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**Children, Youth & Families
Preventing
Child Abuse Requires Preventing Statistics Abuse
Preventing "statistics abuse" is a crucial first step toward
preventing child abuse, according to a national child advocacy
organization. "The problem of child
abuse is serious and real but the solutions have been phony," said Richard
Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection
Reform. "Statistics abuse distorts the nature and extent of the problem,
leading to an atmosphere of hysteria about child abuse. That, in turn, leads to
the needless removal of children from their homes even when the only
'maltreatment' is the confusion of poverty with child 'neglect.'
http://www.nccpr.org/issues/3.html
Family
Support Evaluations
The new issue of "The Evaluation
Exchange" from the Harvard Family Research Project focuses on family
support evaluations and their role in moving the family support field
forward. It features a
conversation with Michael Quinn Patton about historical and emerging trends in
evaluation practice, descriptions of national and local evaluations that are
underway, a discussion of using "effect size" to measure program
effectiveness, advice on how to bring family research to legislators'
attention, a look at how data can help parents assess schools, and much more.
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/eval/issue18/index.html.
Community
Initiatives Can Lower Adolescent Pregnancy Rates
A report from the Society for Public
Health Education finds that community-wide initiatives, including sex education
in 7th and 8th grade, can reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy. Community-wide initiatives, including
sex education in 7th and 8th grade, can reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy,
according to the results of the study published in the April issue of Health
Education & Behavior. Researchers compared the birth rate for adolescents
living in two sections of Wichita, Kan.,
before and during the implementation of community programs aimed at preventing
teen pregnancy.
http://www.cfah.org/hbns/newsrelease/initiatives3-28-02.cfm.
**Community Development
Model
Neighborhood Transformation
PolicyLink stressed the need for equitable development in neighborhood
transformation initiatives. On
March 19, the Philadelphia Daily News ran an opinion piece by PolicyLink
President and founder Angela Glover Blackwell and Senior Associate Heather
McCulloch, citing the recent passage of Philadelphia’s
multi-million dollar Neighborhood Transformation Initiative for communities
that have suffered years of neglect and abandonment. The op-ed caps a four-part series by PDN
columnist Elmer Smith, inspired by the PolicyLink report "Sharing the
Wealth: Resident Ownership Mechanisms."
http://www.policylink.org/pdfs/ROMs.pdf
National
Fair Housing Alliance Documents Continued Discrimination in Housing
The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), the nation's
leading civil rights organization focused on the elimination of housing
discrimination, released its annual "Fair Housing
Trends Report" which documents reported acts of illegal discrimination
nationwide. The report reveals that the level of housing discrimination
complaints filed by African Americans and people with disabilities in 2001
remained high throughout the United States.
http://www.nationalfairhousing.org/html/archives/fhmonthpressrel.htm
**Education
New
Investment in Early Education Advocacy
The Pew Charitable Trusts, the country's seventh largest foundation, has
awarded a grant of nearly $4 million to create a new advocacy center for early
education, The Trust for Early Education.
The new Washington-based nonprofit organization will work at the federal
level to expand support for more effective early education for all three- and
four-year-olds and to enhance existing state level campaigns for voluntary
universal preschool..
http://www.pewtrusts.com/ideas/index.cfm?issue=5
Michigan
Charter Schools Often Come Up Short
When it comes down to access and
equity, student achievement, efficiency and oversight, Michigan's 184 charter
schools often come up short. The
researchers from Western Michigan
University offer an array of
findings that point to the failings of charter schools in the areas of
diversity, access for students with special needs, test scores and professional
opportunities for teachers. At the same
time they found that charter school students, parents and teachers seem
generally happy with their schools' curriculum.
http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/charter/whatspublic.html
**Health
CA
Bill Would Stop Hospitals From Overcharging the
Uninsured
In light of data showing how little care is provided to
uninsured families without charge, elected officials and a diverse coalition of
consumer groups unveiled new legislation today at a Capitol press conference
aimed at helping more uninsured Californians cover their medical expenses when
they become ill and incur big hospital bills they cannot afford.
http://www.consumersunion.org/health/sb1394wc402.htm
AHA Launches Campaign to Stop
Proposed Medicare Cuts
The American Hospital Association is running a national ad
campaign to stop Medicare/Medicaid cuts. The campaign is aimed to educate
policymakers and the public about the $21 billion in hospital cuts set to take
effect on October 1.
http://www.aha.org/ar/Advocacy/ThisCouldBeYou.asp
Making Medicaid
Better
The National
Governors’ Association has published an analysis of the options that would
restructure the financing of the Medicaid program so that states could afford
to contribute to its financing into the future.
The NGA proposes that these changes will enable Medicaid to be more
effective in providing health coverage for the low-income uninsured.
http://www.nga.org/cda/files/MAKINGMEDICAIDBETTER.pdf
**Hunger
What Are the Issues Associated With Making WIC an Individual
Entitlement?
A new report from the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities examines the issues
in changing the Woman and Infant Children’s program from a discretionary
program. WIC is currently a
discretionary program with funding set annually by the appropriations process.
The number of participants served each year is determined by the amount of
funds available. Over the past two decades, funding for WIC has risen very
substantially, and the program has moved very close to serving all eligible
persons who apply, similar to an entitlement program. Unlike an entitlement,
however, WIC benefits are not guaranteed to individuals if funds are not
sufficient.
http://www.cbpp.org/4-2-02wic.htm
**Substance Abuse
National Alcohol Screening
Day
National Alcohol
Screening Day will be held April 11, 2002, during Alcohol Awareness Month. The program
addresses a range of drinking behaviors from risky drinking to alcohol
dependence. This year, the focus of NASD will broaden to include information
about the consequences of at-risk drinking and alcohol’s effect on general
health, as well as specific medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease
and certain types of cancer.
http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/alcohol.htm
Preventing HIV and Substance Abuse among Latino Youth
What are the best ways to prevent
HIV and substance abuse among Latino youth? The National Council of La Raza distributed a progress report on “Sharing Success,” NCLR’s best practices survey, to its affiliates earlier
this year.
http://nclr.policy.net/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=20203
Nearly
Half the Nation Shows Increased Demand for Drug and Alcohol Treatment
Since September 11
Twenty-three states, five cities and Washington, D.C. have detected
an increased demand for alcohol and drug treatment since September
11, according to a new survey conducted by The National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. The
telephone survey of the offices of substance abuse services in 50
states, the ten largest U.S. cities and Washington, D.C. is a follow
up to one conducted by CASA in late November/early December. That
survey found 13 states, three cities and Washington,
D.C. had seen an increased demand
for such treatment.
http://www.casacolumbia.org
**Work and Taxes
2002 Earned Income Tax Credit Outreach Kit
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released an Earned
Income Tax Credit Outreach Kit. As part
of the "Give Your Paycheck a Boost" program the kit contains flyers,
posters and brochures in over fifteen languages. As well as background
information of the EITC and the new Child Tax Credit.
http://www.cbpp.org/eic2002/index.html
Reports on Usage of the Earned Income Tax Credit
Reports from the Brookings
Institution and Maximus examine the usage of the Earned Income Tax Credit by
geography and amongst current and former TANF recipients.
The Brookings study, "A Local
Ladder for the Working Poor: The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit in U.S.
Metropolitan Areas," found that while low income working families in
metropolitan are most concentrated in central cities, the majority of EITC
dollars flow to the suburbs. http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/es/urban/eitc/eitcnational.pdf.
The Maximus study analyzed the
awareness of the EITC program by ethnicity for TANF recipients and leavers
through surveys in 4 states. http://www.cortidesignhost.com/maximus/cpss/Awareness_and_Use_of_EITC_v2.pdf.
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