OCT. 14,1998
----------------------- ----------------------— (The JJortlanb ©bserurr
Raising A Healthy Child
By M arian W right E dei . man
E lev en m illio n c h ild re n in
America are not covered by health
insurance. One in five uninsured
children are Black -- that’s about
2.2 million children, and 19.1% o f
all Black children had no health
insurance in 1996. If your child is
not covered by health insurance or
Medicaid, or if you know such a
child, I have important information
for you.
T h an k s to th e new sta te
Children’s Health Insurance Pro­
gram, children have the opportunity
to receive the medical coverage that
will ensure their healthy devel­
opment and their ability to
reach their full potential.
However, it’s important
that you know that children
will not receive health cov­
erage through this new pro­
gram automatically. Parents
m u st
apply for it. A lot
o
f
p a r­
e n ts
d o n ’t
know
about
this yet,
and th ey
don’t know
where to go to
apply or get in­
formation. It’s going to take action
by concerned neighbors, commu­
nity leaders, and child advocates to
make sure children and families get
the help they need. H ere’s what you
need to know about how to proceed.
The CHIP program is designed
to help children in families with
incomes too high to qual i fy for Med­
icaid but too low to afford family
coverage. It is the most significant
funding increase for children’s
health since Medicaid was enacted
c Oregon
by Congress in 1965. The program
provides $4 billion a year in grants
for states to cover this coverage.
In most states, a working family
o f four earning up to $32,900 a year
would qualify. In most states, chil­
dren will receive hospital care, regu­
lar check-ups, immunizations, eye­
glasses, doctor visits, and prescrip­
tion drug coverage.
Each state program has its own
name, eligibility require­
ments, and range o f
benefits, and you’ll
need to call your
state to find
out how to apply. If you have a
computer or can use one at your
local library, you can visit the
Children’s Defense Fund’s Web site
at www.childrensdefense.org and
you’ 11 be able to get the phone num­
ber to call in your state as well as
details about the benefits and costs
o f your state’s program and what
you need to do to apply, as well as a
flyer on yourstate’s CHIP program.
If you don’t have access to a com­
puter, you can call us toll-free at 1-
8OO-CDF-12OO and press option 2.
Leave a message including your
name, organization, address, phone
and fax numbers, and the state you
need to know about, and we will mail
or fax you the information.
Please help to spread the word
about this free or low-cost health
insurance for children. Tell your
friends and neighbors about the
Children’s Health Insurance Pro­
gram. Youcouldpost flyers about
it in child care centers and
schools, and insert flyers in your
communitygroup’sorchurch’s
bulletins, newsletters, and other
publications.
Families should not have
to worry about whether they
can afford to keep their
children’s im m uniza­
tions up to date, whether
they can afford check­
ups and prescriptions, or
whether a child’s ear in­
fection or vision prob­
lems are “bad enough”
to get attended to.
Unfortunately, not all
children who need it will
be covered by this pro­
gram, but we ’ re going to
keep working with law­
makers and policy mak­
ers in Washington and
around the country until
every one o f the 11 million uninsured
children in A m erica can have ac­
cess to the care they need. M ean­
w hile, please m ake sure to apply
as soon as possible if your fam ily
needs this insurance, and let oth­
ers know about it too. T ogether we
can try to make sure that every
child in this rich country gets the
m edical care and H ealthy Start in
life that he or she needs and de­
serves.
Check out our Wtje ^ortlanh (©bseruer Web-Site!
http : //PortlandObserver. net
i
by
K ittie S outhern
A m om ent com es in a p e rso n ’s
life that if reco g n iz e d , changes
that life forever. M y husband
L loyd and I had such a m om ent.
E lev en y e a rs ago o u r then
teen-age d au g h ter bro u g h t home
a frie n d . A s w e b e c a m e a c ­
quain ted w ith this young girl,
we learn ed o f a trag ic hom e life
filled w ith abuse and neglect.
We opened our h earts and hom e
to her. T his w as the beginning
o f our fo ste r p a re n tin g jo u rn ey .
For m ore than a decade our
hom e has been a safe haven for
142 o f O re g o n ’s c h ild re n and
teen-agers. W e have provided
care to m ostly tee n -a g e g irls b e­
cause th at is w hat w e are used
to. W e have tw o ad u lt dau g h ters
o f our ow n. T een -ag ers are also
som e o f the m ore ch allen g in g
foster care p lacem en ts to m ake.
These kids carry a lot m ore em o­
tional baggage and have m ore
issues to w ork through.
P aren tin g our c h ild re n , ho w ­
ever, d id n ’t a u to m a tic a lly p re ­
pare us for the needs o f som e o f
the c h ild re n p laced in o u r hom e.
W hile fo ster p a re n ts are w illing
to give o f them selves and are
c o m p assio n ate and u n d e rsta n d ­
ing people, the children they care
for have hurts th a t a hug or kind
w ord c a n ’t heal.
I have specialized training in
w orking w ith ch ildren exposed
to cults, drug and alcohol abuse,
and sex abuse. O ther fo ste r p a r­
ents have exp ertise in carin g for
c h ild re n w ith sp e c ia l m edical
n eeds, in fan ts or sib lin g groups.
W hen 1 look back at the past
years and the ch ild re n who have
com e into our lives, I recall suc­
cesses and failures. A t one point
in my life, I realized th a t I could
not save every child w ho cam e to
live w ith us. T here w ere tim es
w hen a placem en t d id n ’t w ork
out.
T here w as a recen t placem ent
th at is not only w orking w ell but
w ill w ork out for the long run.
W e are ad o pting a c h ild who
cam e to us as a fo ster care p la c e ­
m ent about 18 m onths ago.
F o ste r p aren tin g takes a lot o f
p atien ce, focus and energy. If
you w ait for a thank you, it may
n o t com e W hat keeps me going
year a fte r year are the m ilestones
- w atching a child m ake the honor
roll for the first tim e, a senior
grad u atin g from high school and
a freshm an going o ff to college.
1 d o n ’t possess any m agic that
can help turn around these young
lives assigned to me nor do I
have a lot o f pro fo u n d advice for
w ould-be fo ster parents. I speak
only from my experience. I have
seen first hand how a safe and
h ealth y hom e n u rtures the m ind,
body and sp irit o f a child. C h il­
dren o f all ages and in all stages
o f life deserve a good hom e and
som eone to care for them .
T here are m ore than 6,000 O r­
egon children in the foster care
system and about 3,400 c e rtifie d
fo ster care parents. O regon needs
m ore. I f you or som eone you
know is in terested in becom ing a
fo ster care paren t, I w ould su g ­
gest a respite care placem ent. For
exam ple, open yo u r hom e to a
ch ild or a sibling group for a
w eekend. The experience m ay be
the beg in n in g o f your ow n jo u r ­
ney as a fo ster care parent. E i­
th er w ay, the experien ce w ill e n ­
rich your ow n life and that o f a
child.
F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n a b o u t
becom ing a fo ste r c a re p a re n t,
c a ll 1 .8 0 0 .3 3 1 .0 5 0 3 . K it t i e
S o u th e rn of C la c k a m a s C o u n ty
is one of the fo u n d e rs of th e O r ­
egon F o ster P a re n t A ssociation.
D
The Living Room
Project
HEAT
Grant will expand fund raising
program for low income bill pay­
ment assistance
Portland General Electric (PGE)
presented a $50,000 grant today to
Oregon HEAT, an independent, non­
profit organization dedicated to rais­
ing funds to help families in need pay
their bill during the cold winter
months. Oregon HEAT will use the
grant to implement a comprehensive
two-year fund raising campaign.
This winter marks the seventh year
PGE will work with Oregon HEAT
to meet the needs of families in crisis
due to unemployment, accidents,
sickness and other unforeseen cir­
cumstances. The grant is in addition
to the annual support PGE gives the
Oregon HEAT program, which in­
cludes an annual cash contribution of
$43,000 plus a significant amount o f
in-kind services, such as office space
and fund raising assistance through
bill inserts and public relations sup­
port.
“When PGE merged with Enron,
we made a commitment to the people
o f Oregon to maintain our local pres­
ence in the community and continue
our support o f families in need,” says
A1 Alex Anderson, PGE senior vice
president. “By investing in Oregon
HEAT’s long-term stability, w e're
able to help thousands of Oregonians
stay warm for many winters to come.”
PGE is a wholly-owned subsid­
iary o f E nron C orp., one o f the
w o rld ’s leading integrated elec­
tricity and natural gas com panies.
PGE is the single largest distrib u ­
tor o f O reg o n ’s electrical energy
needs in one o f the fastest grow ing
econom ies in the nation. As a fully
in te g ra te d u tility , PGE serv es
nearly 700,000 residential, com ­
m ercial and industrial custom ers
in northw est O regon.
Safe Passages: A
Foster M o m ’s Story
by
M eg R owe
A s an a rtis t, e d u c a to r an d a c ­
tiv is t, I find m y s e lf c o n tin u a lly
q u e stio n in g and in v e stig a tin g :
m a te ria ls a n d p ro c e sse s; h is ­
to ric a l re fe re n c e s ; the issu e s o f
co n c e rn in m y c o m m u n ity . In
th e ca se o f th is p ro je c t I a sk e d ,
w h at h a p p e n s if I in v ite y o u th
w ho
a re
a ffe c te d
by
h o m e le ssn e ss to w ork w ith a
c o n c e p t: P io n e e r S q u are as the
“ c ity ’s liv in g ro o m ” and p ro ­
v id e them w ith som e raw m a te ­
rials: d isc a rd e d o b je c ts from the
s tre e ts , som e to o ls an d som e
te c h n ic a l in fo rm a tio n ? T he o u t­
com e e x c e e d e d all my e x p e c ta ­
t i o n s . T h e s e y o u n g p e o p le
w o rk e d w ith d e d ic a tio n and
p e rs is te n c e .T h e y not o n ly d e m ­
o n s tra te d an in v e n tiv e se n se o f
d e sig n ; but a lso an a b ility to
so lv e p ro b le m s c re a tiv e ly ; to
c o lla b o ra te w ith e a c h o th e r and
h av e a good tim e . M o st s ig n if i­
c a n tly , th e y re v e a le d a s o p h is ­
tic a te d u n d e r s ta n d in g o f the
p o te n tia l th is p r o je c t h a s to
reach the p u b lic w ith m e ssa g e
o f a ffirm a tio n fo r th e ir liv e s,
th e ir n e e d s, th e ir d re a m s.
T his p ro je c t w o u ld n o t have
b een p o ssib le w ith o u t the sp o n ­
so rsh ip o f O u tsid e In, S o c io ­
m edical C are C en ter. T h e ir sta ff
and v o lu n te e rs o p e n e d c o u n t­
less doors fo r m e to m ak e c o n ­
n e c tio n s w ith th e y o u n g p e o p le
in v o lv e d in th is p r o j e c t . I
learn ed volum es from them . The
o th e r te a c h e rs in th is e n d e a v o r
a re th e y o u th th e m s e lv e s . I
th a n k all o f you w ho sh a re d a
p a rt o f y o u r liv e s w ith m e; you
ta u g h t m e s o m e th in g a b o u t
c o u ra g e and p e r s is te n c e and
dream in g .
Just think; Your son
is b rig h t, h e a lth y
a n d h e a d e d fo r
college one day You
love the direction your
career has taken. You're doing a lot of the things you planned
and even a few you didn't Living life to the fullest is easy when
you have family behind yo u American Family Insurance. Call
Interfaith Children’s
Sabbath Celebration
O n O c t o b e r 18 a P o r t ­
la n d I n t e r f a i t h c o a l i t i o n
w ill jo in th o u s a n d s o f
c o n g r e g a t i o n s in O r e g o n
a n d a c r o s s A m e r ic a in c e l ­
e b r a t i n g th e s e v e n t h a n ­
n u al N a tio n a l O b s e rv a n c e
o f C h ild r e n ’ s S a b b a th .
D e s i g n e d to r e a f f i r m th e
c o m m itm e n t o f p e o p le o f
f a i t h to o u r c h i l d r e n a n d
to f o c u s n a t i o n a l a t t e n t i o n
o n c h i l d r e n , t h i s y e a r 's
lo c a l e v e n t w i l l f o c u s on
s t r e n g t h e n i n g a s s e t s in th e
liv e s o f y o u n g p e o p le .
T h e P o rtla n d a re a I n te r ­
f a ith C e l e b r a t i o n w ill ta k e
p la c e O c to b e r 18, 3 :0 0
p m , a t W o o d la w n U n ite d
M e th o d is t C h u rc h (1 4 2 5
N E D e k u m S t ). T h e w o r ­
s h ip s e r v i c e w i l l f e a t u r e
re fle c tio n s
by
young
p e o p le fro m o u r c o m m u ­
n i t y . c h i l d r e n ’ s m u s ic a n d
in fo rm a tio n a b o u t o p p o r ­
tu n itie s a v a ila b le fo r c o n ­
g re g a tio n s and in d iv id u ­
a l s . T h e r e w ill b e r e f r e s h ­
m e n ts f o l l o w i n g th e w o r ­
s h ip s e r v i c e .
and talk to one o f our helpful, friendly agents. You'll find out
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insurance rating authority Then, go on. Dream. Plan. What you
do next is up to you and we'll be here to help you.
u have family behind you.
All Your Protection Under One Roof.
âæsüasal.ô
AllW HOMI M S W S S HfAiTH ZfF
American Family Mutual Insurance Company and Subsidiaries. Madison, Wisconsin 53783-0001 i*ww amtam com