|
**Children, Youth & Families
Ensuring the Success of
Children & Youth in American Communities
The National League of Cities, the Learning First Alliance
and the National Collaboration for Youth have issued a joint position
statement outlining their agreement on critical steps communities must take
to ensure success for America's children and youth. Building on two recent
research-based reports, this statement marks the first time that these
organizations representing the nation's mayors, educators, parents and youth
service providers have joined forces to demonstrate their agreement on three
key issues: What are essential outcomes for youth; What are key attributes of
positive youth settings; and Why must municipal leaders, social service
providers and educators all be accountable for improving results for youth?
http://www.learningfirst.org/news/jointposition.html
Teenagers' Films Use Slang To Deliver Messages
About Teen Sex, Pregnancy, HIV
Scenarios USA organizes a national contest
for teenagers who write short film scripts on issues ranging from teen
sexuality to pregnancy to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. The films use
slang to discuss the "serious" topics. "This is totally different
than when parents tell you, 'Don't do this; this will happen,'" says one
18-year-old contest participant, "When kids see it happening to someone
they know, they will react more responsibly"
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=14942
AIDS Advocates 'Alarmed' By High AIDS Rates Among
Gay Teenagers, Young Adults
Health
officials and AIDS advocates say they are "alarmed" by the high rate
of AIDS among gay teenagers and young adults, and they fear that "a
complacency may have settled in since the advent of drug therapies that are
keeping many patients alive and healthy enough to work," the Baltimore
Sun reports. Young people
today "didn't see the decimation that we did 15 years ago," John Hylton,
a resarcher with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said,
adding, "They didn't see healthy men who dwindled over time."
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=14914
Low-Income
Children of Immigrants More Likely to Live in Two-Parent Families
A report from the Urban Institute finds that children of
immigrants living in two-parent families are substantially more likely to be
low-income than their counterparts in native families. Wages, not employment
levels, account for most of this income disparity.
http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=7992
CWLA, NASW Urge Governors To Improve Child Welfare
The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and the National
Association of Social Workers (NASW), in a letter dated November 20, urged all
governors, especially those who are newly elected, to address the struggles
their state's child welfare system faces in caring for abused and neglected
children and their families. CWLA and NASW reminded U.S. governors that
vulnerable children and families ultimately suffer the consequences of
allocating limited resources to state child welfare systems.
http://www.socialworkers.org/pressroom/2002/112202.asp
The Prevalence of Domestic Violence in California
A report released by the
California Research Bureau presents and analyzes data from California’s
domestic violence shelters, law enforcement, health care providers, and state
surveys of women’s health. It provides detailed demographic information about
victims and perpetrators; an historical overview of the issue; a portrait of
the service and shelter system with utilization statistics; and information
about funding streams.
http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/02/16/02-016.pdf
Funds Available for Youth Development Programs
Organizations that focus on youth development, education,
and social entrepreneurship can apply for grants from the Jenesis Group, a
Texas-based family foundation. The foundation's goal is to empower poor and
at-risk youth to become productive citizens, and looks primarily to
preventative programs to accomplish this goal. The foundation looks for
applications from programs that prevent juvenile delinquency, provide
life-skills training, build self-esteem and self-reliance, mentor, and develop
leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Applications for funding are accepted
year-round.
http://www.jenesis.org/about/index.htm
Tony Hawk Foundation Offers Funding for Skateboard Parks
Established by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, the
nonprofit Tony Hawk Foundation works to promote high-quality, public skateparks
in low-income areas throughout the United States. Through its grant program,
the foundation seeks to fund the construction of skateparks that are designed
and built by qualified and experienced skatepark contractors; include local
skaters in the design process; are in low-income areas, or areas with a high
population of "at-risk" youth. Grant amounts range from $5,000 to
$25,000. The foundation expects to approve grant requests quarterly.
RFP Link: http://www.tonyhawkfoundation.org/
**Civic Engagement
Whites
May Dominate California's Voting Population
Well After They Lose Status as Largest Group
A new study released by the Public Policy Institute of
California projects that forty years from now, whites will no longer be the
largest racial group in California, but they may still dominate the electoral
process. Exceptionally low political participation rates among other racial
and ethnic groups - driven by a host of factors from income and education to
citizenship rates and culture - suggest that the current imbalance between the
general and voting populations will persist in the future.
http://www.ppic.org/#ppic166
**Community Development
Chicago Program Holds
'Substantial Promise' of Helping Residents Move to Lower-Poverty Neighborhoods
According to a new analysis of the Housing Choice Voucher
Program in Chicago by the Urban Institute a local effort that uses
housing-search counseling to assist low-income Chicagoans in moving to
lower-poverty neighborhoods "has made significant progress." CHAC
Inc., the private corporation that has administered Chicago's program since
1996, offers participants in its Mobility Counseling Program housing-search
assistance, budget management and other training, referrals for help with drug
addiction and domestic violence, landlord negotiation seminars, neighborhood
tours, and security deposit loans.
http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=410588
Residential Segregation of African-Americans Declines
According to a two-year analysis of census data by the U.S.
Census Bureau, African-Americans experienced modest but consistent declines in
residential segregation from 1980 to 2000. The study found that segregation
patterns were mixed for Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and American
Indians and Alaska Natives. Despite the declines, African-Americans remained
the most highly segregated group.
PDF: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/censr-3.pdf
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities release a report
examining a bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee that would
seriously damage the main federal program that helps low-income families rent
housing on the open market. This fact sheet estimates the impact that changes
to the housing voucher program would have on local communities and each of the
fifty states.
http://www.cbpp.org/12-3-02hous.htm
HHS Selects 10 Communities For Urban Partnership Initiative
The Department of Health and Human Services today announced
the selection of 10 major metropolitan areas that will participate in HHS' Urban
Partnership Initiative -- a new effort designed to help communities that
continue to have relatively high concentrations of welfare recipients. The
Urban Partnerships Initiative consists of two components. The first is a
two-day "Academy for Urban Welfare Partnerships" which will convene
in Dallas in February 2003. The second component is 10 months of in-depth
individualized technical assistance designed to help the communities carry out
the strategies developed at the academy.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2002pres/20021125a.html
**Education
Parents Left Behind: Implementation of
the No Child Left Behind Act
A report by the Association of Community Organizations for
Reform Now examines the level of implementation of two parts of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 2001, better known as No Child Left Behind – the
information that is supposed to go to parents about the quality of their
children’s teachers and the ability parents have had to get supplemental
education services (tutoring) for their children.
http://www.acorn.org/acorn10/betterschools/BetterSchoolsReports/parents/index.php
**Health
Washington Post Examines Health Issues 107th
Congress Failed To Address
The Washington Post on Dec. 4 examined how
the 107th Congress was marked by gridlock that prevented practically
"every significant health care proposal" from being approved. With
Congress closely divided along party lines and largely focused on the economy
and national security, lawmakers failed to address a host of health care
measures, including a Medicare prescription drug benefit, patients' rights
legislation and plans to expand insurance coverage.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=14923
Doctors
Taking Fewer Charity Care Cases, Low-Income Patients
In the
study, researchers at the Center for
Studying Health System Change find that Increased health care costs and
reduced reimbursements have prompted a decreased number of physicians to
provide charity care for the uninsured and accept Medicaid beneficiaries,
trends that may reduce access to care for the two groups
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=3&DR_ID=14943
Chicago Tribune Examines 'Cultural Competence'
Training in Health Care
The Chicago Tribune on Nov. 25 reported on
the reaction to Health and Human Services'
"cultural competence" guidelines, which attempt to standardize health
care professionals' training to help them understand and interact with a
diverse patient population. While many medical officials say culturally
sensitive care is important, they "fear costly new federal mandates to
meet cultural and linguistic needs," such as former President Bill
Clinton's 2000 executive order requiring all physicians who receive federal
assistance to provide a trained clinical interpreter at their own expense.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=14845
Health Plan Cost Cutting Becoming Discriminatory
A report released by The Latino Coalition Foundation (TLCF)
shows the rising price tag for health care means Californians will pay more for
even fewer care options. The report – A Gathering Storm in California Health
Care – details how shifting health care costs to employers and consumers
threatens Hispanics’ access to insurance and quality health care services.
PDF: http://www.thelatinocoalition.com/news/pdf/HealthPlanCostCutting.pdf
Commonwealth Fund Releases Report on Seniors, Prescription Drugs
A new report from The Commonwealth Fund finds that while New
York State has one of the largest and most effective senior drug assistance
programs in the country, nearly one in five seniors living in New York had no
coverage for medications in 2001. As a result of lack of coverage or
inadequate benefits, one fifth of all New York State's seniors and one-third of
seniors without drug coverage report that they skipped doses of medication or
did not fill a prescription due to cost concerns.
Press Release: http://www.cmwf.org/media/releases/sandman591_release12052002.asp
Full Report- PDF: http://www.cmwf.org/programs/newyork/sandman_seniorsprescriptions_591.pdf
Commonwealth Fund Comments on Health Insurance Retention
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund finds that the
number of uninsured, low-income children would decline by nearly 40 percent and
the number of uninsured adults would decline by more than one-quarter if every
person with public or private health coverage at the beginning of a given year
retained it through the next 12 months. The authors recommend strategies that
federal and state governments and employers could use to improve retention,
such as 12-month continuous eligibility and automatic renewal for Medicaid and
CHIP for low-income families
Press Release: http://www.cmwf.org/media/releases/ku586_release12032002.asp
Full Report – PDF: http://www.cmwf.org/programs/insurance/ku_stayingcovered_586.pdf
**Homelessness
Bush Administration Provides $140 Million to Local
Homeless Programs
Local homeless shelters and food pantries around the country
will soon receive $140 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
funding for food, shelter and utility assistance. The funding, a part of FEMA's
Emergency Food and Shelter Program, is awarded to the United Way each year
shortly after the Fiscal Year begins on October 1st. The funding will ensure
that local shelters and food pantries will have much needed resources during
the winter months when demand is greatest and will provide rent and utility
payments to prevent the loss of housing by families at risk of homelessness.
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr02-148.cfm
**Hunger
How Do Food Assistance Programs Improve the Well-Being of Low-Income
Families?
A set of issue briefs from the Economic Research Service of
the US Department of Agriculture highlights that the costs of USDA's three
largest food assistance programs—food stamps, school means and the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)—are easier
to measure than the benefits of those programs. In 2000, the three programs'
direct costs were $28 billion. The report finds that the well-being of
low-income families who participate in food assistance programs is enhanced by
the alleviation of the severity of poverty, an increase in food security,
satisfactory nutrient intake, and increases in household food expenditures.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr26/fanrr26-9/
Evaluation of the Universal School Breakfast Program Pilot Project
Congress originally established the School Breakfast Program
largely in response to concerns about hunger among low-income children. During
the 2001-2002 school year, less than half of the low-income students who
received school lunch each day received school breakfast. The evaluation,
conducted for the US Department of Agriculture, found that about one quarter of
all students fail to eat a basic breakfast at home, school, or elsewhere, and that
more than one in five students are from families that are either hungry or food
insecure. The demonstration showed that Universal School Breakfast can double
or even triple school breakfast participation among all types of students.
http://www.frac.org/html/news/112702bfastSummary.htm
Food Stamp Participation Increases in September 2002
An analysis from the Food Research and Action Center finds
that participation in the Food Stamp Program in September 2002 increased by
86,357 persons from the previous month, to 19,783,217 persons. The September
2002 level of Food Stamp Program participation represented a rise of more than
1.9 million persons compared to the September 2001 level, and of almost 2.8
million persons compared to September, 2000.
http://www.frac.org/html/news/fsp/02sept.html
**Technology
Technology Tools to Assist
Rural Health Providers
 A new report from the California HealthCare Foundation
provides an overview and case studies of technology tools available to assist
health providers in rural health care settings. The report, Rural Health
Care Delivery: Connecting Communities Through Technology, helps physicians
understand the available technologies and implementation issues in getting
started. The report was prepared by the First Consulting Group.
http://www.chcf.org/topics/view.cfm?itemID=20206
**Welfare and Welfare Reform
Welfare
Clients' Employment Obstacles in Rural and Urban Areas: Lessons from Nebraska
This four-page brief prepared by
Mathematica Policy Research examines differences between rural and urban
clients' welfare receipt, employment experiences and obstacles, program
participation and service use, and quality of life. It also points out
considerations for states interested in enhancing their programs in rural and
urban areas.
PDF: http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/PDFs/redirect.asp?strSite=employmentobstacles.pdf
|
