Volume XXVI, Number 28
Committed to cultural diversity.
July IQ, 1996
(Tbe ^ o rtla n b QDbserher
SECTION
B
Metropolitan
Meeting
The Regular meeting o f the Metro
politan Exposition-Recreation Com m is
sion (M E R C ) scheduled on Wednesday,
July 10, 1996 at 12:30 p in. has been
C ancelled and Rescheduled for M on
day, Ju ly 29, 1996 at the Oregon C o n
vention Center in Room C l 24, 777
Martin Luther K in g Jr. B lvd., Portland,
Oregon at 12:30 p in .
Sellwood Concert
The second o f three Sellwood C o n
certs in Westmoreland Park w ill feature
the Cutis Salgado/Terry Robb Quartet,
on Monday, July 15, at 6:30 p.m. Blues
fans w ill enjoy this close-up intimate
collaboration by twoofthe Pacific North
west’s favorite blues artists.
Sabin Community
Meeting
The Sabin Com m unity Development
Corporation is holding a community cel
ebration from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, July
13th, a, R o zly n ’s Garden Care, 1438
N .E. Alberta St. There w ill be food,
entertainment and information about re
vitalization projects being done by Sab
in C D C and other non-profit and volun
teer groups.
Alberta Corridor
Meeting
The Alberta Corridor Revitalization
Project w ill hold a community meeting
to discuss plans and projects for the street
and area at 7 p.m. Ju ly 17th at Northeast
15th Avenue and Alberta Street.
Seventh Annual
Homowo Festival
The Seventh Annual Homowo Festi
val for African Arts w ill be held on
Sunday, August 18th, beginning at I
p.m. in Cathedral Park in North Portland.
This African harvest festival is the larg
est culturally-based A frican /A frican -
American festival in the Northwest.
Cascade Head
Music Festival
Ju ly 13 & 14, Ju ly 20 & 21 Lincoln
C ity is privileged to be the locale for one
o f the most prestigious musical events
Oregon has to offer. Under the leader
ship o f Sergiu l .uca, renowned violinist
and Professor o f Music at Rice Univer
sity, this festival has brought together
musicians o f worldwide renown. Per
formances at St. Peter the Fisherman
Lutheran Church. 1226 SW 13th St.,
Lincoln C ity, O R . For questions please
contact Sandra Lamb, at 503-944-5333,
994-7760, or 994-4832.
S U B M IS S IO N S : Com m unity
Ca le n d a r inform ation will be given
priority if dated two weeks
before the event date.
bi
P rof . M< K im
m
For those who love tennis, Pennisula Park has a "Park and Pal’ program currently in progress this summer. It costs $5.00 to enroll. Tom Clark (center), with Gem
Stainbrook (left), and Paula Mckenzie are on hand to help.
C S D S e e k s F a m i ly T ie s
bi
P romise K im ,
dren in the state’s care and custody. And that
he inglorious days when Servic
plan, which is contracted out to a local con
es To Children And Families
sultant, is expected to be out this July. It will
(SCF) officials and way-ward par
contain recommendations for implementa
ents couldn't see eye to eye, except
tion in of the Kinship Care Program which is
court, are over.
designed specifically for Kinship Families.
T
Nowadays, the child-protective agency is
singing new pro-family blues that may baffle
it's most virulent critics and make some
parents giggle.
The agency has tuned down it's reaction
ary tirades, almost tilting to the point o f
cuddling families. It says it’s not prepared to
hand-drag any child out o f his or her imme
diate family environment. Th is does not mean
it's backsliding, rather the agency says it has
change it’s attitude and has discovered new
chemistry about taking care o f business.
The agency's director K a y, Toran, admit
ted to the Portland Observer last week that
new developments in fam ily based practice
have caused S C F to re-evaluate long held
assumptions about protecting children.
Toran says it's the primary responsibility
o f families, relatives, friends and natural
helpers in the community to protect children.
That means it'll now exhaust all fam ily chan
nels before considering other options.
“ I have heard the message o f kinship and
I have heard the complaints. I want to state we
do value family. And that’s why we are
designing programs to respond to that,” Toran
confided.
I he state agency is developing a plan that
w ill emphasize kinship placement o f ch il
I he agency is also experimenting with the
Strengths/Needs Service Planning. That is,
designing services forchildren and their fam
ilies through a process o f reaching agree
ments with families, other care-takers and
service providers. The process is focused on
the children's needs instead o f probing fam
ily deficiencies. It offers a way o f describing
needs in terms the fam ily can understand.
I he plan provides a single reference point for
designing services that w ill meet those needs
and for accountability for all service provid
ers working with the child and family.
I his pro-fam ily mood by the agency ap
parently stemmed from the recommenda
tions by a Work Group.
The Work Group, which was set up to
consider the concern raise by critics about the
plight o f Oregon children in foster care and
children at risk o f foster care placement,
recommends that the agency adopt an ap
proach to service delivery focusing on family
strengths.
It also recommends that children in foster
care should maintain connection with their
biological parents, if possible.
Implementation o f this recommendation
is already in force in four Metro Region
offices in Multnomah County, and other re-
Kay Toran
gional offices o f the S C F . The second ph
o f implementation o f the 18-page plan v
continue during the 1997-99 biennium ;
the process is to be completed in the y
2003.
“ We are changing the culture so tha
reflects family,” says Toran.
But critics say financial retrenchme
compounding families complex problemsi
presenting greater challenges for child w
fare practitioners.
“ More money is not the solution to ch
protection. We need to pull together as
community and set standard for our childn
We are genuinely committed on our part
help meet this needs," Torah proffered
H
O W CO ULD YO U NOT HAVE A JOB?
Bt
hi
'
the microphones, and just as the president
ou mean to say th a t you’re un
jo yfu lly exclaimed, “ Wages for American
employed? Or else you are go
workers are finally on the rise again ... we
ing to te ll me you are facing a
have the most solid American economy in a
layoff? Further, although ‘th e y ’ haven’t
generation” . Rushing out o f the woodwork
said anything yet at your plant, the main
like termites seeking to escape an extermina
production machinery is not being re
tor were dozens o f gloom and doom folks —
placed on the old schedule; and you
investors and financial analysts who declared,
think th a t ought to te ll you something?
“wages arc too high so employers w i 11 have to
Y
Surely you read last Saturday’s print me
dia or watched the tube with a rising surge o f
excitem ent: “ R o sy figu re s on jo b s ” --
“239,000 Jobs created in May alone” -- “Job
less rate lowest in 5 years (5.3 percent)” —
“ Average hourly earnings jum ped from
$ 11.73 in May to $ I 1.82 in June; the biggest
monthly increase on record" -- “ President
Clinton rushes out to the rose garden to
announce that ten m illion new jobs have been
added under his administration.”
But a strange thing happened on the way to
pay more to attract workers. That could lead
to inflation." The stock market promptly fell
114.88 points, meaning that investors lost
tens o f billions o f dollars.
So we say all o f that to say what? That the
economy is volatile, and things are very scary
out there? And that the American business
scene is a roller coaster ride where an ever-
increasing number o f workers dare not lock
into that old traditional debt structure — that
comfortable financial edifice which comfort
ably supported housing, automobiles and kid's
education over the span o f a generation?
We are saying all o f that and a lot more -
- to both job seekers as well as the concerned
“endangered species." First, let us take a look
at that “5.3 percent jobless rate -- the lowest
in 5 years." So you think that sounds good,
and it very well may be good news to some’
people. But that figure has a very familiar
ling to me -- ominous because it's accept
able."
It’s the figure that was first given for
“Structural Unemployment" -- the term de
scribing “that unemployment which results
because the composition o f the labor force
does not respond quickly orcompletely to the
new structure or demand. A s a result, some
workers find that they have no marketable
talents; their skills and experience have been
rendered obsolete and unwanted by changes
in technology and consumer demand” (E co
nomics. sixth edition, Campbell R. McConnel
p.193, Business Cycles; M cCraw H ill).
Now, understand that this jobless rate of
approximately 5.3 percent is considered a
permanent “cost-of-capitalism” by econo
mists, industry and political administrations.
In the best o f times they concede that this
niche w ill be occupied primarily by Blacks,
Hispanics, women and the partially disabled.
"And, 10, the poor shall always be with us,"
saith the Good Book.
It was about 1974 that the term 'structural
unemployment' became popular in the eco
nomic literature and though I was teaching a
class in Urban Economics at the time at
Portland State University, I decided to si, in
on the schools more ‘establishment-orient
ed' “ Economics- 101." You can picture the
red-faced instructor, when in the middle o f a
smug explanation o f the “acceptable racial
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Continued to page A4
Urban League
Free Summer
Youth Programs
Long summer days passing you by with
nothing to do? The Urban League o f Port
land is offering four exciting free pro
grams to youth and their parents geared
towards enhancing academic achievement
and having fun! Slots are still open in each
o f the programs, but are tilling up fast so
sign-up today!
Is your child interested in science, math
and hands on learning? '! lie Urban E cosys
tems Project is designed to increase the
ability and motivation o f all students in
grades 6-8 to reach high academic perfor
mance standards through hands on learn
ing projects. The project is a partnership
between the Urban League, math, science
and social studies content. The Urban E c
osystems curriculum w ill include topic
investigations, content focus, integrated
mathematics and science, in-depth projects,
writing, computer lab. field trips and much
more! The 18 day summer program runs
from July 8 to July 26 and is located at the
Northeast Community School at 44 N E
Morris. The project operates from 9:00
a.m.to3:00p.m. Monday Through Friday.
Lunch is provided free for all participants
The program is open to all middle school
students currently attending Portland Pub
lic Schools. Though the program has al
ready begun, slots are still open. T o regis
ter call Josephine Hayes at the Urban
League at 280-2647,
Is your child interested in computers?
This summer the Urban I .eague is offering
the Manufacturing Technology Laborato
ry Program to engage area youth in com
puter technologies and learning. Students
in the program will learn how to use a
computeraided manufacturing design pro
gram and will be able to create the design
that they generate. The one day program is
an excellent opportunity for young people
to build their computer skills while engag
ing in a creative project. The program is
open to high school and middle school age
students. Classes begin August 12 and end
August 16. To register please cal I Cauldeen
Anderson a, 280-2613.
Looking to enhance your child's read
ing skills? The Summer Reading Enrich
ment Program is for elementary school
students interested in enhancing their read- 1
ing and comprehension skills. The pro
gram begins August 19.
1