Parental
Drinking Stunts Brain Growth in Alcoholic Kids
Alcohol-dependent individuals
with a family history of alcoholism or problem drinking exhibited reduced
brain growth compared to alcohol-dependent people with no family history of
alcohol problems, according to new research from the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/parental_drinki.php
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The
Promise of New Funding for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment to Promote
Safety, Permanence, and Well-Being for Children
These questions and answers
(Q&A) were prepared by an informal coalition of groups, including the
American Public Human Services Association and the Center for Law and Social
Policy, convened after passage of the Child and Family Services Improvement
Act of 2006 to develop materials about the new funding and the opportunity
for those concerned about alcohol and drug addiction and its impact on children
and families to use it to improve outcomes for children and families.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/the_promise_of.php
Former
College President Calls for Lowering Drinking Age
The age-21 drinking law
is "bad social policy and terrible law," forcing college students
to take their alcohol use underground and promoting dishonesty among college
officials about drinking culture on campus, according to former Middlebury
College president John M. McCardell, Jr. Inside
Higher Education reported Feb. 16 that McCardell
has created a nonprofit group, Choose Responsibility, dedicated to exploring
alternatives to the age-21 law, including the option of issuing drinking licenses
to 18- to 20-year-olds who complete an alcohol-education program.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/former_college.php
**Civic Engagement/Civil
Society
Ohio Prison Growth Tied to Drugs
A national report from the
Pew Charitable Trusts projects a 20-percent increase in Ohio's prison population over the next
five years, and the state's corrections director says that drug use is to
blame, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. States are beginning to question
whether huge additional investments in prisons are the most effective and
economical way of combating crime.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/ohio_prison_gro.php
**Economic Security
Building
a Career Path Where There Was Just a Dead End
Barely two years ago, Cristina
Rodriguez and her three children were moored on the wrong side of the
income gap. Rodriguez attended a program called Per Scholas,
which trains computer repair technicians in the nation's poorest congressional
district, in the Bronx. Like dozens
of programs around the country built on a similar model, it evolved by working
closely with employers in high-growth sectors of the local economy, tailoring
its training to the precise entry-level skills that were most in demand.
A study by the Aspen Institute of sectoral programs
in the late 1990s found that median annual incomes of graduates rose from
$8,580 before training to $17,732 after two years of employment.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/_building_a_car.php
Working
Together: Aligning State Systems and Policies for Individual and Regional
Prosperity
The paper from the Center
for Law and Social Policy examines state policy and system improvements that
would enhance the ability of workers to gain skills to advance to better jobs
and the ability of employers to find skilled workers. These improvements include
increasing access to postsecondary education and training; enabling current
students to succeed and complete marketable credentials; increasing transitions
between literacy, language, and postsecondary education and training programs;
incorporating employer demand and state economic priorities in educational
planning; expanding the capacity of postsecondary institutions; and measuring
program results.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/working_togethe.php
**Education
Leaders
and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness
According to the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, it has been nearly a quarter century since the seminal report
A Nation at Risk was issued in 1983. The measures of our educational shortcomings
are stark indeed; most 4th and 8th graders are not proficient in either reading
or mathematics. Throughout that period, education spending has steadily increased
and rafts of well-intentioned school reforms have come and gone. But student
achievement has remained stagnant, and our K-12 schools have stayed remarkably
unchanged-preserving, as if in amber, the routines, culture, and operations
of an obsolete 1930s manufacturing plant.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/leaders_and_lag.php
Statement
by Education Secretary Regarding Report on States' Educational Effectiveness
U.S. Secretary of Education
Margaret Spellings made the following observations on the release of Leaders
and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness
by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Center for American Progress: With
this report, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Center for American Progress
add an important voice to the ongoing dialogue on strengthening our nation's
education system---how to improve student achievement, get the best teachers
into the most challenging classrooms, and improve the data quality to further
customize instruction.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/statement_by_se_3.php
Statement
Education Secretary on 12th-Grade Achievement Reports Released by the Nation's
Report Card
U.S. Secretary of Education
Margaret Spellings made the following observations regarding the release of
two reports: The Nation's Report Card: 12th-Grade Reading and Mathematics
2005 and The Nation's Report Card: America's High School Graduates: The two
reports show that we have our work cut out for us in providing every child
in this nation with a quality education.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/statement_by_se_4.php
**Health
Governors
Seek More Money for Children's Insurance
Governors from both parties
appealed for the Bush administration and Congress to provide more money for
a health-care program that insures millions of children. At stake is coverage
for 6 million people, overwhelmingly children, as well as the hopes of many
governors in tackling the challenge of uninsured working families. Georgia
and New Jersey are among 14 states expected to run out of money for the program
before the next budget year begins in October, In Georgia, a shortfall could
happen as soon as March.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/_governors_seek.php
Minorities
More Likely to Be Screened for Alcohol Use
Hispanics and African-Americans
rarely get superior healthcare compared to white Americans, but a new report
finds one exception: primary-care physicians may be more willing to query
minorities about their alcohol use than to counsel white patients, Newswise
reported.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/minorities_more.php
**Substance Abuse
Alcohol
Abuse Reduction Program for Middle, Jr. and Sr. High Schools
The U.S. Department of Education's
Safe and Drug-Free Schools National Program will award up to 20 grants nationally
to local educational agencies (LEAs) that develop programs designed to reduce alcohol use
among secondary-school students. Funding is provided to help LEAs
"develop and implement innovative and effective programs to reduce alcohol
abuse in secondary schools."
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/alcohol_abuse_r_2.php
NIDA
Unveils Its First Consumer Publication to Explain the Science of Addiction
"Drugs, Brains, and
Behavior: The Science of Addiction" was unveiled by the National Institute
on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health. The
30-page full-color booklet explains in layman's terms how science has revolutionized
the understanding of drug addiction as a brain disease that affects behavior.
NIDA hopes this new publication will help reduce stigma against addictive
disorders.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/02/nida_unveils_it.php
