Severe
PTSD Damages Children's Brains, Stanford/Packard study shows
Researchers from the Stanford's
early life stress research program found that children with post-traumatic
stress disorder and high levels of a specific stress hormone were likely to
experience a decrease in the size of a brain structure important in memory
processing and emotion. The children in the study were suffering from post-traumatic
stress disorder, or PTSD, as a result of undergoing physical, emotional or
sexual abuse, witnessing violence or experiencing lasting separation and loss.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/severe_ptsd_dam.php
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Bush
Administration’s "Child Welfare Program Option" Puts Children Who
Have Been Abused or Neglected at Greater Risk
According to the Center
for Law and Social Policy the Bush Administration's 2008 budget proposal talks
about a goal of increasing services and supports for children, but its budget
recommendations go in the opposite direction. This brief focuses on the Administration's
"Child Welfare Program Option," offering a summary of what is known
about the proposal and the concerns and questions about the suggested approach.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/bush_administra_8.php
Teenagers
with Retail, Service Jobs at Risk of Injury, Robberies, Sleep Deprivation
Despite federal regulations
intended to protect them, many teenagers in the U.S. use dangerous equipment or work long
hours during the school week, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study. The results show 52 percent
of males and 43 percent of females use dangerous equipment such a box crushers
and slicers, or serve and sell alcohol where it is consumed, despite
federal child labor laws prohibiting these practices.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/teenagers_with_1.php
Underage
Drinking Highest in Wisconsin, Lowest in Utah
Almost 40 percent of 12-
to 20-year-olds in Wisconsin reported drinking alcohol within the
past month, the highest rate in the nation, according to a report from the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The state
with the lowest rate of past-month underage drinking was Utah, where 21.3 percent of adolescent respondents to the
2004-05 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health said they imbibed.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/samhsa_underage.php
**Civic Engagement/Civil
Society
American
Anthropological Association Public Education Project: 'RACE: Are We So Different?'
The largest-ever public
education project on race in America was recently launched by the American
Anthropological Association. The project began a decade ago with collaboration
among a diverse group of anthropologists discussing how to use their public
voice to engage with race and racism. The result is a fresh and provocative
look at race, racism, and human biological and genetic variation.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/american_anthro.php
**Community Development
FEMA
Closes Trailer Site for Katrina Victims
The Federal Emergency Management
Agency on Sunday abruptly closed down a trailer site housing Hurricane Katrina
victims because of health and safety concerns.
Its residents said they
were once again being left in the lurch since losing everything after the
storm hit on Aug.
29, 2005. Although many residents said they
would have been happy to keep living on the trailer site, FEMA determined
it was too risky because of ongoing problems with raw sewage and periodic
power outages.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/_fema_closes_tr.php
**Disabilities
National
Science Foundation Releases Statistics on Women, Minorities and Persons with
Disabilities
The National Science Foundation
released the latest statistics on women, minorities and persons with disabilities
in science and engineering. The report focuses on education and employment
statistics for these groups. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an
independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education
across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $5.58
billion.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/national_scienc.php
**Economic Security
United
Way of Greater Los Angeles Launches Ten-Year Plan Tackle New Face Of Poverty In Los Angeles County
United Way of Greater Los
Angeles announced the launch of its new 10-year Action Plan to better address
the issues facing Los Angeles County and provide the tools necessary to
move more people out of poverty. United Way's new Action Plan will sharpen
the focus on three vital areas identified as key to reducing poverty: meeting
basic needs like food, shelter and health care; improving the educational
achievement of our youth; and helping families with the opportunities and
skills they need to become financially stable.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/united_way_of_g.php
Between
Welfare Reform and Reauthorization
Anticipating that welfare
reform might pose particular challenges to urban areas --- where poverty and
welfare receipt are most concentrated --- MDRC launched the Project on Devolution
and Urban Change (Urban Change, for short) in 1997 to chronicle TANF programs
and the resulting changes in the lives of low-income families and in the institutions
that serve them in four urban counties: Cuyahoga (Cleveland), Los Angeles,
Miami-Dade, and Philadelphia.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/between_welfare_1.php
**Education
Study
Explores Nature of Online Learning in K-12 Schools
The Sloan Consortium's first
ever survey of online learning in elementary and secondary education, "K-12
Online Learning: A Survey of U.S. School District Administrators," predicts
rapid growth in online education. The nationwide survey, conducted during
the 2005-2006 academic year, finds that almost two out of three school districts
had one or more students enrolled in either a fully online or a blended course,
which combines online learning with traditional face-to-face instruction.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/study_explores_1.php
Calls
for Greater Investment in Counseling, College Preparation Resources in High-Need
Schools
Proposals to reauthorize
No Child Left Behind, reform high schools, and improve college access will
be incomplete without crafting a greater role for school counselors, according
to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).
Accordingly, members of
NACAC, who are attending the association's 25th annual legislative conference
in Washington, March 4-7, are unveiling a legislative
proposal to boost support for school counselors in high-need schools on Capitol
Hill this week.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/national_associ_1.php
An Early Look at Restructuring
Results in California
California educators face an uphill battle to
improve schools in restructuring -- the No Child Left Behind
Act's ultimate sanction for struggling schools according to a new study from
the Washington, D.C. -based Center on Education Policy.
Schools are placed in restructuring when they missed adequate yearly progress
(AYP) targets for five or more consecutive years must undertake reform strategies
intended to boost their performance.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/an_early_look_a.php
NMPCT
announces $7.8 million, four-year extension of Nina Scholars Program
The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable
Trust is committing $7.8 million over the next four years to fund college
scholarships for students in Arizona and Indiana whom traditional scholarship
programs typically overlook. The Nina Scholars have faced incredible challenges
in their lives and many of the Scholars have said that since the program began
in 2001 that without the Nina Mason Pulliam Legacy Scholars program they would
not have realized the dream of a college education.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/nmpct_announces.php
In
Diversity Push, Top Universities Enrolling More Black Immigrants
The nation's most elite
colleges and universities are bolstering their black student populations by
enrolling large numbers of immigrants from Africa, the West Indies and Latin America. Immigrants, who make up 13 percent
of the nation's college-age black population, account for more than a quarter
of black students at Ivy League and other selective universities, according
to the study, produced by Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/_in_diversity_p.php
**Health
Obesity
Surgery Triples Among U.S. Teens
The number of U.S. children
having obesity surgery has tripled in recent years, surging at a pace that
could mean more than 1,000 such operations this year, new research suggests.
While the procedure is still far more common in adults, it appears to be slightly
less risky in teens, according to an analysis of data on 12- to 19-year-olds
who had obesity surgery from 1996 through 2003.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/obesity_surgery.php
**Homelessness
Catholic Charities USA Supports HEARTH Act as Balanced Approach
to Addressing Homelessness in America
Calling the Homeless Emergency
Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act (HEARTH) a comprehensive and
balanced approach to addressing homelessness in America, Catholic Charities USA called on
Congress to pass the bill, which reauthorizes the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance. According to Catholic Charities USA, the HEARTH Act provides
greater decision making at the local level, expands HUD's definition of homelessness,
increases emergency shelter and supportive services, provides a framework
for greater homeless prevention activity, and allows a range of housing solutions.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/catholic_charit_6.php
**Hunger and Nutrition
Families’ Food Stamp
Benefits Purchase Less Food Each Year
According to the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities, Food stamp benefits average only about
one dollar per person per meal. In addition, as a result of benefit cuts
enacted as part of the 1996 welfare law, the purchasing power of most households'
food stamp benefits is eroding in value each year.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/families_food_s.php
**Substance Abuse
The Promise of New Funding
for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment to Promote Safety, Permanence,
and Well-Being for Children
This Q&A from the Center
for Law and Social Policy is designed to stimulate organizations and agencies
to begin planning and forming regional partnerships so they will be ready
to apply for grants under the Child and Family Services Improvement Act of
2006 Act once they are formally announced by the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) in the Spring of 2007.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/the_promise_of_1.php
National
Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week
The National Inhalant Prevention
Coalition (NIPC) is leading the 15th annual National Inhalants & Poison
Awareness Week (NIPAW) campaign, March
18 - 24, 2007. This
campaign is designed to mobilize your community to educate and raise awareness
about the dangers of inhalant abuse.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/national_inhala.php
Stop-Smoking
Drugs: Try and Try Again
Reuters reported Feb. 24
that medications like Chantix (varenicline) and Zyban (bupropion) can be effective even if they don't result in abstinence
during the first few weeks. Research from the smoking-cessation program at
Oregon Health & Science University showed that 24 percent of patients
taking Chantix were able to quit right away, compared to 18 percent
taking Zyban and 10 percent given a placebo.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/stopsmoking_dru.php
Alcohol
Plays Role in 62 Percent of All Arrests in Wyoming
Alcohol use is involved
in a remarkable 62 percent of all arrests in the state of Wyoming, from drunk driving to domestic assaults,
according to a study by the Wyoming Sheriffs and Chiefs Association. The
chairman of Wyoming's governor's advisory board on alcohol
and other drugs said that the state has failed to keep pace with other states
in implementing alcohol-control legislation.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/alcohol_plays_r.php
