**Children, Youth & Families
Cities Consider Copying
Children's Charity in Harlem
The Harlem Children’s Zone
takes on the same kinds of seemingly impossible urban problems that Baltimore and so many other cities face: poverty, crime, troubled schools,
overwhelmed parents. The Zone was born out of frustration with well-meaning
nonprofits that were too narrow in their focus.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/cities-consider.php
Bright Futures and Issues
in Children's Health Care
Motivated by the Bright
Futures guidelines to revisit the history of preventive care in pediatrics,
the authors of "Well-Child Care: Looking Back, Looking Forward"
conclude that while much has been accomplished, more must be done to translate
best practices across increasingly diverse communities and practice environments.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/special-edition.php
Assessing domestic violence
in custody disputes critical to assure safety in parenting plans
As part of a special issue
on domestic abuse, a new article in Family Court Review addresses the need
for a new approach to developing parenting plans after separation when domestic
violence is alleged.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/assessing-domes.php
Mothers' influence is decisive
in tots' first year
The way mothers interact
with their babies in the first year of life is strongly related to how children
behave later on. Both a mother's parenting style and an infant's temperament
reliably predict challenging behavior in later childhood.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/mothers-influen.php
Kids connect alcohol odors
with mom's emotions
When asked to choose between
the odor of beer and an unpleasant odor, children of mothers classified as
'Escape drinkers' were more likely than children of Non-escape drinkers to
choose the unpleasant odor.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/kids-connect-al.php
Low childhood IQ linked
to type of dementia
Children with lower IQs
are more likely decades later to develop vascular dementia than children with
high IQs, according to research published in the online issue of the medical
journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/low-childhood-i.php
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Family stress and child's
temper extremes contribute to anxiety and depression in children
Small children who grow
up in a family where the mother has psychological distress, the family is
exposed to stress or is lacking social support, are at higher risk of developing
anxious and depressive symptoms in early adolescence.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/family-stress-a.php
Scientifically valid prevention
programs cut rates of juvenile delinquency
Seventh-grade students in
U.S. communities that have set up scientifically
validated programs to reduce juvenile delinquency have a significantly smaller
chance of engaging such behavior than do children in towns that have not adopted
such programs.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/scientifically.php
Innovative Ways to Help
Teens Struggling With Drugs, Alcohol and Crime
A national group of project
directors today called on communities across the nation to better help teens
beat drugs, alcohol and crime using a groundbreaking approach tested at 10
pilot sites.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/innovative-ways.php
Researchers study hidden
homicide trend
Gun-related homicide among
young men rose sharply in the United States in recent years even though the nation's
overall homicide rate remained flat, according to a study by researchers at
the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/researchers-stu-1.php
**Civic Engagement - Philanthropy
Initiative Seeks to Address
Local Information Needs Engaging Community Foundations
A $24 million initiative
by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will engage community foundations
in a grant-making challenge to find creative uses of media and technology
to help keep communities informed and their citizens engaged.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/initiative-seek.php
Implicit political attitudes
can predict future voting behavior
A new study in the journal
Political Psychology reveals that people's future voting decisions are to
a significant degree determined by their current automatic mental associations,
even when individuals consciously believe that they are still undecided.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/implicit-politi.php
**Community Development
HUD ACCEPTS $350 MILLION
MISSISSIPPI PLAN TO PRODUCE THOUSANDS OF AFFORDABLE
HOUSING UNITS FOR WORKING FAMILIES
Mississippi's Long Term Workforce Housing Plan
will provide grants and loans to local communities, nonprofit organizations
and private developers to produce approximately 12,000 affordable homes in
Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, and Pearl River counties.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/hud-accepts-350.php
A Year into the Mortgage
Meltdown, New Report Analyzes Housing Market Crisis and Federal Response
With millions of American
families facing foreclosure and the U.S. Senate moving toward approval of
a compromise bill, the public policy center Demos takes stock of the housing
market crisis and the federal response to date.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/a-year-into-the.php
FHA AND MINNESOTA HOUSING
FINANCE AGENCY SIGN AGREEMENT TO HELP MORE MINNESOTANS ACCESS SAFER GOVERNMENT-INSURED
MORTGAGES
A Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) forges a working relationship and commitment by the federal and state
government to help Minnesotans continue to access safer and more secure FHA-insured
mortgages.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/fha-and-minneso.php
**Economic Security
Report urges new approach
to adult education, workforce development
"Reach Higher, America:
Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce" notes that soaring dropout rates
among high school students and diminished literacy skills among adults are
contributing to an increasingly ill-prepared labor market.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/report-urges-ne.php
Corporate Voices for Working
Families Endorses Proposed Legislation to Expand EITC Education
Corporate Voices for Working
Families, a nonprofit corporate membership organization in Washington, D.C., endorses proposed legislation to
educate employees about the availability of the Earned Income Tax Credit and
views it as an extension of its ongoing work to help low-wage employees take
advantage of a host of federal benefits available to them.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/corporate-voice.php
**Education
Engaging teachers means engaged students
To encourage and help teachers
become more involved and enthusiastic about "inclusive teaching",
the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) recently funded an action
research based project.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/engaging-teache.php
New Reading First Data from
States Shows Impressive Gains in Reading Proficiency
The achievement data submitted
by state education agencies (SEAs) and compiled
and analyzed by American Institutes for Research, showed improvement in nearly
every grade and subgroup, including English language learners and students
with disabilities.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/new-reading-fir.php
Leading Civil Rights Organizations
United in Opposition to NCLB Recess Until Reauthorization Act
The proposed bill would
suspend school improvement requirements and send a discouraging message --
that it is acceptable for some children to continue attending substandard
schools, the majority of which serve minority and low-income students.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/leading-civil-r.php
University of Minnesota study uncovers the educational benefits
of social networking sites
The same study found that
low-income students are in many ways just as technologically proficient as
their counterparts, going against what results from previous studies have
suggested.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/university-of-m-1.php
Foundation Announces Over
$3.5 Million in New Grants: Spotlight on Improving Student Learning at the
Undergraduate Level
The Teagle Foundation announced 30 new grants totaling over $3.5
million to fund projects involving more than 45 colleges, universities and
other institutions in higher education. Fifteen of the grants aim to develop
models for advancing student engagement and learning through processes of
systematic improvement.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/teagle-foundati-1.php
**Health
'Neglected infections of
poverty' in US disable hundreds of thousands of Americans annually
An analysis published June
25th in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical
Diseases highlights that diseases very similar to those plaguing Africa, Asia, and Latin America are also occurring frequently among
the poorest people in the United States, especially women and children.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/neglected-infec.php
Hurried doctor visits may
leave patients feeling forgetful
A University of Rochester
Medical Center study disclosed that doctors don't often take the steps necessary
to help patients recall medical instructions.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/hurried-doctor.php
Savings help the medicine
go down
A new study of state-subsidized
pharmacy assistance programs showed that providing prescription drug coverage
for low-income seniors reduces Medicaid and Medicare costs. Moreover, needy
seniors enrolled in the programs were able to cut their dose skimping and
nursing home admissions in half.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/savings-help-th.php
Poor and uninsured patients
more likely to experience racial discrimination
Results of the study showed
that Blacks and Non-English speaking Hispanics were eight times more likely
to report that they had experienced racial and ethnic bias in healthcare than
Whites.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/poor-and-uninsu.php
Study evaluates factors
associated with racial disparities in colon cancer screening
Blacks and Hispanics appear
less likely to undergo colorectal cancer screening than whites because of
socioeconomic, health care access and language barriers.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/study-evaluates-1.php
More than Two-thirds of
Mississippi Voters Support Raising Tobacco Tax to Fund Medicaid
A new poll shows that Mississippi voters overwhelmingly support a significant
increase in the state's tobacco tax to fund vital Medicaid programs and help
reduce smoking among kids.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/new-poll-more-t.php
HealthGrades releases Fifth Annual Women's Health in American Hospitals study
The study analyzes the quality
of care at U.S. hospitals in 17 states for treatment
of heart disease and stroke among women and for women giving birth, with ratings
for individual hospitals. The study also identifies those hospitals performing
in the top 10 percent in the nation in the area of women's health and maternity
care.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/healthgrades-re.php
**Nonprofit Management
Institute for Not-for-Profit
Management Provides Scholarships for Nonprofit Excellence Award Winners
The Institute for Not-for-Profit
Management (INM), part of Columbia Business School Executive Education will
provide scholarships to the four organizations honored by the 2008 New York
Times Company's Nonprofit Excellence Awards, announced June
24, 2008.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/columbia-busine-2.php
**Nutrition and Healthy
Living
'Feeling fat' is worse than
being it
The quality of life of adolescents
who think they are too fat is worse than for adolescents who really are obese.
The proportion of adolescents who think they are overweight has been increasing
more rapidly in recent years than the proportion of those who really are overweight.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/feeling-fat-is.php
Elderly's
restless nights helped by ancient martial art
Now, UCLA researchers report
that practicing tai chi chih, the Westernized version
of a 2,000-year-old Chinese martial art, promotes sleep quality in older adults
with moderate sleep complaints.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/elderlys-restle.php
**Seniors
Improving the Use of Medicines
for Older People in Long-Term Care: Contrasting the Policy Approach of Four
Countries
Compared with Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, U.S. nursing homes have been more successful
in preventing or reducing the unnecessary use of psychotropic medications,
but less so in promoting best practices of overall appropriate medication
use.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/improving-the-u.php
**Substance Abuse
Pediatrics review of underage
drinking prevention programs led by Iowa State researcher
A new report by an Iowa State University researcher assesses the effectiveness
of underage drinking prevention programs and provides a better idea of how
to achieve key goals outlined by the surgeon general.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/pediatrics-revi.php
Treatment for cigarette,
alcohol and drug use in pregnancy improves outcomes for mom and baby
Pregnant women who receive
treatment for substance abuse early in their pregnancy can achieve the same
health outcomes as pregnant women with no substance abuse, according to a
Kaiser Permanente study.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/treatment-for-c.php
Binge drinking due to 'copying'
behavior
A study shows that social
networking is a key factor in the spread of the rapid consumption of large
amounts of alcohol -- binge drinking - which is blamed for serious anti-social
and criminal behavior.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/binge-drinking.php
