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**Children,
Youth & Families
Congress Approves
Suicide-Prevention Bill
Congress passed legislation
that sets aside $82 million over the next three years for programs to help
prevent youth suicide. The bill would
authorize $82 million over three years to provide grants to states, Indian tribes,
colleges and universities to develop null suicide prevention and intervention
programs.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=6206468§ion=news
Pediatricians Treating
More Children with Behavioral Health Disorders
According to a study from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, pediatricians are diagnosing and treating a growing
number of children with behavioral health problems. However, they do not always
feel comfortable or sufficiently trained to fill this new role. The study involved interviews with community
pediatricians who estimated that an average of about 15 percent of the children
they see have behavioral health problems.
http://www1.wfubmc.edu/news/NewsArticle.htm?Articleid=1438
New Analysis Cites
Economic Impact of ADHD
According to a new analysis
from a Harvard researcher yearly household income losses due to attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) within the U.S. are approximately $77 billion. The study shows the
problems faced by people with ADHD, associated with every aspect of life,
ranging from school difficulties to emotional difficulties to problems in the
workplace have enormous economic impact.
Eight million adult Americans are estimated to struggle with the
inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity of ADHD.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-09/ama-nac090304.php
**Economic Security
Online Information about
Key Low-Income Benefit Programs
The Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities has compiled a list of links to policy manuals, descriptive
information, and applications for State Food Stamp, TANF, Child Care, Medicaid,
and SCHIP Programs. Virtually all states
have made information regarding the five main state-administered low-income
benefit programs available to the public via the internet. There is significant variation between what
online information is provided across states.
http://www.cbpp.org/1-14-04tanf.htm
State-by-State WIA Program Participation Data--Program Year
2002
The Center for Law and Social
Policy reports that states were required to begin implementation of the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) by July 2000 and have been continuously
developing their programs since that time. Under the Act and associated
regulations, states are required to collect a series of demographic and
performance outcome information on each WIA participant who accesses intensive
or both intensive and training services. At the completion of the program year
(July-June), states are required to submit data on those participants that
exited the WIA program during the year. Individual participant data are collected
and reported annually to the Department of Labor through the WIASRD system. The
complete WIASRD data for PY 2002 have recently become available.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1092859816.04/State_WIA_Data_PY_2002_Final.pdf
**Education
Wide Disparities in Children's Early Learning Foreshadow Unequal Test
Scores
According
to a first-ever study which tracked more than 2,300 young California children,
large numbers of children enter kindergarten ill-prepared to succeed in school
and display wide disparities in pre-reading and math skills. Yet these gaps
close substantially for children who attend preschool. Researchers found that these early and wide
disparities can be substantially closed when children enter preschool programs
before age four and attend until they start kindergarten.
http://ed.stanford.edu/suse/news-bureau/displayRecord.php?tablename=susenews&id=77
Educators Give Bush
'Incomplete'; No Child Left Behind Law Needs Fixing Before Expanding
According to the National
Education Association, policymakers should be focused on fixing and funding the
so-called No Child Left Behind law. Instead, they are being called upon to
compound the inefficiencies of the current law with additional bureaucratic
testing requirements. The Bush
administration’s announced plan to expand the No Child Left Behind law comes at
an interesting time. Lately, teachers and parents find the current law's use of
one-size-fits- all tests to determine whether a school is labeled as failing to
be a major flaw that needs fixing.
http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2004/nr040903.html
**Health
Access to Children's
Mental Health Services under Medicaid and SCHIP
This
brief from the Urban Institute fills some of the knowledge gaps about the
unique roles of Medicaid—the dominant payer for mental health services for poor
children—and SCHIP, a newer program whose role is still evolving. The brief
first reviews coverage policy for mental health services for Medicaid and
SCHIP. It then provides new information on the prevalence of mental health
problems for Medicaid and SCHIP children, and their use of mental health
services. Together, this information will help guide Medicaid and SCHIP policy
regarding how best to serve children.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8974
HHS Awards $2 Million to
YMCA to Help Strengthen Network of Steps Communities
The Department of Health and
Human Services announced $2 million in grants to the national office of the
YMCA (Y-USA) to help build strong partnerships with local communities and
promote better health and prevent disease among all Americans. With more than 2,500 YMCA's in the country,
this funding will help strengthen the network of local YMCA chapters by
developing and implementing strategies to work together with previously funded
"Steps" communities. The partnership will use the best scientific and
educational information available to help in their efforts to reduce the burden
of diabetes, obesity and asthma. Currently there are 23 Steps communities,
including one tribal consortium, 15 small cities or rural communities and seven
large cities.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2004pres/20040909.html
Teens in Smoggy Areas at
High Risk for Starting Adulthood With Serious Lung
Deficits
According to a study in this
week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, by age 18, the lungs of
many children who grow up in smoggy areas are underdeveloped and will likely
never recover. The research is part of the
Children's Health Study, the longest investigation ever into air pollution and
kids' health. Researchers previously
found that children who were exposed to more air pollution scored more poorly
on respiratory tests. In this latest study, researchers analyzed the same
children's respiratory health at age 18, when lungs are almost completely
mature.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/spew4th.pl?ascribeid=20040908.165503&time=17%2010%20PDT&year=2004&public=1
**Substance
Abuse
Youth Turning Away from Marijuana, as Perceptions of Risk Rise; Most
Adults with Substance Abuse Problems Are Employed
The Department of Health and
Human Services announced that there is a five percent decline in lifetime use of
marijuana among American youth between the ages of 12 and 17. Current use of
marijuana plummeted nearly 30 percent among 12 and 13 year olds. The findings
were included in the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The findings show that while overall, the
change in the category "current use of any illicit drug" was not
statistically significant, the use of some drugs decreased sharply.
http://162.99.3.50/news/newsreleases/040909nr_NSDUH.htm
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