**Children, Youth & Families
Infants and Toddlers in the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Program
CCDBG is the primary source
of federal funding for child care subsidies for low-income working families
and funds to improve child care quality. CCDBG provides child care assistance
to children from birth to age 13. In fiscal year 2008, CCDBG provided $5
billion in federal funding, with states expected to contribute an additional
$2 billion to draw down all federal funds.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/infants-and-tod.php
Diversity in primary schools promotes harmony
The research, funded by
the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), confirms that the ethnic
composition of primary schools has a direct impact on children's attitudes
towards those in other ethnic groups and on their ability to get on with their
peers.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/diversity-in-pr.php
No gender differences in math performance
We've all heard it. Many
of us in fact believe it. Girls just aren't as good at math as boys. But is
it true? After sifting through mountains of data -- including SAT results
and math scores from 7 million students who were tested in accordance with
the No Child Left Behind Act -- a team of scientists says the answer is no.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/study-no-gender.php
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Serious school failure turns out to be a real bummer
for girls, but not boys
Adolescent girls who had
a serious school failure by the 12th grade -- being expelled, suspended or
dropping out -- were significantly more likely to have suffered a serious
bout of depression at the age of 21 than girls who did not have these problems.
New research published this week in the Journal of Adolescent Health showed
that girls who had early conduct problems in elementary school also were at
increased risk for depression in early adulthood.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/serious-school.php
Robot playmates may help children with autism
Papers delivered at three
conferences in the US and Europe this summer report on new research at the
University of Southern California studying interactions of children with Autism
Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with bubble-blowing robots. The preliminary studies
confirm what has been widely reported anecdotally: that ASD children in many
cases interact more easily with mechanical devices than with humans.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/robot-playmates.php
**Community Development
National Urban League Congratulates the Congressional
Black Caucus for Its Heroic Efforts to Expand Housing Counseling Services
Because housing counseling
plays a key role in increasing financial awareness and closing the wealth
gap between minority and non-minority households, the National Urban League
has recommended an expansion of housing counseling and financial literacy
services in an effort to improve the financial situation for minorities with
respect to securing home ownership, maintaining good credit and attaining
monetary savings.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/national-urban.php
Realtors Hail Housing Bill
The National Association
of Realtors has expressed ongoing support for the major features in the housing
package. The legislation includes Federal Housing Administration Modernization
that will simplify and make FHA-backed mortgages more available while helping
thousands of families refinance existing mortgages and keep their homes.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/realtorsr-hail.php
HUD FAIR LENDING PUBLIC
SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT TO SHOWCASE IN MOVIE THEATRES ACROSS THE NATION
The U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development announced today that a public service announcement (PSA)
designed to educate consumers about their fair lending rights is now running
on 595 screens in 32 movie theatres in 28 cities, including 10 cities with
some of nation's highest foreclosure rates.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/hud-fair-lendin.php
Region hit hard by 1993 floods showed economic resiliency
With the first wave of clean-up
efforts behind them, residents of communities affected by this year's Midwest
floods may find hope in a University of Illinois study on the economic impact
of the 1993 flood that devastated much of the same region.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/region-hit-hard.php
Hurricane preparedness survey: Worries about drinking
water and medical care
Compared to other respondents,
those coping with a chronic illness or disability in the household are less
prepared for a major hurricane and are more worried about a number of storm
related problems.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/hurricane-prepa.php
**Economic Security
New Hope for the Working
Poor
Based on the simple premise
that people who work full time should not be poor, New Hope provided full-time workers with several
benefits: an earnings supplement to raise their income above poverty, low-cost
health insurance, and subsidized child care. For those unable to find full-time
work, the program offered help in finding a job and referral to a wage-paying
community service job when necessary.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/new-hope-for-th.php
Why Play a Losing Game? Carnegie Mellon Study Uncovers
Why Low-Income People Buy Lottery Tickets
Although state lotteries,
on average, return just 53 cents for every dollar spent on a ticket, people
continue to pour money into them - especially low-income people, who spend
a larger percentage of their incomes on lottery tickets than do the wealthier
segments of society. A study sheds light on the reasons why low-income lottery
players eagerly invest in a product that provides poor returns.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/why-play-a-losi.php
How Much More Can Consumers Be Squeezed?
In testimony this morning
before Congress's Joint Economic Committee, Jared Bernstein, a senior economist
at the Economic Policy Institute, examines the array of economic forces and
events that are squeezing most working Americans' income and living standards,
and suggests some policy fixes to help ease at least some of the pain.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/how-much-more-c.php
**Education
U.S. Department
of Education Awards Oregon $9.5 Million
Grant to Help Create More Charter Schools
Oregon is one of five states receiving the
competitive grants through the Department's Charter Schools Program (CSP),
which supports states' efforts to plan, design, implement and disseminate
information about charter schools.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/us-department-o-11.php
Golf Great Phil Mickelson Stresses Value of Math, Science;
Demonstrates to Students How They Influence Golf
The golfer known as "Lefty"
helps sponsor the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teacher Academy which gives teachers practical, hands-on
ways of making science and math interesting in their classrooms.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/golf-great-phil.php
$1.5 Million Awarded to University of Illinois at Chicago for National Technical Assistance Center for Minority
Institutions
"By targeting minority
institutions that train special education personnel, we will ultimately be
lending a hand to the children with whom these future teachers and specialists
will be working and thus, help close the achievement gap," said U.S.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/15-million-awar.php
College Admissions for Fit and Value -- Not Rankings
The search for a college
should not be a high stakes race to the finish line, but a thoughtful and
enjoyable process.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/college-admissi-1.php
National Student Clearinghouse Provides Real-Time Access
to Student Loan Information
The National Council of
Higher Education Loan Programs, Inc., the Meteor Advisory Team, and the National
Student Clearinghouse announced that colleges and students can now track and
manage their federal and private student loan debt through the Meteor Network.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/national-studen.php
$2.2 Million in Grants Awarded for Critical Foreign
Language Instruction
The U.S. Department of Education
announced the award of more than $2.2 million in grants to school districts
in seven states to help increase the number of Americans learning foreign
languages critical to national security and commerce.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/22-million-in-g.php
U.S. Education
Department Funds 13 Grants to Promote Student Exchanges and Partnerships between
U.S. and Brazilian Universities
U.S. Secretary of Education
Margaret Spellings today announced the award of 13 new grants totaling $364,904
to promote partnerships between universities and to increase education and
training opportunities in a wide range of academic and professional disciplines
for students and faculty in both countries.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/us-education-de-1.php
U.S. Secretary of Education Delivers Remarks at the
2008 Higher Education Summit
U.S. Secretary of Education
Margaret Spellings today delivered remarks on the progress that her Commission
on the Future of Higher Education helped to facilitate, as well as discussed
global competitiveness and the workforce needs of the 21st Century in Chicago.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/us-secretary-of-12.php
**Health
Why Not the Best? Results from the National Scorecard
on U.S. Health System
Performance, 2008
The U.S. now ranks last out of 19 countries
on a measure of mortality amenable to medical care, falling from 15th as other
countries raised the bar on performance.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/why-not-the-bes.php
Century Foundation Announces New Working Group on Medicare
Reform
The Century Foundation (TCF)
announced the formation of a new Working Group on Medicare Reform. TCF, a
nonpartisan public policy research foundation, has assembled a group of prominent
physicians and health care experts from around the country to assess the current
state of Medicare and make recommendations to reform and strengthen one of
the nation's most effective and enduring public programs
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/century-foundat.php
Anti-HIV therapy boosts life expectancy more than 13
years
The life expectancy for
patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has increased by more than
13 years since the late 1990s thanks to advancements in antiretroviral therapy,
according to researchers. Improved survival has led to a nearly 40 percent
drop in AIDS deaths among 43,355 HIV-positive study participants in Europe and North America.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/antihiv-therapy.php
Long-Term Care: Preparing for the Next Generation
It is of little surprise
that the Commonwealth Fund/Modern Health Care Health Care Opinion Leaders
(HCOL) Survey found that the three most urgent challenges facing long-term
care are: securing adequate financing, improving the quality of care in long-term
care facilities, and developing a workforce that is sufficient in size and
skill.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/longterm-care-p.php
Adding Long-Term Care Benefit to Medicare Is Best Way to Ensure
Affordability for Families
As our population ages,
health care opinion leaders are sounding the alarm about the significant challenges
we will face financing and improving the quality of long-term care. A majority
of health care opinion leaders say that long-term care costs should be shared
by individuals and the government (55%), while one-quarter (26%) say costs
should be shared by individuals, employers, and the government.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/adding-longterm.php
HHS Secretary Leavitt Travels to Alaska to Advance
Rural Health Initiatives
U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt is visiting southern Alaska this week to strengthen efforts to
enhance health care delivery to Alaska Native communities and to observe best
practices in the region.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/hhs-secretary-l-1.php
**Nonprofit Management
Foundation Center Releases
'The Grantseeker's Guide to Winning Proposals'
The newest title in the
Foundation Center's suite of proposal writing guides
includes 35 actual proposals that received foundation funding. Designed for
development officers, nonprofit board members, fundraising consultants, volunteers,
and others in pursuit of foundation grants, "The Grantseeker's
Guide to Winning Proposals" provides real-world proposals for general
operating support, program development, staff salaries, program evaluation,
and other needs.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/foundation-cent-3.php
**Nutrition and Healthy
Living
Research says fat friends
and poor education helps people think thin
For any given level of Body
Mass Index (BMI), somebody with a university degree feels much fatter than
someone with low educational qualifications. Overall, the researchers believe
that a person's satisfaction level depends on their own weight relative to
the weight of those around them. They suggest that it is easier to be fat
in a society that is fat.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/research-says-f.php
**Seniors
Gray and Green together: Older adults can play role
in creating healthier environment
Volunteering for environmental
protection activities can be physically and mentally sustaining for older
people, according to the latest issue of Public Policy & Aging Report
(PPAR). In fact, this demographic group is in a unique position to have a
noticeable impact on its surroundings.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/gray-and-green.php
Exercise could be the heart's fountain of youth
According to a study conducted
at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, older people who did endurance exercise
training for about a year ended up with metabolically much younger hearts.
The researchers also showed that by one metabolic measure, women benefited
more than men from the training.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/exercise-could.php
Pharmacy Study Finds Current Recommended Daily Intake
of Vitamin D Not Sufficient in Seniors
A new study from the University of Colorado Denver's School of Pharmacy has found that a simple educational
intervention provided by a pharmacist can make a significant impact in the
amount of vitamin D intake in geriatric outpatients, resulting in increased
serum, or blood levels of this key nutrient.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/pharmacy-study.php
**Substance Abuse
Energy drinks linked to risk-taking behaviors among
college students
Frequent energy drink consumers
(six or more days a month), according to Miller's findings, were approximately
three times as likely than less-frequent energy drink consumers or non-consumers
to have smoked cigarettes, abused prescription drugs and been in a serious
physical fight in the year prior to the survey.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/energy-drinks-l.php
Yale study shows why cigarette smoke makes flu, other
viral infections worse
A new study by researchers
at Yale School of Medicine could explain why the cold and flu virus symptoms
that are often mild and transient in non-smokers can seriously sicken smokers.
Smokers have been more likely than non-smokers to die during previous influenza
epidemics and are more prone to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/yale-study-show.php
