Factors
Influencing the Sequence of Marriage and Childbirth Among
Disadvantaged Americans
Is marriage an institution
that helps its members achieve economic goals (e.g.,
owning a home or having a savings account) or an institution to be entered
only after these goals are met? This policy brief from the Center for Law and Social Policy
explores the attitudinal, experiential, economic, and social contexts in which
disadvantaged parents have children and decide to marry or not marry. In
this view, the primary questions are about whether a potential partner has
the economic, social, educational, and emotional skills necessary to be a
good spouse.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/factors_influen.php
Caregiving for those at End of Life Rewarding Despite Challenges
Family or friends served
as informal caregivers to almost three-quarters of disabled older adults living
in the community during their final year of life, according to an article
in the January 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals. More than two-thirds of these caregivers found their role rewarding
despite providing more than 40 hours of care per week and making little use
of caregiver-focused supportive services.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/caregiving_for.php
**Economic Security
Catholic
Charities USA Launches Broad Campaign to Cut Poverty in America in Half by
2020
Catholic Charities USA announced
a new multi-year initiative to cut poverty in half by 2020, urging Congress
and the Administration to give a much higher priority to the needs of the
poor in budget and policy decisions on issues such as health care, housing,
nutrition, and economic security. Catholic Charities USA is leading a broad
effort that will involve partners in social service agencies, the faith community,
and other groups in a sustained effort to convince government officials of
the importance of making systemic changes in government programs to help the
poor and most vulnerable in our society.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/catholic_charit_4.php
A
$7.25 Minimum Wage Would Be a Useful Step In Helping
Working Families Escape Poverty
According to the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities, in the early 1990s there was basic agreement
that parents working full time should not have to raise their children in
poverty. The yardstick used to measure achievement of this goal was whether
a minimum-wage earner in a family of four earned enough (after subtraction
of payroll taxes), together with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and food
stamps, to have an income at or above the poverty line. This goal was reached
in the late 1990s, as a result of an EITC increase enacted in 1993 and a minimum-wage
increase enacted in 1996.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/a_725_minimum_w.php
Catholic
Charities USA Supports Increase Minimum Wage
Calling the current minimum
wage inadequate for low-income families to meet their basic needs, Catholic
Charities USA is urging Congress to adopt legislation to increase the hourly
minimum wage. Family economic security, including increasing the minimum
wage, is vital to addressing the issue of poverty in the United States and is a key component of Catholic
Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/catholic_charit_5.php
Congress
Should Take Action to Restore Flexibility Lost in 2006 Welfare
According to the Center
for Law and Social Policy, in January 2006, after over three years of short-term
extensions, Congress reauthorized the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) block grant as part of the consolidated Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
(DRA). Instead of rewarding states for their efforts to help welfare recipients
achieve self sufficiency, the new law acted as if the past decade of welfare
reform had never happened. It substantially increased effective work requirements,
while providing only a minimal increase in funding for child care.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/congress_should.php
**Education
Department
of Education Seeks Nominations for American Stars of Teaching
The U.S. Department of Education
is seeking nominations for its fourth annual American Stars of Teaching project,
which recognizes exemplary teachers who raise student achievement, use innovative
classroom strategies and make a difference in their students' lives, Secretary
Margaret Spellings announced today. Its overall goal is to engage some of
the nation's best teachers and practitioners in sharing strategies for raising
student achievement and informing teachers of the latest successful research-based
practices.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/department_of_e.php
Roundtable
Discussions on Improving NCLB's Highly Qualified
Teacher Provisions
The U.S. Department of Education
required all states to submit "teacher-equity plans" by July 2006
that laid out the specific steps states are taking to comply. To structure
the roundtable session, the Center on Education Policy asked participating
organizations to submit proposals in advance with their ideas for improving
the distribution of qualified, experienced teachers between high-need schools
(those with high enrollments of low income or minority students) and lower-need
schools.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/roundtable_disc.php
**Health
Overweight
girls at risk for cardiovascular disease
Results from the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Growth and Health Study of more than
2,300 girls suggest that girls as young as age 9 who are overweight are at
increased risk for short-term and long-term problems that increase the chances
of developing cardiovascular disease. The study also provides insight into
differences between African-American and Caucasian girls.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/nhlbi_media_ava.php
California
Governor Proposes Universal Health Coverage
Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
on Monday proposed a system of universal health insurance for Californians
that would make the nation's most populous state
the third to guarantee medical coverage for all its residents. Much of the
opposition to Schwarzenegger's program, which requires legislative approval,
is expected to come from his fellow Republicans, who object that the plan
will be costly for small businesses.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/_schwarzenegger.php
Quality
in Community Health Centers
Although the quality of
chronic disease care in community health centers (CHCs) compares favorably with care received in other settings,
gaps exist, particularly for the uninsured, a study by Harvard Medical School researchers found. In the future,
this is likely to increase as a result of anticipated changes in Medicaid
eligibility rules, the rising cost of private insurance, and federal legislation
expanding the number of such centers, among other factors.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/quality_in_comm.php
New
Report Shows Medicare Drug Plan Prices Are 58 Percent Higher than VA Prices
Medicare drug plan prices
for the top drugs prescribed to seniors are 58 percent higher than the same
drugs provided to veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), according
to a report released today. The new report, issued by the consumer health
organization Families USA, was released shortly before the House of Representatives
was scheduled to vote on a bill to end the current prohibition preventing
Medicare from bargaining for cheaper drug prices.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/new_report_show_3.php
**Homelessness
First Nationwide Estimate
of Homeless Population in a Decade Announced
There were 744,313 people
homeless in January 2005 according to Homelessness Counts, the first national
assessment of the number of homeless people in over a decade. The report was
released by the Homelessness Research Institute of the National Alliance to
End Homelessness. This estimate, a compilation of point-in-time counts collected
by local Continuums of Care, provides data on every state and community in
the country. The data included in the study represent a point in time; therefore
the estimate only presents a snapshot of the homelessness problem in the Unites
States. Many more people experience homelessness over the course of the year.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/first_nationwid.php
**Hunger and Nutrition
Food
Stamp Participation in October 2006 Up Over Month
The Food Research and Action
Center reports that in October 2006 food stamp participation at 26,294,464
persons was up over the month by 100,399 people. The overall caseload for
October 2006 was nearly 1.4 million persons lower than the prior October,
when many Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims received disaster food stamp
benefits. At a time when more than 35 million people in the U.S. face a constant struggle against hunger,
continuing to strengthen the reach of the Food Stamp Program is vital.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/food_stamp_part_1.php
Nutrition
Studies' Conclusions Tied to Funding Source
An analysis from Children's
Hospital Boston finds a similar phenomenon in scientific articles about nutrition,
particularly in studies of beverages. The analysis -- the first systematic
one performed on nutrition studies -- found that beverage studies funded solely
by industry were four to eight times more likely to have conclusions favorable
to sponsors' financial interest than were studies with no industry funding.
The study's senior author and director of the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL)
program at Children's Hospital Boston, believes that bias in nutrition studies
may have far greater effects than bias in pharmaceutical studies.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/nutrition_studi_1.php
**Substance Abuse
Funding
for Research on the Impact of Drinking on Adolescent Brain
The National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) will award a total of $2 million to researchers
who study the impact of adolescent drinking on the developing brain. "We
now know that the brain continues to develop into a person's 20s with dramatic
changes in structure and function coincident with a period of life during
which most youth initiate and escalate their consumption of alcohol,"
NIAAA noted in the grant announcement.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/funding_for_res_1.php
Grants
to Prevent High-Risk College Drinking
The U.S. Department of Education
will award $2.32 million in grants to prevent high-risk drinking and violent
behavior among college students. Institutions of higher education are eligible
to apply for 18 grants of up to $150,000 each. The awards are intended to
develop or enhance, implement and evaluate campus and community strategies
to prevent high-risk drinking and violence.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/01/grants_to_preve.php
