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State
Profile of California : Data from the 2002 National
Survey of America's Families
An analysis from the Urban
Institute profiles a State Profile of California which presents a detailed
series of tables on economic security, child well-being, child care, and health
care. The tables compare California
with the nation as a whole on all of these measures. The tables are based on
the 2002 National Survey of America's Families.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=9042
**Community Development
Consumer Expenditure Data
Online for All U.S. ZIP Codes and Census Tracts
The University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee is making new data available through its Website to help
promote economic development in lower-income and underserved urban neighborhoods. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute now provides free data on
estimated annual consumer expenditures for 16 categories of retail items for
all residential ZIP codes and census tracts in the U.S.
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ETI/PurchasingPower/purchasing.htm
HUD Announces $120
Million Available to Housing Authorities for Public Housing Transformation,
Community Revitalization
The U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development announced the availability of $120 million in
grants for the 2004 HOPE VI Revitalization program. Public housing authorities
(PHAs) use this funding to replace aged public
housing with new mixed-income communities.
In addition to the $120 million, there is $20 million available in
Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) assistance for PHAs
that are awarded grants. This funding is used to relocate residents who are
displaced because of construction.
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr04-136.cfm
Understanding How
Neighborhoods Influence Health
To better understand the
linkages between neighborhoods and life expectancy and conditions such as heart
disease and asthma, the National Institutes of Health has worked with RAND
Health to create the RAND Center for Population Health and Health Disparities.
http://www.rand.org/health/pophealth/
**Economic Security
Still Waiting to Hear how Poverty War will be Won
An article in the Houston
Chronicle asks the question, where was the candidates' outrage over this
disgrace?
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/2871927
Resident Participation in Seattle's Jobs-Plus Program
Seattle Jobs-Plus - part of an MDRC national research demonstration
designed to promote employment among public housing residents - succeeded in
engaging a majority of residents, many of whom were immigrants from diverse
parts of the world, in work-related services or supports.
http://www.mdrc.org/publications/398/overview.html
Share of Economy Going To
Wages And Salaries Drops For Unprecedented 14th
Straight Quarter
An analysis from the Center
on Budget and Policy Priorities of the Commerce Department's new GDP data
indicates a continuation of a 14 quarter trend: changes in wage and salary
income have lagged behind changes in the overall economy. At the same time,
corporate profits have experienced exceptionally robust growth.
http://www.cbpp.org/10-29-04pov.htm
Wage Growth Continues to
Slow; Falls behind Inflation
An analysis from the Economic Policy Institute finds that the
average pay of working Americans grew at the slowest rate on record in the
third quarter of this year. The data is
from the Employment Cost Index (ECI) report from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_10292004
**Education
Center on Education Policy
Forums on NCLB
The Center on Education
Policy is convening a series of forums to discuss ideas for improving the No
Child Left Behind Act. The first of these forums,
which was held on July 28th, addressed the Act's accountability
provisions. The papers presented at this
meeting and other related materials are available online.
http://www.ctredpol.org/pubs/Forum28July2004/
The second forum was held on
September 14th and addressed the NCLB accountability provisions for students
with disabilities and English language learners. The papers presented at this
meeting and other related materials are available online.
http://www.ctredpol.org/pubs/Forum14September2004/
On November 15th, the Center
will convene the third and final forum, which will address the NCLB - highly
qualified teacher provisions and what can be done to improve student learning
in schools that have been identified for improvement. Information on the meeting, including how to
register is available online.
http://www.ctredpol.org/pubs/Forum15November2004/
Suits to Target No Child
Left Behind Act (AP)
The Associated Press reports
that the federal No Child Left Behind Act threatens
costly penalties for schools deemed failing to meet academic standards. In
response, many educators have a threat of their own: A flood of lawsuits aimed
at avoiding the sanctions.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http:/story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041101/ap_on_re_us/left_behind
Support Success in
Community Colleges
A paper from MDRC examines
how U.S. community colleges can and do organize the diverse set of guidance,
counseling, and other supports — collectively known as student services — that
surround their academic programming. To many Americans, community colleges are
the most accessible way to earn the postsecondary degrees that can be stepping
stones to economic and personal success.
http://www.mdrc.org/publications/399/abstract.html
**Health
Lower Level of Education
can Impede Recovery in Elderly after Hospitalization
According to researchers from
Yale University, low education level can significantly impair
functional recovery in older adults after a hospital stay. The level of education completed, a marker of
socioeconomic status, is known to be associated with poor health. Persons with
low education have higher rates of mortality, serious illness, disability, and
have poorer quality of life. The authors say reasons for poor health among
these persons may have to do with higher levels of hostility and hopelessness
and being ill equipped to maintain health.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-11/yu-llo110104.php
Kaiser Health Poll Report
- September/October 2004
The September/October of The Kaiser Family Foundation Health Poll
features data from the 2003 Kaiser Health Insurance survey to examine the
public’s expectations and priorities for health insurance. The report also
includes Health Security Watch, Health Care Priorities, and Health News Index.
http://www.kff.org/healthpollreport/CurrentEdition/index.cfm
Resources on the Medicare
Prescription Drug Benefit
The Medicare Prescription
Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 was
signed into law on December 8, 2003. The Kaiser Family
Foundation has compiled some resources to reflect the latest information,
as well as background materials on various parts of the law.
http://www.kff.org/medicare/rxdrugdebate.cfm
Is Kaiser the Future of
American Health Care?
An article in the business
section of the New York Times points out that according to economists and
medical experts, Kaiser is a leader in the drive both to increase the quality
of care and to spend health dollars more wisely, using technology and
incentives tailored to those goals.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/31/business/yourmoney/31hmo.html?ex=1257051600&en=b01317a32b8bcfa4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt
States Are Stretching Health
Care Dollars in Imaginative Ways
A new report series from The
Commonwealth Fund and Economic and Social Research Institute shows how several
states are leveraging private, federal, and state funds to enhance health care
access, insurance coverage, and efficiency in spending. Providing health insurance coverage to
low-income and high-risk patients can be a tall challenge for states even in
the best of economic times.
http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=243623
California Health Interview Survey Data
The Institute for the Study
of Homelessness and Poverty highlights the release of a new Website from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. This online database permits users to obtain
statewide, county-specific or Los Angeles County Service Planning Area (SPA)
statistics covering hundreds of health topics, including health status, health
conditions, health-related behaviors, health insurance coverage, access to and
use of health care services, and the health and development of children and
adolescents. Data can be examined in
light of numerous demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, race/ethnicity,
language, family status, education, poverty, and residency status.
http://db.savicom.net/d0004/cgi-bin/archive.pl?action=display&list=weingart&msgid=1099509995.23368
Survey Points to Gap in
Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics Training
Managing issues of
development and behavior is essential for providing comprehensive preventive
care to young children and for treating many acute and chronic health
conditions. However, a new Web-based
survey finds that some pediatric faculty lack the
expertise necessary to provide comprehensive resident training in this subject.
http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=245576
**Substance Abuse
Pediatricians Often
Underestimate Substance Abuse Problems in Adolescents; Regular Use of Screening Tool Can Help Pediatricians Identify
Adolescents at Risk
According to a study to be
released in the November issue of Pediatrics, adolescents who have problems
with substance abuse often aren't identified during routine pediatric
visits. The analysis found that more
than 60 percent of the time, pediatricians knew that adolescents had used
alcohol or other drugs, but in most cases the doctors thought the problem was
less severe than it actually was.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/spew4th.pl?ascribeid=20041022.071919&time=21%2000%20PST&year=2004&public=1
Puffing Even One Cigarette
in Childhood Dramatically Increases Odds of Future Smoking
According to researchers at
the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation childhood experimentation
with tobacco is far more likely to lead to a daily smoking habit than most
people believe. Seemingly insubstantial
increases in the number of cigarettes kids smoke translate into big increases
in the probability of habitual smoking by late adolescence. The study, which
followed smoking habits from third grade through high school, shows that kids
who smoked only one cigarette by 5th grade were nearly twice as likely to be
current smokers at age 17 than those who never smoked as children.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=39234
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