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and share what you are thankful for everyday.
The
Responsible Education About Life
(REAL) Act
The bill would create federal
funding, administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
for comprehensive sexuality education that is age-appropriate, medically accurate,
and stresses abstinence, while also educating young people about contraception.
"The REAL Act represents a return to common sense public health policy
that focuses on the well-being of all young people," said James Wagoner,
president of Advocates for Youth.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/the_responsible.php
National
Catholic Leaders Call on Congress to Strengthen Child Health Insurance
The leaders of three national
Catholic organizations have called on Congress to strengthen and expand a
federal health program that provides health insurance coverage for children.
In a letter to the House and Senate Budget Committees, the United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Health Association of the United States
(CHA), and Catholic Charities USA urged Congress to adequately fund the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) so that all children eligible
for the program get health care.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/national_cathol.php
**Community Development
Rural
Americans Want Affordable Housing Agenda
Housing America 2007 aims
to raise public consciousness of the critical role of housing and community
development initiatives and the fundamental benefits the nation receives from
these activities. The Housing Assistance Council is committed to improving
housing conditions for the rural poor, with an emphasis on the poorest of
the poor in the most rural places.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/rural_americans.php
Innovative
Architecture: Community Development and Affordable Housing in Chicago
Incorporating sleek design,
community-building aesthetics and energy-efficient features, a variety of
inspiring neighborhood projects cropping up around Chicago prove that affordable housing and
other community facilities can be cutting-edge. The project received $6.5
million in equity from LISC affiliate, the National Equity Fund (NEF), a $250,000
pre-development loan from LISC/Chicago, and a $70,000 grant from The Home
Depot Foundation and LISC towards the wind turbines.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/innovative_arch.php
Homeowners
Need a Safer Alternative to Risky Mortgages
Concerned that high-priced,
high-risk mortgages are hurting low- to moderate-income borrowers, an Assistant
Secretary for the Housing - Federal Housing reaffirmed the need to modernize
the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and give homeowners a better alternative
to exotic high-cost mortgages. According to 2004 HMDA (Home Mortgage Disclosure
Act) Data 40 percent of African Americans and 23 percent of Hispanics pay
an interest rate three percent higher than the market rate. Everyone should
have access to a safe, affordable mortgage product; and this should not change
just because that person is a first-time homebuyer, a minority homebuyer,
or a homebuyer with troubled credit history.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/homeowners_need.php
How
Programs in Three Cities Responded to the Prisoner Reentry Crisis
Call to Action chronicles
how individuals, community organizations, faith institutions, businesses and
officials mobilized to build partnerships to address escalating numbers of
ex-prisoners returning to their communities. The three cities highlighted
in this report from Public/Private Ventures, Jacksonville, FL; Memphis, TN; and Washington, D.C., were pioneers in responding to the
nation's prisoner reentry crisis. They developed impressive programs and eventually
joined P/PV's Ready4Work initiative.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/how_programs_in.php
**Economic Security
Catholic
Charities Provide Free Tax Assistance to Help Low-Income Families Fill out
Tax Forms, Identify Credits and Refunds
Many Catholic Charities
agencies across the country are offering free tax assistance programs that
are helping families complete their tax forms and identify vital tax credits
and refunds that are owed to them. Many of the Catholic Charities programs
are done as part of the IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
initiative to help qualified families fill out tax forms and learn whether
they qualify for tax credits or refunds.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/catholic_charit_7.php
Mentoring
Ex-Prisoners in the Ready4Work Reentry Initiative
Early findings from the
Ready4Work prisoner reentry initiative suggest that, as part of a comprehensive
reentry program, mentoring is indeed a valuable strategy. Men and women returning
from incarceration are concentrated in some of the nation's poorest neighborhoods,
where there are few supports and services to help them reintegrate effectively,
and where their presence may threaten already fragile households and communities.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/mentoring_expri.php
**Education
New
Tool to Help Families Plan for College
The Department of Education
today unveiled a new online tool to help students and families financially
prepare and plan for college before a student's senior year of high school.
Called the FAFSA4caster, it provides students with an early estimate of their
eligibility for federal financial aid, which could include a Pell grant of
up to $4,310.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/new_tool_to_hel.php
**Health
Study
Finds Some Children Experience Gaps in Medicaid Coverage
A report from the Commonwealth
Fund finds that many Americans experience instability in their health insurance
coverage. The problem is particularly acute for minorities and people with
low incomes. Children covered by public programs---Medicaid and the State
Children's Health Insurance Program---have a built-in source of instability:
they must have their eligibility requirements verified periodically, which
can create breaks in coverage.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/study_finds_som.php
U.S.
to Ease Illegal Immigrants' Children's Access to Medicaid
In response to concerns
that some babies may be missing out on essential health care, the Bush administration
will issue a rule making it easier for the infants of non-citizens to gain
access to services covered through Medicaid. Typically, newborns of Medicaid
beneficiaries are deemed automatically eligible for the health-care program
during their first year as long as the mother remains eligible. Last year,
Medicaid officials said this automatic status would not extend to infants
whose delivery was covered through emergency Medicaid.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/_us_to_ease_ill.php
U.S.
Child Health System Requires Radical Transformation
Incremental reform will
not solve the problems plaguing the U.S. child heath system,
contend UCLA researchers in a new Commonwealth Fund-supported study. The
current system---fragmented, underperforming, and fraught with inefficiencies---will
require bold, long-term, transformative changes to provide children with a
healthy future, they say. Specifically, they recommend: establishing a federal
agency to consolidate existing funding and planning for children's health
initiatives, improving early childhood services and systems, using health
information technology to coordinate care among health care providers, and
organizing local child health development systems to manage care delivery.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/us_child_health.php
Massachusetts
Sets Benefits in Universal Health Care Plan
Massachusetts took a major step toward enacting
its near-universal health care overhaul, with the board that oversees the
plan voting on Tuesday to require insurers to provide certain minimum benefits,
including coverage of prescription drugs. The requirements were worked out
over several months and include several compromises, balancing the interests
of businesses, insurers and health care advocates.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/03/massachusetts_s_2.php
**Hunger and Nutrition
Food
Stamp Participation in December 2006 Up Over Month
According to the Food Research and Action
Center in December 2006 food stamp participation at 26,363,031 persons
was up over the month by 86,171 people. The overall caseload for December
2006 was nearly half a million persons lower than the prior December, when
some Hurricane Katrina, Rita and Wilma 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/mt-static/archives/2007/03/food_stamp_part_2.php
