Thirteen
Community Action Leaders 'Certify' Their Promise to Help Low-Income Families
Thirteen individuals who
are helping low-income families change their lives have become Certified Community
Action Professionals (CCAPs). The CCAP program, sponsored by the Washington,
DC-based Community Action Partnership, is a national certification program
for current and emerging leaders who fight poverty on the local level.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/thirteen_commun.html
A
Look at the 2005 Census Data and What the Numbers Mean for Children and Families
Poverty declined every year
between 1993 and 2000, reaching its lowest level ever for black children,
but then increased during the recession year of 2001 as well as in 2002, 2003,
and 2004. Researchers who track child poverty are awaiting the 2005 Census
figures to determine whether poverty among children has continued to increase.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/brookings_brief.html
New
study examines children's exposure to neighborhood poverty
University of Cincinnati researchers are reporting two key findings as they examine
neighborhoods where American children live and play -- the 1990s were a pretty
good decade for minority children, yet African-American, Hispanic and American
Indian children "continue to be exposed to dramatically higher rates
of neighborhood poverty than their white and Asian counterparts."
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/new_study_exami_1.html
Adolescent
condom use with 'casual' versus 'main' partners
This week, a new study from
researchers at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and Brown Medical School, finds that teen attitudes toward
condom use with whom they perceive as casual sexual partners versus main partners
is crucial in developing effective HIV intervention programs.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/adolescent_cond.html
**Community Development
Grassroots
& Groundwork: What Communities are Doing to Get Out and Stay Out of Poverty
The 2006 Grassroots &
Groundwork conference, scheduled from September 16-19, 2006, promises to
be a valuable, memorable event featuring: 20 break-out sessions focused on
microenterprise development, living-wage jobs, collaboration between businesses
and nonprofits, community-driven initiatives and other successful poverty-
reduction strategies.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/grassroots_grou.html
Local
Costs of the Iraq War
The taxpayer cost of the
Iraq War is broken down for various towns, cities and counties across the
U.S. The breakdown is based on a total
cost of $318.5 billion. That is $2,844 for every American household or $1,075
for every American. The estimate is based on an NPP analysis of the legislation
appropriating money for the Iraq War and a report published by the Congressional
Research Service (CRS) in June 2006.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/local_costs_of.html
**Economic Security
Wealth
Inequality is Vast and Growing
Inequality in the United
States is on the rise, whether measured in
terms of wages, family incomes, or wealth and is much higher than that of
other advanced countries. This week's Snapshot from the Economic
Policy Institute looks at the rising inequality of wealth and is a preview
of the advance edition of The State of Working America 2006/2007, to be released
on Labor Day weekend.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/wealth_inequali.html
Ten
Years after Welfare Reform, It's Time to Make Work Work for Families
Along with a strong economy,
expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and children's health care coverage,
more money to help low-income families pay for child care and improved child
support enforcement during the 1990's, welfare changes helped welfare recipients
gain employment and contributed to increases in the real incomes of some working
families.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/ten_years_after.html
Anti-Poverty
Practitioners Gear Up for Orlando Convention After Hurricane Katrina Shuts
Down Their 2005 Meeting
One year after the devastation
of Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the lives of hundreds of thousands of
Americans along the Gulf Coast---many of them low-income---and caused the
cancellation of a convention for the nation's anti-poverty practitioners,
the Community Action Partnership will explore the lessons learned from this
disaster during its 2006 Annual Convention, September 5-8 at the Orlando World
Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/antipoverty_pra.html
**Education
Rough
Start for Effort to Remake Faltering New Orleans Schools
The Louisiana Department
of Education had already considered the city school district to be in "academic
crisis," but after the hurricane, the district neared collapse. Well
into the summer, it was still unclear how many schools would be chartered
and how many teachers and classrooms would be needed. It has about 60 percent
of the teachers it will need on Sept. 7, when 8,000 students are expected
for the first day of school.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/rough_start_for.html
Statement
from U.S. Secretary of Education on the Class of 2006 ACT Scores
Today's ACT results show
a nation that is on the right track and moving forward, but far too slowly
for the 21st century. The increase in the ACT composite score---the largest
in 20 years---reflects the progress our schools have made in raising standards
and improving accountability. Gains were made by male and female students
and across nearly every racial and ethnic group.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/statement_from_5.html
**Health
The
Role of Medicaid and SCHIP as an Insurance Safety Net
According to analysis from
The Urban Institute, most people with private health insurance in the United
States get it through an employer-sponsored
insurance (ESI) plan. However, in recent years, the likelihood of having
ESI has been falling, as it becomes more and more difficult for employers
and employees to afford the costs of these plans.1 Losing ESI is a particularly
serious problem among low-income families, for whom purchasing private coverage
on their own would represent a severe financial hardship.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/the_role_of_med_1.html
Enhancing
Health Care Delivery for People in Connecticut with Limited English Proficiency
Seeking ways to provide
culturally and linguistically appropriate health care to an increasingly diverse
population is a growing policy concern. Public hearings held in Connecticut revealed that many of the state's
residents with limited English proficiency (LEP) see health care providers
without a trained interpreter.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/enhancing_healt.html
**Substance Abuse
Readers
Respond: War on Drugs (Part 2)
Joined Together received
an unprecedented number of passionate, thoughtful responses to "Mission
Accomplished" in War on Drugs? Cancer a Better Analogy for Drug Problem
It's easy to characterize overcoming an evil entity as a war; that notion
makes the fight righteous.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/readers_respond_1.html
2006
Teen Survey Reveals: Teen Parties Awash in Alcohol, Marijuana and Illegal
Drugs -- Even When Parents Are Present
One-third of teens and nearly
half of 17-year olds attend house parties where parents are present and teens
are drinking, smoking marijuana or using cocaine, Ecstasy or prescription
drugs, according to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance
Abuse XI: Teens and Parents, an annual back-to-school survey conducted by
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/08/2006_teen_surve.html
