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**Children, Youth & Families
Recession
Threatens to Worsen Child Poverty
A new report from the Children’s Defense Fund
finds that one year of recession (from late 2000 to late 2001) wiped out fully
half of the gains in the employment rate of parents during the previous five
boom years.
HTML: http://www.childrensdefense.org/fs_recession01_1.htm
PDF: http://www.childrensdefense.org/pdf/fs_recession01.pdf
Research Findings About
Increasing Family Income Through Employment
National
Center for Children in Poverty has begun a policy
brief series focuses on state policy options that have the potential to improve
children's economic security by increasing family income. The purpose of this series is to synthesize
what is known from research about the effectiveness of various policies in
increasing parental employment - either by increasing incentives to work or
decreasing work disincentives - and increasing family income. The
introductory brief sets the stage for the research syntheses on each of the
eight policy options That will be covered and discusses how income fits into a
broader concept of family economic security, addresses the role public policies
can play in helping families to achieve economic security, and summarizes
research on the effects of family income on children's development.
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nccp/improving_security_series.html
13 Indicators of Quality Child
Care:
The National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care utilized
the two licensing measurement methodologies (licensing weighting and indicator
systems) to develop a user-friendly, shortened assistance tool to protect
children from harm in out-of-home childcare.
The audiences for this research brief are state administrators and
policymakers, childcare providers, and early childhood researchers.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/ccquality-ind02/index.htm
Workforce
Development Programs For Young Offenders Reduce Recidivism
A new study from the Annie E. Casey Foundation documents the
impressive records
of fifteen promising juvenile justice initiatives. The report provides compelling evidence that
greater success at facilitating youths' economic self-sufficiency is key to reducing recidivism.
"This study celebrates a new wave of employment programs for
court-involved youth that build up kid's assets instead of focusing on their
deficits," comments Edward DeJesus, co-author and Youth Development and Research
Fund President.
http://www.aecf.org/publications/pdfs/workforce.exec.summ.pdf
Interim Report Says Abstinence
Programs Are 'Changing The Local Landscape' In Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Efforts
A new report from Mathematica Policy Research has found that abstinence
education programs authorized as part of welfare reform enacted in 1996 are
"changing the local landscape of approaches to teenage pregnancy and youth
risk avoidance." The report
presents early implementation findings.
Future reports will assess the impact of the programs on reducing early
sexual activity, with a short-term impact report expected next year when
sufficient data have become available.
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/3rdLevel/abstinencehot.htm
Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse
The Welfare Reform Academy has just released a series of videotapes and
other training materials on recognizing and reporting child abuse. This six-videotape series provides
comprehensive training for the many professionals who are legally required to
report suspected child abuse and neglect. The videotapes are suitable for
teachers, other school officials, social workers, therapists, psychologists,
physicians, nurses, emergency room personnel, childcare staff, dentists,
coroners, medical examiners, and others.
http://www.welfareacademy.org/childabusetraining/training.cfm
**Community Development
Community Development Grants Available
The Allstate Foundation accepts proposals
year-round for its Safe & Vital Communities program. The program works to
foster a feeling of belonging, commitment, and safety in our country's
communities through creating economically healthy and crime-free living
environments. Proposals should focus on: catastrophe response and mitigation,
school anti-violence, and/or revitalization of communities. The Foundation
awards more than $7 million annually and grants range from $500 to $500,000.
http://www.allstate.com/foundation/
**Health
Health and Human Services Released
Quality Data about Individual Nursing Homes
The Department of Health and Human
released new quality data that give seniors and their families
comparative information about local nursing homes' quality of care. The six-state pilot project -- involving
nursing homes serving Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in Colorado, Florida,
Maryland, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington is part of HHS' Nursing Home
Quality Initiative to further improve the quality of care received by the 2.9
million Americans who live in nursing homes nationwide. http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/home.asp
Improving Transitional Medicaid to Promote
Work and Strengthen Health Insurance Coverage
Transitional
Medicaid improves work incentives for welfare recipients and helps them
maintain health insurance as they enter the workforce. The analysis from the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities discusses options for reauthorization.
HTML: http://www.cbpp.org/4-24-02health.htm
PDF: http://www.cbpp.org/4-24-02health.pdf
**Housing
Increasing Access to Housing for Low-Income Families
A report from the
National Governors Association finds that “although much of the funding for
affordable housing activities comes from the federal government, federal
investment has fallen over recent decades.”
“States recognize that the growing unmet need for affordable housing as
a barrier to moving people from welfare to work and out of poverty, and as a
significant obstacle to local economic growth.
In response, states are developing new programs to address the affordable
housing crisis.”
http://www.nga.org/cda/files/032902HOUSING.pdf
**Hunger and
Nutrition
New Opportunities
to Increase Participation in the Child Nutrition Programs
The 21st Century Community Learning Center program is the
largest federal funding source for after school and summer programs. The
program is authorized at $1.25 billion for fiscal year 2002, with authorization
levels increasing to $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2007. In January, No Child Left Behind, which
reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), made a number
of substantial changes to 21st Century Community Learning Centers that provide
opportunities to recipients of these funds to expand participation in the child
nutrition programs.
http://www.frac.org/html/news/21stCenturyAnlysis.htm
2002 Competitive Research
Grants to Improve Food Stamp Program Access
On April 23rd USDA's Food and Nutrition Service
announced a third round of competitive grants for groups to improve
Food Stamp Program access. This round of grants emphasizes the use
of new technology and partnerships. A total of $5 million will be
awarded, with individual grants expected to range between $100,000
and $350,000. The deadline for applications is June 28th. With four
out of ten low-income people eligible for food stamps not receiving
them, anti-hunger groups and allies have identified food stamp outreach
as a major priority.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/GRANTS/2002/research_grants.htm
Help
for Hunger Programs through Congregations
The Bonner Foundation’s Crisis Ministry Program
provides food for the hungry while encouraging congregations to
build relationships and strengthen outreach programs.
The program funds the purchase of food for anti-hunger initiatives
that are supported by congregations with the involvement of their
clergy; are actively involved in addressing the underlying causes
of their clients' hunger; and are located in economically and socially
disadvantaged communities of the United States.
http://www.bonner.org/faithbased/crisisministry.htm
****Poverty and Income Distribution
Full Participation
in U.S.
Safety Net Programs Could Lift 3.8 Million Out of Poverty
A new brief from the Urban
Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project finds that if all
eligible families with children participated fully in key federal
safety net programs, 3.8 million people could escape poverty.
“If policymakers improved participation in Food Stamps, Supplemental
Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the
Earned Income Tax Credit, poverty could fall by 20 percent--extreme
poverty could be reduced by 70 percent," explains Urban Institute
researcher and study co-author Sheila Zedlewski. "The chance
to reduce economic hardship for so many is a strong rationale for
improving access to these safety net programs by streamlining eligibility,
application and recertification processes."
http://www.urban.org/ViewPub.cfm?PublicationID=7645
Pulling Apart:
A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends
A report
from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic
Policy Institute finds that despite the tremendous overall economic
growth of the 1980s and 1990s and the low unemployment rates of
the late 1990s, the gaps between high-income and low- and middle-income
families are historically wide. In all but five states, income inequality has
increased over the past 20 years; prior to the late 1970s, economic
growth in the United
States was more evenly shared.
Press Release:
HTML: http://www.cbpp.org/4-23-02sfp-pr.htm
PDF: http://www.cbpp.org/4-23-02sfp-pr.pdf
Full Report:
PDF http://www.cbpp.org/4-23-02sfp.pdf
State Fact
Sheets: HTML http://www.cbpp.org/4-23-02sfp-states.htm
**Welfare Reform
More than One Million Working Families Receiving TANF-funded Services Not
Counted in TANF Caseload,
An analysis from the Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities finds that “an often-cited but misunderstood statistic is that welfare caseloads have
fallen by more than 50 percent over the past five years. While it
is true that fewer families are receiving cash assistance,
it is not the case that the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) program is helping 50 percent fewer families now than it
did five years ago. States have used TANF funds to provide work
supports and other services to an increasing number of families
who are not counted in TANF caseload statistics because they do
not receive welfare checks.”
HTML: http://www.cbpp.org/4-24-02tanf.htm
PDF: http://www.cbpp.org/4-24-02tanf.pdf
Are States Requiring TANF Recipients to Participate in Welfare-to-Work
Activities?
Another analysis from CBPP shows that more TANF cash assistance
recipients are participating in welfare-to-work programs than frequently
cited but incomplete statistics suggest.
The study finds that 61% were involved in work programs as
opposed to the oft-quoted 42% rate and that those that do not participate
often have legitimate reasons.
HTML: http://www.cbpp.org/4-25-02tanf.htm
PDF: http://www.cbpp.org/4-25-02tanf.pdf
Teen
parents and welfare:
The Center for Impact Research (CIR) has just released
a new report that presents the findings of a research study on teen
parents and their experiences with the welfare system. CIR found
that many young mothers were told they were ineligible for TANF
and left TANF offices without having filled out applications; that
those who had applied and were not receiving TANF were in need of
education and employment; and that the older respondents--who no
longer qualified for the in-depth case management--were experiencing
more hardship than younger respondents.
A new 3-city report will be released on April 30.
http://www.impactresearch.org/documents/Teens%20and%20TANF%20complete.pdf
Side-by-Side Comparison of Work Provisions in
Recent TANF Reauthorization Proposals
The Center for Law and Social Policy summarizes
and compares the work-related provisions in current law and seven
recent TANF reauthorization proposals:
Descriptions of provisions in the President’s plan are based
on Working Toward Independence, a 36-page document released by the
White House in February. This
document is part of a larger joint project of CLASP and the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities, in which side-by-sides on other
aspects of proposed TANF reauthorization legislation will be forthcoming
shortly.
HTML: http://www.clasp.org/pubs/TANF/Side-by-Side-work-4-19-02-final.htm
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/pubs/TANF/Side-by_Side_work_4_19_02_final.pdf
Midwest Welfare Families
Have Gone to Work but Most Remain Poor
A new report from the Joyce Foundation finds that
hundreds of thousands of Midwest welfare recipients
have gone to work since 1996, but most have taken jobs that pay
low wages, are part-time, or don't last.
As a result, most of those who have made the transition from
welfare to work remain poor. The
report shows that in the Midwest, as nationally, welfare rolls plummeted during
the 1990s, and most of those who left welfare went to work. Work
supports – such as child care, food stamps, and the Earned Income
Tax Credit – have helped thousands of working families make ends
meet. But many of the jobs recipients took are part time or short
term, and wages are low. As a result, many working families still
face serious economic hardships.
http://www.joycefdn.org/welrept/
The Structure
of the TANF Block Grant
The Brookings Institution has issued a brief that outlines several of
the policy options for approaching the questions about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block
grant which need to be addressed during the debate on reauthorization,
which must be completed by October 1, 2002. These include the size of the block grant
and the formula for allocating it among states, whether additional
funds should be provided to states during recessions, and whether
the TANF performance bonuses should be revised or dropped.
HTML: http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/wrb/publications/pb/pb22.htm
PDF: http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/wrb/publications/pb/pb22.pdf
Welfare Reform and Beyond: The Future of the
Safety Net
On Thursday, May 2, 2002 the Brookings Institution Welfare Reform
& Beyond initiative is sponsoring a
forum at which key members of Congress will discuss their priorities
for this year's reauthorization of the 1996 welfare reform law.
Participants in the discussion will address whether to change
work participation requirements, whether states should take steps
to encourage marriage, whether reduction of child poverty should
be adopted as an official goal of federal welfare policy, what actions
can be taken to assure that families leaving welfare receive food
stamps and Medicaid, what actions can be taken to help families
that are still struggling to make the transition from welfare to
work, and what can be done to help low-income working families advance
to better jobs and increase their income.
This event is being held in Washington
DC.
http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/comm/events/20020502.htm
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