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| Is my child safe at school? |
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Think Productivity, Productivity, Productivity!
Are you a
- Working Mom, Dad, Grandparent, or Caregiver?
- Entrepreneur or Business Owner?
- Human Resources and Employee Benefits Program Administrator?
- Insurance or Health Care Service Provider?
- Patient Education Program Coordinator?
Just as employees often need child care and elder care assistance, working parents and caregivers of school-age children with chronic health conditions need specialized support to avoid work/family/school conflicts.
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Healthy Kids Work/Family Programs equip working parents to coordinate their child's health and educational needs and to reduce school and workplace disruption.
Avoid Work/Family/School Conflicts
When families have a plan, parents and children have:
- Reduced illness and missed school and work days.
- Reduced risk and restriction.
- Fewer medication errors.
- Better attendance and academic continuity.
- Fewer emergencies.
- Better school-parent and employee-employer relationships.
Employers and Employees have:
- Reduced distraction and disruption during the work day.
- Improved employee loyalty and satisfaction.
- Maximized employee recruitment and retention.
- Better productivity.
- Enhanced reputation as a good employer.
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CLIPPINGS AND NOTES
Truancy and Asthma In Philadelphia, Court Judge Sunny Richman
reported that asthma is overwhelmingly the number one medical reason
cited for truancy in her court, one of eight truancy courts held one
week per month across the city. During one of Richman's recent sessions
almost all the truancy cases that day were due to asthma - and students
aren't sent to court unless they have missed 25 days or more of
school... (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, March 8, 2004)
Children are sick not truant... A March, 2000 ABT Associates study on Learnfare, a program that
imposed financial sanctions on parents of truant kids, reported that
"illnesses, not behavior problems, accounted for the overwhelming
majority (four-fifths) of welfare children's additional absences."
In Turnabout, Children Take Caregiver Role
Across the country, children are providing care for sick parents or
grandparents lifting frail bodies off beds or toilets, managing
medication, washing, feeding, dressing, talking with doctors. Schools,
social service agencies and health providers are often unaware of those
responsibilities because families members may be too embarrassed, or
stoic...Some children develop maturity and self-esteem. But others grow
anxious, depressed or angry, sacrifice social and extracurricular
activities and miss or quit school...Or dropping out, like
Maryangellis Rodriguez, of Boynton Beach, who quit school at 16 to care
for her mother, who has multiple sclerosis. "I just did it cause that's
my mom," she said. (NYTIMES, Pam Belluck, February 22, 2009) Workplace Dilemma: Disclose Child's Special Needs Or Not? To tell the
boss or not? That's a dilemma faced daily by parents of children with
special needs who question whether or not telling their employer about
their caregiving responsibilities is a good idea. Many parents fear
discrimination and maybe for good reason. Nearly a third of parents
whose children have emotional or behavioral issues report being fired
because of work interruptions stemming from their children's issues.
And, parents of children with special needs are likely to be poorer.
That, even though it's estimated that more than 8 percent of employees
are responsible for children with special needs, reports Maggie Jackson, Boston Globe 12/12/08. To read more click here.
"21% of middle school students have been diagnosed with asthma." The
2008 Massachusetts Health Council's "Common Health for the Commonwealth: Massachusetts Trends in
the Determinants of Health" was released at the State House by Senator
Richard Moore and Representative Peter Koutoujian. The report tracks
the trends of 11 preventable, costly health indicators and highlights
the increasing trends in the areas of asthma, Hepatitis C, high school
drop-out rates, obesity, poor oral health and domestic violence.
The number of kids with chronic health issues is growing. USA Today Nov. 2, 2008. Number of Kids on medication jumps alarmingly
Expert: Cost of absenteeism rivals health care, Rebecca R. Hastings, Society for Human Resource Management Website October 2008 http://www.shrm.org/
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