**Children, Youth & Families
Great Tips for Finding the
Best Child Care Program
The staff of the Center
for Young Children - a laboratory preschool - at the University of Maryland provides its 10 best suggestions parents
can use when searching for a great child care programs.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/great-tips-for.php
Eating junk while pregnant
can harm your baby
We all know that smoking
and drinking when pregnant can harm the baby, but new research published in
The Journal of Physiology suggests that poor diet may also cause long-lasting,
irreversible damage in offspring from heart disease to diabetes.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/eating-junk-whi.php
To Help Stem Abuse-Related
Child Deaths, Pennsylvania Governor Signs Bill into Law
In the event of a child
fatality or near fatality where there is an indicated report of child abuse,
the legislation, Senate Bill 1147, requires the county children and youth
agency to notify the Department of Public Welfare and organize a six-member
review team to review the circumstances surrounding the fatality or near fatality.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/to-help-stem-ab.php
**************************************************************************
Have a Website? Place HandsNet Headlines
on your site – visit http://www.handsnet.org/addheadl.htm
************************************************************************
**Civic Engagement - Philanthropy
Foundation Center Study Shows Growth in California Grants Benefiting Communities of Color
The report, commissioned
by a group of regional grantmaker associations provides a comprehensive estimate of the extent
to which communities of color are being served by foundation giving in California.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/foundation-cent-2.php
Partnership Receives Community-Campus
Health Award
The Award, announced last
month at the third Community-University Exposition in Victoria, B.C., Canada, recognizes exemplary partnerships
between communities and higher educational institutions that build on each
other's strengths to improve higher education, civic engagement, and the overall
health of communities.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/partnership-rec.php
Prevalence of religious
congregations affects mortality rates
A LSU associate professor
of sociology Troy found that a community's religious
environment -- that is, the type of religious congregations within a locale
-- affects mortality rates, often in a positive manner.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/prevalence-of-r.php
**Community Development
Preventing Panhandling
Several promising strategies
to reduce panhandling are described, including: providing informational brochures
about available social services to panhandlers; requiring all vendors to have
permits; initiating civilian patrols to monitor and discourage activity; and
prohibiting the sale of single servings of alcohol through a city ordinance.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/preventing-panh.php
HUD HIGHLIGHTS FAITH-BASED
CONTRIBUTIONS TO FIGHTING HOMELESSNESS
Addressing the White House
National Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Conference, the Housing and
Urban Development Secretary highlighted the Administration's partnership with
faith-based and community organizations and steps being taken to reduce chronic
homelessness, especially among veterans.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/hud-secretary-h.php
NEW HUD SECRETARY TOURS
NEW ORLEANS, MEETS WITH MAYOR
On his first visit to New Orleans as the new head of the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary Steve Preston toured some of the
city's public housing communities, participated in a groundbreaking ceremony
for a new community center, visited a family that
used a HUD program to become first-time homeowners.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/new-hud-secreta.php
HUD CHARGES ALABAMA MOBILE HOME PARK OWNERS WITH DISCRIMINATING
AGAINST FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
The Fair Housing Act makes
it unlawful for a housing provider to refuse to rent to families because they
have children or impose different terms or conditions on families with children.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/hud-charges-ala.php
**Education
$4.37 Million in Grants
Awarded for Training Highly Qualified Personnel in Special Education
The U.S. Department of Education
announced the award of in grants to universities in 14 states to help train
doctoral, post-doctoral and other graduate students to work with children
with disabilities.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/437-million-in.php
New Gear Up Grants to Help Middle School Students Overcome Barriers to College
Access
The U.S. Department of Education
announced the award of $41,573,649 for 24 new grants under the Gaining Early
Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) to help more
than 69,000 disadvantaged middle school students receive assistance to prepare
for and pursue a college education.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/new-gear-up-gra.php
Education Development Center to Share Open Source Math Curricula
on Curriki
To start, Curriki will make available EDC's
standards-based middle-grades algebra course, allowing teachers to not only
access the free curricula, but to add to it or adapt it for use in their classrooms.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/education-devel.php
New Guide Available to Help
Consumers Recognize Deceptive Student Loan Practices
The U.S. Department of Education
and Federal Trade Commission have jointly released a consumer guide to help
students and their families navigate the maze of offers they may face when
seeking new student loans or consolidating existing student loans to pay for
higher education.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/new-guide-avail.php
U.S. Department of Education Awards More
Than $74 Million to Promote Safe Schools, Healthy Students
Grants have been awarded
to 27 states as part of a joint effort by the U.S. departments of Education, Health and
Human Services, and Justice to support schools in creating safe learning environments
that promote healthy childhood development and prevent youth violence and
drug use.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/us-department-o-9.php
Comments/Recommendations
in response to Department of Education Proposed NCLB Rules in Federal Register
Document E8-8700
According to the Center
for Law and Social Policy by increasing graduation rate requirements, opening
the door for flexible education options, and encouraging partnerships with
other youth-serving systems, NCLB can empower state and local education agencies
to give youth the education and skills they need to be successful.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/commentsrecomme.php
U.S. Education Secretary
Announces States Approved to Use Differentiated Accountability under NCLB
The Department of Education
announced the approval of six states---Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio---to use the Differentiated Accountability
Pilot aimed at helping states differentiate between underperforming schools
in need of dramatic interventions and those that are closer to meeting the
goals of No Child Left Behind.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/us-education-se-1.php
**Health
Improving Services for Young
Children: A Toolkit for State Medicaid Agencies
A new report shows state
officials how they can work with external quality review organizations to
evaluate and improve the quality of preventive and developmental services
delivered to children enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/monitoring-and.php
Education Development Center Appoints New Head of Suicide Prevention Resource Center
Education Development Center,
Inc. (EDC) has appointed Jerry Reed, Ph.D., MSW, former executive director
of SPAN USA, who will lead its policy and professional development activities
in suicide prevention and serve as Director of the Suicide Prevention Resource
Center (SPRC). SPRC is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, a division of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/education-devel-1.php
**Nonprofit Management -
Nonprofit Sector
Nonprofit Job Growth in
Maryland Outpaces Private Sector
Not only do nonprofits provide
critical services and opportunities for cultural expression, but they also
play a key role in the state's economy. Nonprofit job growth is especially
critical given the recent employment declines in other parts of the U.S. economy."
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/06/nonprofit-job-g.php
**Nutrition and Healthy
Living
Looking for the Fountain
of Youth? Cut your calories, research suggests
While scientists do not
know how calorie restriction affects the aging process in rodents, one popular
hypothesis is that it slows aging by decreasing a thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine
(T3), which then slows metabolism and tissue aging.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/looking-for-the.php
**Substance Abuse
Minimum drinking age of
21 saves lives
One of the most comprehensive
studies on the minimum drinking age shows that laws aimed at preventing consumption
of alcohol by those under 21 have significantly reduced drinking-related fatal
car crashes.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/minimum-drinkin.php
