U«»,1 •t . * • • • • * • • • * '• .’ ’ • • '* t 4 r n > i \ « i i> « w i " i , i M - • . • ‘ . * ' , ... .................. m September 22, 1999 (Tlje lîorU anfc ©bsewer P age A 5 Fred Meyer Donates To Help Educate Homeless Children Do you ev er w o n d er w hat h ap ­ pens to ch ild ren o f hom eless fam i­ lies in P ortlan d w hen other stu ­ dents return to school? For the lucky ones, the answ er is the C om m unity T ra n s itio n a l S c h o o l, w h ic h is $ 14,050 rich er after a donation by Fred M eyer S tores to help educate hom eless children. T he m oney co m es from a p ro ­ g ram h eld a t F red M e y er sto res in M ay w h en m oney ra ise d from m e rc h an d isin g P&G p ro d u cts w as e a rm a rk e d for a P o rtla n d c h a rity an d th e sc h o o l w as su b se q u e n tly ch o sen. T he m ission o f the C om m unity T ran sitio n al School is to provide an alternative school for at-risk chil­ d ren from hom eless fam ilies w ho are unable to overcom e the barriers p reventing them from regularly a t­ ten d ing school. “ U nlike other kids, these stu ­ dents o ften com e to school w ithout w arm coats, shoes, o r a full sto m ­ ac h ,” C heryl B ickle, executive d i­ rec to r o f the school, said. “ B ut for six hours every day they are w arm and safe. T heir b ellies are full. And they have the o p p o rtu n ity to feel like typical ch ild ren w ith out the heavy burdens o f h o m elessn ess.” T he schoo l p ro v id es door-to- d o o r tran sp o rta tio n from sh elters, fam ily cars, and o th e r transient locations to the classro o m s housed at th e fo rm e r R ice E le m en ta ry S c h o o l b u ild in g at 6 4 3 3 N .E . T illam o o k . “ E v ery m o rn in g we have to so rt th ro u g h d o zen s o f m essages to find o ut w h ere to pick up the ch ild ren w h o se fam ilies have had to m ove d u rin g the night. It is h ea rten in g to see so m any p aren ts w ho are stru g g lin g so hard to find food an d sh e lte r also m ak ­ ing the ex tra e ffo rt to h elp th eir ch ild ren atten d sch o o l. The one constant in the lives o f so m any o f these children is their visit each day to the Transitional School." T he school p ro v id es p re-sch o o l through 8th grade classes for m ore than 300 students a year. It also provides breakfast and lunch, m edi­ cal and dental screenings, clo th in g , shoes, and school supplies. "O u r e m p h asis is on th e b a ­ sics. T h ese c h ild re n c a n n o t d e ­ v elo p se lf-e ste e m u n til th e y su c ­ ce ed in th e ir sch o o l w o rk ,” B ick le said . "W h ile th e y are w ith u s, w e b e lie v e , o u r g re a te st o p p o rtu n ity is to in sp ire th em w ith a d e s ire to learn an d in still a c o n fid e n c e in th e ir a b ilitie s to re a liz e th e ir ow n d ream s. F o r so m e , w e o p en a d o o r in to a w o rld th e y h ard ly k n ew e x iste d .” The S chool started in 1990 at the Y W C A in d ow ntow n P ortland. In the fall o f 1996, they m oved to th eir p resen t location and in 1998 form ed an in dependent n onprofit organization. Fred M eyer has been h ea d q u ar­ tered in P o rtland since 1922 and fea tu re s 135 o n e -sto p -sh o p p in g sto res in six w estern states. It is part o f T he K ro g er Co. (N Y SE: K R), w hich is the n a tio n ’s largest food retailer. New Federal And State Laws Designed To Move More Children Into Safe Homes In Less Time B y R amona F oley A dministrator of thf S tate O ffice for S ervices to C hildren and F amilies When I began child welfare work in the late 1960s in SouthCarelina, I quickly learned three “rules” about practice: • Foster parents and foster children are not to bond with each other when the children are living in the foster home. If there are signs o f bonding, we must place the child in another home. Foster parents m ay not adopt the children placed in their home. • Upon entering toster care, children may not see their birth parents until the children have “settled in." That is, they are not to be made distraught by a visit from their birth parents. • W e have com e a long w ay since the 1960s practice o f child welfare. Each o f these practices is 180 degrees from w here we are now. Foster parents are encouraged to bond and often adopt children in their care. A nd w ith few exceptions, visitation w ith birth fam ilies needs to happen as soon as possible after children are placed in care. Now, federal law says w hen the child has been in foster care for 15 o f the m ost recent 22 months, we will begin w orking with the courts and with other agencies to ensure perm a­ nency for the child through some other plan. W hile there may be exceptions, the law ’s intent is to discourage the practice o f allowing children to re­ main in foster care indefinitely. ASFA has the potential to im ­ prove child w elfare practice because it stresses the safety, perm anency and w ell-being o f the child and holds child protective system s accountable for actions and outcomes. W hen child protective service workers intervene, we may alter fami­ lies forever. W e m ust strive to have a system that ensures that fam ilies are better o ff as a result o f the state’s intervention - safer, stronger and better able to care for their children. And while we are focusing on the child's safety, we must respect the val­ ues o f the family and o f the community. If w e do have to rem ove a child from the hom e to ensure his or her safety, we m ust be accountable for this action. ASFA will help us to set clear guidelines and time frames for returning a child hom e or for estab­ lishing another perm anent plan. As head o f the state’s child pro­ tective system , I w ant our division to be a true partner to other fam ily ser­ vice agencies and to be well respected in every com m unity. Finally, I believe we will have suc­ ceeded when we have achildprotective system in which we ourselves would have confidence if the system were called upon to serve our own families. p a p a ftlurphtf/ The finish line at, this y ea r’s P ortland R ace for the C ure ® event featured a uniq u e added attraction: a 10 X 10 M isting M assage Tent to help p articip an ts cool dow n and relax as they finished the Race. The M isting tent is a special “ thank you" to su p p o rters in the fight against breast can cer from T eledyne W a­ ter P ik, the e v e n t's local presenting sponsor. T he M ist T ent featured T eledyne W ater P ik ’s new est inno­ v atio n , the M istin g M assag e ® show er head, w hich gave R ace par­ ticipants a sneak preview into a w hole new sh o w erin g experience. The Race for the C ure event took place at W aterfront Park, Saturday, Sept. 19, 1999. TAKE N BAKE PIZZA PEPPERON . PIZZA O n 1 5 t h & F re m o n t! 4 1 S t & F rem o n t 7 1 s t & F rem o n t 503-281-6833 503-287-5520 m A Look For Y o u r S afew ay W e e k ly I Shopping G u id e ì I ■ 5 m TilhnMw* lillatniMÀ Baby Loaf < î r ; i In Y o u r O re g o n ia n F O O D d a y in th e P ortland M e tro Area Beef N ew York Strip Steak Bone-In. Safeway Club Pack. 5Ä (¿he SAVE up to $2.01 lb. Visit Safeways Web site at www.safeway.com Mon ] n Wed 22 Thut 2 3 Tillamook Cheese 0 BuyWgaSeW 2.98 Assorted vaneties. Exdudes Sharp Cheddar. Limit 1. lb. SAVE up to $2.52 Golden Ripe Bananas Del Monte. SAVE up to 41 < l>. PROS EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1W Sun CLUB PACK Frt 24 Sat •nt A petei *«•■»*» «re ***** it mm * totd 3.77 Safeway Club Price 4,s1 Safeway Club Price 2 S ÌÌ DIVERSITY Valid through Oct 1999 OPENING IN NOVEMBE F O O D & DRUG COMMUNITY ( a ll 5 1 U -2 X X -O O .V Thousands Of Participants ‘Cool O ff At Portland Komen Race For The Cure Event H0HTEKY IK K CHEESE at Safeway. (Ohsevuer Tualatin High School Dance Team show their support by participating In the “Race For the Cure” Sunday at Portland’s Waterfront Park. The event has grown each year. Approximately 4 0 ,0 0 0 participated this year. L to R Daniela Balboa, Rachael Shindel, Sirena Mlkesell, Aubrey Buek, Chelsea Hightower, Amalia Lucas, Lorlssa Hoffman, Kristina Neufer. Photo b » M w .»hin