Un programa que proporciona beneficios alimentarios a los niños durante el verano aún necesita la aprobación de fondos de la Legislatura de Oregon. El estado ya aprobó el programa Summer EBT, pero debe aceptar pagar la mitad de los costos administrativos para poder tener acceso a fondos federales. Este programa ayudaría a las familias de casi 300,000 niños a recibir unos 40 dólares mensuales en alimentos durante el verano.

Charlie Krouse, de Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, afirma que el hambre infantil aumenta durante los meses de verano.

"Cuando se les alimenta durante todo el curso escolar y tienen acceso a comidas durante todo el curso, es justo que tengan también acceso a alimentos durante el verano," dice Krouse. "Su nivel de ingresos no cambia drásticamente en verano; siguen necesitando acceso a ayudas y acceso a alimentos."

Krouse dice que ha habido llamados bipartidistas para financiar el programa. El estado tendría acceso a unos $35 millones de dólares al año del gobierno federal para beneficios. Está previsto que la sesión legislativa finalice el 10 de marzo.

Matt Newell-Ching, del Banco de Alimentos de Oregon, afirma que las prestaciones EBT de verano serían especialmente útiles para las familias de las zonas rurales.

"Aunque nos encantan y somos grandes defensores de los sitios de comidas de verano, también sabemos que muchos de ellos son inaccesibles," asegura Krouse, "por lo que este nuevo programa fue concebido específicamente para abordar brechas como esa."

Newell-Ching asegura que todo lo demás está listo, sólo falta la última pieza de los legisladores.

"Garantizar que Oregon contribuya con su parte de los fondos administrativos hace que todo esto suceda y se construya sobre esa base, agrega Krouse. "Entonces, básicamente estamos pidiendo a los legisladores que hagan lo correcto para 294,000 niños, que se aseguren de que haya fondos, para que podamos lograr que esto llegue a la meta y los niños puedan obtener el apoyo durante el verano."

October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a recent study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about life prospects.

The study, published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence found students who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about both academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.

Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.

"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."

Maryland requires county boards of education to track and report on bullying. This year's report showed there were more than 7,800 incidences of bullying reported during the 2022-23 school year, an increase of 25% over the year prior.

Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Earlier research showed relational victimization had negative effects on elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also an educational priority.

"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence based large scale school interventions for bullying."

Maryland's State Department of Education adopted a model policy to address bullying, harassment and intimidation in 2009 and has updated it in the years since. Last year the department began offering an online introduction to bullying prevention for educators.


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October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a new study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about their future.

Researchers found adolescents who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.

Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.

"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."

The study began with more than 300 9th graders at 38 different high schools across Michigan. Students completed online surveys multiple times per year over three years.

Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Prior research established relational victimization affected elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also as an educational priority.

"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti-bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence-based large-scale school interventions for bullying."

She added it is important to have strong communication between researchers, policymakers and administrators to address bullying so it is not too burdensome for schools and is backed by what researchers have learned.

The biannual Pro-Kid Scorecard from the Children Now Action Fund was released today.

In it, 12 state Assembly members and seven state Senators earned a 100% rating.

Kelly Hardy, senior managing director of health and research at the nonprofit Children Now Action Fund, said the scoring reflects more than how lawmakers vote.

"They voted the right way on health and child welfare, child care, education," Hardy outlined. "They also supported kids in the budget, which is not always an easy thing to do when we've got budget deficits."

The lowest scores hovered around 48%, awarded to lawmakers who voted against certain bills but also voted for proposals like forced outing policies for LGBTQ+ students in schools.

Hardy noted the report is intended to inform voters as they head to the ballot box next month.

"Kids may not vote but we want to elect legislators who do their best to support kids," Hardy explained.

California ranks 35th in the nation for child well-being, according to the latest Annie E. Casey Foundation report and is just above the national average for per-pupil spending on K-12 education.