Human Services
Community Building
Digest

According to a study by researchers from Children's Hospital Boston, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, and Harvard School of Public Health, on a typical day when children eat fast food, they consume substantially more total calories, with poorer nutritional quality, than on a day when they do not eat fast food.  These additional calories could account for an extra six pounds of weight gain per year

http://www.medwire.ca/index.phtml?p=release&idx=6084&pt=1&type=0&PHPSESSID=50a4ffcedbca24b95bd23ee26fc54d97

Friendships Play Key Role in Suicidal Thoughts of Girls, but not Boys

According to a new nationwide study from Ohio State University, relationships with friends play a significant role in whether teenage girls think about suicide, but have little impact on suicidal thoughts among boys.. The research found that girls were nearly twice as likely to think about suicide if they had only a few friends and felt isolated from their peers. Girls were also more likely to consider suicide if their friends were not friends with each other.

http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/suicfrnd.htm

Teen Parents and Abstinence Education: Research Findings, 2003

The Center on Law and Social Policy has prepared a compilation of summaries of new research designed as a reference tool for practitioners, policymakers, and others interested in teen parents (and particularly their relationship to welfare programs) and abstinence education.

http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1071771436.37/view_html

Juvenile Crime in Washington, D.C.

A policy brief from the Urban Institute examines issues around juvenile violence by reviewing the latest data on crime and violence in the city of Washington and the nation.Has Washington, D.C., experienced a significant increase in juvenile violence? Is juvenile violence increasing more than adult violence? If the adult justice system is the answer to Washington's violent crime problem, does this mean that violent crime by adults has been going down?

http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8677

**Community Development

HUD Announces Higher FHA Home Loan Limits to Help More American Families Become Homeowners

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has increased its single-family home mortgage limits by more than three percent.  FHA will insure single-family home mortgages up to $160,176 in low cost areas and up to $290,319 in high cost areas. The loan limits for two-, three- and four-unit dwellings also increased.  These higher loan limits will help the FHA mortgage insurance program keep pace with the robust housing market while contributing to the Administration's commitment to create 5.5 million new minority homeowners by the end of the decade.

http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr04-003.cfm

HUD Announces $54 million to Train Young People and Expand Affordable Housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $54 million in grants to assist young people who have not completed or who are at-risk of dropping out of high school.  The grants are part of HUD's Youthbuild Program to provide job training, leadership skills and academic schooling to an estimated 3,300 low-income young people. These grants will also help build and rehabilitate more than 1,700 affordable housing units for lower income families

http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr03-142.cfm

Omnibus Bill Appropriates Sufficient Funding To Renew Housing Vouchers

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the omnibus appropriations bill approved by the House on December 8 appears to provide enough funding to support all of the "Section 8" housing vouchers likely to be in use in fiscal year 2004 — and therefore avoid the loss of tens of thousands of vouchers that could have occurred if the program had been under funded.

http://www.cbpp.org/12-24-03hous.htm

**Economic Security

Parental Employment in Low-Income Families

A new fact sheet from the National Center for Children in Poverty reveals that most children in low-income families have at least one parent who works full-time and year-round. Over half of low-income parents only working full-time for part of the year reported they could not find full-year work.

http://www.nccp.org/pub_pel04.html

Aligning Policies and Procedures In Benefit Programs

A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges of aligning procedural rules and eligibility policies among the major state-administered low-income benefit programs - food stamps, Medicaid, SCHIP, child care, and TANF.

http://www.cbpp.org/1-6-04wel.htm

**Education

Bullying in Schools: Pervasive, Disruptive, and Serious

Research from RAND finds that more than one in five 12-year-olds are repeatedly either bullies, victims, or both—and bullies are often popular and viewed by classmates as the "coolest" in their classes.

http://www.rand.org/health/adolescent/bullying.html

**Health

Five-Nation Survey: U.S. Patients Less Satisfied with Care

A new Commonwealth Fund survey of patients' perspectives of health care systems confirms what other recent studies have shown: the U.S. does not perform as well as several of its peer nations on multiple dimensions of quality. Fund researchers find that four other industrialized nations-Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom-scored better than the U.S. in the survey of patients' perceptions of safety, efficiency, effectiveness, and equity.

PDF: http://www.cmwf.org/programs/international/davis_mirrormirror_683.pdf

Losing Out: States Are Cutting 1.2 to 1.6 Million Low-Income People from Medicaid, SCHIP and Other State Health Insurance Programs

A new state survey from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that in response to budget pressures, states have taken actions that are reducing the number of low-income people covered by Medicaid, SCHIP and other health insurance programs by 1.2 to 1.6 million people, with almost half of those losing coverage being children. The number of uninsured Americans will rise further as a result.

http://www.cbpp.org/12-22-03health.htm

HHS Issues National Reports on Quality and Disparities in the Use of Health Care Services

The Department of Health and Human Services released two reports that represent the first national comprehensive effort to measure the quality of health care in America and differences in access to health care services for priority populations.  The reports, National Healthcare Quality Report and the National Healthcare Disparities Report, provide baseline views of the quality of health care and differences in use of the services. Future reports will help the nation make continuous improvements by tracking quality through a consistent set of measures that will be updated as new measures and data become available.

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20031222a.html

Disability Rates Rise, Link to Obesity

A research study from the RAND Corporation finds that the obesity epidemic caused disability rates to rise sharply in the last two decades among Americans younger than 60, a trend that could have severe consequences for the nation's future health costs.

http://www.rand.org/news/press.04/01.08.html

Effect of Diabetes Case Management among Low-Income Minority Populations

Researchers in the California Medi-Cal Type 2 Diabetes Study Group have concluded that diabetes case management, added to primary care, substantially improved glycemic control compared with the control group.  The study provides evidence that diabetes case management is feasible and can substantially improve glycemic control in a racial/ethnic minority and or low-income Medi-Cal population.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/hrae-eod010504.php

Having a Stable Partner Delays AIDS in HIV Patients

Researchers in Switzerland have found that for people with HIV, having a stable partner is associated with slower rate of progression to AIDS or death.  The study is reported in the British Medical Journal.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/bmj-has123103.php

**Hunger and Homelessness

Bush Administration Announces $1.27 Billion in Grants to End Chronic homelessness

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced nearly $1.3 billion in grants to fund local programs that house and serve the homeless.  The announcement is also part of a larger federal strategy being embraced by state and local leaders to end long-term or chronic homelessness for persons who are mentally ill, addicted or physically disabled. To date, more than 60 states, cities and county governments are developing their own 10-year plans to end chronic homelessness. This is also the third consecutive year funding for homeless assistance has increased to record levels.

http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr03-143.cfm

Hunger, Homelessness Still on Rise in Cities

According to the new U.S. Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness Survey, Hunger and homelessness continued to rise in major American cities over the last year.  As the overall economy remained weak, requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 17 percent over the past year, and requests for emergency shelter assistance increased by an average of 13 percent in the 25 cities surveyed.

http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/news/press_releases/documents/hunger_121803.asp

FRAC Special Analysis: Mayors Document Hunger and Homelessness

The Food Research and Action Center has produced a special analysis of the report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, "Hunger and Homelessness 2003,"

http://www.frac.org/html/news/mayors121803.htm

**Societal Trends

Study Finds End-of-Life Care Still 'Woefully Inadequate'

In a national study on end-of-life care in the United States, Brown University researchers find the physical and emotional needs of the dying continue to be unmet, particularly for those who die in institutions. With baby boomers about to reach retirement age, the need for reform becomes increasingly "urgent."

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2003-04/03-066.html

**Substance Abuse

Teen Drug Abuse Declines Across Wide Front

The Department of Health and Human Services and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy released results of the 2003 Monitoring the Future survey, showing an 11 percent decline in drug use by 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students over the past two years.  The finding translates into 400,000 fewer teen drug users over two years.

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20031219a.html

Report Showing Reduction in Youth Smoking Good News; Lack of Sustained Progress Among Young Students Cause for Serious Concern

Following is an excerpt of a statement from the executive director of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:  The data released today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that, while we continue to make important progress in reducing youth smoking, this progress shows disturbing signs of slowing among 8th and 10th graders.  Trends among smoking rates show up first among the youngest students. The fact that so little progress was made among 8th and 10th graders last year is a cause for serious concern that the lack of federal leadership on tobacco prevention and recent devastating cuts to state tobacco prevention and cessation programs are already having an impact

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/Script/DisplayPressRelease.php3?Display=716

Study Looks at Students' Drinking Misperceptions, Behavior

According to a University of Iowa researcher who studies college students and alcohol use, college students' drinking behaviors are influenced more by their perceptions of their friends' drinking behaviors than by social norms marketing campaigns that encourage students to "go along with the crowd,".

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/uoi-sla010204.php

**Welfare and Welfare Reform

How Much Do Welfare Recipients Know about Time Limits?

The Urban Institute has analyzed data from the 2002 round of the National Survey of America's Families that show that 37 percent of welfare recipients lack information about when their welfare benefits will end. Half of welfare recipients with two or more barriers to employment lack information about time limits. Three out of four Spanish-speaking recipients are not aware of when their welfare benefits will end.

http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8675

Lifting the Lid Off the Family Cap: States Revisit Problematic Policy for Welfare Mothers

The Center on Law and Social Policy finds that since 1992, 24 states have implemented some type of a family cap policy, usually to discourage welfare recipients from giving birth to children while receiving cash assistance. Recently, however, a handful of states have begun to rethink the family cap. This policy brief, the first in a series on Childbearing and Reproductive Health Policy, explains what family cap policies are, reviews some of the research on their effectiveness, explains how many families are affected by them, describes challenges that have been mounted against these policies, and recommends that states with family caps consider repealing these mistaken and potentially harmful policies.

PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1071852641.91/family_cap_brf.pdf

Teens and TANF: How Adolescents Fare Under the Nation’s Welfare Program

A policy brief published by the Kaiser Family Foundation offers an update on what is known about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program’s effects on different populations of teens: teen parents receiving TANF benefits, youth living in TANF families, and youth participating in TANF-funded programs.  The brief provides background on the welfare program, summarizes the latest research, and discusses the implications of a number of TANF policies for teens and their families.

PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1071764625.64/Teens_TANF.pdf

The Road Not Taken?: Changes in Welfare Entry during the 1990s

A paper from the Urban Institute uses data from the 1990 and 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation to assess whether changes in welfare policy affected welfare entry rates. It also assesses whether changes in entry rates are accompanied by improvements in the circumstances of families that choose not to receive welfare. The authors conclude that policy shifts and changes in attitudes toward work and welfare are the most likely explanations for the drop in welfare entry rates. The bulk of the change came after the implementation of welfare reform. Declining entry rates are not accompanied by substantial improvements in the well-being of low-income single mothers who are not on welfare.

http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8678