate About Mom and Dad (and how to change them)”:

--Have meals with us at least once a week. Talk instead of watching TV or reading during the meal.
--Don’t compare us with other people. Don’t say, “Why can’t you get A’s like your sister?”
--Don’t pretend to be a teenager. It’s weird when parents use teen slang or try to dress like us. You don’t have to act like us to communicate with us.
--Tell us the reasons for the rules you set.
--Don’t tell us how our lives will turn out. We have to figure some things out by ourselves.
--Respect us as we are. ‘Don’t insult our likes and dislikes. Show some interest in the things we like.
--Listen to us instead of lecturing.
--Suggest activities we can do together, but don’t force anyone.
--Encourage us in our activities, but don’t put too much pressure on us if we don’t win.
--Look at us and tell us that you love us.

These kids don’t pull punches no matter what the Supreme Court decided.

End

Multi-cultural food feast

2009-12-16T16:50:00.000-08:00

We’re eating potato latkes, brisket, turkey and gumbo with a side of mac ‘n cheese Xmas day at my daughter-in-law’s parents’ house. It’s our multi-racial family celebration –Jewish, black, Asian relatives gather ‘round the table for blessings and songs, spinning dreidels. With full bellies we stagger into the living room for board games and dancing to rappers, 60s rockers and a bit of jazz.

We’re not a Norman Rockwell portrait of post-war Los Angeles. We’re at the intersection of the new American family blended with my family from Eastern Europe, the Creole, Louisiana-born great grandmother to my grandsons, the auntie from Korea and whatever else fits in the “melting pot” of a large extended family.

Food is a friendly way of sharing cultures. I’ve hosted Passover meals and my grandson’s baptism luncheon. Religious beliefs are just as important as race and ethnicity when it comes to establishing one’s identity. My black daughter-in-law and I go all over the map when we chat about our different holidays and raising children in a country where there’s still a racial divide. When she and my son were expecting their first child I wanted to bond with her so she’d know I’d be a perfect grandmother. I invited her to brunch on a Sunday afternoon. I took her to Leimert Park, an old black neighborhood in South Los Angeles with African shops, men playing drums on the sidewalk and soul food in the local restaurant. We strolled for about 20 minutes then she turned to me and said, “I never come to this neighborhood. Can we go to Canter’s, that Jewish restaurant on Fairfax and eat bagels?”

Like I said, my understanding about race and ethnicity are best served at the dinner table.

Re-connecting with old friends

2009-12-10T12:24:00.001-08:00

I get nostalgic this time of year for the teens I grew close to when they wrote for L.A. Youth. In L.A. Youth’s 22 years of publishing I’ve known hundreds (make that thousands) of teens – writers, illustrators, photographers – who joined the staff to share their personal story, or fueled by tenets of social justice, or just looking for a friendly place to hang out. These days I hear from many more young people than I used to (we’re on Facebook), “Are you still there?”

“Yes, we’re here.” I assure them. “We’re thriving and surviving. How old are you?”

“I’m 30 and wrote for the paper in the mid 90s.”

“Eekk! That means I’m getting older, too.”

When I hear the time frame it jogs my memory. I flashback to the face though not always the stories he or she wrote. “So what have you been doing since we last spoke?”

The answers range from, “I’m in grad school,” to “working at a boring job to pay off student loans.” A few are roaming the world with a backpack and a Europass.

“How many are working as journalists?” I’m often asked.

“One or two is my standard answer.” Few teens look to a future career in a newsroom. More often they lean toward education or social service. Legal careers mean representing immigrant rights, not partnerships at prestigious law firms.

There’s a sadness that comes over me when I hear from a few who are struggling with hardships – moving from shelter to shelter with an infant in tow; a Starbuck’s barrista earning low wages and sleeping on a friend’s couch; an emancipated foster youth kicked out of transitional living quarters for a series of transgressions. They share other tales of dysfunctional adulthood and all I can do is listen.

Our annual holiday party is Dec. 19. I hug the alums that drop in and spend a few minutes admiring their mature faces and laughing about the good times when they were teenagers spending hours in my office. My memory rush is full in the holiday season.

Don't Feed the Homeless!

2009-12-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

“Meet me at Third and Fairfax,” is the landmark sign in front of the Farmer’s Market. It’s a must-see on tourist maps, a great place for sampling ethnic food with a comfortable ambience to spend an afternoon. My office is three blocks east so I frequently meet colleagues for leisurely lunch and good conversation.

Charlotte Gusay and I sat under the elm tree between The Gumbo Pot and the Pizzeria food stalls. My seafood gumbo was spicy and welcome on the cool fall day. The garden salad was sprinkled with roasted pecans, accompanied with a corn muffin. Quite a hardy lunch. Charlotte nibbled on her toasted chicken salad.

We pushed aside our lunch trays and continued the conversation. A young man, mid-30s, clean shaven, casually dressed with a backpack slung over his shoulder approached us and inquired if he could have the remains of our lunch. “Absolutely, I responded.”

He picked up our trays and walked to a nearby table. “You can’t eat that food,” the security guard sternly told the man.

“I gave it to him,” retorted Charlotte, “we’re finished and he’s hungry.”

“It’s against the Farmer’s Market rules, this is private property. He’s “panhandling” and we don’t allow that.

“People are hungry,” I shouted at the guard as I jumped up from my seat. “He can eat at our table.”

“No,” as he called for another guard.

“Give me back my food and I’ll wrap it up for him,” I challenged.

Again, “No, it’s against the rules.”

By this time we were attracting attention from other customers. “Please give him my bottle of water,” said the elderly lady at the next table.

The young man was insulted, clearly he was not used to a public display of his situation. He attempted to defend his rights and ward off the humiliation. To no avail. The guards escorted him out of the Farmer’s Market. A gentleman at the next table followed them to the street hoping to provide assistance to the homeless fellow. He, too, was not allowed to buy lunch at the Farmer’s Market for the young stranger. He gave him five dollars to buy lunch somewhere else.

We were helpless as we watched the waitress remove food trays from the tables, all laden with enough leftovers to feed more than a dozen hungry people. I thought this is the season of giving.

Why students drop out of high school

2009-11-19T11:25:00.000-08:00

Why do students drop out of school? We asked that question to four of our teen writers at our annual November roundtable for community leaders, policy wonks, business folks and others. The conversation was moderated by L.A. Times reporter Mitchell Landsberg and Compton School District Principal Dr. Sophia Theoharopoulus.

The unanimous answer to the question was overcrowded classrooms and disengaged teachers. Ernesto spoke with enthusiasm about his charter school with 20-25 students in a class. Locke, his neighborhood high school, has a history of campus violence, alarming drop-out rate and constant turnover of teachers and administrators. Charmaine described moving from Gahr to Cerritos High School, both within blocks of each other. She said there’s less “drama” at Cerritos. I interpreted that to mean fewer fights, smaller classes, students eager to learn and college bound. Patricia dropped out of Compton High school when she struggled with algebra and no one offered her assistance. Her parents weren’t contacted by the district for 40 days. Now, Patricia is successfully completing high school at the small, well run Cesar Chavez Continuation High School and a teacher is providing guidance in her algebra class.

The education crisis will get worse in the next few years. State budget cuts mean larger classes, teacher lay-offs and a dismal future for students on the edge of dropping out. Where will teens without a diploma find a job? How will they pay rent, buy food? Will crime increase in our communities?

For teens to succeed it requires a partnership between parents, teachers and students. Everyone needs to take responsibility.

Homeless for the Holidays

2009-11-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

A former Microsoft executive is building hundreds of libraries in Africa. A group of dentists are volunteering services in Mexico. An outdoor recreation company is shipping dozens of tents to hurricane-ravaged areas in Southeast Asia. It all sounds benevolent.

What about the families who lost their homes in foreclosure? Or the children who don’t qualify for Healthy Families or Medical because the single parent makes a few dollars over the financial limit? And what happens to the emancipating 18-year-old growing up in foster care who had a minor infraction and can’t move into transitional housing?

We all make choices re donating time and money but the images from abroad tug at Americans with rapid fire response faster than portraits of friends and neighbors in dire circumstances.

The holidays are upon us with food and clothing drives for the needy. Outside every Starbuck’s and restaurant someone is rattling coins in a paper cup. Do we turn away from disheveled, sour-smelling folks sitting on the sidewalk because it’s easier to send a gift to a faceless man, woman or child? I don’t have the answer. Do you?

No "Safety Net" for Teens

2009-11-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

We’re closing pages for the November issue. Presses roll on the 14th. A remarkable young woman wrote the cover story, “My American Dream,” the struggles of an undocumented immigrant and her extraordinary achievement, a scholarship to Loyola Marymount College in Los Angeles.

The health care debate in Congress and across the country (more accurately, called, the ugly fight!) told from a teen’s perspective will blow you away. If you ask a teenager, “What’s your health insurance”? the response is, “ask my mom.” Well, 16-year-old Serli Portalogu takes the reader through her journey of health insurance, on and off for the past 13 years. She clearly describes being part of Healthy Families, a healthcare plan subsidized by the state of California for minors, the family’s years with Kaiser Permanente, the paperwork and financial challenges to have access to care and the lack of a “safety net” when her family doesn’t have health coverage.

Courageous Women Journalists

2009-10-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

Last night the International Women’s Media Foundation held its annual dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s quite a gala, celebrity journalists from TV, Internet and print. Major L.A. philanthropists, j-school students, community leaders and other guests schmoozed re the demise of American media institutions.

The organization honored four women journalists who have courageously reported on oppressive political leaders, political upheaval, abuse of women and other human rights issues in their countries. The reporters from Belarus and Cameroon were arrested for writing unflattering stories about the government. Armed soldiers destroyed their equipment and production studios and dragged them from their homes. The plea from the honorees was unanimous – American media must keep its eye on the globe not just when there’s a coup or assassination of a political leader. The Iranian journalist could not attend the event as she was recently released from jail and waiting for her husband to be released. The Israeli reporter travels in dangerous territory, from Jerusalem to Gaza and the West Bank, decades of reporting both sides -- the Palestinians and the Israelis.

We hear little news about Belarus and Cameroon. The networks, cable stations, newspapers and radio send their correspondents to “hot spots,” where there’s gunfire, suicide bombers and kidnappings. Senior executives at media companies claim budget constraints prevent them from posting reporters in less volatile places. The “bean counters” control the flow of information to Americans and will continue to reduce the coverage of global events. No wonder we’re all turning to the Internet for timely information.

Cops and Teens: Can We Talk?

2009-10-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles will have a new police chief this week. Chief Bratton is leaving Los Angeles to pursue other opportunities. Tensions between teenagers and cops are a familiar story. Teens are highly critical of police practices, from curfew enforcement to traffic stops and racial profiling. We’ve hosted sit-downs between teens and LAPD and teens and the Sheriff’s Dept. Transcripts from the sessions were published in L.A. Youth and posted on our website.

The conversations don’t magically bridge the gap between our teen writers and readers but we like to think they at least humanize the participants on both sides. Several years ago L.A. Youth writer Richard Kwon interviewed then-Police Chief Bernard Parks. The conversation turned from teens’ driving habits to a personal tragedy that the chief had experienced. His 20-year-old granddaughter, Lori, had been the victim of a homicide. Richard reflected on their discourse:

I thought police officers pretended to be tough guys, but he was really honest with his answers. He’s still in pain about her death and haunted by it. His face showed signs of weariness but he was still smiling in the end. And so was I.

We tried contacting Chief Bratton but he never responded to our request for an interview. Perhaps the next chief will reach out to teens and dialogue with us.

Challenges

2009-10-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

Life is a constant challenge.

Deal or No Deal is a challenge for TV contestants to guess how much money is in a box. Last year’s Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire was a million dollar challenge to a young man to guess the right answer on a popular TV show in order to leave his impoverished life in the slums of India.

L.A. Youth is invited to apply for a challenge grant funded by three major foundations. We have to raise money from new contributors, then the foundations will match it between 100 and 200 percent. Board members and I chatted about the invitation this morning after a discussion re the obstacles and opportunities in a downturn economy. They accepted the challenge. We’re applying for the grant.

Every day there’s a different challenge managing the administrative and programmatic tasks of a non-profit organization. Yesterday I learned that one of our long-time donors has ended their support for youth media groups. The challenge is to find another foundation to take their place.

Our teen writers in the foster care system face dire challenges when they emancipate at 18. High school seniors face the challenge of securing college loans and scholarships. Parents on the verge of home foreclosure are challenged with finding shelter for the family and fear of becoming homeless.

I take the challenges one at a time.

Captive Voices

2009-10-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

Jack Nelson was known as a hard driving, dedicated reporter and bureau chief in the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times. To me, he led the seminal work that brought the problems of the high school press to the fore when few were paying attention. Captive Voices was published in 1974 by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, a Washington, D.C.-based foundation established to continue the pursuit of societal change that marked Kennedy’s life.

In 1973 Senator Edward Kennedy announced the plans of the foundation and created a commission to study the potential of high school journalism in America. The commission focused on censorship of the high school press, lack of participation of minority students on high school press staffs and other issues. Hearings were held across the country and Jack studied 1,725 pages of hearing testimony to write the final report that became Captive Voices.

That report led to the creation of the Student Press Law Center and New Expression, an independent teen-written newspaper in Chicago. Jack was pleased when I launched L.A. Youth in 1988 and over the years he continued to be supportive of our newspaper and the potential of high school journalism in America.

LAUSD Folly

2009-10-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

LAUSD school administrators and Superintendent Ramon Cortines ran around the city yesterday knocking on doors looking for students. A great publicity stunt acting like they’re interested in finding drop-outs and truants. Of course, it’s that time of year – they count heads and send the numbers to Sacramento and every body they lure back to school gives the district more money. Now, if only they were concerned the rest of the year.

My friend Roshawn published her story in January-February 2006 with a narrative so horrifying of her childhood growing up in shelters and cheap hotels Skid Row I still cry every time I read it. One of the saddest chapters in her life occurred in 2003. She made the long trip from Skid Row to Reseda High School in the San Fernando Valley for two years, until the fall 2003 bus strike. There was no public transportation across the city. She was out of school for six weeks and fell so far behind with her schoolwork that she was forced to drop out.

No one called from the Los Angeles Unified School District or tried to locate her. LAUSD officials owe Roshawn an apology.

The Presses Rolled Today

2009-10-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Oct. issue was printed this morning at the L.A. Times plant. We always have to wait a few days before we get our hands on a copy. We’re urging mainstream and alternative media to take a close look at high school drop-out statistics and challenge administrators to respond to this crisis in public education. Editor Mike Fricano will post articles on Tuesday.

We held a staff development meeting today which gave everyone an opportunity to discuss his/her job description. I asked staff to highlight every new task or challenge in the past year so that I can assess their responsibilities. In a perfect world with no money worries, I could hire two more staff. In the meantime, we have excellent consultants to help with art direction, strategic communications and financial management.

Last week we sent an appeal letter to long-time donors and to parents of teens who benefit from our training programs. The funds are “trickling” in, not as many contributors as I hoped for.

The Dow and Donors

2009-10-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

The Dow hit 10,000 today. I wonder if that will have a positive impact on donors. Holiday season is looming close and people will make decisions re year-end giving. It’ll be interesting to see if Dec. 2009 donations will be an improvement over Dec. 2008.

In the meantime we move forward – last day to proof pages, change a headline and add or delete board members, volunteers, donors to the Oct. masthead.

We have visitors this week, two foundation trustees and staff dropping by to chat about our programs. I bought ginger snaps for this afternoon and fresh croissants and coffee for the trustees tomorrow morning. They can peek at the pages before we transmit them to the L.A. Times. I’m still filled with awe and pride when I look at the stories and artwork of every issue right before the presses roll.

Poor Public Education

2009-10-13T10:07:00.001-07:00

Presses roll Saturday with our extraordinary cover story -- eighteen-year-old Patricia Chavarria shares her compelling journey, “My second chance at school.” She ditched, had a serious illness and lost hope of graduating until she enrolled at Cesar Chavez Continuation High School in Compton. L.A. Youth editor Mike Fricano met with Patricia and a group of students at the school to hear their personal experiences and what inspired them to graduate.

Overcrowded classes, thousands of displaced teachers, shortage of textbooks and supplies plus a staggering list of all the other ailments in California public schools doesn’t bode well for the future. Parents have every right to enroll their child in a Charter school or jump into the magnet school lottery. For those with funds to spare there are many private school choices or a neighborhood parochial school.

A study by Northeastern University in Boston recently reported that male high school dropouts were 47 times more likely than college graduates to be jailed.

Los Angeles County has one of the highest dropout rates in the country – more than 20 percent of students leave school before graduating.

I was a staunch believer in the public school tradition but I have my doubts they can prepare children for higher education and the job market.

Improve Quality of Life in South LA

2009-10-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was Newcomer’s Day, a morning orientation we host every six weeks for teens interested in joining the staff. Twenty-five youth showed up and the best news is more than half were boys! With a writing project we’re always 60-40 with females leading the number of bylines.

We’re making a major effort this school year to recruit young men of color. Their voices are not well represented in L.A. Youth. Tomorrow I’m attending a planning meeting at the South LA Building Healthy Communities coalition of agencies invited by The California Endowment to strategically plan goals for the next 10 years to improve employment, education, violence, health and other issues in their community. Several of the groups work with young people so I’ll have the opportunity to hand out copies of the paper and encourage them to partner with us.

This is my favorite part of the job – meet ‘n greet community organizers and listen to the buzz of ideas in other neighborhoods.

Bringing our Programs to Youth Agencies

2009-10-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

Good news today. The generosity of the Leonard Green Foundation and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors will enable us to expand the Oct. press run to 70,000. As I mentioned before, we were forced to make drastic cuts -- reducing the press run from 120,000 to 60,000 last month -- since we have to pay the L.A. Times for printing and delivery services. Parents of our teen staffers are sending donations so we hope to punch up the numbers to 100,000 by November.

I dropped by Homeboy Industries yesterday on my way to a meeting downtown. Young people hanging out in front, others doing homework or snacking in the café. I tried their crème brulee, absolutely delicious. I gave them a stack of newspapers and encouraged the program director to share it with staff and teens. He asked if we’d offer a weekly writing class in their new facility. That’s a possibility. They have financial woes like everyone else these days -- no new hires, program cuts.

Several youth organizations around town want us to bring our programs to them but we’re already stretched too thin. A kindly philanthropist could fill the request if we have the funds to hire a fourth editor.

Never hurts to dream big.

Wealthy Donors Fund New Journalism Projects

2009-09-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

I’m envious of the new non-profit journalism start-ups with their million dollar endowments. I guess 22 years of great journalism doesn’t count if the writers are teenagers. Too bad these rich, generous donors haven’t read our excellent stories, they would see how young, well-trained journalists have an impact.

As a community leader, L.A. Youth has relationships with mainstream media, both print and broadcast. As a result, policy makers have had to respond to the spotlight placed on difficult issues that affect teens. L.A. Youth shows teens that they can improve their own lives and play an important role in improving their schools and communities. Examples of L.A. Youth articles that served this purpose include:

• An investigative article on teens incarcerated in California mental hospitals without due process that prompted state legislation to address the problem.
• An examination of conditions impeding education at Marshall High School in Los Angeles that prompted a school district investigation and resulted in the author being chosen to serve on the selection committee for a new school district superintendent.
• An article investigating police brutality in the Los Angeles Police Department that was picked up by CBS News.
• A first-person account of life on the streets by a homeless teen that drew attention from the Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio and social service agencies concerned about homeless youth.

We, too, would benefit from the generosity of strangers.

A Teen Grows Up To Do Great Things

2009-09-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

Sept. 22

My first L.A. Youth writer called a few weeks ago to share exciting news. After five long years away from home she received her Master’s and Ph.D in education at the University of Wisconsin.

When we met she was a bright, curious teen in middle school, looking for a way out of her struggling Latino neighborhood. She excelled in everything she did. Mini, as she’s known to family and friends, won a scholarship to Hampshire College in Massachusetts.

We kept in touch as she expanded her educational horizons. After graduating college she returned to Los Angeles to teach at Compton High School, one of the toughest, most troubled campuses in L.A. Most of her pupils were Spanish speakers with limited ability in English, adding to the challenge.

I’ve never forgotten the passionate speech Mini gave at one of our fundraising dinners. Here’s an excerpt:

Many of my students look to me as an older sister and sometimes even a parent figure. I’m the first to find out when they become pregnant or when their father has run out on them – again. I’m the first person they tell when they feel hurt because their mother was left behind in Mexico. They let me know when they are living out of a garage without food or money. But that is not all, they let me know when they are proud of their schoolwork accomplishments…

If you will, close your eyes for a moment, come with me and stand outside my classroom door at Compton High after all the student have left. You see there, up above my door where the window is located? Well, don’t concentrate on the fact that the window is full of bullet holes, I want you to notice how beautifully the sun shines through those bullet holes and fills the room with so much light. Those rays are my students. In the end, there in only hope.

Out of Touch for a Few Days

2009-09-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

I’ve not been able to post for a few days due to a health issue. Now I’m back ready to advocate on behalf of teens. Recuperating at home kept me glued to TV where I was horrified to see how many lunatics shout hate-filled rhetoric (and not just on Fox).

Our Sept. issue was delivered to schools and a few libraries this week. The real challenge this school year is maintaining the readership we lost with a reduced press run and bring them to our website.

Excellent suggestions from the board of directors last night to engage corporate partners such as Verizon, Sprint, Boost, AT&T and other mobile providers. We’re a perfect fit for these companies to reach teen consumers.

Sometimes the outside world comes to us. A weary social worker in Moab, Utah begged me to send her a how-to guide to launch a teen-written newspaper. “We had five pregnant teens last year in a high school with fewer than 200 students,” she lamented. “I want to help these kids talk about responsible sexuality and let then write their personal stories. The local newspaper would never report the problems we’re having in this community, and the outside media only report on polygamists.”

L.A. Youth Sept. 2009 issue

2009-09-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

“Thanks for keeping me on your distribution list. Our classroom budgets have been cut next to nothing,” remarked a teacher at Azusa High School.

We, too, are making huge cuts. As I mentioned before, the press run this weekend will be reduced from 120,000 to 60,000. None of the libraries will receive the Sept. issue, perhaps by Oct. we can raise enough money to expand the press run. This is the worst year to reduce the number of copies with all the state education budget cuts and the increase in classroom size.

This network of teachers is one of our most valuable assets. The three L.A. Youth editors visit two or three classrooms a week, encouraging students to enter one of our essay or art contest or write a letter to the editor. We publish a four-page teacher’s guide (now available only on our website) that is tailored to each issue of L.A. Youth and filled with tips on how to use the paper in the classroom. It’s a ready-made lesson plan for teachers and is aligned with the English and Social Studies requirements in high schools. Every few years we ply half-dozen teachers with coffee and cookies and pick their brains about ways to improve the guide.

The Sept. cover has a marvelous illustration by Lily Clark, Immaculate Heart High School. Several articles about teens and money management, very timely.

Teens, teachers, parents and community folks look for our stories at www.layouth.com since you won’t find them in libraries or community agencies.

School Opens and Presses Roll

2009-09-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

Presses roll this Saturday after a summer of writing workshops, field trips, newcomer’s day and other activities. The days before printing the Sept. issue creates excitement in the office with last-minute headline changes, teasing among the staff as to which cover is most compelling and the detailed inputting of information in the database.

We sent postcards to more than 1,300 teachers who subscribed to the paper last school year. Only 20 percent responded so we had no choice but to call the other 80 percent to find out if they want the paper, have transferred to another school, were laid off or worse, passed away over the summer!

Here’s the sad part of my tale – we lost our printing support from the L.A. Times. For 20 years they donated printing and in recent years donated delivery. The Times is in bankruptcy (translation: The Times will give us $15,000 credit for the year but we still have to pay them $45,000!). The hardest decision I had to make was to cut the press run from 120,000 copies to 60,000 copies and drop the libraries. We can only provide newspapers to schools and a few dozen public agencies.

Teens and teachers want hard copies even though every article is available on our website, www.layouth.com. After reading this please send a donation via PayPal or “snail mail” so we can restore copies to the libraries and community centers.

Please Governor, Help California's Children & Youth

2009-09-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

Children are being punished for the misdeeds of their elders. Governor Schwarzenegger’s $80 million line-item veto of Child Welfare Services is unprecedented.
I was appointed to The California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care in March 2006 by Supreme Court Chief Justice M. Ronald George. Its charge is to provide recommendations to the California Judicial Council on the ways in which the courts and their partners can improve safety, permanency, well-being, and fairness outcomes for children and families. The commission issued final recommendations to the Judicial Council on August 15, 2008. The recommendations focus on four areas: 1) efforts to prevent removal and achieve permanency; 2) court reforms; 3) collaboration between the courts and their child welfare partners; and 4) resources and funding.
The likelihood of achieving these improvements is seriously compromised by the reduction in Child Welfare Services. California’s child welfare system is already seriously under-resourced.
The folks in Sacramento have a legal and moral commitment to care for children and youth in foster care. Would they put their own families in jeopardy? I doubt it.

The cuts must be restored.

False Accusations

2009-09-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

I was on a conference call this morning, taking notes, moving papers on my desk (multi-tasking, of course) when I looked up to see a familiar face, one of our former writers. I jumped up, gave him a hug, signaled to him to take a seat while I finished the call.

Jeff was in jail for the past three months on charges that he abused his girlfriend and stole her purse. He denied the charges and refused to “plea bargain” insisting he was innocent. His bail was set extremely high which made it impossible for him to be released while awaiting sentencing. Jeff had the good fortune to be assigned a caring public defender that investigated the charges and ultimately found the girl’s story inconsistent and unreliable.

The judge dismissed the charges. Jeff was released.

Does the justice system work? Sometimes yes, most of the time no, if you’re poor and non-white. Jeff grew up in foster care another example of a dysfunctional bureaucratic system.

End of story? Jeff has a long way to go – finding a job, buying a car, eventually renting his own apartment but he has lots of caring friends at L.A. Youth.

Malibu, Marley and Me

2009-09-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

Celebrities, politicians and Malibu Colony. The perfect combination for a casual afternoon in a gorgeous setting and a chance to meet one of California’s rising political stars – San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and candidate for State Attorney General. Kamala parents are children of the ‘60s, Berkeley alums and bay area advocates. She’s an excellent candidate with strong credentials and knowledge of California’s criminal justice system.

I was whipped and sunburned standing in the glaring sunlight for three hours but not so much that I couldn’t sway to Ziggy Marley’s electrifying performance. He sounds like his father, looks like him, too, with the same warm songs to mellow out the afternoon.

My 13-year-old grandson Jordan Myrow accompanied me to the event. His father is a fanatic Bob Marley fan, he named his youngest son Jackson Marley.

The Kennedy Legacy

2009-08-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

My parents loved Adlai Stevenson. They rarely talked politics but Adlai was special, a man they looked up to and trusted. They sat in front of our small black and white television watching the 1952 election returns when Stevenson lost the presidency to Dwight Eisenhower. They had less enthusiasm when John Kennedy succeeded Ike in 1960, though my mother adored Jackie’s fabulous sense of style. I wore a pink pillbox hat to a cousin’s wedding when I was 17, pretending to be as chic as Mrs. Kennedy.

The Kennedys symbolized a young, energetic America ready to take on social issues, and I began to pay attention. JFK implored us to do something for our country. Peace Corps volunteers were sent abroad. Black ministers urged followers to fight segregation and poverty. Nightly news reports of the Black Panthers, student protests at Berkeley and marches in Washington increasingly drew me in.

I was drawn to Bobby Kennedy because of his compassion for the poor and underrepresented. He listened carefully to the impoverished children of Appalachia, marched with Martin Luther King in Alabama and walked in the Central Valley fields alongside Cesar Chavez and migrant workers.

Edward Kennedy was larger than life for me. His commanding physical presence – the booming voice in anger at the Senate hearings to confirm Robert Bork for the U.S. Supreme Court. The joy he shouted from the podium to endorse Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic Convention. And the kind, soft words he bestowed on family members at funerals for military personnel who died in combat.

The end of the Kennedy era as I remembered it arrived this week with Ted Kennedy’s passing......

Funny Fundraising

2009-08-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

But there are also happy endings. When I worked out of my house in the beginning, an early morning call might catch me in the shower. A foundation officer called and I gave him my pitch while wrapped in a towel and dripping water on the carpet. He rejected us the first time around, after I violated fundraising etiquette by asking an L.A. Youth board member to try personal persuasion. We managed to repair the relationship and the San Francisco-based foundation later awarded us a two-year grant.

Wallis Annenberg, head of one of the country’s largest philanthropies, surprised me one afternoon with news that our $100,000 grant application had been approved. “Wallis!” I shouted, as if she was my best friend. “How fantastic. Thank you, thank you,” I blurted out, utterly flustered. We both laughed.

I especially enjoy opening the mail and finding a small donation from a name I recognize year after year. We have a few donors who always send a check, whether it’s $10 or $1,000.

Hard Economic Times

2009-08-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hollywood aside, we are selective about whom we solicit. We don’t chase after government money. After all, we write about hot button issues like teen sexuality and school reform. Accepting grants from, say, a federal agency that promotes “abstinence only” would be a conflict for us and our articles no doubt would be challenged by the agency. We’re often critical of school districts, state government and local politicians; taking their money in one hand and criticizing them with the other would be hypocritical.

There are foundations that will never lend their name or support to L.A. Youth. Mostly it’s because of our teen sexuality articles and gay/lesbian stories. One foundation thinks we’re pro-abortion, though we’ve never take a position in favor or against. A few object to our stories on birth control and the discussion of condoms. I used to submit grant requests on the gamble that nobody at these foundations would bother to read our newspaper. But they did. Foundations provide roughly 80% of our financial support, and the competition is fierce. The number of non-profits in America increases each year.

Economic downturns like the one we’re in since fall 2008 can ravage the stock portfolios of foundations, leaving less money to spread around. Disasters like the 2005 hurricanes in Louisiana and Mississippi and the events of 9/11 quickly draw millions in charitable dollars. We usually feel the competition for grants intensifying about six months after such events.

We lost a major supporter this year, the Los Angeles Times. For 20 years they donated the printing. The Times is in bankruptcy and financial re-structuring so we must pay them for printing and delivery starting with our Sept. 2009 issue. This is a body blow. The press run will be reduced from 120,000 per issue to 60,000, forcing us to eliminate the libraries. We must raise $60,000 to cover the costs for the 2009-2010 school year and the Times offered $15,000 credit for printing and distribution. Teachers and teens want hard copies even though all our stories are available online.

This will be the most challenging school year in our history.

Raising Money Is Tougher Than a Game Show

2009-08-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

I’m always worried we’ll run out of money. In fact, we’ve come close to shutting down the newspaper on one or two occasions.

We need about $650,000 a year in grants and donations to keep the doors open. Raising that amount of money is a draining job, and it never gets easier.

In the early days of L.A. Youth I thought the entertainment industry might be one of our strongest supporters. After all, Hollywood is in our own backyard and its movie, television and recording studios depend on young people like our readers for much of their revenue.

I was wrong. In my experience, a studio or production is most likely to support an actor’s favorite cause, often to win favor at the urging of the actor’s agent. With some notable exceptions, Hollywood is a very insular community when it comes to giving. Outsiders are best advised not to come calling.

Celebrities in general are frustrating to deal with. On occasion, we have asked several to donate their time and talent to our fundraising events. One local TV anchor agreed to be mistress of ceremonies, but on two conditions: that we buy her a designer gown for the dinner and hire a limousine to get her there. I demurred, noting that business attire was appropriate and, besides, our programs really needed the money. She grudgingly gave in but came with her entourage. Just like the TV show.

Not Exactly "Architecture Digest" Quality

2009-08-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

Early on, I learned how to scrounge. It was the only way we could afford to furnish our offices. The trick was to have no shame and be alert for news of businesses merging or downsizing. They were happy to get rid of surplus furniture as long as I removed it without making a fuss.

I hauled designer chairs and tables across town in the back of my Subaru, and on days when there was no elevator we manhandled them up the stairs to our office.

Sometimes I had to accept defeat. When Jones Day, a major law firm, closed one of its offices in Orange County, the wife o a senior partner invited me to come “shop” the discards. We were browsing an entire floor of desks, chairs and credenzas when I spotted a black marble conference table that could seat 25 people. It was fabulous, and I looked at it longingly. But there was no way it would fit in our office, let alone get up the stairs.

Another friend directed me to a business on a scruffy street in downtown Los Angeles. “The guy in charge is closing it down tonight, and he needs cash,” she said. “He has these long folding tables, perfect for your kids to work on.”

But then came the caveat: “He’s the son of a prominent politician, but he's waiting trial for drug possession. So, be careful.”

I took $100 cash with me and pulled up in front of an office building. Sure enough, people were dragging furniture onto the sidewalk. “How much are two tables?” I asked the politician’s son.

“One hundred dollars each.”

“I run a nonprofit for teens and we really need work tables. These are perfect. I’ll give you $100 for both.”

“No.”

The street was dark and isolated and I paused to look over my shoulder. The few homeless folks shuffling by didn’t pay any attention.

After more of my cajoling he finally gave in. Then came the hard part, getting the tables in the back of the Subaru. No one offered to help. I pushed and pulled and finally shoved them over the front seat, then drove home with the hatchback wide open.

Wired for Cyberspace

2009-08-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

The art deco building was our headquarters for ten years, during which we managed to escape The Penthouse and take a larger office on a lower floor. Then we quit the building altogether for new quarters a few blocks away. Now we have conference room, a newsroom and a couple of private offices. Best of all, we were wired for new technology that would carry our stories into cyberspace.

But the elevator doesn’t always work, the air conditioning repeatedly blows fuses and for a while there was mold and mildew from the rain. Browbeating landlords should not be part of a publisher’s job.

One of our board members got us onto the Web. He was a consultant for a company selling adult entertainment – phone sex, porno films. We paid the company $185 to register the L.A. Youth domain and host our first website. Our board member wanted his business connection kept quiet, and we were happy to oblige. Who cared as long as we had a cheap Internet connection? The arrangement lasted for more than a year until we found a company with a mission closer to ours.

An Old Friend

2009-08-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Budd Schulberg, the famed novelist and screenwriter and founder of the Watts Writers Workshop died August 5, 2009. He was 95. I met Budd in 1966 a few months after he launched the workshop in burned-out Watts, the South Central neighborhood smoldering after six days of rioting by angry, marginalized citizens. The impoverished black ghetto had had one too many feuds with police and all hell broke loose. Pawnshops were looted, stores were burned to the ground, fires roared and gunshots rang through the night.

Budd watched the flames and angry mobs on television from his hilltop home in Beverly Hills. He wanted to do more than write about the injustice and poverty in Watts. He posted a notice on the door of a neglected house left standing among the charred ruins on 103rd Street, “Writing Workshop, Wed., 6pm.” Poets and short story writers trickled in and the Watts Writers Workshop was born. Over the next seven years they published anthologies and dramatic scripts for television. The Workshop was replicated in urban communities across the country.

Thus began my six-year association with Budd and the local poets and writers whose work he nurtured. Needless to say, the experience made a powerful impression on me. Budd became godfather to my first child, and on the 40th anniversary of the riots he wrote:

“Last night I read your excellent L.A. Youth from cover to cover and I felt proud of your work and at the same time it broke my heart. All those poor kids wanting to study and get on with their lives, and meanwhile obsessed with the mindless drive-by’s and ethnic school fights. It’s really so much more violent than when we were in Watts in the ‘60’s. And there seems to be no relief, no real effort to solve those social problems so ridden with terror.”

Moving to the Penthouse

2009-08-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

Using my dining room as command central became increasingly impossible. L.A. Youth needed a home of its own.

Our “angel” was the James Irvine Foundation in San Francisco, which wrote a check in late 1989 for $100,000, our first truly big grant. I rented space on the top floor of an art deco building, in the mid-Wilshire area. It was a small office which we grandly called The Penthouse, despite the elevator that malfunctioned for months at a time and the ceiling that leaked whenever it rained. There was even a built-in shower, which we put into service as a storage closet.

The building’s advantage was its proximity to those sections of Los Angeles where our writers tended to live, though some had long bus rides to reach us. The disadvantage was having to co-exist with the panhandlers, drug addicts and petty thieves who wer4e fixtures in our neighborhood.

One morning, we found a business card under the door with a note from a police officer: “We have your computer, please call.” It turned out that our office had been burglarized the night before.

I was horrified, but I had to admit our burglar was gutsy. He had climbed the outside fire escape, broken through a door and carried the computer down a rickety flight of stairs to the street. There, he hid it in the bushes while he got stoned, which proved to be his undoing.

Distribution Challenge

2009-08-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Some of my other distribution schemes were less successful. I got the bright idea to drop bundles of papers where teens congregate – coffee houses, music stores and so on. Tower Records agreed to put a stack next to the weekly alternative papers. After a few days I checked to see how many copies were left and to my surprise they were all gone. Wow! This was the answer, the best way to get the paper into the hands of teenagers.

I thanked the guy behind the counter and he looked at me as if I spoke a foreign language.

“I throw all the papers away after a few days, they make a mess,” he said. “Anyway, you drop a new bundle every Thursday.”

“No, no,” I protested, “we only publish six times a year and the manager said you’d keep them here for a few weeks. We’re not L.A. Weekly. What happened?”

“Which manager, the day or night guy,” he said with a blank expression.

I had the same bad luck with the coffee houses, tossed out at night along with the dirty paper cups and stirrers.

Then there was the time an outside distributor dumped 3,000 copies of our paper at a school that had ordered 300. The 2,700 copies that nobody wanted ended up in the trash. Sob.

Just Say Yes

2009-07-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

I knew the only way we’d reach teens was in the schools. The key was finding teachers who would allow our newspaper in their classrooms. Friends and family helped me compile a list of about 25 willing teachers. I hand-delivered L.A. Youth to them.

I thought about asking school district administrators for their blessings, and quickly rejected the idea. They would almost certainly say no. This meant I would have to employ a certain amount of stealth to avoid attracting the attention of security guards or hostile principals.

I changed from my usual jeans and sweatshirt into a business suit, to look like someone on official business. I loaded stacks of newspapers into my red Subaru hatchback, stacked so high I couldn’t see out the back window. At each school, I waited in my car until classes were dismissed for the day. When the bell rang and students streamed out the main gate, I walked in as if I belonged there and delivered by bundle of newspapers.

Distributing a single issue took a few weeks, because I could only do one school a day this way. The teens on the staff helped out by stuffing copies in their backpacks and passing them along to favorite teachers. Make sure you pick someone cool and sympathetic to the rights of young people, I advised them.

Over time, as L.A. Youth won acceptance, we were able to distribute it openly on campuses across the city. Only rarely would a school official object.

Kitchen Table Publishing

2009-07-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

We ran everything from my house for nearly two years. Twice a week my young staff gathered to share ideas, go over assignments and show me drafts of their stories.

At first, we worked at the kitchen table. But it was so small not everyone could sit down, and we moved to the antique oak table in my dining room. The teens shared two ancient Smith-Corona typewriters, both of them borrowed from the L.A. Times. Some stories had to be written in longhand, and then typed out. The dining room table, which I had lovingly restores not long ago, was unprepared for all this activity and groaned audibly whenever anyone leaned on it. I tried not to worry. At dinner time, papers and supplies were stowed on the floor so I would have room to feed my family.

We put the pages together ourselves, a painstaking process. The trickiest part was “pasting” proofs of each headline, photo and story onto page-sized forms, like putting pieces of a puzzle together. The finished pages were then ferried to the printer, ready for photo-engraving and the trip to the press. I constantly worried that a story or a headline might fall off one of the pages while hauling them in the back seat of my car, since the glue didn’t always stick well. But it only happened once, and it was only a paragraph that I hoped nobody would miss.

The Shocking Truth! Teens Can Write

2009-07-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

Is there a future for newspapers? We here at L.A. Youth respond with a thunderous yes!

We’ve spoken through the voice of teenagers for 22 years and we’re still at it. We’re not only committed to print journalism, we have a lively website as well.

The death of the newspaper is greatly exaggerated, to paraphrase Mark Twain.

In 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school administrators had the right to censor articles intended for publication in school newspapers. I was stunned. The ruling was a body blow to the independence of the student press. Two decades earlier, the court had seemed to go in the other direction. In an Iowa case involving an anti-war protest, Justice Abe Fortas, writing for the majority, stated, “Neither students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

The Supreme Court decision that day pushed me over the edge, so to speak. I decided to start a teen newspaper in Los Angeles.

I gathered a dozen high school youngsters at my house, some of them my children’s friends and told them we’re going to put out a newspaper you can call your own. I appointed myself publisher, editor, head fundraiser and chief delivery person.

Six weeks later, March 1988, our inaugural issue went to press.

Paying for Journalism

2009-07-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

The letter was written in response to New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt's commentary published Sunday, July 19, 2009, One Newspaper, Many Checkbooks.

Re: "One Newspaper, Many Checkbooks" (July 19), New York Times:

Nonprofit newspapers are not a new idea. L.A. Youth was launched more than 20 years ago with support by foundations and corporations. There has never been a conflict of interest or pressure from any funding source regarding our investigative reporting.

In Los Angeles, we have reported fraud and abuse in group homes, we have reported illegal searches of backpacks by school security guards, and we have brought attention to the Legislature regarding the plight of youth incarcerated in private mental hospitals without the right of due process. These stories were ignored by mainstream media even in the well-financed days of journalism.

Our paper is distributed free to more than 1,400 teachers and is used in classrooms for civics lessons in lieu of boring, dated textbooks. Philanthropy and journalism are an excellent partnership.

DONNA MYROW
Los Angeles, July 20, 2009
The writer is the publisher of L.A. Youth.