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ACTION NEEDED:
THANK MEMBERS FOR DEFEATING ANTI-IMMIGRANT BILL
From: The National Council of
La Raza
The defeat of this anti-immigrant
proposal is a significant victory. It is
important the Members who voted against this bill receive calls in appreciation
for their vote so that they continue to fight against anti-immigrant
legislation. You can view the final vote
count at: http://www.communitychange.org/docs/CCC327-FinalVoteHR3722.doc. Please call or write to thank Members in your
state who are listed under the NAYS.
http://www.communitychange.org/alerts/default.asp#2
UPDATE: TAKE THE
AFL-CIO’S WORKING WOMEN SURVEY
From: AFL-CIO
The Ask a Working Woman survey
is sponsored by the AFL-CIO, the largest organization of working women in America. It asks
working women to rank their priorities for change. Whether your top concern is equal pay or
flexible hours, child care or elder care, training for a new job or respect for
the one you do now, one thing is certain: Working women agree that it's more
effective working together to make changes on the job than trying to go it
alone.
http://www.communitychange.org/alerts/default.asp#3
UPDATE: FY2005
BUDGET PASSES HOUSE FLOOR BUT STALLS IN SENATE
From: The Center for
Community Change
The budget conference report
sets a one-year budget, rather than the five-year plans earlier passed by the
House and Senate, to hide likely cuts that will be made to public services in
future years. Although the compromise budget does not include the cuts to
entitlement programs proposed in the original House budget resolution, it still
cuts funding for several programs, such as: housing vouchers, child care, and
nutritional assistance from women, infants and children.
http://www.communitychange.org/alerts/default.asp#4
**Children, Youth &
Families
Explaining the Iraqi
Prison Scandal to Kids
A professor of psychiatry at
the University of Vermont, College of Medicine suggests that parents and teachers follow specific guidelines in
dealing with this current issue with children:
Like the repeated visual images of September 11, media coverage of the
Iraqi prison scandal is expected to continue over the coming months. As a
result, many children will be exposed to images of humiliation, abuse and
torture, which may give rise to fears and questions.
http://www.uvm.edu/news/?Page=News&storyID=5059&FieldValue=Explaining
Study Shows That Genes Can
Protect Kids against Poverty
A
researcher from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College
London has found that for children growing up poor, money isn't the only
solution to overcoming the challenges of poverty. According to the study, the genes and warm
support received from parents also can buffer these children against many of
the cognitive and behavioral problems for which poverty puts them at risk. Numerous studies show that economic hardship
during childhood elevates a person's risk of developing conduct problems and
lower intelligence, but some children overcome these odds and perform better on
intelligence or behavioral tests than would be expected, given the level of
poverty in which they are raised.
http://www.news.wisc.edu/releases/9853.html
What
Do "I Do"s Do? Potential Benefits of
Marriage for Cohabiting Couples with Children
Data from the 2002 National
Survey of America's Families analyzed by the Urban Institute show that over 70
percent of the difference in poverty, low-income status, and food insecurity
between children living with married and cohabiting couples can be attributed
to differences in work status, education, age, and race/ethnicity of these
couples. The remaining difference can be attributed to unmeasured family
characteristics and the intrinsic benefits of marriage.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8869
Low-Income
Native American Women Suffer High Rates of Domestic Abuse
Researchers from the University of New Mexico and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center found that
low-income Native American women are at least twice as likely to suffer
physical or sexual assault at the hand of their partner as the average American
woman. This risk is greatly increased if
the women live in very poor socioeconomic conditions.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-05/bc-lna051904.php
**Community Development
New
Metropolitan Realities Require New Policies
An author from the Brookings
Institution frames "A Progressive Agenda for Metropolitan America" in
a contribution to What We Stand For, a new book for the New Democracy Project. The agenda embraces a federal metropolitan
agenda that promotes balanced growth, stimulates investment in cities and older
suburbs and connects low-income families to employment and educational
opportunities.
http://www.brookings.org/urban/publications/200405_katzgreenbook.htm
Why Funding for Job Training Matters
The Center for Law and Social
Policy reports that recent proposals to
cap or reduce Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding come at a time when
already limited WIA resources are unable to keep pace with the demands of
businesses and local communities for skilled workers and the needs of workers
for access to training. This one-page fact sheet argues that Congress should
increase, not cap or reduce resources for job training.
http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1085495314.87/view_html
Blacks Now
Returning to South from All Other Regions
A new survey of census data
by the Brookings Institution finds that the years 1995–2000 completed the
long-term reversal of black Americans' historic out-migration from the
South. By the late 1990s, all three of
the other regions were on balance losing black migrants to the South, according
to the report.
http://www.brookings.org/urban/publications/20040524_frey.htm
**Economic Security
CHN: Block Grant
Proposals Threaten Services for Families - Updated (5/26/04)
According to the Coalition on
Human Needs a
common theme has been emerging among Bush Administration initiatives in human
needs programs: a variety of strategies are being proposed to shrink the
federal role. Block grants are one of those strategies, usually combined with
funding cuts and reduced standards or protections. These proposals transfer
authority to states, but frequently they do not increase local control. In
fact, many of the proposals reduce the role of cities, counties, and local
service providers. The transfer of authority in these proposals is not
accompanied by the funding needed to carry out adequate services, leaving
states and localities with fewer resources even as they face record-breaking
budget shortfalls.
http://www.chn.org/issues/rescheck.asp?art=2185
**Education
Reducing
Black-White Test Score Gap
A
Penn State researcher summarizes research showing that
parents' verbal interaction with their preschool children explains much of the
early test score differences between children of different social class and
racial backgrounds. He emphasizes that reducing the test score gap must begin
early, with increased verbal interaction between parents and children. Research has shown that greater verbal
interaction between parents and young children improves students' performance
on standardized tests. By the age of
three, professional parents had spoken an estimated 35 million words to their
children, working- and middle-class had spoken about 20 million words, and
lower-class parents had only spoken about 10 million words.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-05/ps-rbt052504.php
**Health
Medicaid: Good
Medicine for State Economies, 2004 Update
According to Families USA,
Medicaid provides essential health care services for an estimated 51 million
people of all ages and economic classes. Medicaid also plays a unique role in
stimulating state economies. This report provides national and state-level data
on the effects of Medicaid spending on state business activity, employment, and
employee earnings.
PDF: http://www.familiesusa.org/site/DocServer/Good_Medicine_2004_update.pdf?docID=3381
Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries to see Big Savings
The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said today that Medicare
beneficiaries qualifying for the transitional assistance program under the new
Medicare law could save between 29 and 77% on their brand-name drug costs and
as much as 92% on their generic drug costs combining the effects of discounts
available with the cards and the effect of the $1,200 credit they have
available to them over the next 18 months. It was unclear to what extent the
actual discounts available to low-income beneficiaries varied with those
available to other beneficiaries.
http://www.cmwf.org/programs/healthbeat22.asp#cms:
Sticker Shock: Rising
Prescription Drug Prices for Seniors
An updated study from
Families USA examines price changes for the top 30 brand-name drugs prescribed
for seniors. The survey found that the prices of these drugs have increased by
nearly 22 percent over the past three years.
PDF: http://www.familiesusa.org/site/DocServer/Sticker_Shock.pdf?docID=3541
CDC Awards $49 Million to
Support HIV Prevention Efforts in Communities Across
the United
States
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention awarded $49 million to directly fund community-based
organizations in a nationwide effort to prevent HIV infection. One hundred
forty-two CBOs will receive awards averaging
approximately $345,000. Awards will be distributed July 1, 2004. The awards
support CDC’s Advancing HIV Prevention Initiative, the comprehensive strategy
to reduce new HIV infections in the United States, launched by CDC in 2003. Community-based
organizations will use the funds to implement HIV prevention interventions for
people living with HIV, their partners, and individuals at high risk for
infection.
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r040521.htm
African-Americans
More Likely to Die of Colon Cancer
A team of researchers from
the University of Alabama-Birmingham find that African-Americans with colon
cancer are more than 50 percent more likely to die of their cancer within five
and ten years after surgery than Caucasians. According to a new study, the
racial differences in long-term survival may be due not to tumor stage at
diagnosis or treatment – i.e., factors related to healthcare access - but to
other genetic or biological factors associated with the tumor.
http://jws-edck.wiley.com:8090/Cancer/News.nsf/Listing+by+Date/2943EE51CBC6179185256E9E004DE827?OpenDocument
People
with Low Incomes More Likely to Develop Brain Tumors
According to a study from Michigan State University, people with low incomes are more likely to develop
brain cancer. The study compared the
rate of brain cancer among people with low income to all other people who
developed brain cancer in the state of Michigan. The overall
rate of brain cancer was 8.1 cases per 100,000 people. Of those with low
incomes, there were 14.2 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 7.5 cases per
100,000 for all other persons.
http://www.aan.com/press/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=210
**Hunger and Nutrition
Food Stamp Program Access Study Eligible Nonparticipants
A
report from the Department of Agriculture finds that many food stamp-eligible
nonparticipants are aware of the Food Stamp Program (FSP) and how to apply but
do not realize that they are eligible.
Nearly all eligible nonparticipating households surveyed in 2000 and
2001 knew of the FSP, but less than half thought they were eligible. Most
nonparticipant households said that they would apply for food stamp benefits if
they were sure they were eligible. Nonetheless, 27 percent would never apply.
The main reason for not applying was a desire for personal independence.
PDF: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/efan03013/efan03013-2/efan03013-2fm.pdf
**Substance Abuse
Gene
Linked to Alcoholism
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a gene linked to alcohol
dependency. Alcoholism tends to run in
families, suggesting that addiction, at least in part, has an underlying
genetic cause.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-05/uoia-glt052004.php
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