More
Child Support Dollars to Kids
The Deficit Reduction Act
of 2005 (DRA) provides new state flexibility to pass through more child support
dollars to children who currently receive or formerly received welfare. States
are searching for ways to support work, reduce poverty, and meet the new TANF
work participation requirements in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA).
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/more_child_supp.html
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Starting
Off Right: Promoting Child Development from Birth in State Early Care and
Education Initiatives
“Starting Off Right: Promoting
Child Development from Birth in State Early Care and Education Initiatives,”
describes a menu of strategies some states are using to improve early care
and education for infants and toddlers, and supports to their families. Early
care and education is a key strategy states can use to promote positive development
for very young children, including those in low-income families.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/starting_off_ri.html
On
Their Own Due Out in Paperback This Month
On Their OwnOn Their Own,
the prize-winning book chronicling the lives of ten young adults as they transition
from foster care, will be released in paperback and available in stores August
15. On Their Own proposes reforms that are "part solid journalism, part
advocacy," according to the St. Louis Post- Dispatch. The new edition
includes updates on the profiled youth and a discussion of policy changes
since the enactment of the federal Foster Care Independence Act.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/on_their_own_du.html
U.S.
Senate Again Rejects Comprehensive Sex Education
Fifty-one United States Senators told American families that
sound, proven, science-based sex education is not for their teens. In rejecting
the Menendez-Lautenberg Amendment by a 48 to 51 vote, the conservative majority
once again chose ideology over science. The Menendez-Lautenberg Amendment
would have created a grant program to ensure America's young people had access to responsible
sex education - education that urges young people to delay sex but also provides
medically accurate information about the health benefits of condoms and other
forms of contraception.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/us_senate_again.html
**Community Development
Public
Housing for Seniors Must Meet Today's Needs
While many of the country's
public housing developments are designed for and occupied by senior citizens,
it is surprising that a recent Urban Institute study of five family developments
found that 13 percent of their households were headed by persons age 62 or
older. For some families, this means grandparents have taken on the role
of primary caretaker usually assumed by parents.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/public_housing_1.html
**Economic Security
Getting
On, Staying On, and Getting Off Welfare
The Urban Institute Congress
reauthorized Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the nation's
primary cash assistance program for families with children, in February 2006.
Under reauthorization, Congress increased the share of the caseload that states
must include when calculating work participation rates, and it restructured
the caseload credit that states receive. These changes will require most
states to greatly increase work participation among their caseloads in order
to avoid financial penalties1 and could cause many states to rethink their
current welfare policies overall. Such a review can provide a benchmark against
which future changes can be assessed.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/getting_on_stay.html
**Education
MDRC's
Evaluation of Project GRAD
Project Graduation Really
Achieves Dreams (GRAD) is an ambitious education reform initiative designed
to improve academic achievement, high school graduation rates, and rates of
college attendance for low-income students. Launched first in Houston, Texas, it is an unusual reform model in that it intervenes throughout
an entire "feeder pattern" of elementary and middle schools that
send students into each Project GRAD high school.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/mdrcs_evaluatio.html
Education
Department Announces Partnership with States to Improve Accountability for
Limited English Proficient Students
The Department of Education
announced a partnership with states to improve and develop fair and accurate
testing designed for limited English proficient (LEP) students. This new
initiative will increase the visibility of limited English proficient students
and enable schools to more accurately measure their progress.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/secretary_spell_20.html
Professional
Development Programs in Seven States Awarded $3,793,537 to Improve Education
for Indian Students
Education programs in seven
states---Arizona, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon and Wisconsin---have been selected to receive $3,793,537 to provide training
programs to recruit and graduate new American Indian teachers and school administrators,
the Department of Education announced. These professional development grants
will help find, train and retain the very best teachers and administrators
within American Indian communities.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/professional_de_1.html
Education
Department Announces New Special Education Regulations
The Department of Education
announced the new regulations for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act. The final regulations further the president's goal that no
child---including each and every one of America's many students with disabilities---is
left behind. By aligning the regulations with the No Child Left Behind Act,
there is a new focus on ensuring that students with disabilities are held
to high expectations.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/secretary_spell_19.html
**Health
Fighting
Childhood Obesity
The American Heart Association
and the Clinton Foundation have partnered to create the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and together
with Governor Huckabee, the Alliance is dedicated to stopping the rise in childhood obesity by 2010 and teaching
all children about the importance of good nutrition and physical activity.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/fighting_childh.html
Hispanic
and African American Adults Much More Likely to Lack Insurance
Analysis of the Commonwealth
Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey (2005) finds that uninsured rates for
Hispanic and African American adults are one-and-a-half to three times greater
than the rate for white adults. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of working-age Hispanics
and one-third (33%) of African Americans were uninsured at some point during
2005, compared with 20 percent of working-age whites.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/hispanic_and_af.html
Survey:
Seniors' Early Experiences With Their New Medicare Drug Plans
More than eight in 10 seniors
who are enrolled in a Medicare drug plan are satisfied with their plan, although
almost two in 10 say they encountered a major problem in using it, according
to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking survey of seniors' experiences
under the new Medicare drug benefit.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/survey_seniors.html
**Hunger and Nutrition
Estimates
of State Food Stamp Participation Rates in 2002-2003 for All Eligible People
and for the Working Poor
The Food Stamp Program is
a central component of American policy to alleviate hunger and poverty. The
Food Stamp Program is the largest of the domestic food and nutrition assistance
programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition
Service. This report from Mathematica Policy Research presents estimates
that, for each state, measure the need for the Food Stamp Program and the
program's effectiveness in both 2002 and 2003.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/estimates_of_st.html
