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**Children,
Youth & Families
Americans Fear AIDS Threat
to Kids
An Associated Press poll
found that fewer people believe the overall threat of AIDS is very serious
these days, but a majority of Americans say they worry about the impact of the
sexually transmitted disease on the nation's children. That decline in fears about AIDS comes at a
time the disease is showing signs of making a comeback in the United States.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20040726/ap_on_he_me/aids_ap_poll
$9.2 Million Grant to National Urban League to Assist At-Risk Youth
The
U.S. Department of Labor announced a $9.2 million grant to the National Urban
League to assist inner-city African American youth. The grant will help at-risk,
out-of-school youth access training so they can find good-paying jobs. The programs funded by this grant will
provide tutoring, literacy training, work experience,
adult mentoring, employment opportunities and career-planning services that can
help prepare young people for a bright future.
Through the grant, the National Urban League will bring the Youth Career
Preparation Program to 15 urban sites across the country.
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ETA20041409.htm
Negative
Self-Image of Adolescents Fosters Increasingly Damaging Behaviors
Research from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign finds that adolescents who think little of themselves tend
to shy away from interactions with peers. This uncertainty and withdrawal then
draws negative feedback from other students, prompting even more withdrawal and
leaving them with few chances to have close friends and as targets for teasing
or bullying.
http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/04/0726peers.html
Childhood
Immunization Rates at Record High Levels
The
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the nation's
childhood immunization rates are at record high levels, including significant
increases in rates of immunization for chickenpox and pneumonia, the two most
recent additions to the childhood immunization schedule. The findings were reported by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention to kick off August as National Immunization
Awareness Month.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2004pres/20040729.html
**Civic Engagement
Election
2004: The Latino and Asian Vote
An analysis from the Urban
Institute notes that as election 2004 approaches, impact at the voting booth of
the nation's two largest immigrant dominated populations—Latinos and Asians—is
increasing. This fact sheet uses data from the Current Population Survey to
detail the demographics of these two populations. Political factors and future
trends are also considered. Urban Institute analysis underscores the fact that
voting levels among Latinos and Asians lag well behind the groups' population
growth, largely because many new immigrants are not yet citizens and their
children are still too young to vote.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8938
Involver Ready to Rock
Youth Vote
 The
head of technology for Music for
America, which is trying to register 1 million young voters on the Web and
at rock concerts, is working to build a loose political alliance on the Web
through a new venture called Involver. Music for America and Knitting
Factory Entertainment formed Involver, a loose affiliation of music venues,
musicians, artists and political groups. Involver launched its newsletter last week and plans
to start posting a national calendar of cultural events soon. Involver seeks to encourage younger Americans
to meet, discuss issues and form their own political agenda.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,64274,00.html
**Community Development
Can Savings Support your
Community? Bank on It.
An
article in the Christian Science Monitor reports that for a cart-pushing
immigrant who just arrived in Manhattan or a young farmer on
the Great Plains, the lending industry has good news:
Small-scale lenders who cater to minorities and economically depressed areas
are increasingly able to offer competitive interest rates. This trend also spells opportunity for
ethically minded investors (read: depositors) who want to take advantage of
rising interest rates while putting their money to work to fight poverty.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0719/p14s01-wmgn.html
**Education
Early Care
and Educational Staff Among Lowest-Paid Professions
Despite Increased Awareness of Their Importance to Quality of Care
According
to a new report released by the Center for the Child Care Workforce, despite
growing recognition that early childhood education is the foundation upon which
later success in school is built, wages for early care and education teaching
staff rose only 0.6 percent in 2003. The
report, titled Current Data on the Salaries and Benefits of the U.S. Early Childhood
Education Workforce, offers a state-by- state breakdown of wages for child care
workers and preschool and kindergarten teachers, which demonstrates how poorly
paid early care and education staff are compared to other education
professionals. Child care workers' mean hourly wage is $8.32 and preschool
teachers' is $10.67, compared to kindergarten teachers, who earn $20.38.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=159-07192004
**Health
Survey Reports Children's Enrollment in SCHIP Coverage Dropped for
First Time in 6-Year History of Program
A
new report prepared with researchers at Health Management Associates for the
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, finds that enrollment of
children in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) declined
during the second half of 2003 for the first time since enactment of SCHIP in
1997. Enrollment declines in 11 states and the District of Columbia more than offset
moderate increases in 37 other states, according to the new 50-state survey.
More than half of the national enrollment decline is attributable to the drop
in coverage in Texas.
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/kcmu072304nr.cfm
Back-to-School Event Focuses Spotlight on Uninsured Children; Uninsured
Kids Face Added Difficulties at School
Through
its Covering Kids and Families initiative, the RWJ Foundation works with
coalitions in all 50 states to increase enrollment of kids in health insurance
programs. Studies show that children
without health insurance are more likely to be absent from school and
experience classroom performance challenges than those with regular access to
healthcare services. Covering Kids & Families operates through
statewide projects in 46 states and the District of Columbia and more than 140 local community projects. In
addition, 5 states have CKF liaison grants that provide opportunities to
participate in the national CKF initiative.
http://coveringkidsandfamilies.org/
Parents Lack Knowledge of
Medicaid Managed Care
A new study from the
Commonwealth Fund finds that though millions of children are enrolled in
managed care programs under Medicaid, many parents have limited knowledge of managed
care and its rules and practices.
PDF: http://www.cmwf.org/programs/minority/736_Flores_urban_ITL.pdf
Framework for Child Health
Disparities Research
A new article
by researchers from the Children's National Medical Center and The Commonwealth Fund proposes a research
framework for identifying racial disparities in children's health, determining
their root causes, and developing effective interventions. The authors emphasize preventive care,
culture and language, and the social determinants of health care, including
housing, nutrition, and stress factors prevalent in low-income communities.
PDF: http://www.cmwf.org/programs/minority/755_Horn_Beal_child_health_disparities_ambul_ped_0704_ITL.pdf
American Adults Feel Sad
and Blue or Depresses about 3 Days a Month
According to a study
published in Health and Quality of Life Outcomes U.S. adults spent an average
of three days a month feeling "sad, blue, or depressed" during
1995-2000. People who reported a
higher number of sad, blue or depressed days also reported engaging in
unhealthy behaviors such as cigarette smoking and physical inactivity.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-07/bc-aaf072704.php
High-Performing Hospitals
Share Their Secrets
A new study
released at the Health Forum and American Hospital Association's Leadership
Summit focuses on the key factors that make a hospital high performing. The researchers assess quality drivers,
internal processes, and challenges, and offer guidance to help hospitals move
in the right direction.
http://www.cmwf.org/programs/quality/meyer_hospitalquality_761.asp
NCQA Releases Quality Compass 2004 and Updated Quality Dividend
Calculator
The
National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) released the latest update to
its comprehensive database of health plan performance information, Quality
Compass 2004. The database includes information on NCQA Accreditation and
plan-specific results on HEDIS and CAHPS(r) measures, data sets that measure
clinical performance and member satisfaction, respectively. Quality Compass gives the health care market
what it needs most-clear, easy-to-understand information about
performance. It's a buyer's guide for
anyone who has to make a decision about which health plan to contract with.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=110-07282004&site=rss
**Welfare Reform
Side-by-Side Comparisons of Child Support Provisions in Recent
TANF Reuathorization Proposals
A chart from the Center for
Law and Social Policy summarizes child support provisions in current Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) law and recent TANF reauthorization bills
in the House and Senate.
http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1091122126.82/view_html
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