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**Children, Youth &
Families
Teen Pregnancy, Child
Poverty Decline in U.S.
Building on research by two
congressional committees, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
released a state-by-state report identifying how many more children would be
living in poverty or growing up in a household with one parent in 2002 if the
teenage pregnancy rate had remained at 1991 levels. A decade of declining
teenage birth rates has led to a notable reduction in the number of U.S. children
living in poverty, according to a new analysis.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51337-2005Apr13.html?nav=rss_nation
NYU Research Shows Anti-Poverty
Program Boosts Marriage Rate among Single Mothers
According to research by New York University
psychologists, an anti-poverty program in Milwaukee, WI, substantially increased marriage rates among single
mothers who have never been married. The findings are the result of an
unprecedented five-year study of Milwaukee's "New Hope Project."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-04/nyu-nrs040505.php
Certain Weight Control
Behaviors may Precipitate Obesity among Adolescent Girls
The prevalence of adolescent
obesity has doubled over the last 30 years and can lead to serious medical
problems, like high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
colorectal cancer. According to a new study from the University of Texas at Austin,
certain weight-control behaviors may actually contribute more to weight
problems than other behaviors. Furthermore, parents who are overweight may also
contribute to their adolescent's future weight problem.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-04/apa-cwc040605.php
Administration's TANF
Proposal Would Not Free Up $2 Billion for Child Care
According to the Center for Law and Social Policy, in recent
weeks, Administration representatives have suggested that enacting the
Administration's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization
proposal would free up $2 billion for states to use for child care. This paper
explains how letting states use unobligated funds for any allowable TANF
expenditure would provide administrative simplification, but would not result
in any new funds becoming available for child care.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/publications/carryover_0405.pdf
**Civil Society/Civic
Engagement
Georgia H.S. Tipsters Can Earn $100
The Associated Press reported
that the Model High School in Rome, Ga., will pay up to $100 to students who report on
classmates who are using drugs or carrying weapons. The money for the rewards
comes from candy and soda sales at the school. Students get $10 for information
about theft, $25 to $50 for information on drug possession, and $100 for
information about gun possession or other serious felonies.
http://www.jointogether.org/saredirect/?Object_ID=576664&Type=sa
**Community Development
Achieving Community Impact
According to the Tamarack
Institute for Community Engagement, engaging the community in any planning
process can pay enormous dividends, but at what point in the process should a
community be engaged? When and how you engage your community in a planning
process is entirely dependent upon the level of public impact you would like to
achieve.
http://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/newsletter/v2i7.htm
Distressed Public Housing:
What It Costs to Do Nothing
According to The Urban Institute, over the past decade, the
HOPE VI program has invested over $5 billion in federal funds in the
replacement or revitalization of severely distressed public housing
developments. The current administration at HUD has been critical of the high
costs of HOPE VI, and proposes that the program should be cut back dramatically
or even eliminated. By Institute estimates, however, between 47,000 and 82,000
severely distressed units remain in the public housing inventory. Tackling the
remaining inventory of severely distressed public housing would be costly. But
doing nothing about distressed public housing has costs as well.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=9240
Local Initiatives Support
Corporation Releases Study on the Role of Nonprofit Organizations in the
Mortgage Industry
Local Initiatives Support
Corporation (LISC), a national nonprofit supporter and funder of community
economic development initiatives, has published a study entitled, Nonprofit
Mortgage Brokers: Small Step or Large Leap? The study examines the question of
whether there is a role--and a real opportunity--for nonprofit organizations
that are already promoting homeownership to reach more underserved families and
communities by becoming mortgage brokers themselves.
http://www.lisc.org/whatsnew/press/releases/2005.04.11.0.shtml
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Get more information on these
issues at http://www.ecommunityissues.com.
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**Economic Security
US Working Poor Profile
The Institute for the Study of
Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center has highlighted a new
publication from The US Department of Labor has published a Profile of the
Working Poor, 2003, which presents demographic information about poor people in
the US labor force. Topics explored include gender, family status,
race/ethnicity, educational attainment, occupation, and weeks worked per year.
PDF: http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2003.pdf
Working Families at Tax
Time
In two new papers from the
Brookings Institution, the Metropolitan Policy Program analyzes the receipt of
the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in immigrant communities and the use of
high cost refund anticipation loans (RALs). The EITC is a considerable
investment in neighborhoods housing high numbers of immigrants, where families
access the credit at significant rates. Nationally, RAL usage by EITC filers
has declined, but remains well above average in cities throughout the South.
http://www.brookings.org/es/urban/urban.htm
The Impact of State Income
Taxes on Low-Income Families In 2004
According to an analysis from
the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, poor families in many states continue to owe substantial taxes
as they file personal income taxes for the 2004 tax year. In a large number of
the states that levy income taxes - in 17 out of 42 states - two-parent
families of four with incomes below the federal poverty line continue to owe
income tax. In 16 states, poor single-parent families of three pay income
taxes. In addition, 31 of the 42 states with an income tax still tax families
with incomes just above the poverty line, even though such families typically
have difficulty making ends meet.
http://www.cbpp.org/4-12-05sfp.htm
Senate WIA Reauthorization
Bill Should Not Adopt the Administration's Consolidation or WIA Plus Proposals
According to the Center for Law and Social Policy, the
Administration has proposed two Workforce Investment Act initiatives that would
effectively eliminate requirements that existing employment and training
funding streams be targeted for populations and purposes specified by Congress.
This brief paper outlines the reasons the Senate should reject both proposals
in its WIA reauthorization bill.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/publications/oppose_wia_plus.pdf
Treasury Department
Release Creates Misleading Impression about Taxes That High-Income Taxpayers
Pay
The Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities reports that the Treasury Department recently updated a fact
sheet on who pays the federal income tax. The fact sheet makes two main points:
that "the individual income tax is highly progressive - a small group of
higher income taxpayers pay most of the individual income tax each year,"
and that the burden these taxpayers bear has increased as a result of the tax
cuts enacted under the Bush Administration. The fact sheet, however, is
misleading. By focusing only on the federal income tax and leaving out all
other federal taxes, it creates misimpressions both about the degree to which
the tax code is progressive and about who is benefiting the most from the
recent tax cuts.
http://www.cbpp.org/4-13-05tax.htm
**Education
Research Questions Belief
that Private Schools are Better than Publics
Students do better in private
schools, according to common wisdom -- and some well-regarded data now more
than two decades old. A recent study from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, of standardized math scores in more than 1,300 public and
private schools finds that students in public schools may do better. Public
school students from similar social and economic backgrounds tested higher in a
national math achievement test than their peers in private schools.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-04/uoia-rqb041105.php
Report Explores how 10 US School Districts Improved Science and Mathematics Learning
A new American Association for the Advancement of Science
report, "A System of Solutions: Every School, Every Student,"
identifies 10 K-12 school districts, serving some of the nation's major
inner-city areas, and discusses the systemic practices that helped them improve
student performance and close the gap between minority and non-minority
students.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-04/aaft-nar041305.php
At-Risk Middle School
Students: A Good Investment
A curriculum for middle
school students, developed in partnership with Johns Hopkins University,
based on learning about and investing in the stock market pays off in improved
attendance, interest in school and grades. The three-year course in the stock
market and investing - with an incentive program that allows students to
actually buy shares of stock showed a return in students' interest in school,
their grades and even their attendance. "The Stocks in the Future program
represents a new approach to helping middle school students who are reluctant
to read, do math, or attend school.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-04/jhu-ams041105.php
Study Finds Shortcoming in
New Law on Education
A new study from the
Northwest Evaluation Association has found that the academic growth that
students experience in a given school year has apparently slowed since the
passage of No Child Left Behind, the education law that was intended to achieve
just the opposite. In both reading and math, the study determined, test scores
have gone up somewhat, as each class of students outdoes its predecessors. But
within grades, students have made less academic progress during the school year
than they did before No Child Left Behind went into effect in 2002.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/13/national/13child.html?ex=1271044800&en=1fab3718c1ecb138&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt
No Child Left Behind -
Budget Fact Sheets by State
The Department of Education
has published a set of fact sheets that outline what the President's budget
would mean to each state and how NCLB is making a difference. President Bush's
proposed 2006 budget would provide $56 billion for the Education Department,
including $1.24 billion for the High School Intervention initiative.
http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/statefactsheets/index.html
Education Department
Announces More Workable, "Common Sense" Approach To Implement No
Child Left Behind Law
The U.S. Secretary of
Education announced a new approach to implementing the No Child Left Behind
law. States will have additional alternatives and flexibility if they can show
they are raising student achievement and closing the achievement gap. The new
guidelines, Raising Achievement: A New Path for No Child Left Behind, are a
comprehensive approach to implementing the law. The Secretary reiterated that
"the bright lines of the statute"—such as annual testing to determine
student achievement, reporting results by student subgroups and highly
qualified teachers—are not up for negotiation.
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/04/04072005.html
Bush Education Officials
try to Pacify States
According to reporting from
stateline.org, the Bush administration's decision to give states greater
flexibility to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act was greeted with enthusiasm
by state education officials meeting in Washington, D.C. But the new concessions may not be enough to quell
rebellions against the law brewing in several states. The Department of
Education Secretary announced new guidelines April 7 designed to make it easier
for school districts to avoid federal sanctions under the 2002 law by tripling
the number of learning-disabled students exempted from passing standardized
tests. Under the new rules, some states will be allowed to offer alternative
tests designed for those with disabilities to 3 percent of their students.
http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=24120
**Health
Filling a Need (and a
Tooth) in America's Poorest Pockets
According to most authorities
on oral health, dental care for Americans has not improved since a recent
surgeon general's report, and there are many indications that it is getting worse.
In 2000, Dr. David Satcher, then the surgeon general, issued the first report
on oral health in America. The report details significant oral health problems
in poor people of all ages, members of racial and ethnic minorities, people
with disabilities and those living in rural America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/12/health/12teet.html?ex=1270958400&en=c60ce507060da86e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt
HHS Announces $63 Million
to Help 105 Communities Extend Health Care Services to More Low-Income,
Uninsured Americans
The Department of Health and
Human Services announced plans to award 105 new health center grants totaling
more than $63 million. These grants will help an estimated 632,000 Americans,
including many without health insurance; obtain comprehensive primary health
care services. Today's grants continue President Bush's five-year initiative
to help communities across the country create or expand access to comprehensive
primary health care services.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2005pres/20050411.html
Study Examines Asset Test
for Medicare Low-Income Drug Subsidy
A study from The Kaiser Family Foundation assesses the impact
of the requirement that low-income people with Medicare meet an asset test in
order to receive additional help paying premiums and cost-sharing under the new
Medicare drug benefit. This study estimates that 2.4 million low-income
Medicare beneficiaries will not qualify for additional subsidies because their
assets exceed the limit established by law.
http://www.kff.org/medicare/7304.cfm
Current Issues in Medicaid
Financing
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation in recent years
there has been much discussion about states' use of creative financing to draw down
additional federal funds for Medicaid financing. Some suggest a curb on these
practices and the President's FY2006 budget includes provisions targeting
intergovernmental transfers. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the
Uninsured has produced a fact sheet and briefs on Medicaid financing issues.
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/kcmu041205pkg.cfm
Trends and Indicators in
the Changing Health Care Marketplace
The
Kaiser Family Foundation takes that pulse of the current information on key
health care marketplace trends including health care spending and costs; health
insurance enrollment, premiums, and benefits; the structure of the health care
marketplace; and consumers and the safety net.
http://www.kff.org/insurance/7031/index.cfm
Providing Language
Services: How Small Providers Are Doing It
According to the Commonwealth
Fund, community health centers and small physician practices can have a
particularly difficult time effectively serving patients with limited English
proficiency. A new Fund report shows how a number of solo practitioners, small
group practices, and clinics around the country have found creative methods for
meeting the needs of these patients.
http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=270667
**Homelessness
Homeless Youth Surveyed
In a new study by the Center
for Impact Research of homeless youth in Chicago, nearly one-third have jobs; one-quarter are parents;
almost two-thirds report a history of abuse; almost half have been arrested;
one-quarter have been homeless for over three years; and about 88 percent are
from Chicago and the suburbs. Family problems were the most
frequent reason given by youth for their current homelessness. The Center for
Impact Research hired homeless youth to survey their peers.
http://www.newstips.org/interior.php?section=Newstips&main_id=465&topic=
**Substance Abuse
Colo. Lawmakers Agree on "Meth Baby" Bill
Colorado legislators have agreed on a bill that makes using
illicit drugs during pregnancy a form of child abuse, deleting a provision that
would have given judges the power to immediately terminate parental rights.
http://www.jointogether.org/saredirect/?Object_ID=576666&Type=sa
Drug Free Communities
Support Mentoring Program
The Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will award as many as 39 grants
under its $2.9-million Drug Free Communities Support Mentoring Program. The
grants will finance community-based anti-drug coalitions, with a focus on adult
mentoring programs for children and youth. Potential applicants must meet the
same eligibility requirements for the Drug-Free Communities Support Program's
coalition grants, which include, but are not limited to, being at least five
years old and having demonstrated prior effectiveness in delivering alcohol and
other drug abuse programs.
http://www.jointogether.org/saredirect/?Object_ID=576629&ID=saFunding
Kids Still See More
Alcohol Ads than Adults
According to a new report
from Georgetown University's Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, underage
youth are exposed to more magazine ads for beer and distilled spirits than
adults. The study looked at more than 10,000 alcohol ads in magazines
published between 2001 and 2003, and said that 56 percent of the $1-billion in
alcohol advertising appeared in publications with a
"disproportionate" number of underage readers.
http://www.jointogether.org/saredirect/?Object_ID=576640&Type=sa
