Hey Ladies! So I had been planning all week to write about the issues of teen mothers and their families, but the presentation this morning on teen violence really struck me as an interesting topic for discussion. I found an two articles from California newspapers talking about the recent issues in teen dating outreach programs and what the state is doing to help.
Both articles discuss the fact that the state of California has recently cut funding for its outreach programs as a part of statewide budget cuts going on. This cut in funding has severely affected the ability of these programs to reach high schools and the student population in general, where they do most of their presentations and outreach work. CORA, the Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse, is the country's only organization specifically designed to help all people dealing with relationship abuse. Untill the recent budget cuts, CORA had an impressive teen outreach program within it, complete with chat rooms and live forums for teens who have been abused or suspect that they are in danger to meet safely and discuss their issues. In essence, this program no longer exists due to the budget cuts, which cut CORA's funding by $400,000. In fact, the entire program has been greatly affected by this cut, which dramatically reduced their ability to reach out to schools and the community as well. All or most prevention-based assistance has been put on hold, with any curent funding going directly to emergency services and housing.
Perhaps to combat the lack of funding lately, more effort has been made on a statewide level to show support for victims of abuse and to get the word out about teen abuse in general. Selectwomen Susan Bonilla and Fiona Ma of California have declared February as "Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month" in an attempt to help get the message out. Selectwoman Ma is quoted as saying "State and Federal funding for youth violence prevention has dried up, however we must not turn a blind eye to unhealthy adolescent behavior. Now more than ever our state needs new innovative programs and role models to promote healthy relationships that don't rely on state funding."
I was really shocked by the lack of concern the state of California was showing for the outreach programs in general and this one for teens specifically. Do you find it surprising that state funding for this program is so hard to find? Do you think that the Selectwomens' attempts at a non-state funded program will be successful? Why or why not? Below are my sources. :)
www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_17467802?nclick_check=1
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/incontracosta/detail?entry_id=84129
~Megan Moore~
This is a great article Megan and I have never really realized the funding is low! I definitely like the “Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month” idea to spread the message about what is going on. I also agree that you don’t really hear much about teen violence issues and raising awareness. This is happening more and more in today’s society and something needs to be done. I have personally heard more cases of this since attending Mizzou. I don’t find it surprising that state funding for this program is so hard to find, because we obliviously have not seen or heard much from this, so therefore the funding is poor.
ReplyDeleteMolly Ewigman
Nice Post! Before this post I have neglected the fact that funding plays a major part in how organizations are formed. I would agree as well that you rarely hear about the issue of teen violence and this is largely due to the fact that most teens are embarrassed to report or share the stories. I do not find it surprising that state funding for such a program like CORA has failed because many believe that abuse is a lawful issue and should be dealt with by the police. Many also believe that even with participation in such a program many teens will continue to see their abuser making the program a waste. I believe that the Selectswomens' attempts at non-state funding could possibly be successful, however it will be very difficult because as earlier mentioned many will see this as a crime dispute/issue.
ReplyDelete-Tiffany Williamson
I think this article was beneficial for a lot of reasons; one being that it puts attention on the fact that funding for such an important cause is being cut off. This does not surprise me being that there is a lot of efforts in california to stop the gang violence there, they probably feel like they can kill two birds with one stone if they tackle both of them through gang violence. Another reason why this does not surprise me is because there has never been any real attention given to the subject in the first place which is sad to say but true. It is a hard job to console and counsel these battered teens and it takes a lot to make them see that they are in a situation they need to leave. If possible, I think that attempts to fund at non-state levels could be successful if they can get good sponsors.
ReplyDeletepost above by Seqwinya Stevens
ReplyDeleteGreat post. This kind of information needs to be brought to light more because it IS important and it should be getting more priority. I don't think it's surprising that these sort of organizations aren't getting the funding they deserve because they aren't being seen for the most part. Being on a college campus, these groups are talked about and are the information about these groups are being integrated into classes, but if you don't live on campus or you aren't in college, how are you supposed to know about these organizations? When it comes to any kind of government funding, I believe what it comes down to is how popular the organization is and how many people know about it. Also, it is put into the hands of the officials making the decisions and if they don't personally find it important, then the funding is lost and it's as simple as that. Also, there is a lot more emphasis put on domestic violence within married adult couples rather than teenage couples. It is taken more seriously I guess because people assume that it is more common in married couples since we hear about it more. So the funding is probably going to organizations that focus on domestic violence. I hope that the non-state funded program would be successful but I'm not sure how it would be unless you have people donating a lot of money to them, which I'm just not convinced would happen.
ReplyDelete-Rachel Mitts