|
The Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health
(formerly the Illinois Caucus on Teenage Pregnancy) and its precursors
(From their 25th anniversary celebration booklet-
2002)
(Editor's Note: In the 1970's CWLU health activists worked to organize grassroots health programs for women. After the dissolution of the CWLU, many
of these women continued their work of reforming our health system.
One of them was Jenny Knauss who was named Executive
Director of the Illinois Caucus on Teenage Pregnancy in
1983. Jenny retired at the end of 2002 after guiding the Caucus for
nearly 20 years. This history was distributed at their 25th anniversary
celebration.
A number of former CWLUers attended this emotionally moving event.)
1960s
First birth control pill available in the U. S. Soon after, Planned
Parenthood dispensed birth control at bedsides in Cook County Hospital
(CCH).
Mary Jane Snyder, Planned Parenthood leader and one of the Caucus founders
was speaking at schools, including at least one Catholic High School, about
family
planning.
1963
Chicago Board of Education set up a 3 year project with Chicago Comprehensive
Care Centers in a YWCA building.
1965
The Illinois legislature passed a "Sex Education Act", a permissive non-
mandatory bill
encouraging promotion of sex education in schools.
1967
Chicago Public Schools set up a "family living center " in a church, "very
hush hush". Dr Carl Meyer signed an executive order approving the dispensing
of birth control in Cook County Hospital. In that period CCH was the second
largest OB/GYN unit in the world with 20,000 births a year. In less than a
decade after
Meyer's order, the number of births to all women dropped to 13,500.
1968
Dr. Robert Mendelsohn issued a "Score Board of Death" (or "Where are 1000
poor children and 1000 rich children after 6 years?"). He compared the number
of deaths per 1000 children from East Garfield Park and Lawndale (120) with
those
born in Highland Park and Glencoe (18).
1969
The Urban Preceptorship Program was started by Dr Quentin Young at University
of Illinois, Chicago, providing courses for mixed groups of medical students,
nurses and community health workers, who learned about the health care system
from each other as well as from progressive mentors. A state law legalizing
family planning services for unmarried teens was passed after strong advocacy
from physicians like Dr. Donald Dye at CCH. This followed the birth of twins
to an 11 year old girl who could not receive family planning services at CCH
because of her age. Also in 1969 Chicago Women's Liberation Union (CWLU) was
founded. Jane, an underground illegal abortion service, which became part of
the CWLU,
was already active. CWLU health work included pregnancy testing.
1970
Planned Parenthood set up Teen Scenes, a teen center, at Cook County Hospital.
1971
Our Bodies Ourselves courses were started, and given in some schools.
1974
An active group opposing sterilization abuse (CESA) was formed in the city
which
included the Puerto Rican Socialist Party and the CWLU.
1977
Austin Youth Health Center was established as a clinic in a High School (followed
by a number of other schools). The Illinois Caucus on Teenage Pregnancy (ICTP)
was initiated following a conference to discuss the national problem of increasing
teenage pregnancy.
United Way provided a part-time staff person — Suzanne Hinds.
1980
The Statewide Taskforce on Adolescent Parent Support Services was created
by the state legislature in response to a House Resolution brought by the Conference
of Women Legislators. The Taskforce, which was chaired by Frances Ginther from
the Chicago Department of Public Health, reviewed the extent of the problem
of adolescent pregnancy in Illinois, did a preliminary review of services currently
available and developed goals with recommended actions. A number of ICTP members,
as well as state legislators Jane Bames, Barbara Flynn Currie and Carol Moseley
Braun were actively involved. The Caucus was incorporated. Ginther was chair
of the Board from 1980-82. The first membership brochure was created.
1982
In June 1982 Dorothy Scheff wrote two letters. One was to William Kempiners,
Director of the Illinois Dept. of Public Health in Spningfield, informing him
that "the Board of Directors of the Illinois Caucus on Teenage Pregnancy has
studied carefully the draft report of the Statewide Task Force on Adolescent
Parent
Support Services", which recommended that the Caucus accept responsibility for
oversight and implementation of the plan developed by the Task Force. She reported
that the Board accepted the assignment with enthusiasm. She also noted that this
step meant "expanding our perspectives as we work to coordinate specific policies
and programs of both public and private agencies 'in Illinois" and stressed that "the
Caucus Board is pleased with the confidence shown 'in us". She appreciated the
leadership of the Department in creating the climate for such collaborative efforts
on the part of young people "which, if they are adopted, will change the character
of this organization." She said that the Caucus Board had considered carefully
what such an alliance with the state would mean to the autonomy of the Caucus,
its freedom of expression and ability to work for and against legislation. On
balance, the Board had decided that "the opportunity to coordinate and develop
comprehensive services and programs and make a major impact on the teen pregnancy
program 'in its broadest perspective overrode reservations about such a public/private
alliance". $30,000 from the state was made available.
The other letter went to United Way, pointing out that "if we are to perform
responsibly, the Caucus must develop a professional structure far different
from our present mode of operation". She said that, through Suzanne Hinds,
the United Way Planning Associate, United Way had "nurtured us through our
development years" and asked if it would continue that support through at least
6 months during a planning period. UW agreed to help formulate a budget, provide
help until full time staff was available, help the Caucus in approaching state
agencies for funding and exploring private foundations.
1983
Jenny Knauss was hired early in the year as the Executive Director
and charged with carrying out the recommendations of the Statewide Taskforce.
Her first task was to write proposals for private funding. The first successful
proposal was to the Joyce Foundation, which provided a grant for statewide
work. This enabled the Caucus to hire Bunny Shupe in September. Bunny was
based in Carbondale in Southern Illinois, and was also very familiar with
the Champaign area. She began to organize downstate local chapters, developing
pregnancy prevention activities in as many counties as possible.
1984
We published a directory of statewide resources for pregnant
and parenting youth. The Caucus also received a grant from the Carnegie Corporation
to assist schools across the state to develop pregnancy prevention activities.
This enabled Bunny to initiate partnerships with key education systems and
to visit many downstate schools. We were invited to New York a year later
to report to the Corporation on our findings. Annetta Wilson joined the team
as a community organizer in the year, charged with outreach to youth and
adults in Chicago communities, particularly working with schools to ensure
that pregnant and parenting girls were receiving the services they needed,
with funding from the Harris Foundation. She was a actively involved with
the Homeless Task Force housed at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless,
which worked to expand access to shelter for homeless youth. The Caucus and
the Ounce of Prevention Fund, in cooperation with the Illinois Parents Too
Soon (a state program) co-sponsored a conference in
Chicago on "Teenage Pregnancy, a Community Responsibility: A Statewide
Leadership Conference", inviting people from other states and examining success
with model programs like school-based clinics and innovative curricula for pregnancy
prevention.
1985
The Caucus held a conference in Northwestern Illinois Crisis
in the Rural Family, on the effect of the farm crisis on rural families.
The discussion was very moving- , we got good press coverage and were able
to draw attention across the state to the plight of farm families. Membership
in the Caucus had grown and in April and May of 1985, the Caucus held 25 chapter
meetings across the state. We also testified before the Illinois State Board
of Education on schools and teen pregnancy, following a report which we issued.
Annetta Wilson developed a housing directory for homeless youth in Chicago,
which has been updated over the years. We worked closely with community agencies
like Marillac House and produced a housing directory for communities, working
with the Chicago Department of Human Services. We met with representatives
of the Governor to discuss housing needs.
1986
We were invited by the state Parents Too Soon Program to work
in collaboration with them, the Ounce of Prevention and the Illinois State
Board of Education to develop a plan for the use of Carl Perkins federal
funding for teenage single parents - the "Building Opportunity" program.
We developed such a system, and were all invited to fly to Ohio to share
it with that state 's equivalent agency. We had our first major youth program
when Annetta Wilson brought young people in Chicago to spend a morning with
Oprah Winfrey. It was called "Teens SpeakOut with Oprah Winfrey". We
taped it with her permission, and the auditorium was packed. Youth were able
to go on stage and tell Oprah about their lives. She asked them questions,
gave advice and told them about her youth. Every one was very pleased with
the program, and Oprah appeared to be also, but her professional handlers
later threatened to sue the Caucus if the tape was ever used in public. The
youth were very disappointed, however they wanted to continue to work with
us, and became the first Youth Advisory Board for the organization.
We also developed a Youth Speaker's Bureau. A statewide conference
was held on "Strategies for Pregnancy Prevention in Early Adolescence" which
featured successful programs in other states.
1987
With two other agencies, we designed a job description and training program
for a Teen Advocate to work in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to prevent girls
who were pregnant or parenting from dropping out. Our advocacy was successful
and we received an award from CPS. The Pittway Corporate Foundation helped
us provide in services for Chicago Public School teachers on HIV, using materials
we had brought in from California which was much further ahead on the issue
than any groups in the Midwest at the time. We also published a report entitled "Homeless
in Chicago: the Case of Pregnant and Parenting Youth" which
was well received, and a pamphlet: "The Young Parents Resource Network".
1988
A Statewide Training and Information Center was established out of
our Carbondale office. We also initiated a network to monitor the impact of
the Family Support Act on teen parents on AFDC. A girl from our Youth Peer
Speakers Bureau made a presentation about on our youth work at the Children's
Defense Fund national conference in Washington DC.
1989 We held a statewide conference titled "ADVOCATE!" 'in Collinsville
IL. We continued to gather information on teen parent school drop-outs, and
published brochures for young parents and adults on legal issues. We also advocated
successfully, with other groups, for the first school-based day care center,
at Orr High School.
1990
We held a statewide conference, "Tough Decisions". We initiated the Chicago
Policy Project, expanding our policy staff and providing technical assistance
to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on working with pregnant
and parenting wards of the state. Most important was our decision to systematically
base our year by year program work on the information we had gathered directly
from diverse groups of youth, through focus groups, interviews and
informal contacts. From that point on, we
followed that path, consistently
asking youth about issues in their lives.
The Cooperative Living program was initiated by DCFS. The Caucus became
the lead agency for ensuring of young mothers and their children in the DCFS
system were being appropriately met in East St. Louis, Champaign and Chicago.
Jenny and Annetta also began a series meetings with Dense Kane, the DCFS Inspector
General to discuss the needs of young people. Jenny was asked to sit on the
newly formed State HIV prevention group: she and Annetta held that position
for over 10 years.
1991
The name of the organization was changed to the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent
Health, reflecting the fact that our work was now moving far beyond teenage
pregnancy issues to many others related to broader adolescent health. This
year's statewide conference was titled "Together: Schools and Communities
Confront the Challenge of Teen Pregnancy", and it was aimed particularly
at school personnel. We also published a report recommending a youth prevention
agenda, aimed at policy makers. We became a partner in the Night Ministry Shelter
network, updating the report we had issued in 1987 and advocating with other
groups like the Coalition for the Homeless for attention to issues homeless
youth faced, including the right to attend school. We began to work more closely
with national groups and build connections with other states. Caucus staff
were invited to sit on the SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council
of the U.S.) Community Advisory Committee in New York City, which enabled us
to broaden our thinking about youth and sexuality in discussions with colleagues
from a number of states, including Barbara Huberman, then Director of the North
Carolina equivalent of the Caucus. We continue to maintain a useful connection
with her in her most recent job at Advocates for Youth in Washington. We were
also invited by the Washington DC based Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
to speak at their conference about our work in Chicago. We have maintained
regular communication with these groups over the years. We joined the Child
Welfare League of America where we expanded our work to advocate for children
in the child welfare system, working to help them use their strengths, and
developing community capacity.
1992
We held a conference in Oakbrook, titled "The Challenge of Lean
Times" co-sponsored by Ounce of Prevention Fund. The keynote speaker
was Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former US Surgeon General. We published a pamphlet
based on interviews with young women and providers, on parental notification
for abortion. We also organized statewide hearings on teen pregnancy with
Citizen's Assembly, and published a synopsis as a report for policy makers.
We initiated the Adolescent Women's Roundtable in Chicago, to get the voices
of teen parents heard. We continued to be lead agency for the state funded
Cooperative Living Program in Chicago, overseeing the work of several community
agencies which housed pregnant or parenting girls who were wards of the state.
We published "An Action Plan To Improve the Health of Adolescent Women
in Chicago", reflecting 'intensive information gathering though interviews
and focus groups to understand the issues faced by adolescent women, and
their visions for improved health care, developed by Kate McLachlan.
1993
We followed our report on young women in Chicago with a series of similar
reports (Assessment of Adolescent Needs and Services) on youth of both
sexes in 12 downstate counties, funded by the IL. Department of Human Services.
Girls and boys were interviewed, and follow up discussions held with parents,
teachers and other community members about their view of the needs of youth
'in the county. Where possible, we presented at a community meeting and made
recommendations for changes or new initiatives for youth. We were able to help
more in some communities than others, but we also gained a much clearer understanding
of the needs of many youth in lllinois. These county studies fed directly into
our advocacy work — and our relationships with state agencies. We also
published a booklet on "How to Open a Day Care Center in a High School" which
drew attention to the issue of appropriate child care arrangements for young
mothers. Public Aid was another issue of the year: we initiated successful
legislation to establish a committee to report to the legislature on Public
Aid policies towards pregnant and parenting teens.
1994
We published "A Statewide Plan to Improve the Health of Adolescents
in Illinois", a companion to the report on girls in Chicago mentioned
above. We also held a summit on adolescents and national health reform, and
used the document which followed for advocacy in Chicago, Illinois and Washington
DC.
1995
We published "Teenage Mothers Speak for Themselves: a Public Policy
Report" based on our conversations with young mothers. We initiated
the SNAP (Successful Networking for Adolescent Parents) program to develop
a statewide case management system for pregnant and parenting wards of the
state. We were also a recipient, with a dozen or so other agencies around the
country, of a federal grant
to work in three adjacent Chicago communities to mobilize community members
to reduce teen pregnancies. This was known as the Communities RAP (Reducing
Adolescent Pregnancy) project. The Caucus was the lead agency for three
years before it turned the project over to community agencies. This was one
of 13 programs across the country selected by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention to explore ways of mobilizing communities into effective coalitions
to address this issue. The Caucus was its initial home, although after three
years it moved to an agency in one of the three communities. The Caucus remains
in contact, through the Executive Director, Nancy Tartt. Jenny Knauss was invited
by the Ms Foundation to join other grantees and funders in traveling to Beijing
to attend the Fourth World Conference on Women. She made many contacts and
attended numerous sessions run by women from all over the world, as well as
presenting a workshop attended by women from 12 countries. We later published
a synopsis of their discussion. After Jenny returned she and Carolyn Gordon
worked with other women's groups in Illinois who had been able to attend the
Conference, or were interested, and held a conference and several other events
to maintain local interest in the decisions made in Beijing and the steps the
U.S. Government had agreed to take as a result of the Conference. Most women
from Chicago who were able to attend were determined to work to expand international
boundaries on women's issues, and remained active in this area. Both the MacArthur
Foundation and the Chicago Foundation for Women helped maintain the momentum.
1996
Jenny Knauss was invited to the White House to attend a press conference
organized by the National Campaign to Reduce Adolescent Pregnancy. About 15
of us met with President Clinton in the Oval office before the press conference
to discuss what needed to be done to reduce early births. We also received
funding from the MacArthur Foundation to continue to work on the issues raised
in Beijing and to do follow-up work in Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois, particularly
helping youth to understand, and perhaps work on, some of the global perspectives.
This led us to develop Playing with Justice, a three day workshop for
youth which raised many of the Beijing issues, linking them to the situation
of youth here and in other parts of the world. It was funded by the MacArthur
Foundation. The Caucus also launched the Youth Need to Know Network, an
Illinois Coalition based on opposition to the 1996 "Abstinence Only Until Marriage" Legislation
passed as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act (PRWORA). We opposed both the "Abstinence Only" section and also the main
part of the bill which "ended welfare as we know it", requiring participants
to work a minimum number of hours at an approved job or job related activity
to receive
benefits. The Youth Need to Know Network was formed as a way to draw attention
to the dangers of the opposition to comprehensive health education. We developed
a coalition, sent out materials and kept our members and other interested people
up to date on the implementation of the bill and its consequences.
1997
We co-chaired a conference in Chicago following up on the Beijing conference,
with the Cook County Commission on Women's Issues Women's Health. This was
part of a national conference run by Hilary Clinton, and other well known women
who had attended, to discuss the US follow-up to the Beijing Conference. We
also put out a booklet called Illinois Platform for Action for Women and
Girls, developed by the Caucus and other groups who had sent people to
Beijing or who were interested in follow-up. It included women from the suburbs
and from Champaign and one or two other downstate counties. We began to work
as part of the Community Justice Initiative (CJI) collaborating with
a number of community organizations, including the Southwest Youth Collaborative
and about 10 other youth organizations which shared our understanding of the
importance of sharing decision-making and program development with young people,
and supporting their struggles to bring about real change in attitudes toward
youth, as well as other positive steps towards a more just society. The MacArthur
Foundation provided funding From the county studies and other focus groups
with providers, youth and parents, we learned that neither youth nor adults
were informed about the rights of adolescents to access certain kinds of health
care and about the confidentiality of that care. We created the "Take Care
of Yourself' brochure, designed specifically for youth, and which has become
a popular resource among health and youth service providers as well. To date
we have distributed over 20,000 copies.
1998
We put out a second version
of the Illinois Platform for Action for Women and Girls, noting progress.
Annetta Wilson became a Board member of the Black Administrators in Child
Welfare, Inc. With the passing of the State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) in 1997, the Caucus participated 'in a taskforce to design what was
to become the KidCare program in Illinois. We successfully advocated for
health coverage for adolescents up to age 19, and several policies that increased
access for youth to apply on their own. Recognizing that KidCare would expand
access to health care for adolescents, we launched the Healthy Choices
Campaign (HCC) with funding from the Chicago Community Trust. The work
with CJI continued to flourish. We held our first Advocacy Day, in collaboration
with the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition, and took youth to
Springfield to talk to leg islators about KidCare. We convened the Coalition
for Education on Sexual Orientation (CESO), a statewide partnership
between approximately 25 public and private agencies working on anti-gay
violence in schools. Advocacy efforts with CPS and other school districts
have resulted CESO workshops on sexual orientation issues and anti-gay violence
to key personnel as well as faculty training at local schools.
1999
Annetta Wilson worked with US Representative Danny Davis to hold a forum in
two communities on the West side of Chicago, Austin and North Lawndale, to
discuss what could be done about the number of children in those communities
who had been removed into the child welfare system. Davis appointed Wilson
to head his Child Welfare committee. The result was a project called Sankofa,
Safe Child Initiative, headed by Wilson, a community member, and funded
initially through the Congressman and DCFS Director Jess McDonald. Over the
past 3 years the project flourished. It now has 4 staff, one of whom works
on assisting grandparents to raise grandchildren, with funding from Generations
United in Washington DC and the Louis Lurie Foundation. We also published "Teen
Parents and Welfare Reform in Illinois: a Public Policy Report", based
on interviews and focus groups with teen parents and service providers. Using
the report we have worked with the state Dept. of Human Services (IDHS) to
make policy changes to increase access to TANF by teen parents. Under the Freedom
of Information Act we also called for information related to the state's expenditure
of TANF funds, which included the use of Abstinence only Until Marriage monies.
We also visited about 15 of the funded agencies to review their programs. We
took groups of youth to Springfield this year, as in a number of previous years.
They went to ask their legislators for more school-based clinics and were happy
to find that funding was increased for that item.
2000 After the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) became federal law, we received
funding from the Joyce Foundation to advocate for effective programs and policies
for youth in WIA implementation Illinois and Chicago. We convened the WIA
Working Group for Youth to address youth specific concerns. Youth from
CJI, including several from the Caucus, planned a Youth First Campaign, meeting
with high level city directors to ask for a larger allotment of funds for youth
programs in the city budget for services and activities for young people. Monica
Avery, who had first started to participate in work at the Caucus when she
was 12, led the Caucus contingent, asking for more funding for health programs
for young people. Youth from other CJI agencies raised other their own issues.
Over 100 youth were present. The Mayor did not attend in person, but a number
of heads of city Departments were present and a positive discussion took place.
Unfortunately, a short time later, foundation funding used for youth work was
lost by a number of these organizations, including the Caucus, and the projects
were postponed. Another event for the Caucus in 2000 was the routing of the
Moonies. We heard rumors in late spring of that year that a group of followers
of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church were teaching health/sexuality
education classes in some Chicago Public Schools. Always alert to the issue
of comprehensive health education and aware of the concerns which had been
raised for a number of years about the Reverend's male hierarchical views of
family life, we set out to find out what was happening and let parents and
others know. Chicago Public Schools staff were not initially interested in
the issues we raised, and at the highest level responded to our questions with
anger. However, we continued to gather information and found that the rumors
were generally accurate. We held a press conference, guided by Valerie Denny
and her staff, and got our story out to over 20 outlets. The story was covered,
in Chicago, Washington and a number of other cities. Chicago Public Schools
informed us somewhat later that it was reviewing its health education curriculum
and making changes, which has in fact happened. The entire episode made it
possible for us to advocate even more strongly for comprehensive health education
'in Chicago and elsewhere in the state.
2001
In the spring of 2001, we helped write and generate support for House
Bill 875 which would amend the Illinois School Code to require that "Factual
information presented in course material and instruction shall be medically
accurate. " HB 875 was supported by several local health departments, Planned
Parenthood, the Illinois State Medical Society, the Illinois Parent Teacher
Association (PTA) and other medical associations 'in Illinois. It was introduced
in the House by Rep. Judy Irwin and passed with a two-thirds majority but was
not allowed to be heard in the Senate Education Committee. We worked with Senator
Carol Ronan and Representative Judy Irwin, original sponsors of the bill, to
build support for it and reintroduce it in 2002. Though support for it continues
to grow, Senate Republicans once again kept it from being read in the Senate
Education committee. This effort has helped us to raise the level of discussion
about comprehensive sex education among health providers, school administrators
and policy makers. We are currently partnering with Planned Parenthood and
other comprehensive sex education advocates to explore strategies for reintroducing
HB875 or a similar bill. Our Healthy Choices Campaign, was very active. We
developed a media campaign- "Get help- not a lecture" - targeted to
youth and including transit ads, stickers, and posters directing young people
to "Get Help-not a lecture" by logging on to a website (allteenhealth.com)
with information on adolescent health issues, where to get care and how to
pay for it. Research for the campaign 'included a media survey of 76 youth,
and focus groups to test messages and ads with 32 youth. The campaign also
includes Teen Issues, a weekly call-in show on Chicago Access Network
TV Channel 21. It airs most Tuesdays at 5.00pm and is hosted by two High school
student interns. Show topics include Teen Health issues, Where to get Help
and How to Pay for it, Boys' Health, Girls' Health, Piercing and Tattoos, STD's
and HIV, Teen Pregnancy, GLBTQ Youth, Smoking, Drugs and Alcohol, Health Care
for Athletes, Stress, Depression, and Suicide. We had tremendous success with
the IDHS in improving policies and programs for low income teen parents on
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and in contributing to national
advocacy on TANF reauthorization. After months of ongoing advocacy, IDHS staff
have made several policy changes 'including the elimination of a work requirement
for teen parents completing high school or a GED. With significant input from
the Caucus, they revised and published a new Teen Parent Services booklet explaining
the TANF and TPS programs. IDHS contracted with the Caucus for training and
technical assistance to implement our recommendations, including training of
IDHS caseworkers and local office administrators and Teen Parent Services case
managers. DHS also contracted Bunny Shupe to conduct pregnancy prevention training
across the state for IDHS grantees. With a grant from United Way we hired and
trained a small group of teen parents to inform other teens on the west side
of Chicago about their rights to access TANF and the Teen Parent Services programs.
2002
We launched the Allteenhealth. com website. Over 115 youth participated
through the planning of this media education tool. We partnered with Street
Level Youth Media (SLYM) to create this site that informs teens about adolescent
health information for parents and providers. Two HCC youth participated with
four youth from SLYM in development of the site, and acquired technology skills.
They now edit and maintain the site. Funding for the HCC project comes primarily
from the Chicago Community Trust and Polk Bros. Foundation. As co-chair of
the Illinois Consortium on Adolescent Pregnancy (ICAPP) Bunny Shupe
headed the recently completed statewide survey on comprehensive health education
in Illinois Schools. Its results will be ready in a few weeks. It was developed
with funds from the Illinois state Family Planning staff. We are looking forward
to releasing it. As chair of the 7th Congressional District Child Welfare Committee
for Congressman Danny K. Davis, Annetta Wilson attended the Congressional Black
Caucus Child Welfare Sub-committee Hearing in Corpus Christi, Texas in January,
representing the Caucus. Pamela Hunt from the Caucus/Sankofa was also present
as a Community Outreach Specialist. Annetta also moderated the same committee
in Chicago in July, dealing with the Civil Rights issues on children in the
child welfare system. In August she was co-moderator of the Congressional Black
Caucus Third Child Welfare Hearing in Greenwood, Mississippi. In September
she moderated a child welfare workshop in Chicago titled "There are No Disposable
Children". On October 1, she moderated a Teen Parent Summit, to discuss the
issue of recent infant deaths with a number of health workers. The information
was passed on to Congressman Davis.
You may contact the Caucus at:
Main Office
28 E. Jackson Blvd Ste 710
Chicago, IL 60604
Telephone 312-427-4460
icahil@aol.com
icah.org
allteenhealth.com
|
|