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A Better Living Newsletter from PAS Volume 6 Issue Number 2

Here Today - Stolen Tomorrow


Inside Identity theft - one of the nations fastest-growing crimes - can ruin
Page 2 your finances and your reputation. What can you do to protect your-
What Is a Parent’s Role self? What should you do if you are a victim of identity theft? The
At School? 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.
Page 3
Domestic Violence:
Tips to help you protect yourself:
What Should I Do?
• 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
Sexual Assault true for such information as your social security number, mothers
maiden name, your birthdate, and even your phone number.
Helpful Resources • 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
Page 4 the delivery address.
Parents and Teachers • Guard your mail. Make every attempt to mail items at the Post
Lead the Way for Teens 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, physi-
cian 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


PASWord is committed to
providing accurate and timely your identity, but you can reduce your chances of becoming a victim.
information for balanced living.
Research on these matters is
ongoing and subject to change.
If you become a victim:
PASWord is intended to inform, • Report this to the police and request a copy of the report when
not diagnose or treat. Please it is ready (you can send this to creditors later).
consult your personal care
provider for any personal health • Report the identity theft to your financial institution and other
problems or major changes in creditors.
diet and exercise.
• 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
Visit us online: to file a report so that new credit For more information about
resources and services
www.paseap.com 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 4) Supporters of the Schools
your child’s success in school, but for the overall Perhaps the most visible role active parents play is as
strength of the school community. What does that school supporters. Usually through school-based
involvement look like? Most everyone agrees that parent organizations, they plan events, raise money, recruit and
involvement is critical to the success of students and organize volunteers, and generally lend a helping hand
schools. But not everyone defines parent involvement both during and after school. Increasingly, parents are
the same way. Experts place parent roles into four also providing linkages between the schools and
general categories that help illuminate the possibilities. community business partners.
At elementary schools, becoming involved is often as
1) Supporters of Their Children’s Achievement simple as talking to your child’s teacher or the school
First and foremost, parents need to support their chil- principal. At the middle and high school levels, you may
dren and their school achievement. Research shows that need to start by finding out about the parent organiza-
when adults reinforce the importance of school, student tions, such as PTA and booster clubs. After you have a
effort and achievement improve. better sense of how things work you can better decide
where your help is both needed and welcomed.
2) Decision Makers in the School Community
Second, parents can help schools affirm their purpose Rules of thumb for making a complaint:
and goals. In addition to informal conversations, you’ll • Start with the person closest to the problem and
find several established formats for providing this input. work first to get a solution at that level.
School districts often have trouble finding parents • Approach every communication with restraint
willing to make the commitment to serve on committees and every person with respect.
and boards. Service on such committees can be frustrat- • Keep an open mind and make sure you get the
ing and time-consuming, but well worth it if you want to facts.
understand more about how schools work and the
• Don’t make idle accusations, particularly about
challenges they face.
matters that school districts must pursue
aggressively (e.g., sexual harassment and child
3) Evaluators of School Performance
abuse).
The third role of parents is as evaluators. Parents are
• Respect the privacy rights and confidentiality
the front line for judging school’s effectiveness because
requirements schools must observe in relation
they see directly how well the system is serving their
to their employees and students.
children. Feedback from parents—both positive and
negative—can help responsible educators improve their
work. Reprinted with permission
When you are unhappy of Greatschools.net, an
about something that independent nonprofit
happens at the school or in organization that helps
the classroom, you should parents choose, support
say so. Putting your sugges- Your EAP can help you and your family and improve schools. For
tions and concerns into members resolve a variety of challenges more information, includ-
writing helps schools create that disrupt everyday life.
ing detailed school profiles,
a record. If you find a EAP professionals are available 24-hours visit the Web site at
particularly effective school a day by calling: www.greatschools.net.
employee, teacher, or
program, let school officials 314/842-6223 For confidential assistance,
know. Educators really or call PAS at
value such approval from
the public.
800/356-0845 (314) 842-6223
or (800) 356-0845

Volume 6 2 Issue 2
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,
educational level, or geo- • Assault counterparts, some men will
graphic location. Half of Purposely or knowingly placing or rape their wives and never
women with a history of any attempting to place another in fear beat them and vice versa.
of physical harm.
type of violence or abuse These issues may be inter-
reported high levels of • Battery linked or seemingly unre-
depressive symptoms, Purposely or knowingly causing lated. Don’t make assump-
compared with a third of physical harm to another with or
without a deadly weapon. tions about victimization
women with no history of
based on partial facts.
abuse.
• Harassment It is illegal in all 50 states
Engaging in a course of conduct
Sexual Assault directed at a specific person that for a husband to rape his
serves no legitamate purpose, and wife. Some states, including
Definition of Acquain- would cause a reasonable adult to Texas, have gender-neutral
suffer 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
to the victim. The offender person to engage involuntarily in
any sexual act by force, treat of to issue orders of protection
can be anyone from the
force or duress. to protect victims of abuse
person who sacks your
groceries to a relative or and persons threatened with
• Stalking
boyfriend. Purposely and repeatedly harassing abuse. By issuing these
Date rape is, by defini- or following another with the intent orders, judges can order an
tion, sexual assault that of harassing that person. 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 commit-
ted by someone known to the victim: a husband,
boyfriend, relative, friend, friend of a friend, brief Helpful Resources
acquaintance, date, neighbor or co-worker. Fifty-seven
percent of these sexual assaults occur on dates. Personal Assistance Services (PAS)
paseap.com 800-356-0845
Definition of Marital Rape
Marital rape is the term used to describe
National Domestic Violence Hotline
nonconsensual sexual acts between a woman/man and
husband/wife, ex-husband/wife, or intimate long-term ndvh.org 800-799-7233
partner. These sexual acts can include: intercourse,
anal or oral sex, forced sexual behavior with other Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
individuals, and other unwanted, painful, and humili-
rainn.org
ating sexual activities. It is rape if one partner uses

Volume 6 3 Issue 2
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

Volume 6 4 Issue 2

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