Human Services
Community Building
Digest

From: The National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center has unveiled a public effort to inform citizens about potential limitations to their health care services because of the moral or religious beliefs of their health care providers.  The initiative includes a health care brochure designed to increase public awareness of religious limitations on critical health services and provides women with the right questions to ask their health care givers.

http://www.nwlc.org/details.cfm?id=2017&section=newsroom

**Children, Youth & Families

Marital satisfaction affected by both spouse's mental health

New research examines why a person's mental health is important for maintaining a satisfying marriage and how either partner can influence the other's marital happiness. These findings are reported on in the October issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology published by the American Psychological Association.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-10/apa-msa100404.php

Trends in the Murder of Juveniles

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) announces the availability of "Trends in the Murder of Juveniles: 1980-2000." This 8-page Bulletin draws on statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program--in particular, supplemental homicide report data--to analyze trends in the murder of youth between 1980 and 2000.

http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/publications/PubAbstract.asp?pubi=11831

**Civic Engagement

CDF Kicks-Off Major Voter Mobilization Effort; Faith Community Responds to the Most Dangerous Time for Children

The Children's Defense Fund announced plans to lead a major mobilization around the fall elections targeting citizens committed to their faith and the movement to Leave No Child Behind.

http://www.childrensdefense.org/pressreleases/041012.asp

The Youth Vote and Youth Media: Swing Vote 2004?

For years the 30 million Americans aged 18 to 24 have had the lowest voting rate of any age group. Now groups like Rock the Vote and the New Voters Project are spending millions of dollars to mobilize the youth vote, and Bruce Springsteen and other rock stars are getting involved.  With a sharply contested presidential campaign focused on the issue of war, young people could play a major role in the coming election.

http://www.newstips.org/interior.php?section=Newstips&main_id=412&topic

**Community Development

Funding Instability Threatens to Erode Business Community's Confidence in The Housing Voucher Program

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the “glue” that holds together the public-private partnership of the housing voucher program is the confidence of the business community that the federal government will honor its financial commitments and make the payments it has promised to cover the difference between what voucher holders can afford to pay and the agreed-upon rent.  For 30 years, Congress has honored this commitment to provide enough funding to cover the actual costs of all Section 8 subsidies, building a long-lasting record of reliability and confidence that has played a critical role in building acceptance of the voucher program among property owners, lenders and underwriters.  Unfortunately, recent events have tarnished the program’s business reputation.

http://www.cbpp.org/10-14-04hous.htm

How are Families from America's Worst Public Housing Faring?

A forum from the Urban Institute looked at a major Urban Institute study tracking the living conditions and well-being of families before and after they leave HOPE VI public housing. The panel of experts discussed questions including: Why have welfare reform and HOPE VI had only modest effects on residents' self-sufficiency? How does poor health hinder the progress of these families? What is the impact of relocation on the children? How can housing assistance and other supports be linked to more effectively benefit very low-income families?

http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=9017

Large Families Face Higher Rent Burdens And Fewer Housing Opportunities Under New HUD Rent Rules

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on October 1, 2004, HUD put into effect new rent standards — known as Fair Market Rents or FMRs — that will be used to set maximum rent levels for the “Section 8” housing voucher program and other low-income housing assistance programs during fiscal year 2005.  In many local areas, the Fair Market Rents for 2005 for apartments with three and four bedrooms contain sharp reductions compared to the levels used during fiscal year 2004.  These cuts will result in higher rent burdens and other adverse consequences for low-income families with children

http://www.cbpp.org/10-12-04hous.htm

**Economic Security

"Safety net" fails single mothers during downturns

An analysis from the Economic Policy Institute finds that for low-income single mothers, the safety net appears to be evolving toward a system that boosts incomes in good times but fails to prevent losses in bad times. For an analysis of how the safety net is failing to provide enough support for some economically vulnerable families in times of economic downturn.

http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_10062004

The State of Working America 2004/2005

On Labor Day 2004, the Economic Policy Institute released its advance edition of The State of Working America 2004/2005. Prepared biennially since 1988, EPI's flagship publication sums up the problems and challenges facing American workers, presenting a wide variety of data on family incomes, taxes, wages, unemployment, wealth, and poverty--data that enables the book's authors to closely examine the impact of the economy on the living standards of the American people. With over 300 tables and charts, The State of Working America 2004/2005 is an exhaustive reference work that will be welcomed by anyone eager for a comprehensive portrait of the economic well-being of the nation.

http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/books_swa2004

**Education

Supporting New Teachers: Evaluation of a Teacher Induction Model

Mathematica Policy Research is to evaluate impact of teacher induction programs.  Well-established teacher induction programs are invited to apply to serve as model program for study funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/education/teachinduc.asp

Many Students Don't Apply for Aid

A study released by the American Council on Education, which represents colleges and universities, says that half of the 8 million undergraduates enrolled in 1999-2000 at institutions participating in federal student aid programs did not complete the main federal aid application form.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041012/ap_on_re_us/college_aid

High Schools Try a Scaled-Down Approach

Thinking small may be the next big thing at American high schools. From Oregon to New York, school districts are scaling down to combat problems that are very big indeed: high dropout rates, sinking test scores and low attendance.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http:/story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041011/ap_on_re_us/small_schools

**Health

Social and Economic Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health

A new issue brief from The Kaiser Family Foundation examines disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes between women of different incomes, educational levels and racial/ethnic groups.

http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/7157.cfm

**Hunger & Nutrition

Rethinking School Lunch: The Center for Ecoliteracy Launches Initiative to Kick Off National School Lunch Week, Oct. 10-16

The Center for Ecoliteracy announced the launch of a comprehensive initiative that addresses the epidemic of diet-related diseases prevalent among the 54 million school-age children in the United States. Rethinking School Lunch advocates educating children to make healthy food choices by integrating curriculum with school lunch programs while strengthening ties between schools and local farmers.

http://www.ecoliteracy.org/rethinking/rsl-guide.html

**Welfare Reform

Legislative Update - Congress Passes Clean 6-month TANF Extension

On September 30, 2004, Congress approved a bill to extend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program an eighth time. The bill provided a clean extension of the TANF program for six months. To read more about the details of the extension, how advocates around the country made this happen, and what we anticipate may happen when the extension expires at the end of March, 2005.

http://www.communitychange.org/issues/welfarereform/legislativeupdates/?page=update1004

Unemployment Insurance Does Not Explain Why TANF Caseloads Are Falling As Poverty and Need Are Rising

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, between 2000 and 2003, the number and percentage of single mothers living in poverty increased while the percentage of single mothers with jobs fell.  At the same time, poverty among children rose, and the number of children living below half of the poverty line increased by nearly one million.  In response to this increase in poverty and need, the number of families receiving food stamps and Medicaid rose.  The number of poor families receiving TANF cash assistance, however, continued to fall.  TANF provided assistance to 845,000 fewer people in 2003 than it did in 2000.

http://www.cbpp.org/10-12-04tanf.htm