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**Children, Youth &
Families
Building
Strong Families: Guidelines for Developing Programs
Mathematica Policy Research
is helping agencies plan targeted healthy marriage initiatives for unwed
couples who are about to or who have just had a baby. These guidelines will
help interested sponsors design and deliver program services. In addition, the
guidelines detail the three program components that all BSF programs must
include: instruction in skills associated with healthy marriage, family support
services, and family coordinators. The publication also describes an optional
fourth component to reduce marriage disincentives created by government
programs and policies.
PDF: www.buildingstrongfamilies.info/publications/bsfguidelines.pdf
How Are HOPE VI Families
Faring? Children
The Urban Institute reports that the HOPE VI
program can profoundly affect the lives of children, who are the most
vulnerable residents of distressed public housing and particularly likely to
suffer from the stress of relocation. This brief examines the impact of the
program on children and youth.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=9012
Looking
to the Future: A Commentary on Children of Immigrant Families
An article, printed in Fall 2004 issue of The Future of Children, a publication of
the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, responds to the question: "How
should policymakers, advocates, stakeholders, and practitioners respond
strategically and proactively to demographic change and increasing diversity in
order to promote the healthy development, productivity, and well-being of our
nation's children into the future?" The entire journal issue is devoted to
children of immigrant families.
http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2826/information_show.htm?doc_id=240621
Side-by-Side Comparison of
Marriage and Fatherhood Provisions in H.R. 4
This chart from the Center for Law and Social Policy summarizes
the marriage and fatherhood provisions in the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) reauthorization bill passed by the House and the one passed by
the Senate Finance Committee.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1097166935.31/Marriage_SBS_100604.pdf
Litigation
Success on the Issue of Recoupment of Child Support
Overpayments
A memo from the Center for
Law and Social Policy discusses the ramifications of the recent court decision
that found that the Eleventh Amendment barred monetary relief against the state
and its officials. It also barred declaratory and injunctive relief against the
state, but the Eleventh Amendment did not bar such relief against state
officials. Plaintiffs' counsel then successfully moved for a preliminary
injunction to stop the state from recouping erroneous overpayments of child
support.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1097077686.64/CS_overpay1004.pdf
**Civic Engagement
Fact
Sheet on Elections and Youth Civic Engagement
A fact sheet from the Kaiser
Family Foundation, reviews how the media is used to get out the vote, ways
television and movies depict politics and government, and how the Internet is
used to engage youth (age 18-25) in civic and political activities.
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/7168.cfm
More Than 800,000 New
Voters Registered and Still Counting
Declare Yourself,
a national nonpartisan, nonprofit initiative encouraging young adults to vote
in the 2004 election, has registered more than 800,000 new voters for the 2004
Election. With voter registration deadlines passing quickly in most states, the
Declare Yourself Web site has been busy with ten of thousands of young people
downloading registration forms for the upcoming election.
http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=5508
Immigration in America
A National Public
Radio/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Kennedy School of Government survey
examines the public's views on immigration in America. The survey
reviews native-born Americans' and immigrants' attitudes towards legal immigration;
how immigration affects the American culture and economy; attitudes towards
illegal immigration and government regulations; and how immigrants' views
differ from those of non-immigrants.
http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/pomr100604pkg.cfm
**Community Development
Fiscal Recession in Cities
Expected to Continue into 2005
According to an annual survey
from the National League of Cities, ongoing economic struggles, along with
rising health care and pension costs, have contributed to the bleak conditions
of city budgets around the nation. The
majority of America’s cities are still suffering from the recession and
city financial officers are pessimistic on the financial outlook for the near
future.
http://www.nlc.org/nlc_org/site/newsroom/nations_cities_weekly/display.cfm?id=0F946611-A116-4060-BF51967F4D5679EF
**Economic Security
Two-Thirds Believe American Dream Harder to Achieve
According
to a new survey released by the National League of Cities two-thirds of the
American people say the American Dream is becoming harder to achieve,
especially for young families, and they point to financial insecurity and poor
quality public education as the most significant barriers. The survey found that more than one in three
Americans feel that they are not living the American Dream and nearly half
think it is unattainable for them. The survey also shows considerable growth in
the number of people who say government makes it more difficult to achieve the
American Dream.
http://www.nlc.org/nlc_org/site/newsroom/nations_cities_weekly/display.cfm?id=2109081F-807D-46E8-B61F3856FC8809F0
**Education
Comments Regarding Head
Start Program Information Report
These comments from the
Center for Law and Social Policy, submitted to the Administration for Children
and Families Office of Information Services of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, urge the government to clarify or expand portions of the
data it collects on Head Start children, families, teachers, and programs and
then distributes via the Program Information Report (PIR). The PIR data also
provide important contextual information for policy debates in Congress about
the future direction of the Head Start program.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1097181538.41/PIR_comments.pdf
Student
Test Scores Faltering, Falling in Major States, New Government Data Reveal
According to new data
released by governors and state school chiefs, children's reading scores have
stalled or declined in the nation's largest
states since Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001.
http://www.asu.edu/educ/epsl/EPRU/articles/EPRU-0410-75-OWI.pdf
When Schools Stay Open
Late: The National Evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Program
A Mathematica Policy Research
analysis shows that 21st Century after-school programs, which currently spend
$1 billion a year in federal funding, changed where and with whom students
spent some of their after-school time.
The analysis also reveals that programs had only limited influence on
academic performance, including test scores, grades, and homework completion.
PDF: http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/21stnewfindings.pdf
**Health
Preventing Childhood
Obesity: Health in the Balance
This report from the Institute of Medicine provides a broad-based examination of the nature, extent, and
consequences of obesity in the nation, including the social, environmental,
medical, and dietary factors responsible. It also offers a prevention-oriented
action plan that identifies the most promising short-term and longer-term
interventions, as well as recommendations for the roles and responsibilities of
industry, advertising, the media, schools, parents, and health care
professionals in obesity prevention.
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309091969/html/
Two
New Reports Show Progress on Health Coverage is Threatened as States Continue
to Face Growing Pressures to Control Costs
The Kaiser Family Foundation
has released two new 50-state surveys that show states continue to face budget
pressures that could limit public coverage. One survey shows all states plan
more Medicaid cost-containment actions in FY2005 and the second shows that
after recent gains, securing Medicaid and SCHIP coverage is more difficult for
low-income families in 23 states.
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/kcmu100404pkg.cfm
Health Woes Beset
Residents from HOPE VI Public Housing
The Urban Institute reports that residents of
distressed public housing suffer from alarmingly high rates of many chronic
health problems, new Urban Institute research shows. The prevalence of health
maladies in households in the federal HOPE VI program -- headed mostly by poor
African-American women -- is significantly higher than national rates and those
for all black women.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=9013
Study
Shows Health Benefit for Immigrants
A new report released by the
Packard Foundation finds that immigrant parents’ lack of English skills leaves
too many children to navigate complex educational and health systems on their
own, even at a young age. One out of every five children in the United States has an immigrant parent, and many of these children
do not speak English at home.
http://www.packard.org/index.cgi?page=news&aid=0042&year=2004
U.S.
Will Miss Half Its Supply of Flu Vaccine
According to an article in
the New York Times, officials said that most healthy adults should delay or
skip flu shots so that people most at risk can get scarce supplies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/health/06flu.html?ex=1254801600&en=8a092231bb2db8d6&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt
**Philanthropy
The Aspen Institute
Nonprofit Sector Research Fund
The Aspen Institute Nonprofit
Sector Research Fund (NSRF) announces the availability of grants to support
research on foundations' practices regarding unrestricted awards and overhead
funding for nonprofits. The RFP and application are now available on-line. Grants will generally range from $10,000 to
$125,000 each and can be awarded to either individuals or institutions.
Three-page letters of interest describing the proposed research project,
methodology, and dissemination plan must be emailed or postmarked by November 5, 2004.
http://www.nonprofitresearch.org/newsletter1525/newsletter_show.htm?doc_id=241731.
**Welfare Reform
HHS Again Touts Decline In Welfare Caseloads Despite Recent Increase In Poverty
According to the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities, HHS is once again touting declining caseloads
absent any research or data showing that this decline is the result of
improving economic prospects for poor families.
Effective welfare reform should help families join the economic
mainstream by providing temporary income support, help finding and keeping
jobs, and child care.
http://www.cbpp.org/10-7-04tanf-stmt.htm
The
Opportunities for Service Integration Under Current
Law
An article published by the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Institute for Research on Poverty-identifies
barriers to social services integration.
The authors developed a set of joint recommendations for federal
action-legislative, regulatory, and administrative-to support state and local
service integration efforts.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1097007462.36/foc232f.pdf
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