Human Services
Community Building
Digest

SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE BUSH GUEST-WORKER PLAN

From: Center for Community Change

If President Bush is serious about reforming the broken immigration system, he could start this year with support of the bipartisan AgJOBS bill for farm workers and DREAM Act for college-bound immigrant students, both of which are a long way into the legislative process and almost ready for his signature.  President Bush must also help create a bipartisan and comprehensive reform package, which must include a path towards permanent residency for hardworking immigrants already in the

http://www.communitychange.org/alerts/default.asp#2

ACTION NEEDED: UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS BUT MANY JOBLESS STILL NEED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

From: National Employment Law Project

Tell President Bush to break his silence by calling on Congress to restore federal jobless benefits.  Click on the link below, or e-mail or fax the attached letter to President Bush at president@whitehouse.gov or 202-456-2461.

http://www.communitychange.org/alerts/default.asp#3

**Children, Youth & Families

Child Support Increases for Low-Income Families

The Urban Institute reports that a significantly larger share of children in low-income families received child support in 2001 than in 1996. Among poor families, those receiving child support increased from 31 percent in 1996 to 36 percent in 2001. Children with family incomes between 100 and 200 percent of poverty were also more likely to receive child support in 2001 (45 percent in 1996 compared with 50 percent in 2001). Children whose family incomes were more than twice the poverty threshold did not experience gains in child support.

http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8686

Transition to Adulthood Delayed, Marriage and Family Postponed

According to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania, becoming an adult takes longer today than in previous decades, with many not achieving all the traditional markers -- starting a career, forming a new household, starting a family -- until after age 30.

http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=573

Who Are “Fragile Families” and What Do We Know About Them?

An analysis from the Center on Law and Social Policy finds that nearly one-third of all births now occur to unmarried parents—creating what have been called “fragile families.” The term “fragile families” emphasizes both that these unmarried couples and their children are, in fact, families—and that they are at greater risk of poverty and of family dissolution than married families. This policy brief, the fourth in the Couples and Marriage Series, summarizes selected findings from two studies: (1) the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWB), the first national study of unmarried parents, their relationships to each other, and the well-being of their children, and (2) the Time, Love, Cash, Caring and Children Study (TLC3), a related ethnographic study of a sub-sample of romantically involved couples from FFCWB.

PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1073679033.53/Marriage_Brief4.pdf

Changes in Children's Well-Being and Family Environments

The Urban Institute analysis of data from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families shows that school engagement declined from 43 percent in 1997 to 35 percent in 2002 among 6- to 11-year-olds. School engagement also declined for 12- to 17-year-olds from 38 to 31 percent. The share of young children whose parents read or told stories to them infrequently dropped from 17 to 14 percent. Higher-income children showed some small setbacks in their behavioral and emotional health.

http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8684

**Civic Engagement

Low Income Voters Could Play Vital Role in 2004 Election

A new report released by the Campaign for Community Change documents the power of low- income voters.  The report details the voting patterns of this rarely polled demographic group and identify how they have been decisive in determining the outcomes of elections in key states in 2000 and 2002. It also will forecast the states in 2004 where small increases in turnout among low income voters could swing elections in favor of officials and policies that will substantially improve their lives in this country.

http://webx.handsnet.org/webx?13@@.1dcfc87d

Weblogs Redefining Presidential Campaigning; Report Details History, Impact of 'Blogs'

A new report by the Center for the Study of American Government at Johns Hopkins University examines the phenomenon of online campaigning and studies the trends evolving in the 2004 Presidential election that are redefining campaigning, most notably, the use of weblogs (commonly known as blogs), Meetups, social software, and online fundraising. This report details and evaluates the use of technology and assesses its use to communicate, gain grassroots support, and raise funds in the year leading up to the 2004 Democratic presidential primary and general elections, and questions what type of impact the Internet is having. The report concludes the Internet and emerging technologies has proven to be a powerful breakthrough in presidential campaigning and will continue to evolve through future campaigns and innovations. Americans are embracing the Internet to connect to the political process.

PDF: http://www.campaignsonline.org/reports/online.pdf

Internet Is Playing Growing Role in Politics

A survey of 1,506 American adults conducted by the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press and the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that more than a third of the nation's Internet users have gone online to get news and information, exchange emails about the race, or participate online in the current political campaign.  Even among wired Americans, the Internet still lags far behind television and newspapers as voters' main source of political news. But the importance of the Internet continues to grow as it now rivals radio as a primary source of political information.

http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=200

**Community Development

New Online Census Application Ranks 100 Largest U.S. Cities on 150 Demographic Indicators

The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy has launched a new interactive application that allows Internet users to query Census 2000 data, instantly generating rankings of the largest one hundred U.S. cities on more than 150 demographic indicators.  The "Living Cities Interactive Databooks," provide users with the ability to create indicator-specific ranking tables or download raw Census data on population, educational attainment, race and ethnicity, employment, immigration, commuting, age, income and poverty, households and families, and housing trends during the 1990s.

http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/livingcities.htm

HUD awards $17.6 million in fair housing grants to continue fight against housing bias

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it has awarded $17.6 million in grants to fair housing groups in 39 states and the District of Columbia as part of the Bush Administration's efforts to curb housing discrimination.  The grants were awarded today by HUD's Fair Housing Initiatives Program to groups that will use the funds to investigate allegations of housing discrimination, educate the public and housing industry about housing discrimination laws, and work to promote fair housing.

http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr04-001.cfm

**Economic Security

The State of the Dream: Unfulfilled; New Report: Black-White Gap Still Huge

According to a new United for a Fair Economy report, "The State of the Dream: Enduring Disparities in Black and White," racial inequities in unemployment, family income, imprisonment, average wealth and infant mortality are actually worse than when Dr. King was killed.  The report contrasts the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the reality of the continued racial divide.  Progress has been made in narrowing the divide in per capita income, poverty, homeownership, education, life expectancy and median wealth, but so slowly that the gaps would take decades or even centuries to close at the current rate.

http://ufenet.org/0115/

Online Information About Key Low-Income Benefit Programs

A report from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities provides links to the online information about states' Medicaid, SCHIP, TANF, food stamp, and child care programs, including online descriptive information, policy manuals, and applications.

http://www.cbpp.org/1-14-04tanf.htm

More Americans Fear Personal Poverty

According to the national "Poverty Pulse" survey sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, more than half of all American adults are concerned they will be poor at some point in their life. Despite signs of an economic recovery, Americans (56 percent) are more concerned about becoming poor someday than they were a year ago,

http://webx.handsnet.org/webx?13@@.1dcfc7e7

Side-by-Side Comparison of Title I Provisions in House and Senate WIA Reauthorization Bills

A table prepared by the Center on Law and Social Policy, done in conjunction with the Workforce Alliance, provides a side-by-side comparison of the current WIA legislation and the bills passed by the House and Senate.  Workforce Investment Act (WIA) expires this year and must be reauthorized.

PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1073926942.45/WIA_SBS_0104.pdf

**Education

Abilities Required for Success in School don't differ Greatly from those Required in the Real World

Results published in an issue of the American Psychological Association's journal, intelligence in the workplace is not that different from intelligence at school.  The findings contradict the popular notion that abilities required for success in the real world differ greatly from what is needed to achieve success in the classroom.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/apa-arf010504.php

The Washington Newsletter on Education - A Grade of "Incomplete"

Three times a year, the Center on Education Policy and Phi Delta Kappa issue The Washington Newsletter, which reports on recent federal action in education. The Winter 2003 issue discusses the FY 2004 appropriations for education, and highlights the education legislation that needs to be completed by the end of 2004.

http://www.ctredpol.org/pubs/newsletter.v13.n2.html

Foundation Makes the Case for Refocusing Efforts to Help Low-Income Students Get College Educations

A new book from The Century Foundation finds that a series of policy changes in federal and state governments, and at universities, has made it exceedingly difficult for students from low-income and working-class families to earn college degrees.  In the book  a group of notable experts on higher education examines the substantial economic divide in higher education, discuss the ramifications of that divide, and offer specific recommendations for increasing both college access and success for economically-disadvantaged students.

http://www.tcf.org/4L/4LMain.asp?SubjectID=3&ArticleID=19

**Health

Many Latino Children well on their way to Diabetes, Heart Disease

A new study from the University of Southern California shows that the pervasiveness of the early stages of heart disease and diabetes among Latino children may be particularly disturbing.  Three in 10 pre-teens in a University study have the metabolic syndrome, a clustering of risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/uosc-mlc010804.php

Health Care Reform Returns to the National Agenda: The 2004 Presidential Candidates' Proposals

The Commonwealth fund constantly updates its report which compares the candidates' plans for expanding health insurance coverage and improving the quality of care. It includes estimates of numbers of Americans covered under each plan as well as their projected costs. The Fund will continue to provide updates as details become available.

PDF: http://www.cmwf.org/programs/insurance/collins_reformagenda_671.pdf

Report Summary - PDF: http://www.cmwf.org/programs/insurance/collins_reformagenda_bn_671.pdf

The Impact of Medicare Reform On African Americans

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Center for Policy Analysis and Research has recently completed a report examining the expected impact of the new Medicare law on African Americans.  Recent passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act, has created a need to better understand the complexities of the new law upon underserved populations. This paper summarizes key aspects of the legislation including the prescription drug benefit and the expanded support for private insurers and analyzes their likely effect on African American seniors—a vulnerable Medicare population. Prescription drug and other reforms are assessed in relation to minority health disparities and other concerns related to health care access, cost and quality.

PDF: http://www.chn.org/pdf/cbcfmedicare.pdf

Briefing Materials on Child Health and Medicare Rx

Materials from recent briefings held by the Commonwealth Fund on health insurance and quality of care for children and on the new Medicare prescription drug legislation are now available.

http://www.cmwf.org/../../programs/alliance_page.asp

Improving Children’s Health: A Chartbook About the Roles of Medicaid and SCHIP

A chartbook from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities summarizes recent research about how Medicaid and SCHIP help low-income children by expanding health insurance coverage, serving needy children, increasing access to health care services and improving their health.

http://www.cbpp.org/1-15-04health.htm

Pediatricians, Parents Key to Improving Quality of Children's Health Care

According to a University of South Florida pediatrician, improving the quality of children's health care will require continued commitment by the nation's pediatricians and parents to demand effective as well as affordable pediatric care from legislators, insurers and providers of care.  While pediatricians have been forceful advocates for better insurance coverage for children, they've been less active in the policy debate over quality of care. Their voices need be stronger at both the state and national levels

http://webx.handsnet.org/webx?13@@.1dcfc7e6

Webcast on Health Care Quality Now Available

On Jan. 13, The Commonwealth Fund convened a panel of experts to discuss the role of the federal government in improving the quality of health care. The archived webcast is now available.

http://www.cmwf.org/../../programs/webcastfedrole_2ndpg.asp

**Hunger and Homelessness

Food Stamp Participation Increases in October 2003 to More Than 23.3 Million

The Food Research and Action Center reports that participation in the Food Stamp Program in October 2003 increased by 608,748 persons from the previous month, to 23,315,024 persons.  The October 2003 level of Food Stamp Program participation represented a rise of almost 3.2 million persons compared to the October 2002 level, nearly 5.15 million persons compared to October 2001, and more than 6.4 million persons since July, 2000 (when program participation nationally reached its lowest point in the last decade).

http://www.frac.org/html/news/fsp/03oct.html

**Immigration

Undocumented Immigrants: Facts and Figures

The Bush administration and members of Congress have proposed granting temporary legal status to undocumented immigrant workers currently residing in the United States.  The best estimate from the Urban Institute is that there are 9.3 million undocumented immigrants in the country, of whom about 6 million are working. There are 4.5 million undocumented men, 3.2 million women, and 1.6 million children. Another 3 million children with undocumented parents are U.S.-born citizens. Almost two-thirds of undocumented immigrants live in six states: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey. But the undocumented population is growing fastest in other Southeastern, Midwestern and Mountain states.

http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8685

Nation's Immigrants Account for Bulk of Labor Force Growth since 2000

According to a new report from Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies, continuing a trend that took place during the 1990s, new foreign immigrants made up between 50 and 58 percent of labor force growth between 2000 and 2003.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-01/nu-nia010804.php