To Such as These, the Kingdom of Heaven Belongs

1. To Such as These,the Kingdom of Heaven Belongs Religious Faith as Foundation for Children’s Rights Gary B. Melton Institute on Family & Neighborhood Life Clemson University

2. Our vision for every child,life in all its fullness;Our prayer for every heart,the will to make it so. World Vision Statement of Purpose

3. A Vision for Children and the Church …We hope for a world where children can find a safe place; where all ages, races, genders, creeds, and abilities are recognized, valued, and celebrated; where all adults hear the voices of children and speak with as well as for them; where all children have “first call” on the world’s resources and first place in the minds and hearts of the world’s adults…. — Presbyterian Church (USA), 1993

4. Globalization and Human Rights Human dignity is the foundation of all human rights…. Human dignity is the image of God in each human being. Human dignity is the sum total of all human rights. We protect human dignity with human rights…. It is God’s gift of love for everyone…. As peoples and governments increase the catalogue of rights that are recognized and protected,…our approximation of and striving for human dignity also increase. To be engaged in the human rights struggle is to accept God’s gift of love in Jesus Christ who has come to affirm all God’s people as they are — as individuals and people in community together…. — Resolution of the United Methodist Church, adopted 2000; amended and re-adopted, 2004

5. The Perspective of the Holy See …The Holy See’s prompt accession to the Convention on the Rights of the Child…accords with the Catholic Church’s…tradition of service to those in material or spiritual need, especially the weaker members of the human family, among whom children have always received special attention. In the Child of Bethlehem, Christians contemplate the uniqueness, the dignity, and the need for love of every child. In the example and teaching of her Founder, the Church perceives a mandate to devote special care to the needs of children; indeed, in the Christian view, our treatment of children becomes a measure of our fidelity to the Lord himself. — His Holiness John Paul II September 22, 1990

6. Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in, the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world. —Eleanor Roosevelt speech at the United Nations in 1958

7. STRONGCOMMUNITIESA Public Service Activity of Clemson University Based in a diverse urban/suburban/small-town/rural area in Greenville and Anderson counties in northwestern South Carolina total population ≈ 126,000 (2000 census) adult population ≈ 97,000 (2000 census) expanded service area in 2008; current estimated pop. = 170,000 A decade-long effort (begun in 2002) supported by The Duke Endowment to demonstrate and evaluate the neighborhood-based strategy proposed by the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect in 1993

8. Fundamental Principles People should be able to get help where they are, when they need it, with ease and without stigma, i.e., PEOPLE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO ASK Families shouldn’t have to become patients, clients, or, worst of all, cases in order to receive help. To fulfill these principles, informal services are usually more effective than formal services.

9. Ultimate GoalofStrong Communities Keep Kids Safe ( Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect)

10. Penultimate Goal Every child and every parent should know that whenever they have reason to celebrate, worry, or grieve, someone will notice, and someone will care.

11. Corollary Goal Someone should be available to watch out for (watch over) every family of a child under 6 that wants and needs such support. FREE! Mothers’ Morning Out

12. Components Community mobilization by staff outreach workers Strong Families Universal assistance to families of young children Generally provided with existing human resources (unpaid volunteer service and donated professional time) In existing community facilities (homes, libraries, churches, fire stations, schools, parks, etc.)

13. Principles for Outreachlogically related to child protectionintended to transform norms and structurescontinually pushing the envelope; more is better!reliant on volunteersfocused on relationships

14. Principles (cont.)directed toward family support, especially parent supportdesigned to enhance parent leadership and community engagementdesigned to promote reciprocity of helpbuilt on assets in and among primary community institutions

15. StrongFamilies All families with children 6 years old and younger are encouraged to join Enrollment usually occurs at points of universal access; e.g., Initial well child visit Enrollment in kindergarten Attendance at a festival or community recreational event for families Community gatekeepers (e.g., real estate agents) are also encouraged to enroll families

16. Who Are the Volunteers? EVERYONE!

17. Volunteers Apartment managers and real estate agents Business people (e.g., bankers; owners of small businesses) Civic club members Early childhood educators Extension agents Firefighters Mayors and town council members Neighborhood association members Parent leaders Police officers and association members School principals Individuals

18. 5,000 Volunteers Have ContributedTheir Time and Skills Recruitment Has Been Steady for Six Years

19. Contributions of Volunteer Time Have Steadily Grown From January 2004 through March 2008, about 55,000 hours of volunteer service were recorded

20. Volunteers Generally Mirror the Community About 40% are male About 33% are ethnic-minority (compared with 25% of population) About 45% are at least 40 years old (almost identical to the population) About 12% are under 20 years old (despite the lack of focused effort to involve children and adolescents) Except that they are older on average, exceptional volunteers mirror Strong Communities volunteers in general Three-fifths of ‘super-active’ volunteers (those most mentioned in workers’ logs) are male

21. Volunteers Are Community Servants Research on volunteers in general shows that they are often motivated by self-interest (e.g., opportunities for networking and enhancement of job-related skills and experience) In contrast, volunteers in Strong Communities almost universally describe themselves as motivated by concern for the community and a sense of obligation to ‘give back’ Such motives are especially pronounced among exceptional volunteers (those who are most central in activities in the initiative), who typically have a lifelong, often faith-based commitment to service

22. The Settings of Everyday LifeAre at the Heart of Strong Communities

23. Churches Are the Most Important Sourceof Volunteers But the Reach of the Initiative Is Broad

24. Churches as Sources of Volunteers Among ‘exceptional volunteers’ (44 top volunteers, as identified by outreach staff), more than one-fourth are church employees Among mentions of sectors in workers’ biweekly debriefing sessions (journalistic interviews) through 2005, 28% involved churches (19%, housing developments; 17%, public safety agencies; 16%, businesses; 14%, schools; 7%, civic clubs) Retention of volunteers from churches is second only to firefighters

25. Church Engagement Continues to Grow

26. Church women’s group welcomes newborn babies to the community

27. Challenges: Neighborhood Matters Physical indicators of neighborhood identity and well-being are strongly related to young children’s safety in their homes Parent survey Hospital injury data Neighbors’ attempts to isolate themselves through symbolic barriers (e.g., no-trespassing signs; a chained dog in the yard) are strong indicators of risk to children’s safety These effects are observable even when residents’ income and education are statistically controlled

28. Isolation in the Suburbs and Small Towns In our service area, about one-fifth of families of infant, preschool, and elementary-school-age children report being highly isolated They do not know the names of any children in the neighborhood outside their own family They do not know how they would obtain child care in an emergency They belong to no organizations other than a church

29. Isolation and Quality of Life Although more than one-fourth of isolated parents in our service area have a college education, isolated parents are especially likely to be poor, uneducated, and never married Isolated parents have relatively low neighborhood satisfaction, sense of social support, and experience in helping and being helped by neighbors They report that children in their neighborhood are often unsafe

30. Building a Culture of Caring ‘Bowling alone’ persists: E.g., indicators of parental engagement in community civic life (e.g., organizational membership and attendance) declined significantly between 2004 and 2007 We have demonstrated that it is possible even in the current age of alienation to enlist communities in care for children—and to sustain and deepen that involvement across several years We have done so in diverse communities, with the greatest success (probably contrary to the expectations of most people) in the most disadvantaged communities

31. From Community Actionto Safer Homes In surveys conducted in 2004 and 2007, parents in the service area reported greater social support across time and relative to the comparison area more frequent positive parental behavior more frequent use of household safety devices less frequent disengaged (inattentive) parenting less frequent neglect

32. Safety Across the Community • Beliefs of parents, teachers, and especially children that kids are safe at or in transit to school and that parents are taken seriously have increased significantly • Such beliefs have become less common in families of children in matched comparison schools

33. THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGEBuilding… …with no families left outside!

34. Bear one another’s burdens,and in this way you will fulfillthe law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

35. The World According to Mr. Rogers All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors—in our own way each one of us is a giver and a receiver.

36. The World According to Mr. Rogers In the giving of help, a parent experiences one of the best feelings that any of us can have: that life has meaning because we are needed by someone else. Watching a baby grow with our help tells us other things we like to feel about ourselves: that we are competent and loving.

37. Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters…. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Jeremiah 29:5-7