A
Profile of Pedophilia: A Comprehensive Special Article Offers New Insight
and Help
National attention about
pedophilia has grown because of recent high-profile cases of child sexual
abuse. In this special article in the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings,
Ryan Hall, M.D. and Richard Hall, M.D., son and father, take an in-depth look
at the definition of pedophilia, characteristics of offenders, recidivism,
treatment outcomes and forensic issues.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/a_profile_of_pe.php
**Civic Engagement and Nonprofit
Management
150-Plus
Social Change Web Projects Compete for Cash and Buzz
CompuMentor is sponsoring
a unique competition for cash and services that blends elements of "American
Idol" with Sand Hill Road-style venture capitalism and a healthy dose
of philanthropic investment. The NetSquared community--currently
3,000 registered users--will vote on the top 20, who will be brought to the
NetSquared Conference on May 29 & 30, hosted by Cisco
Systems in San Jose. At the Conference, each project
will be grilled by VCs, philanthropy experts, web developers and social activists.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/150plus_social.php
Group
Questions Cellphone Fund-Raising
A new program that lets
cellphone users send text messages to donate to
the American Red Cross in major natural disasters has come under fire by a
consumer group that contends the program is a business development strategy
masquerading as charity. What rankles the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is
that each donation is capped at $5 and will incur standard text-messaging
fees, which on AT&T are 15 cents.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/group_questions.php
**Community Development
Government
Program Helps Families Stay in their Homes
More than 36,500 families
have been able to stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure this year thanks
to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Federal Housing
Administration (FHA) comprehensive lending relief measures. The FHA's Loss
Mitigation Program gives lenders who provide FHA-insured mortgages the authority
and responsibility to assist homeowners who have fallen into financial difficulties
with their home mortgages.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/government_prog.php
LISC
and NEF to invest $100 million in Louisiana
LISC and its affiliate,
National Equity Fund, recently announced an additional $100 million to be
spent in Louisiana this year on 2,000 affordable housing
units. Together the two organizations had already harnessed more than $50
million for Louisiana invesment
through the end of 2006, and much of the additional development has been made
possible by a surge in post-Katrina Gulf Opportunity Zone tax credits.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/lisc_and_nef_to.php
Free
Training Program on Safe Rehabilitation of Hurricane-Damaged Homes
The U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development launched a free training program to instruct homeowners,
contractors and volunteers in the New Orleans area on how to safely rehabilitate
properties damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. HUD's free workshops will
help ensure that workers protect themselves from potentially hazardous materials
and will significantly reduce the number of work-related injuries and illnesses.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/free_training_p.php
**Economic Security
Making
Markets An Asset for Lower Income, Working Families
According to the Brookings
Institution, public and private leaders have a substantial, and widely overlooked,
opportunity today to help lower income families get ahead by bringing down
the inflated prices they pay for basic necessities, such as food and housing.
In general, lower income families tend to pay more for the exact same consumer
product than families with higher incomes.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/making_markets.php
Richer
and Poorer: Income Inequality in Los Angeles
Income inequality as measured
by pre-tax incomes has become progressively worse in the United States since 1970. An article from the UCLA
Anderson School analyses the indicators of inequality in Los Angeles and contrasts
them to the trends in the US in an attempt to understand how the events of
the past two decades have changed the income structure of the region and the
policy implications they carry for the future economic and social landscape
of Los Angeles.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/richer_and_poor.php
**Education
Family
Involvement in Elementary School Children's Education
According to the Harvard
Family Research Project, during their elementary school years, children
undergo important developmental changes. Their reasoning becomes more logical,
their attention gets more adaptable, their perspective taking grows more sophisticated,
and their reading and math skills blossom. As in the period of early childhood,
family involvement processes are critical for elementary-school-age children's
learning and development.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/family_involvem_1.php
**Health
People
Who Are Severely Overweight Are Fastest Increasing Group of Obese Americans
The proportion of Americans
who are severely obese --- about 100 pounds or more overweight --- increased
by 50 percent from 2000 to 2005, twice as fast as the growth seen in moderate
obesity, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today. To be classified
as severely obese, a person must have a body mass index (a ratio of weight
to height) of 40 or higher --- roughly 100 pounds or more overweight for an
average adult man.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/people_who_are.php
Report
Reveals Estimated High Prevalence and Heavy Cost of Type 2 Diabetes Complications
A first-of-its-kind report
looking at the prevalence and cost of type 2 diabetes complications shows
that an estimated three out of five people with type 2 diabetes have at least
one of the other serious health problems commonly associated with the disease,
and that these health problems are taking a heavy financial toll on the United
States. The new report, titled State of Diabetes Complications in America, also shows that estimated annual
healthcare costs for a person with type 2 diabetes complications are about
three times higher than that of the average American without diagnosed diabetes.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/report_reveals.php
SeniorCare to Lose Federal Funding
SeniorCare
created by Wisconsin five years ago to help low-income seniors get prescription
drugs serves 104,000 people and, state officials say, has saved the federal
government $669 million in Medicaid costs. Jim Doyle (D) and seniors advocates
were more than disappointed last week when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services decided to pull the plug on federal funding for SeniorCare
after June 30.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/_seniorcare_to.php
Guns
in Homes Strongly Associated with Higher Rates of Suicide
In the first nationally
representative study to examine the relationship between survey measures of
household firearm ownership and state level rates of suicide in the U.S., researchers at the Harvard School
of Public Health (HSPH) found that suicide rates among children, women and
men of all ages are higher in states where more households have guns.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/guns_in_homes_s.php
**Hunger and Nutrition
Take
Action: FY2008 Budget Update and Farm Bill Nutrition Title Advocacy Opportunities
From: Food Research and Action Center
The House continues its
spring recess this week, but action is expected to heat up next week when
the House and Senate Budget Conferees sit down to resolve differences between
the FY 2008 House and Senate-passed Budget Resolutions. Anti-hunger advocates
should use this period to weigh in with support for House provisions which
include: a five-year reserve fund for the 2007 Farm Bill; a "Sense of
the House Regarding the Need to Maintain and Build Upon
Efforts to Fight Hunger"; and a higher domestic discretionary programs
spending level.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/take_action_fy2.php
**Substance Abuse
CSPI:
Tell Congress: Increase Alcohol Taxes, Don't Cut Them
The Center for Science in
the Public Interest urges you to tell your legislator to stand up to the beer
lobby by opposing H.R. 1610: a bill that would slash the federal excise tax
on beer by 50%, to its 1951 level! Please urge your legislator to stand up
to the beer lobby by opposing this bill.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/cspi_tell_congr.php
Don't
Blame Clinics for Methadone ODs, SAMHSA Says
Methadone has been involved
in a growing number of drug overdoses, but diversion from methadone clinics
is not the source of the problem, according to officials at the federal Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). "While deaths
involving methadone increased, experiences in several states show that addiction
treatment programs are not the culprits.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2007/04/dont_blame_clin.php
