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Child Poverty Tops 50 Percent in 14 U.S. Counties
A Children’s Defense Fund analysis of new data released from
the 2000 Census shows that some counties in the United States have as many as 3
out of 5 children living in poverty. CDF Founder and President Marian Wright
Edelman stated that while, "Americans tend to picture poor children living
in big cities, but there are 38 counties with child poverty rates higher than in
the poorest big cities, virtually all of them rural counties."
CDF obtained and analyzed the Census 2000 data in its role
as an official Census Information Center. A complete ranking of all 50 states,
the largest cities, and 38 worst counties is available.
http://www.childrensdefense.org/release020604.php
Study Shows Poverty, Welfare Dependence
Drop
The Department of Health and Human Services released the
fifth annual report to Congress, Indications of Welfare Dependence. According
to HSS Secretary Tommy Thompson the study shows that a sharp reduction in the
poverty rate has coincided closely with the historic drop in the number of
people dependent on welfare in the years immediately following the landmark
1996 welfare reform law. The Secretary continued, "These findings
underscore the President's goal of reemphasizing the importance of work as we
take the next step in welfare reform. It is increasingly clear that the only
way for families to break the cycle of dependency and escape poverty is through
work."
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/indicators02.
Teenage Birth Rate Falls To
Record Low; Experts Say Youth Deserve the Credit
A new report prepared by the
Centers for Disease Control, “Births: Preliminary Data for 2001,” shows the
teen birthrate dropped 5 percent last year, with the greatest progress among
younger teens between the ages of 15 to 17 years old. Since 1991, the teen
birthrate has declined 26 percent. The president of Advocates for Youth,
reacted to the report, "Research shows 75 percent of the recent decline in
teen births is due to increased use of contraception and 25 percent is due to
delayed sexual activity. Common sense tells us that young people need
information about abstinence and contraception. It's not either/or - young
people need both."
The report is available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/releases/02news/birthlow.htm
To read what Advocates for Youth has to say, go to:
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/news/press/060602.htm
Child Abuse Victims Often Abused Again by System
Children who survive the trauma of
sexual abuse are likely to experience a second violation - this time at the
hands of the very people intended to protect them. A new article titled
"The Retraumatization of Child Sexual Abuse: the Second Insult," published
in the Journal Trauma and Loss: Research and Interventions, by a University of Arkansas
researcher identifies the practices and procedures that hurt young victims even
as they attempt to help. The author also suggests that parent education as well
as minor modifications in the reporting and recording process could greatly
reduce subsequent trauma and risk.
http://64.95.130.47/webx?13@106.2CH5aeNyaFY^1@.1dcdf7fb
**Community Development
The
Impact of the Arts on Economic Development
A new
report by National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices states
that the arts are proving a powerful catalyst in several areas of state
economic and community development. The issue brief, The Role of the Arts
in Economic Development, makes the observations, among others, that the
non-profit arts industry has a direct impact on the states by generating $36
billion in business and supports 1.3 million full-time jobs and that indigenous
cultural and artistic traditions are creating economic activities in rural
revitalization efforts.
http://www.nga.org/center/frontAndCenter/1,1188,C_FRONT_CENTER^D_2250,00.html
**Education
Young Women Steered Toward Lower Paying Careers;
A nationwide investigation by the
National Women’s Law Center finds that young women and girls face widespread
sex discrimination in high school vocational and technical education programs
across the country. Pervasive sex segregation, sexual harassment in the
classroom, discrimination in counseling and recruiting, and other gender-based
bias are creating serious barriers to their future earning power.
http://www.nwlc.org/details.cfm?id=1133§ion=newsroom
Survey Finds Change in Schools' Use of Internet
A new survey conducted for the National School Boards Foundation of public
school leaders across the country finds remarkable changes taking place in
schools' use of the Internet. However, there are still startling gaps between
the possibilities and realities of technology use in schools. The survey
reveals a key role for students in keeping their schools' computers running and
connected to the Internet, with more than half (54 percent) of districts
relying on students for technical support. Moreover, in a trend that may mark
the beginning of a sea change in learning and the relationship between students
and teachers, school leaders project that students will receive considerably
more instruction online in the next three years.
http://www.nsbf.org/thereyet/index.htm
**Faith-Based Initiatives
HHS Announces Availability Of
Funds To Assist Faith-Based And Community Organizations
The Department of Health and Human
Services announced the availability of $30 million in funds to help level the
playing field for faith- and community-based organizations competing for
federal grants and other funding. The Compassion Capital Fund represents the
first appropriated federal funds that are specifically targeted to assist
grassroots organizations since President Bush announced the faith-based and
community initiative last year. Under the Compassion Capital Fund
demonstration program, nearly $25 million will be made available to 15-25
intermediary organizations that will provide technical assistance to help
faith-based and community organizations
http://www.hhs.gov/faith/funding.html
**Health
Community Voices Finds
Innovative Ways to Help Underserved Families Find Care
A new report, “Reaching Out: Successful Efforts to Provide Children
and Families with Health Care” provides community workers and policymakers
with an inventory of ideas and resources to improve enrollment rates and help
more people access essential health care. The details the innovative outreach
and enrollment efforts used by Community Voices: HealthCare for the Underserved
to enroll uninsured, “hard-to-reach” populations in public coverage programs.
The report also stresses that while real outreach takes place at the personal
level, there are many things policymakers can do at the federal level to help
these community efforts.
http://www.communityvoices.org/Articles/Article.asp?ID=200
Domestic Violence Causes
Long-Term Health Consequences for Women
A
study from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing concludes that female
victims of physical and/or sexual abuse have a significantly higher rate of
common health problems, even after the abuse ends, compared to women who have
never been abused. In a study of 2,005 well-educated, middle-class, Caucasian
and African American women, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one
in 10 reported histories of domestic violence and now suffer from neurological,
gynecological, and stress-related problems at a rate 50 to 70 percent higher
than never-abused women.
http://64.95.130.47/webx?13@106.RBL0abNRahy^1@.1dcdf745
**Technology
Website Provides Resources for Empowering Poor
Communities
A new report, Online Content for Low-Income and
Underserved Communities: An Issue Brief, finds that 50 million Americans are
currently underserved by available Web-based resources The Children's
Partnership with the Markle Foundation has launched the Community Contentbank
(www.contentbank.org), a new online resource that provides low-income
communities with information and tools to serve their unique needs.
http://64.95.130.47/webx?13@@.1dcdf754
**Welfare Reform
Welfare Reform Put Single Moms to Work, But
Millions of Families Still Live in Poverty
Preliminary findings from a research brief from the
Institute for Women's Policy to be released later this summer, Life After
Welfare Reform: Low-Income Single Parent Families, Pre- and Post-TANF,
indicate that even though it's been five years since the enactment of welfare
reform, 51 percent of low-income single parent families still live in poverty.
Even with a 9 percent rise in the number of single mothers receiving paychecks
since the passage of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), to 68
percent, millions are still in poverty, trapped in low-wage, traditionally
"female" jobs that fall far short of paying them livable wages. Most
who work have no health insurance.
PDF: http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/d446.pdf
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