**Children, Youth &
Families
Reducing
Behavior Problems Among Preschoolers
According to MDRC, studies
show that preschool teachers at low-income schools report between 15 and 20
percent of the children in their classrooms exhibit clinically high levels
of disruptive and challenging behaviors. And, unfortunately, many preschool
teachers feel ill-equipped to deal with the most challenging behavioral problems.
More training and support for preschool teachers from mental health professionals
might make a difference.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/reducing_behavi.php
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Childhood
Abuse can Impact Victims' Adult Relationships
Abused children may have
a difficult time developing adult relationships with new people who reminded
them of their abusive parent, even if only implicitly, according to a recent
study published in the November issue of Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, an official publication of the Society for Personality and Social
Psychology, published by SAGE Publications.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/childhood_abuse.php
Behavioral
and Emotional Problems Common among Children with Developmental Disabilities
Psychopathology (behavioral
or mental disorder) with developmental disability is a major cause of failure
of community residential placement, reduced occupational opportunity in the
post-school period, and leads to major restrictions in participation in recreational
and educational programs, according to background information in the article.
Despite this, not much attention
has been given to the public health issue of psychopathology in developmental
disability and little research has examined the course of these problems over
time.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/behavioral_and.php
Proposed
Medical Child Support Regulations
This publication from the
Center for Law and Social Policy describes new proposed federal regulations
relating to medical support enforcement and suggests issues on which interested
people may wish to comment. Children in single parent families often obtain
such coverage through job-related health insurance available to their custodial
parent. If such coverage is not available, their non-custodial parent may
provide coverage pursuant to a court or administrative medical support order.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/proposed_medica_1.php
Teen
Drinking Prevention Campaign Targets Parents
A new prevention campaign
sponsored by the alcohol-industry-backed Century Council targets parents who
allow their children to drink, the Associated Press reported Oct. 18. The
campaign, called "We Don't Serve Teens," follows on research showing
that 65 percent of underage drinkers get their alcohol from family or friends.
The group's message to parents is that allowing youths to drink is both dangerous
and illegal.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/teen_drinking_p.php
**Civic Engagement
100
Families Oakland: Art & Social Change
Can the experience of learning
and creating art together strengthen a family? One hundred families in Oakland now believe that it can. An exhibition
of the artwork that was created in the workshops, "100 Families Oakland: Art & Social Change," opens
at the Oakland Museum of California Saturday,
January 20, 2007 (through
April 22).
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/100_families_oa.php
Indian
Community Burgeoning in America
Increasingly, after decades
of quietly establishing themselves, Indians are becoming more vocal in the
American conversation --- about politics, ethnicity and many other topics.
They have big communities in New Jersey, New York, California and Texas, and
their average yearly household income is more than $60,000 --- 35 percent
higher than the nation overall. Few knew their rights because few had been
engaged politically, said the executive director of The Sikh Coalition in
New York.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/indian_communit.php
**Community Development
Housing
in the Nation's Capital
In addition to providing
an update on housing challenges facing the Washington region, 2006 Housing in the Nation's
Capital report focuses on the intersections among public schools, housing,
and neighborhood revitalization. It addresses questions such as: How much
is the Washington region investing in public school
facilities in an effort to keep pace with population growth and school modernization
needs?
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/housing_in_the.php
**Economic Security
Climbing
the Economic Ladder and Rising Out of Poverty
A central focus of MDRC's
research agenda is to identify effective strategies to help low-income youth
and adults escape poverty by achieving success in the labor market. MDRC
is studying programs that assist the working poor to retain employment and
move up to better-paying jobs, improve employment prospects for people with
serious obstacles to work, and enable low-income young adults to acquire the
skills and credentials that will prepare them for better jobs.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/climbing_the_ec.php
Analysis
of Fiscal Year 2005 TANF and MOE Spending by States
Included are worksheets
from the Center for Law and Social Policy analyzing how the 50 states, the
District of Columbia, and the nation as a whole spent the
federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants and state
Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funds in fiscal year 2005. States reported this
information to the Administration for Children and Families.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/analysis_of_fis_1.php
Women's
education is strongly related to husband's income
Much has been written about
the income returns to education, but women have been largely ignored by this
literature, having historically spent significant periods of time outside
the formal labor market. In a thought-provoking new study, economists from
Brigham Young University correlate women's education to future
quality of life through an examination of husband's earnings.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/womens_educatio.php
Ready4Work
In Brief
Public/Private Ventures
reports that the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that a staggering
12 percent of black men in their late twenties were in prison or jail in 2005.
Incarceration rates for black males of all ages were five to seven times greater
than those for white males of the same age. Because of skyrocketing incarceration
rates, nearly 650,000 adults now return from custody to their communities
each year. Many of these individuals find the transition back to society
difficult, and recidivism rates are high. Three years into the initiative,
Ready4Work programs are providing returnees with employment services, case
management and mentoring in 11 adult sites around the country.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/ready4work_in_b.php
**Education
Challenges
and Strategies in Creating Quality Academically Focused Summer Programs
Harvard Family Research
Project's (HFRP) Issues and Opportunities in Out-of-School Time Evaluation
briefs highlight current research and evaluation in the out-of-school time
field. This brief looks at evaluations of 34 academically focused summer
programs in order to distill challenges and compile promising strategies for
creating quality summer programs.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/challenges_and_1.php
Federal
Rules Back Single-Sex Public Education
The Bush administration
is giving public school districts broad new latitude to expand the number
of single-sex classes, and even schools, in what is widely considered the
most significant policy change on the issue since a landmark federal law barring
sex discrimination in education more than 30 years ago. Two years in the
making, the new rules, announced Tuesday by the Education Department, will
allow districts to create single-sex schools and classes as long as enrollment
is voluntary.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/federal_rules_b.php
Political
Backlash Builds Over High-Stakes Testing
The role of the Florida
Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT, has become central to the race to
succeed Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), with polls showing
a growing discontent over the exams, which he has championed and which are
used to determine many aspects of the school system, including teacher pay,
budgets and who flunks third grade. A similar exam revolt has become a key
issue in the race for governor in Texas, another state in the vanguard of
the testing movement, and the issue has roiled the Ohio gubernatorial contest as well.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/_political_back.php
How
Accreditors Can Help Promote the Success of Community
College Students
The focus of this brief
from Jobs for the Future is student success: To what extent can the accreditation
process drive significant improvement in student persistence and completion
at institutions that undergo the peer review process, particularly for students
from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education? Because this
inquiry is in service to Achieving the Dream, a national initiative on community
college student success involving nine states and fifty-seven community colleges,
our particular interest is accreditation as it plays out in the community
college sector.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/how_accreditors.php#email-form
**Health
NAACP
Supports California Proposition 86 to Fund Universal Health Care for Children
The National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People National Board of Directors voted today
to endorse California ballot Proposition 86 that would raise
billions of dollars for hospitals and fund universal children's health insurance,
anti-tobacco programs and health education programs by increasing taxes on
tobacco.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/naacp_supports.php
Caring
for the Uninsured in New York
This paper estimates the
costs of uncompensated care in New York during 2005, along with the governmental
revenues meant to offset those costs. New York State's medical providers spent an estimated
$2.8 billion last year providing care to 2.5 million uninsured people. Hospitals
provided $1.8 billion of this care and physicians accounted for $412 million.
The costs of un-insurance are a social burden that would be alleviated, but
not ended, by universal coverage.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/caring_for_the.php
Racial
Disparities High in Medicare Plans
Numerous studies show the
African-Americans receive worse quality of care relative to white Americans
across a broad array of medical conditions--disparities that can significantly
harm patients or reduce quality of life. A new study from Harvard Medical School and Brown Medical School shows that such disparities in care
cannot simply be attributed to low-performing health plans.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/racial_disparit_2.php
Consumer-Directed
Health Plans Can Save Money, But Effects on Quality Still Uncertain
Consumer-directed health
plans can reduce health care use and lower costs, but it is debatable whether
these high-deductible plans can accomplish this without deterring consumers
from seeking needed care, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.
The 1974-82 RAND Health Insurance Experiment (HIE) found that increased cost-sharing
prompted consumers to forego appropriate and inappropriate care alike ---
but with no apparent adverse health impacts.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/consumerdirecte.php
Overuse
of Emergency Departments Among Insured Californians
One of the key challenges
facing emergency departments (EDs) nationwide is
a marked increase in use, driven primarily by insured patients who do not
have true emergencies. A recent Harris Interactive Inc. survey found that
nearly half of recent ED patients felt their problems could have been handled
by a physician's office visit, had one been available, rather than using the
ED.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/overuse_of_emer.php
**Substance Abuse
Media
Violence Reports Rarely Mention Alcohol
Alcohol plays a role in
many murders, assaults, and motor-vehicle crashes, but rarely gets mentioned
in media reports on such incidents, according to researchers at Ohio State University. "If the media doesn't report
on the link between alcohol and violent crime and accidents, most people won't
be fully aware of the risks.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/10/media_violence.php
