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House Budget
Resolution Would Require Much Deeper Cuts In Key Low-Income Programs
Than Senate Budget Plan
According to analysis
from the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities the budget resolutions passed by
the House and Senate in mid-March differ sharply in the size of
their cuts in key "mandatory" (or "entitlement")
programs that assist low-income families with children, the elderly,
and people with disabilities. The House Budget Resolution calls
for an estimated $30 billion to $35 billion in cuts over the next
five years in Medicaid, food stamps, and low-income programs under
the jurisdiction of the House
Ways and Means Committee.
http://www.cbpp.org/3-30-05bud.htm
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**Children, Youth
& Families
Kids Today Take
Fewer Risks than Parents, Study Says
According to the
Child Well-Being Index, an annual report from the Foundation for Child Development, today's youth do
less drugs and binge drinking than their parents and also commit
fewer crimes, but many eat poorly and are overweight.
http://www.jointogether.org/saredirect/?Object_ID=576567&Type=sa
Children's Defense
Fund Action Council Scorecard Ranks Lawmakers on How Well They Protect
Children
The Children's Defense
Fund Action Council released its annual nonpartisan rankings of
Representatives and Senators based on their votes in Congress in
2004 on legislation affecting the lives of children. Individual
members and state delegations in Congress were evaluated. The Action
Council ranked Hawaii’s congressional delegation No. 1, with a 94 percent
rating, while Wyoming was worst with a score of 5 percent.
http://www.childrensdefense.org/pressreleases/050323.aspx
Stability and
Change in Child Care and Employment
In a study from
MDRC of over 3,500 women in welfare-to-work programs in three states,
child care instability did not appear to be a major cause of employment
instability.
http://www.mdrc.org/publications/406/overview.html
Many
Young Children Spend Long Hours in Child Care
Research from the
Urban Institute finds that in 2002 a large percentage of preschool
children with employed mothers were in full-time care each week.
Forty-two percent of children under age 5 with employed mothers
spent at least 35 hours a week in child care. The proportion is
even greater (50.6 percent) among children whose mothers worked
full-time. These findings reinforce the important role that child
care plays in the lives of America's youngest children and the need for policymakers to
pay close attention to the quality of that care.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=9232
Purdue Researchers
Find Children of Working Poor Need More Help
Purdue child development
experts found in a study that many low-income parents are trying
to find quality child care that will help their children develop
to their fullest potential, but they're not getting enough help
from their employers, government and communities.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20050330.132016&time=13%2047%20PST&year=2005&public=1
Quality of Mom's
Time, not Quantity, Most Important in Early Infant Development
A recent study published
in the journal Child Development found no differences in the social
and intellectual development in the first three years of life between
children whose mothers spent a lot of time with them and children
whose mothers' time was limited by working outside of the home.
The findings indicate that the amount of time spent with babies
and at work are not the critical determinants of strong, positive
relationships between mothers and children.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/sfri-qom032105.php
What We Know
About Unmarried Parents: Implications for Building Strong Families
Programs
A research brief
from Mathematica Policy Research summarizes information from the
Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study about the characteristics
and relationship patterns of unwed parents. While not representative
of all unwed parents, the study sample is representative of unwed
parents in large urban centers and, as such, the findings can help
state and local agencies and other groups designing BSF programs
gain a better understanding of the characteristics and circumstances
of the target population.
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/bsfisbr3.pdf
HHS Announces
New Communication Tools To Help Parents Talk To Their Teens About
Abstinence
The Department of
Health and Human Services announced a new set of communication tools
to help equip parents to talk with their teens about sex and relationships
while encouraging them to remain abstinent from unhealthy behaviors.
The new communication tools include the 4parents.gov
Web site as well as Parents, Speak Up and Teen Chat guidebooks.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2005pres/20050325.html
**Civil Society/Civic
Engagement
Police Officers' Racial
Bias Can Be Eliminated
According to an
article in Psychological Science, although police officers are more
likely to wrongfully shoot certain races, they can overcome this
tendency. New research shows that extensive training with a computer
simulation can eliminate this racial bias.
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/media/releases/2005/pr050316.cfm
Tell Children
Racial Prejudice is Wrong: They'll be Less likely to be Prejudiced
An article in the
journal Child Development finds that when children under 10 are
aware that racial prejudice is wrong, they are more likely to suppress
it in their peer group. New evidence shows that once children are
older than 10, they are less likely to suppress such prejudice.
The studies explored in this paper show different results in controlling
racial bias when children are held accountable for their actions,
and underscore the need to reduce children's racial prejudice before
the age of 10.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/sfri-tcr032105.php
Does
Parole Work?: Analyzing the Impact of Postprison Supervision on
Rearrest Outcomes
According to the
Urban Institute, the majority of prisoners released in the United States
are subject to some period of supervision in the community, often
called "parole." Despite its widespread use, very little
is known about whether parole in fact increases public safety outcomes
or improves reentry transitions. This study compares prisoners released
to supervision-via mandatory and discretionary release-with prisoners
released unconditionally.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=9233
SAMHSA Program
Aims to Divert Inmates to Treatment
The Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration will award funding under its
"Targeted Capacity Expansion Grants for Jail Diversion Programs."
Approximately six awards of $400,000 will be given to states, townships,
and tribal organizations working with public and nonprofit organizations
to move non-violent adult inmates with mental illnesses to community-based
treatment centers.
http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/funding/reader/0%2C1854%2C576561%2C00.html
**Community Development
Information and
Market-Based Community Development
Two complementary
papers from the Brookings Institution examine the role of information
resources in spurring markets and creating investment strategies
to boost urban neighborhoods. Together, both papers offer a framework
for market-based community economic development, presenting business-planning
tools for inner city communities.
http://www.brookings.org/metro/umi.htm
Fair Housing Report Shows
Discriminating Housing Providers More Likely to Face Scrutiny
According to a new
2005 State of Fair Housing
Report, landlords and rental agents who violate the Fair Housing
Act are more likely than ever to come under federal scrutiny by
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2004,
HUD and its state and local Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP)
partners received 9,187 housing discrimination complaints, a 13
percent increase over the previous fiscal year.
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr05-041.cfm
Agencies Announce Answers
to Frequently Asked Questions about New HMDA Data
The Department of
Housing and Urban Development released a set of FAQ’s that address
the new home loan price data disclosed this year for the first time
under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The new loan price
data are intended to advance enforcement of consumer protection
and anti-discrimination laws and improve mortgage market efficiency.
Loan price data and other HMDA data can be used by agencies and
others as a screening tool to identify aspects of the higher-priced
mortgage market that warrant a closer look to determine whether
there is abuse or discrimination.
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr05-040.cfm
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Get more information
on these issues at http://www.ecommunityissues.com.
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**Disability
Disability Awareness
Coloring Book
Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital has created a coloring book for children that addresses
the awareness and acceptance of individuals living with disabilities
and emphasizes the respect and dignity of all people, regardless
of their physical appearance or limitations.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=44941
**Economic Security
Social Security
and the Income of the Elderly
According to the
Economic Policy Institute the current Social
Security program ensures workers and their families a basic quality
of life in retirement or in the event of disability or death. Social
Security is of particular importance to Americans age 65 and older,
15 million of whom rely on these benefits for over half their income.
A new EPI Issue Brief explains how the elderly can ill-afford to
risk their Social Security income by depending on privatization
plans, including a breakdown of Social Security reliance in each
state.
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/ib206
**Education
Benefits of Universal
Preschool in California Would Surpass Costs
According to the
RAND Organization, the costs of investing public money to make preschool
available to every 4-year-old in California would be more than offset
by such benefits as decreases in special education needs, grade
repetition, and youth and adult crime.
http://www.rand.org/news/press.05/03.30.html
Missed Opportunities:
The Possibilities and Challenges of Funding High-Quality Preschool
through Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act
A paper from the
Center for Law and Social Policy provides general
background on the legislation behind Title I and provides an overview
of the available data on the use of Title I funds for preschool,
as well as illustrative examples of how a few states and local communities
have used Title I funds for these programs. It also examines the
U.S. Department of Education's statutes, regulations, and guidance
on the use of Title I funds for preschool and raises some unanswered
questions
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/publications/clasprptmisseeopp.pdf
Nearly Half of
Middle School Students Report Daily Incidents of Harassment
A study from UCLA
found that almost half of 6th grade urban middle school students
were harassed by their peers within two weeks. Peer harassment was
related to negativity towards school, as was witnessing their classmates
being subjected to peer harassment. Findings were based upon two
samples of 95 to 97 sixth graders who rated their moods and described
incidents of daily peer harassment. The results indicate a need
to extend violence prevention efforts to all students.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/sfri-nho032105.php
Who Graduates
in California?
A policy bulletin
from The Urban Institute presents a new analysis on
high school graduation rates for California. Although the state's overall graduation rate of 71
percent falls near the national average, large disparities exist
among different racial and ethnic groups. A slight narrowing of
this graduation gap has occurred over the past several years. In
addition to detailed statewide statistics, the bulletin includes
results for the 10 largest districts in the state.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=9216
CTA Institute
for Teaching Embarks on Effort to Improve High School Education
The California Teachers
Association's (CTA) Institute For Teaching (IFT), through a grant
from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, kicked off a multi-year
High School Outreach Program with a workshops and seminars in Los
Angeles. The program is part
of the IFT's Schools of Greatest Need Initiative (SGNI), which works
to build community investment and teacher involvement in school
change for California's
lowest-performing schools.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=44851
The Best Way
to Get Teens to Learn
An article in the
journal Child Development finds that when a teenager knows that
learning something will help them attain an intrinsic goal, they
are more likely to be interested in learning it. The study was based
on adolescents who were told that their learning would either be
good for their health (an intrinsic goal) or make them more attractive
(an extrinsic goal). This research suggests that intrinsic goals
enhance conceptual learning, so teachers should point out the intrinsic
value to students learning material.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/sfri-tbw032105.php
Charter Schools:
the Evidence on Enrollment and Achievement
According to the
Economic Policy Institute, when federal statistics showed test scores
lower in charter than in regular schools, some charter school supporters
insisted this must result from charter schools enrolling harder-to-teach
minority students. Data show, however, that typical charter school
students are not more disadvantaged, yet their average achievement
is not higher. EPI's latest book, The Charter School
Dust-Up: Examining the evidence on enrollment and achievement,
reviews the existing research on charter schools and suggests how
such debates could be improved: by carefully accounting for the
difficulty of educating particular groups of students before interpreting
test scores, and by focusing on student gains, not their level of
achievement at any particular time.
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/book_charter_school
**Health
Study to Improve
Health Through Physician, Patient Education; Goal Is to Reduce Treatment
Disparities
The University of
Maryland, School of Medicine is investigating
the effectiveness of education to improve the health of patients
diagnosed with either hypertension or diabetes. The study will evaluate
whether physician training in the latest treatment guidelines, combined
with intensive instruction for patients makes a difference. The
study will focus on African-Americans, who are at high risk for
hypertension and diabetes. The goal is to help them gain better
control of their disease by promoting early diagnosis and comprehensive
treatment.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20050330.132016&time=13%2047%20PST&year=2005&public=1
Policy Challenges
and Opportunities in Closing the Racial/Ethnic Divide in Health
Care
A brief from The Kaiser Family Foundation reviews the issues
and the evidence underpinning five broad areas of policy initiatives
that flow from recommendations made in the Institute of Medicine's 2002 report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial
and Ethnic Disparities in Care.
http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/7293.cfm
Blacks and Latinos
are more satisfied with Physicians of the Same Race
According to a University of
Washington study,
Black and Latino patients who perceive racism in the health care
system prefer and are more satisfied with physicians from the same
race or ethnicity. Blacks who prefer a black physician and have
a black physician are nearly three times as likely to rate their
physician as excellent as are blacks who prefer a black physician
and have a non-black physician.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/uow-uss032905.php
Study Shows Problems
with Drug Companies' Charitable Programs
A new study funded
by the California HealthCare Foundation shows that while free medication
programs offered by the pharmaceutical industry help some low-income
patients without drug coverage, health care providers report substantial
barriers for patients who could otherwise benefit from these programs.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20050329.125830&time=13%2054%20PST&year=2005&public=1
HIV Testing Should
be Routine Part of Primary Health Care for Sexually Active
A group of physician/researchers
at Emory University School of Medicine, Brown Medical School, and the
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine propose that primary health care
providers should incorporate HIV testing into routine patient care
for all sexually active individuals, regardless of risk factors.
HIV testing also should be offered routinely in emergency departments,
jails and substance abuse centers, the researchers say.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/euhs-hts033005.php
Kaiser Conversations
on Health - Tommy Thompson
During this "Kaiser
Conversations on Health" on Thursday, March 24, former Health
and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson provided an assessment
of his tenure as HHS Secretary and discussed the challenges ahead
in federal health policy, including implementation of the new Medicare
prescription drug benefit and stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS at
home and abroad.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1386
**Substance Abuse
Housing Grants
for Homeless Alcoholics
The Department of Housing and
Urban Development is funding a program that offers housing and
supportive services to recovering homeless alcoholics. Grantees
will assess and refer to treatment (as necessary) individuals who
have been homeless for at least one full year in the last five to
be eligible for this support, have been homeless at the time of
initial contact, and never lived in transitional or permanent housing
during that time period.
http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/funding/reader/0%2C1854%2C576526%2C00.html
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