**Children,
Youth & Families
2 years old -- a childhood obesity tipping point?
A study presented at a pediatric research program on Friday
suggested obesity prevention efforts should begin as early as age two, when
children reach a "tipping point" in a progression that leads to
obesity later in life.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/2-years-old-a-c.php
Latest State Data on Teen Birth Rates, Abstinence, and Contraception
The 2008 edition of Child Trends' annual Facts at a Glance
contains a state-by-state list of teen birth rates as well as data on the
percentage of teens in grades 9-12 who abstain from sex or use contraception.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/latest-state-da.php
Gaining advantages from childhood experience
A recent study from the University of New Mexico psychology
department and collaborators at Rockefeller University examined how early
life experience influences social skills and ability to handle stressful situations.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/gaining-advanta.php
Family type has less-than-expected impact on parental involvement
Children in step-families and in other non-traditional families
get just as much quality time with their parents as those in traditional families,
with only a few exceptions, according to research to be presented at the annual
meeting of the American Sociological Association today.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/family-type-has.php
Biological fathers not necessarily the best, social dads parent
well too
Researchers found that married social fathers exhibited equivalent
or higher quality parenting behaviors than married and cohabiting biological
fathers. Married social fathers were more engaged with children, took on
more shared responsibility in parenting, and were more trusted by mothers
to take care of children.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/biological-fath.php
Putting Children's Welfare First
This Urban Institute paper is a response to New Safety Net
Paper 3, "Family Security: Supporting Parents' Employment and Children's
Development." While acknowledging the successes of Welfare Reform, the
more important purpose of welfare reform is---or at least ought to be---to
enhance the well-being of children living in low-income families.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/putting-childre.php
Supporting Parents' Employment and Children's Development
- Summary
In this summary from the Urban Institute, the authors outline
a "family security" approach that would help parents fulfill their
roles effectively. Among the recommendations are flexible and paid leave
policies for working parents, guaranteed child care, and expansion of the
Early Head Start program.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/supporting-pare.php
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The kids most likely to go armed
A new analysis of a 2005 survey of American schoolchildren
has identified factors that may be used to help improve school safety. The
research gives detailed information about the carrying of guns, blades and
clubs.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/the-kids-most-l.php
Male college students more likely than less-educated peers
to commit property crimes
College-bound youth report lower levels of criminal activity
and substance use during adolescence compared to non-college-bound youth.
However, levels of drinking, property theft and unstructured socializing with
friends increase among the college-bound after enrollment at a four-year university.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/male-college-st.php
**Community
Development
This old healthy house
The age of your neighborhood may influence your risk of obesity,
according to a new study from the University of Utah. The study found that
residents were at less risk of being obese or overweight if they lived in
older, walkable neighborhoods -- those that are
more densely populated, designed to be pedestrian friendly and have a range
of destinations.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/this-old-health.php
Housing Stimulus Bill a Big Win for Construction Industry
The Associated Equipment Distributors (AED), an association
representing construction equipment distributors, was an instrumental force
in bringing a provision in the bill -- the home purchase tax credit, which
provides first-time homebuyers with a tax credit of up to $7,500 -- to fruition.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/housing-stimulu-1.php
Returning Home on Parole: Former Prisoners' Experiences in
Illinois, Ohio, and Texas
Using data from the Urban Institute's Returning Home study,
this brief examines post release supervision experiences in Illinois, Ohio,
and Texas. Overall, parolees reported positive relationships with their parole
officers but received relatively little tangible assistance finding a job
or drug treatment program.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/returning-home.php
HUD ANNOUNCES DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR SOUTH TEXAS HURRICANE
VICTIMS
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston
announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to three hurricane-ravaged
counties in South Texas and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters
forced from their homes following Hurricane Dolly.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/hud-announces-d-7.php
HUD CHARGES WISCONSIN LANDLORDS WITH DISCRIMINATING AGAINST
FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced
today that it has charged the owners and property manager of a Wisconsin rental
property with housing discriminating for refusing to rent certain apartments
to families with children.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/hud-charges-wis.php
**Economic Security
Comment on "Supporting Work for Low-Income People with
Significant Challenges"
This comment from the Urban Institute provides an overview
of the issues related to supporting work and provides relevant background
on past research and various strategies that have been employed to address
the problem of helping low-income people with significant challenges engage
in and sustain employment.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/comment-on-supp.php
Making Work Pay Enough - Summary
One-third of America's
families with children are low income, meaning their incomes fall below twice
the federal poverty level. This Urban Institute essay outlines proposals
to enhance low-income families' purchasing power and reduce unusually high
housing costs through a package of reforms and policy initiatives that tackle
both the income side and expenditure side of family budgets.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/making-work-pay-2.php
Comment on "Making Work Pay II"
This Urban Institute paper is a response to New Safety Net
Paper 2, "Making Work Pay II: Comprehensive Health Insurance for Low-Income
Working Families." The paper carefully, objectively, and concisely assesses
the nature, magnitude, and causes of the problem of the uninsured in the United
States.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/comment-on-maki.php
Enabling Families to Weather Emergencies and DEVELOP: The
Role of Assets
Low-wage jobs can be unstable, leaving families struggling
to cope with employment gaps and financial emergencies that can strike without
warning. About four in five low-income families are "asset poor,"
lacking enough liquid savings to live for three months at the federal poverty
level without earnings.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/enabling-famili.php
Weathering Job Loss - Summary
This Urban Institute summary outlines recommendations for
updating the unemployment insurance program by extending benefits to more
workers through changes in eligibility rules and establishing more uniform
periods of benefit receipt.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/weathering-job-1.php
Weathering Job LOSS: Unemployment Insurance
Most low-income families with children are headed by parents
who work. Few of these families have enough assets to tide them over in hard
times, and many lack access to unemployment insurance or other cash assistance
programs.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/weathering-job.php
Solvency Recommendations for Ohio
This Urban Institute report examines the funding of unemployment
insurance (UI) in Ohio. The two main recommendations to improve short-run
solvency are to: 1) implement a substantial increase in the taxable wage base
and 2) institute a temporary freeze in weekly benefits, both recommendations
to be effective in 2009.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/solvency-recomm.php
Analysis of UI Benefits in Ohio
The Urban Institute report identifies four areas where access
to benefits could be broadened: reduced base period earnings requirements,
enhanced eligibility for part-time workers, establishment of worksharing and establishment of self-employment assistance.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/analysis-of-ui.php
**Education
Many 'Failing' Schools Aren't Failing When Measured on Impact
Rather Than Achievement
Ohio State University researchers developed a new method of
measuring school quality based on schools' actual impact on learning - how
much faster students learned during the academic year than during summer vacation
when they weren't in class.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/many-failing-sc.php
U.S. Department of
Education Announces $2.4 Million in Grants to 20 Institutions to Improve Special
Education Teacher Training Programs
The awards, made under the Special Education Preservice Training Improvement Grants Program, are meant
to improve the quality of special education teacher preparation programs and
ensure that graduates meet the highly qualified teacher requirements of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/us-department-o-13.php
UNC report: Heat-related deaths in high school football players
dip, but all are preventable
The report is produced by the UNC-based National Center for
Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. The figures take to 33 the total number
of football players who have died from heat stroke since 1995 (25 high school,
5 college, 2 professional and one sandlot).
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/unc-report-heat.php
**Health
Whole Health Campaign Calls on Presidential Candidates, Political
Parties to Make Addiction and Mental Illness a Policy Reform Priority
The WHC is working on behalf of more than 84 million Americans
with a mental health or addiction disorder to ensure that all public and private
health plans provide adequate mental health and addiction treatment coverage.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/whole-health-ca.php
most health department directors see climate change as looming
health threat
A new study from George Mason University reveals that while
a majority of US health department directors believe their city or county
will have serious public health problems as a result of climate change within
the next 20 years, very few of them have planned or implemented activities
to detect, prevent or adapt to these health threats.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/mason-study-sho.php
Health Insurance for Low-Income Working Families - Summary
Low-wage workers are less likely than higher-income workers
to have access to employer-sponsored health insurance, and they often can't
afford to purchase private nongroup insurance.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/health-insuranc-3.php
Making Work Pay II: Comprehensive Health Insurance for Low-Income
Working Families
Only 37 percent of adults in low-income working families had
employer-sponsored health insurance and 42 percent had no coverage. In this
Urban Institute essay, the authors propose comprehensive reform that ensures
coverage for everyone at every income level, while still encouraging work.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/making-work-pay.php
Disaster medicine ethical guidelines needed for US health-care
professionals
Head and Neck Surgery calls on the U.S. medical community
to develop a national consensus on ethical guidelines for physicians who care
for patients, victims, and casualties of disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes,
floods, or terrorist attacks.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/disaster-medici.php
Higher HIV infection estimate shows need for routine screening,
more funding for care
The CDC is expected soon to increase the estimate of new HIV
infections in the United States by
40 percent. This highlights the need to make HIV testing a routine part of
medical care and provide better funding to care for those who test positive,
according to the HIV Medicine Association.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/higher-hiv-infe.php
Disparities in prostate cancer treatment suggest ways to improve
care
Quality of care varies greatly for the treatment of men with
early-stage prostate cancer by region of the country and category of health
care facility, suggesting the potential for improved patient outcomes with
more standard treatment protocols.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/disparities-in-1.php
**Homelessness
HUD REPORTS DROP IN THE NUMBER OF CHRONICALLY HOMELESS PERSONS
Last year, nearly 32,000 fewer persons lived on the nation's
streets and in emergency shelters. That's according to a new report released
today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/hud-reports-dro.php
STATEMENT BY HUD PRESS SECRETARY ON HOMELESsNESS rePOrt
The Department of Housing and Urban Development's reports
that chronic homelessness decreased an average of 15% per year between 2005
and 2007 demonstrating that targeted, focused resources can achieve measurable
results. http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/statement-by-th-2.php
**Nonprofit Management
TechSoup Announces Show Your Impact Contest Award Winners
in Adobe Sponsored Design Contest
The contest, co-sponsored by TechSoup and it's technology
product donor partner Adobe Systems Incorporated, invited nonprofit organizations
to share their stories and show how their use of Adobe software helped them
to achieve impact and further their mission.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/08/techsoup-announ-1.php
Columbia's Institute for Not-for-Profit Management to Host
Fall Information Sessions
Anyone with a vested interest in professional development
within the not-for-profit community is encouraged to attend. The Institute
for Not-for-Profit Management builds managerial capacity in not-for-profit
organizations.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/columbias-insti.php
**Nutrition and Healthy Living
Watching too much TV is causing some university students to
pack on the pounds
The transition from adolescence to adulthood has been shown
to be a time for taking on many negative health behaviors including increases
in smoking and alcohol use and decreases in physical activity and fruit and
vegetable consumption.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/watching-too-mu.php
Study suggests 86 percent of Americans could be overweight
or obese by 2030
Most adults in the US will be overweight or obese by 2030,
with related health care spending projected to be as much as $956.9 billion,
according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins, the Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality and the University of Pennsylvania.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/study-suggests-2.php
**Seniors
Communication gap exists between seniors and surgeons, study
finds
The researchers audiotaped patient-surgeon
consultations and later interviewed the patients regarding their concerns
about surgery to find out what, if anything, they had not discussed with their
surgeons. The researchers found that the older adults had raised only about
half of the concerns mentioned in the subsequent interview.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/communication-g.php
**Substance Abuse
APHA Urges House to Protect Health of Americans by Passing
Tobacco Legislation
Although tobacco use is responsible for more than 400,000
deaths each year and costs more than $155 billion each year in medical expenses
and lost productivity, tobacco products remain virtually unregulated.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/apha-urges-hous.php
Right place and right time can trigger drinking
Strong cravings for alcohol can be sparked by the mere sight,
smell and taste of a person's favorite drink. Responses to such cues that
are associated with the positive effects of drinking are a lead cause of relapse
in abstinent alcoholics. Read more from this post.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/right-place-and.php
Drug has potential to prevent alcoholics from relapsing
An experimental drug that blocks the euphoric feelings associated
with drinking may prevent alcoholics from relapsing. The finding, the result
of a mouse study at Oregon Health & Science University, could lead to
human clinical trials within the next year.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/drug-has-potent.php
Alcohol binges early in pregnancy increase risk of infant
oral clefts
The researchers found that women who consumed an average of
five or more drinks per sitting were more than twice as
likely than non-drinkers to have an infant with either of the two major
infant oral clefts: cleft lip with or without cleft palate, or cleft palate
alone.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2008/07/alcohol-binges.php
