March-June, 1999
Have We Forgotten Our Future?
Experts Warn Neglect of Our Children's Unmet Needs Dooms Them - And Us -
To a Destiny of Violence and Despair
The April 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, drove home the harsh reality that despite the best toys money can buy, many of our nation's children lack the essential elements of a stable and secure youth. Beyond our borders the lives of children are even more imperiled. Hundreds of millions are ill-housed, ill-fed, and illiterate. Many are forced to work or fight in wars before they can even write their names.
The first victims of our misplaced priorities are the children themselves, but ultimately we all become victims. Today's abused or neglected child is tomorrow's angry, antisocial adult, unable to care for others because no one cared for him.
Fortunately, the news about children isn't all bad. Thousands of organizations across the country are addressing the unmet needs of children. In our Kids in Crisis campaign, the Mainstream Media Project brought to the airwaves the nation's leading experts on the most crucial issues affecting kids today.
We scheduled and completed 310 interviews, 50 of them nationally or globally syndicated. Sixty-three authorities from nearly five dozen organizations participated along with 28 local experts. They addressed an extraordinarily wide spectrum of topics, from children in poverty to child soldiers, from the crisis in health care to the impacts of media violence on children.
As policymakers, the media, and the public searched for explanations for the seemingly inexplicable tragedy, the Mainstream Media Project had authorities who could frame the issue in a larger context, analyze the roles of media violence, parental and educational neglect, and other factors. We also featured organizations that are teaching children conflict resolution skills through school and community-based programs.
Guest Speakers by Topic
Children and Violence: Growing Up Scared
Susan Goldberg, Public Policy Associate, National Network for Youth
Della Hughes, Executive Director, National Network for Youth
Marc Klaas, Founder and Director, KlaasKids Foundation
Media Impacts: What Nightmares Are We Giving Our Children?
George Gerbner, Founder, Cultural Environment Movement; Former Director, Annenberg School of Communications
Laurie Trotta, Executive Director, Mediascope
David Walsh, Director, Institute on Media and the Family
Education: Teach Your Children Well
Bob Chase, President, National Education Association
Larry Dieringer, Executive Director, Educators for Social Responsibility
Linda Lantieri, Founder and Director, Resolving Conflict Creatively Program
Allan Shedlin, Author; Founder, National Elementary School Center; Expert on Fathering
Steve Wollmer, Spokesperson, National Education Association
Jaime Zapata, Associate Director for Public Affairs, National Association for Bilingual Education
Abuse and Neglect: Families Under Stress
Lynda Arnold, Children's Welfare League of America
Lynette Engelhardt, Children's Welfare League of America
David Levy, President, Co-Founder, Children's Rights Council
David Liederman, Co-Founder and President, Child Welfare League of America
Michael Petit, Deputy Director, Child Welfare League of America
Karabelle Pizzigati, Director of Public Policy, Child Welfare League of America
Daycare and After-School Care: Where to Go? What to Do?
Jonah Edelman, Executive Director, Stand for Children
Laura Faer, Director of Communications, Stand for Children
Carmelita Gallo, Director of Program and Product Development, YMCA
Pat King, Coordinator, Stand for Children
Eliza Leighton, Deputy Director, Stand for Children
Gail Schleuning, Stand for Children
Judy Smith, 1999 Event Organizer, Stand for Children Day
Juvenile Justice: How Should We Treat Kids Who Commit Crimes?
Marc Schindler, Staff Attorney, Youth Law Center
Vincent Schiraldi, Director, Justice Policy Institute
Mark Soler, President, Youth Law Center
Jason Ziedenberg, Staff Attorney, Justice Policy Center
Growing Healthy Kids: Getting It Right
Peter Benson, President, Search Institute
Carol Heaslip, Founder and Director, Tiffany's Garden For Children
Heather Johnston Nicholson, Director of Research, Girls Incorporated
Health Insurance and Medical Care: Healthy Kids, Healthy Future
Joel Alpert, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
Jane Aronson, American Academy of Pediatrics
Dennis Harper, President, American Academy for Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine
Ron Pollack, Executive Director, Families USA
Environmental Issues: The Greening of Education
Jane Goodall, Famed naturalist and children's advocate; Jane Goodall Institute
Mike Weddle, Roots & Shoots Program, Jane Goodall Institute
Marcia Whitney, Deputy Director, Roots & Shoots Program, Jane Goodall Institute
Child Labor: Who's Doing the Work?
Darlene Adkins, Coordinator, Child Labor Coalition (National Consumers League)
Children in Poverty: Falling Through the Cracks
J. Lawrence Aber, President, National Center for Children in Poverty
Donna Cohen Ross, Director of Outreach, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
Hunger and Malnutrition: Starvation in a Land of Plenty
Lynn Parker, Director of Nutrition Policy, Food Research Action Center
Kim Posich, Managing Director, RESULTS
Leah Rogne, Domestic Grassroots Organizer, RESULTS
Jim Weill, President, Food Research Action Center; Former Chief Counsel, Children's Defense Fund
Global Issues Affecting Children
Children in the New Millennium: Meeting the Year 2000 Goals
Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF; former Director, Peace Corps
Peter Crowley, Senior Program Officer for Children's Rights, UNICEF
Jennifer Klot, Policy Advisor, UNICEF
Charles Lyons, President, U.S. Committee for UNICEF
Child Labor: Who's Tending the Shop?
Linda Golodner, President, Child Labor Coalition (National Consumers League)
Child Soldiers: Too Young to Vote, Too Young to Die
Jo Becker, Chairperson, International Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Human Rights Watch
Adm. Eugene Carroll (ret.), Deputy Director, Center for Defense Information
Nancy Nye, Director, Youth Advocate Program International
Rachel Stohl, Coordinator, Children in Warfare Project, Center for Defense Information
Violence Against Girls and Women: Living as Prey
Sree Gururaja, Senior Adviser, Gender and Development Programme, UNICEF
Additional Participants (Local Contacts)
Mary Ackerman, Associate Director, National Initiatives
Sarah Alsher, Stand for Children, NC
Elisabeth Barnett, Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club, IL
Richard Behenna, President, Hawaii Kids Watch
Charlie Bruner, Executive Director, Iowa Child & Family Policy Center
Tim Carpenter, Coordinator, Fight Crime/Invest in Kids, IL
Fred Chaffee, CEO, Arizona's Children Association
Tina Champagne, Stand for Children, MA
Chucky, Peer Educator, NY Peer AIDS Education Coalition
Patrick Cobb, Executive Director, Alliance for South Carolina's Children
Randy Compton, Co-Director, Colorado School Mediation Project
Jean Funk, Professor, University of Toledo, OH
Jack Gately, Citizens for Juvenile Justice, MA
Nelson Gonzales, New Jersey Department of Human Services
Carol Griffin, Child Abuse Project Coordinator, AR
Sandra Hackley, Stand for Children, SC
Ed Halloran, Professor of Psychology, Columbia College, Denver, CO
Dennis Harper, President, American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, IA
Laurie Iscaro, Fiscal Director, Georgians for Children
Marcell Johnson, Policy Director, Georgians for Children
Lynn Larson, Vice President, Michigan Education Association
Debbie Lewis, Stand for Children, MO
Sue Lock, Associate Executive Director, YMCA, Burlington, VT
Gregory Nash, President, National Education Association of New York
Carole Patterson, Stand for Children, OR
Kathryn Ramsey, Director of Programs, Girls Incorporated, NY
Sandy Shubert, Stand for Children, IA
Anne Stokes, Stand for Children, PA
Barbara Whelan, Executive Director, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, MA
Becci Wright, Stand for Children, IL
