Human Services
Community Building
Digest

House and Senate Farm Bill conferees had their first formal meeting on March 13th at the U.S. Capitol and are expected to meet again at 9 am on March 15th and/or March 19th. Conferees are charged with ironing out differences between the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill (H.R. 2646, formerly numbered in the Senate as S. 1731). The House bill reauthorizes the Food Stamp Program but earmarks only $3.6 billion in new ten-year funding for the nutrition title, compared to $8.9 billion in the nutrition title in the Senate Bill. During the interim, staff will continue to discuss potential areas of agreement.

From:  Food Resource and Action Network

http://www.frac.org/html/news/alert031402.html

**Children, Youth & Families

Child Welfare & TANF Reauthorization
This presentation from the Center on Law and Social Policy (CLASP) highlights what is known and not known about the impact of TANF on child welfare, including a review of impacts on: the incidence of child maltreatment; the funding available for child welfare services; the coordination of child welfare and TANF services; and the services and supports available to kinship caregivers.

http://www.clasp.org/pubs/TANF/child%20welfare%20and%20tanf%20reauthorization.pdf

Unfinished Agenda: Child Care for Low-Income Families Since 1996
A report from the Center on Law and Social Policy (CLASP) finds that despite significant increases in child care funding and the number of children served since 1996, many unmet needs remain for child care assistance and early learning opportunities. In addition, deteriorating economic conditions and budget crises in many states are jeopardizing recent childcare gains.

http://www.clasp.org/pubs/childcare/finalreport.pdf

Creating a Seamless Web of Services for Youth
Outcomes for youth in the District of Columbia were quite poor during the 1980's and early 1990's. SAT scores were well below the national average and the juvenile violent death rate was almost three times the average for the largest 50 U.S. cities. To address this crisis, several important initiatives have been started, many of which focus on improving after-school activities for DC youth.  One such initiative is the DC Children and Youth Investment Partnership (CYIP, or the Partnership). A study from the Urban Institute analyzes the DC Children and Youth Investment Partnership in its effort to build a sustainable collaboration that changes the way in which youth programs are designed, managed, and implemented.

http://www.urban.org/pdfs/410410_DC-CYIP.pdf

Childhood Obesity: A Lifelong Threat to Health
Almost 14 million children -- 24 percent of the U.S. population ages 2 to 17 -- are obese. The Center on an Aging Society has just released the second in a series of Data Profiles on chronic and disabling conditions. The profile, called “Childhood Obesity: A Lifelong Threat to Health,” culls data from two national health surveys as well as from the latest research on this problem to provide a picture of which children are at greatest risk for obesity, what factors contribute to obesity in children, and how obesity affects their lives.

http://www.georgetown.edu/research/ihcrp/agingsociety/obesity/obesity.html

New Survey Shows Teens Shaken by Terrorist Attacks   
The “Are We Safe? 2001 Focus on Teens Survey”, released 03/15/02 by the National Crime Prevention Council shows America's youth shaken by the events of September 11th, yet willing to take positive action to help make our nation safer.  The survey is an attempt to gauge how safe young people feel in their homes, schools and communities. Results of the survey were released to coincide with the National Youth Summit on Preventing Violence in Washington, D.C.

www.ncpc.org/rwesafe

Generation Rx.com: How Young People Use the Internet for Health Information
New findings from a national survey from the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation show that young adults are not only going online to talk with friends or download music, but also to look up information about health issues from diabetes to AIDS.

http://www.kff.org/content/2001/20011211a/GenerationRx.pdf

**Health Policy

African Americans in Medicare Managed Care Less Likely than Whites to Get Critical Health Care
African Americans are less likely than whites to receive recommended clinical care in four key quality areas, according to a new study of Medicare managed care enrollees published in the March 13, 2002, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

http://www.cmwf.org/programs/minority/schneider_racialdisparities_itl_532.asp

Reducing Health Disparities Requires Looking at More Than Just Poverty, Say Experts

Reducing health disparities in America will require a "broad-gauged approach" aimed not just at poverty and insurance coverage but at economic, education, labor and housing policies, say researchers.

http://www.healthaffairs.org

Bush Administration Not Making The Grade In The War On AIDS, Say Organizations
On the eve of the first meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS a national coalition of AIDS organizations submits an assessment of the Bush Administration's record on HIV/AIDS to date.

http://www.nmac.org/policy/bushreport.htm

AIDS Policy Research Center Urges Congress to Consider "Abstinence-Plus" HIV Prevention for Teens  
The AIDS Policy Research Center delivered to Congress a policy monograph noting the shortcomings of "abstinence-only" and outlining the advantages of "abstinence-plus" HIV prevention programming for teens.

http://ari.ucsf.edu/pdf/abstinence.pdf

Yates Lesson: Time to Focus on Treatment Needs Says National Mental Health Association
The Texas jury's decision to sentence Andrea Yates to life in prison gives promise that the American public is finally beginning to grapple with the complexities of mental illness.

http://www.nmha.org/

AARP Lays Out Elements of Successful Drug Benefit in Medicare
In testimony before congress AARP CEO Bill Novelli that Medicare must be strengthened and modernized by adding affordable prescription drug coverage this year.  "AARP believes solid public policy should drive the funding of a prescription drug benefit, not the reverse," Novelli said. "That is why we have asked Congress to renew its commitment from last year, adjusted for inflation and the growing number of eligible beneficiaries, by earmarking $350 billion for prescription drugs and reforms that strengthen the program."

http://www.aarp.org/

**Hunger

One In Ten Americans at Risk of Hunger
More than 33 million people in the United States - including nearly 13 million children - lived in households deemed "food insecure," or hungry or at risk of hunger in 2000, according to a just released report from the USDA.

http://www.secondharvest.org/

Read the USDA Food Security Action Plan at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/summit/discussi.html.

Also see a Q and A on Food Security at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/summit/usactionq&a.html.

**Substance Abuse

April is Alcohol Awareness Month
In response to questions about the statistics issued by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Stacia Murphy, President of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence commented, "Regardless of the debate, the bottom line is that alcohol is not a drink for children. Alcohol is a drug - a powerful, mood-altering drug that affects children's changing and developing hormonal systems. This is a critical public health issue and we need to stop abdicating responsibility and worrying about percentage points."

http://www.ncadd.org/

**Work and Employment

How Living Wage Laws Affect Low-Wage Workers and Low-Income Families

A new national study from the Public Policy Institute of California finds that although living wage laws reduce employment, they also decrease poverty among urban families.  Since 1994, nearly 40 cities in the United States have passed living wage ordinances. These ordinances mandate that businesses under contract with the city, and in some cases businesses receiving assistance from the city, pay employees a wage sufficient to lift their families out of poverty. This report examines the actual experiences of cities implementing such laws.

http://www.ppic.org/#ppic156

**Welfare Reform

Leaving Welfare Without Working
A working paper from the Welfare Academy asks, "How do mothers do it? And what are the implications?"  Citing the statistics that less than 50% of welfare leavers are working regularly the study delves into the different approaches that mothers are taking to coping to life after welfare and the implications of those choices.

http://www.welfareacademy.org/pubs/leavingwithoutwork.pdf

A Housing Perspective on TANF Reauthorization and Support for Working Families
In a paper intended to stimulate thinking and contribution from others the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities presents a case for why housing issues should be considered in the TANF reauthorization debate.  The housing ideas are divided into proposals targeted at current and recent TANF families, and proposals to address housing problems more broadly, including those of poor families with children.  The report also includes a section with a set of proposed changes to federal housing programs that would promote marriage and family formation.

http://www.cbpp.org/3-12-02hous.htm

Connecticut's Welfare Reform Increased Work and Reduced Long-Term Welfare Receipt
Since its launch in 1996, Connecticut's Jobs First program has attracted national attention because it includes all the key elements of the 1990s welfare reforms: time limits, financial work incentives, and work requirements. Now a rigorous large-scale evaluation from MDRC finds that Jobs First made progress towards its key goal of replacing welfare with work.

http://www.mdrc.org/Reports2002/CT_JobsFirst/CT_ExecutiveSummary.htm