School Bullying Morphs
into Alarming Online Trends
Just because schools have
let out for the summer doesn't mean children escape being bullied. Aggressive
behavior among school children doesn't just happen in face-to-face situations.
Cyber bullying allows greater severity and breadth of aggression because the
bully's identity is protected and the victim is more easily depersonalized
by the lack of face-to-face interaction. Because children are still learning
social behavior, parents need to monitor online activity and correct bullying
behaviors when they arise.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/school-bullying.php
Most middle-school boys
and many girls play violent video games
A new study by researchers
at the Massachusetts General Hospital's (MGH) Center for Mental Health and
Media dispels some myths and uncovers some surprises about young teens and
violent video and computer games. The study is the first to ask middle-school
youth in detail about the video and computer games they play and to analyze
how many of those titles are rated M (Mature -- meant for ages 17 and up).
At a time when the availability of M-rated games is on the rise, it is important
to explore their effects on the children who play them, the researchers note.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/most-middlescho.php
State Early Childhood
Policies
As the National Center for Children in
Poverty points out, early childhood is a time of great opportunity. For
young children, it is a time when they will learn to walk and talk and build
the foundations for future development. For policymakers, it is a time to
improve the odds that young children receive the basic supports and opportunities
that will promote their healthy development and school readiness. Improving
the Odds for Young Children uses this three-part framework to identify key
policy steps that states can take to improve the odds for children's early
success in school and in life.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/state-early-chi.php
**************************************************************************
Have a Website? Place HandsNet
Headlines on your site – visit http://www.handsnet.org/addheadl.htm
************************************************************************
Basic Facts About
Child Support
According to the Center
for Law and Social Policy, more than 17 million children and their families
received $24 billion in child support in 2006 through the help of the Child
Support Enforcement Program. This federal-state partnership has been increasingly
effective at collecting child support, now collecting $4.58 for every dollar
spent. But the success of this program is in jeopardy. Starting in October
2007, a federal funding cut will reduce state enforcement efforts by $6.7
billion over 10 years, which will deprive children of at least $11 billion
in the support they are owed over the same decade. Hurting millions of low-income
children by cutting a program of proven effectiveness makes no sense.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/basic-facts-abo.php
**Civic Engagement
Paid Fellowship for Minority
Students Interested in the Non-Profit Sector
The Nonprofit Sector Research
Fund of the Aspen Institute is looking for students to apply for semester
and summer internships under the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fellowship
for Minority Students. The fellowship, which is paid, provides internships
in Washington, DC with the Fund. The application deadline
for the fall semester is July 15th, 2007. Fellows perform research and program
duties for the Fund's grantmaking and outreach efforts.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/paid-fellowship.php
The State of the Nation's
Housing 2007
The U.S. housing market continues to struggle
under a cloud of sharp drops in housing demand and an oversupply of stock
according to this year's State of the Nation's Housing report from the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies. Homebuyers on
the margin of qualifying for mortgage loans finally pulled out of the market
despite the availability of creative mortgage products that helped them keep
up with higher house prices. Meanwhile, the tightening of credit standards
in the wake of worse than anticipated subprime loan
performance is further dampening demand.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/the-state-of-th.php
**Community Development
Community Action Partnership
Announces 2007 Certified Community Action Professionals
Thirteen individuals who
fight poverty on the local level have received the Certified Community Action
Professional (CCAP) designation from the Washington, DC-based Community Action
Partnership. A national professional executive development strategy, the
CCAP program recognizes exceptional Community Action leaders who are helping
low-income people change their lives. In order to become a CCAP, candidates
must demonstrate a keen grasp of the history and mission of Community Action
and innovative approaches for fighting poverty by completing a comprehensive
candidate data form, developing an executive skills portfolio, and passing
a written exam.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/community-actio.php
**Economic Security
The High Price of Being
Poor in Kentucky
According to analysis from
the Brookings Institution, Kentucky's working families frequently pay
a premium for everyday necessities. Lower-income workers in Kentucky are
more likely to pay double-digit interest rates for auto loans; more likely
to pay hundreds of dollars more for car insurance; and more likely to pay
a higher sticker price for their car compared to their higher income counterparts.
Through a combination of initiatives that bring down business costs, curb
unscrupulous behavior, and boost consumer knowledge, public and private leaders
can bring down these prices, creating up to thousands of dollars in extra
family spending power.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/the-high-price.php
Workforce Investment
Act: Recommendations to Improve the Effectiveness of Job Training
According to the Center
for Law and Social Policy the United States economy is undergoing a major transformation
that requires a "high-road" path to U.S. global competitiveness, which is characterized
by high skills, high productivity, and greater opportunity for all workers.
Congress has the opportunity to build such a system through the reauthorization
of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and subsequent appropriations decisions.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/workforce-inves.php
How Have Asset Policies
for Cash Welfare and Food Stamps Changed since the 1990s?
Cash welfare and food stamps
are means tested: assets and income must fall below set limits for families
to qualify. While this ensures that benefits go to the neediest families,
asset limits may also discourage asset building. This Opportunity and Ownership fact sheet from the
Urban
Institute examines allowance changes for restricted and unrestricted accounts
at the federal and state level.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/how-have-asset.php
Changes in Federal TANF
Rules Could Help States Meet Welfare Reform Goals
According to the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities the effect of the Deficit Reduction Act
(DRA) is to significantly increase the proportion of TANF recipients that
states would be required to engage in a specified set of work activities for
a federally-prescribed number of hours each week. The law also grants broad
new regulatory authority to the Department of Health and Human Services ---
the federal agency that oversees the TANF block grant --- in several areas.
Taken together, most states as well as many outside analysts view the new
regulations as restrictive.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/changes-in-fede.php
**Education
Has Student Achievement
Increased Since No Child Left Behind?
Student achievement in reading
and math has increased since the No Child Left Behind Act was enacted in 2002, according to the most comprehensive
and thorough study to date from the Center on Education Policy of the results
of state tests administered as part of the landmark federal education law.
The study is unique as it includes verified data from all 50 states -- much
of which is available for the first time in the report -- and investigates
achievement trends both before and after the passage of NCLB.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/has-student-ach.php
Students in Underperforming
Schools Benefit from Supplemental Educational Services Under No Child Left Behind
Students in underperforming
schools generally made statistically significant gains in math and reading
after participating in supplemental educational services such as tutoring
and remediation, according to a study conducted by the RAND Corporation for
the U.S. Department of Education. Supplemental educational services like
tutoring had a positive influence on reading and math test scores in five
out of seven large districts studied where there were sufficient students
to examine effects.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/students-in-und.php
Ingredients of a Successful
Summer Learning Program
In previous work the Urban
Institute evaluated a summer learning intervention that receives both
federal and private funding, the Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL)
Accelerated Learning Summer Program. A new report examines whether program
components were implemented with fidelity and describes implementation issues
that may affect whether the BELL program can be replicated in other
sites. Given those positive results, this new paper describes the specific
elements of the successful program so it can be replicated, and investigates
potential barriers to implementation and replication.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/ingredients-of.php
**Health
National Catholic Leaders
Call on Congress to Fully Fund and Strengthen Child Health Insurance Program
As the Senate Finance Committee
works on reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP),
the leaders of three national Catholic organizations have called on Congress
to strengthen and improve the vital federal health program. In a letter to
Senate Finance Committee, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
(USCCB), Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), and Catholic
Charities USA urged Congress to strengthen SCHIP so that all children eligible
for the program get health care they deserve. As a result of SCHIP, millions
of children now have coverage that enables them to get health care they need,
when they need it.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/national-cathol.php
Billions in Windfall
Payments Go to Private Medicare Plans
According to Families USA,
when lawmakers added private plans to Medicare, they claimed that such plans
would save money and provide better care. Proponents of these plans,
now called "Medicare Advantage" plans, argued that because they
would foster "coordination of care" and inject the "efficiency
of the private market" into Medicare, these plans would result in savings
for taxpayers and better health care for beneficiaries. According to the
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Medicare Advantage plans are paid an average of 12
percent more than traditional Medicare to provide the same care.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/billions-in-win.php
**Substance Abuse
Inhaling from Just 1
Cigarette Can Lead to Nicotine Addiction
A new study published in
the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine shows that 10 percent of
youth who become hooked on cigarettes are addicted within two days of first
inhaling from a cigarette, and 25 percent are addicted within a month. The
study found that adolescents who smoke even just a few cigarettes per month
suffer withdrawal symptoms when deprived of nicotine, a startling finding
that is contrary to long-held beliefs that only people with established smoking
habits of at least five cigarettes per day experience such symptoms.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/07/inhaling-from-j.php
