Pasword Medium

A Better Living Newsletter from PAS

Inside Page 2 What Is a Parent’s Role At School? Page 3 Domestic Violence: What Should I Do?

Here Today - Stolen Tomorrow Identity theft - one of the nations fastest-growing crimes - can ruin your finances and your reputation. What can you do to protect yourself? What should you do if you are a victim of identity theft? The information that follows is just a brief summary to assist you. As always, the best means to protect yourself is to guard your personal information and not give it away to persons you don’t know.

Tips to help you protect yourself: •

Sexual Assault Helpful Resources

Page 4 Parents and Teachers Lead the Way for Teens

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PASWord is committed to providing accurate and timely information for balanced living. Research on these matters is ongoing and subject to change. PASWord is intended to inform, not diagnose or treat. Please consult your personal care provider for any personal health problems or major changes in diet and exercise.

Visit us online: www.paseap.com

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Don’t give personal information to people you don’t know whether it be over the phone, via the Internet, or by mail. This is especially true for such information as your social security number, mothers maiden name, your birthdate, and even your phone number. Know when your bills are due to arrive. When they are late, call the company to find out why and to make sure no one has changed the delivery address. Guard your mail. Make every attempt to mail items at the Post Office or in a collection box, especially any mail with one of your checks in it. Don’t leave mail in your box too long. Try to pick it up as soon as possible after delivery and put mail in the box no earlier than on pickup day. Don’t carry extra credit cards, your social security card or other ID cards you do not need on a daily basis. Tear or shred charge receipts, copies of credit applications, physician statements, bank statements and checks, expired credit cards, before discarding. Write down all of the contact information on your credit companies and have the information available for reporting purposes.

Ultimately, there’s no way to completely prevent someone from stealing your identity, but you can reduce your chances of becoming a victim.

If you become a victim:

• Report this to the police and request a copy of the report when it is ready (you can send this to creditors later). • Report the identity theft to your financial institution and other creditors. • Ask your financial institution what procedures they require of victims whose credit cards or checks have been stolen or forged. ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ • Contact the major credit bureaus For more information about to file a report so that new credit resources and services is not issued falsely to protect available through your EAP, your credit status. contact PAS Client Services at (314) 842-6223 or (800) 356-0845.

What Is a Parent’s Role At School? As a parent, your involvement is essential not only for your child’s success in school, but for the overall strength of the school community. What does that involvement look like? Most everyone agrees that parent involvement is critical to the success of students and schools. But not everyone defines parent involvement the same way. Experts place parent roles into four general categories that help illuminate the possibilities. 1) Supporters of Their Children’s Achievement First and foremost, parents need to support their children and their school achievement. Research shows that when adults reinforce the importance of school, student effort and achievement improve. 2) Decision Makers in the School Community Second, parents can help schools affirm their purpose and goals. In addition to informal conversations, you’ll find several established formats for providing this input. School districts often have trouble finding parents willing to make the commitment to serve on committees and boards. Service on such committees can be frustrating and time-consuming, but well worth it if you want to understand more about how schools work and the challenges they face.

4) Supporters of the Schools Perhaps the most visible role active parents play is as school supporters. Usually through school-based organizations, they plan events, raise money, recruit and organize volunteers, and generally lend a helping hand both during and after school. Increasingly, parents are also providing linkages between the schools and community business partners. At elementary schools, becoming involved is often as simple as talking to your child’s teacher or the school principal. At the middle and high school levels, you may need to start by finding out about the parent organizations, such as PTA and booster clubs. After you have a better sense of how things work you can better decide where your help is both needed and welcomed. Rules of thumb for making a complaint: • Start with the person closest to the problem and work first to get a solution at that level. • Approach every communication with restraint and every person with respect. • Keep an open mind and make sure you get the facts. • Don’t make idle accusations, particularly about matters that school districts must pursue aggressively (e.g., sexual harassment and child abuse). • Respect the privacy rights and confidentiality requirements schools must observe in relation to their employees and students.

3) Evaluators of School Performance The third role of parents is as evaluators. Parents are the front line for judging school’s effectiveness because they see directly how well the system is serving their children. Feedback from parents—both positive and negative—can help responsible educators improve their work. When you are unhappy about something that happens at the school or in the classroom, you should Your EAP can help you and your family say so. Putting your suggesmembers resolve a variety of challenges tions and concerns into that disrupt everyday life. writing helps schools create a record. If you find a EAP professionals are available 24-hours particularly effective school a day by calling: employee, teacher, or program, let school officials 314/842-6223 know. Educators really or value such approval from 800/356-0845 the public.

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Reprinted with permission of Greatschools.net, an independent nonprofit organization that helps parents choose, support and improve schools. For more information, including detailed school profiles, visit the Web site at www.greatschools.net. For confidential assistance, call PAS at (314) 842-6223 or (800) 356-0845

Domestic Violence - What Should I Do? One of four women with incomes above $50,000 force, threats, or intimidation to get the other to submit report domestic abuse in her lifetime by a spouse or to sexual acts. boyfriend, as did 37 percent of women with incomes It is important to note that, although battered women of $16,000 or less. Rates are more at risk for marital varied little for women when rape than their non-battered comparing by race/ethnicity, counterparts, some men will • Assault educational level, or georape their wives and never Purposely or knowingly placing or graphic location. Half of attempting to place another in fear beat them and vice versa. women with a history of any of physical harm. type of violence or abuse These issues may be interreported high levels of linked or seemingly unre• Battery depressive symptoms, Purposely or knowingly causing lated. Don’t make assumpphysical harm to another with or compared with a third of tions about victimization without a deadly weapon. women with no history of based on partial facts. abuse. • Harassment It is illegal in all 50 states Engaging in a course of conduct for a husband to rape his directed at a specific person that Sexual Assault serves no legitamate purpose, and wife. Some states, including would cause a reasonable adult to Texas, have gender-neutral Definition of Acquainsuffer substantial emotional distress. tance/Date Rape laws which apply to both Acquaintance rape is sexual • Sexual Assult spouses. assault by someone known Causing or attempting to cause a State laws authorize courts person to engage involuntarily in to the victim. The offender to issue orders of protection any sexual act by force, treat of can be anyone from the force or duress. to protect victims of abuse person who sacks your and persons threatened with groceries to a relative or • Stalking abuse. By issuing these boyfriend. Purposely and repeatedly harassing or following another with the intent Date rape is, by definiorders, judges can order an of harassing that person. tion, sexual assault that accused abuser, for example, occurs while on a date or to stop abusing or harssing a between persons who expect victim and to stay away from the victim’s home or to have (or already have) an intimate relationship. workplace. According to a study done by Mary Koss, more than 75% of the rapes reported in this country are committed by someone known to the victim: a husband, boyfriend, relative, friend, friend of a friend, brief acquaintance, date, neighbor or co-worker. Fifty-seven Personal Assistance Services (PAS) percent of these sexual assaults occur on dates.

Helpful Resources paseap.com

Definition of Marital Rape Marital rape is the term used to describe nonconsensual sexual acts between a woman/man and husband/wife, ex-husband/wife, or intimate long-term partner. These sexual acts can include: intercourse, anal or oral sex, forced sexual behavior with other individuals, and other unwanted, painful, and humiliating sexual activities. It is rape if one partner uses

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800-356-0845

National Domestic Violence Hotline

ndvh.org

800-799-7233

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network

rainn.org

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Parents and Teachers Lead the Way for Teens Teenagers may be fascinated with the world of millionaire sports stars and entertainers, but they say that parents and teachers are their most important role models. A Junior Achievement/Harris Interactive Poll of 642 teens ages 13 to 18 finds that 32% of teens identify parents as the best role models for young people. Teachers are the next best with 15% of teens. Divided by gender, 36% of boys identify parents as their top choice, compared with 28% of girls. “It’s apparent that while teens look up to many people in our society, it’s those who are involved in their daily lives that have the most profound impact,” says David Chernow, president and CEO of Junior Achievement. Parents |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 32% Teachers |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 15% Major Sports Celebrities ||||||||||||||||||||||||| 5% Talk show host Oprah Winfrey ||||||||||||||||| 3% President Bush ||||||||||||||||| 3% Microsoft founder Bill Gates ||||||||||| 2% National security adviser Condoleezza Rice ||||||||||| 2% Entertainer Jennifer Lopez |||||| 1% PASWord © 2003 is published four times a year by Personal Assistance Services, 9735 Landmark Pky., Ste. 17, St. Louis, MO 63127-9968 • (314) 842-6223 • (800) 356-0845 Material may not be reproduced without written permission. • Content Editors: Paula Hamvas, M.A., LCSW, CEAP and Ken Clark, SPHR

9735 Landmark Pky., Ste. 17 St. Louis, MO 63127-9968

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