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**Children, Youth & Families
ABC's '20/20' to Report on Sexual Activity Among Middle School Students
A segment of ABC's "20/20" addressed the "pressures middle school
students are facing" to become sexually active. The segment examines how
parents' definitions of sex may differ from their children's and includes a
discussion on how parents should discuss sex with their children.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/DailyNews/2020_teensex021206.html
University of Florida Research Shows Kids Need to Be Where the Wild Things Are
University of Florida researchers have found that planners need to create safe,
wild spaces in urban areas because unstructured natural areas offer children
rich opportunities to learn how to find their way in strange territory and gain
other skills. The authors of the report find that for youths in urban settings,
woods, unmanaged fields and other natural spaces are just as important for learning
and growing up as baseball parks and other traditional outdoor recreational
opportunities.
http://www.napa.ufl.edu/2002news/naturechild.htm
Avoiding Cruel Choices
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has produced a guide for policymakers
and family organizations on Medicaid's role in preventing custody relinquishment.
The guide details the growing national crisis in children's mental health services
and describes state policy options for increasing families' access to such services.
http://www.bazelon.org/issues/children/publications/TEFRA/index.htm
Domestic Violence Often Comes from Men Who Repress Emotions, Feel Threatened
A study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior
finds that the way abusive men try to manage stress in their relationships and
other parts of their lives may be associated with their violent outbursts. Results
showed abusive men were likely to view stressful circumstances as personally
threatening, while trying to avoid the situation or repress emotional responses.
The findings indicate that abusive men are less likely than nonviolent men to
show signs of depression or other reactions to the stress they're under. Instead,
the feelings of stress build up and are released in bursts of violence.
http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/researchnews/archive/violstres.htm
**Community Development
New Best Practices Toolkit for Historical Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has issued a best practices guide
to the nation's mayors to reclaim older buildings and neighborhoods to create
more affordable housing. Rebuilding Community: A Best Practices Toolkit for
Historic Preservation and Redevelopment features success stories of older buildings
and areas in the northeastern U.S. - including Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
and Pennsylvania - that were transformed into new affordable housing.
http://www.nationaltrust.org/news/docs/20021203_toolkit.html
Separate and Unequal Predatory Lending in America
A report from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now finds
that despite increased awareness of the issue and some progress over the last
year in combating the problem, predatory lending has continued. Nationally,
the number of subprime loans has skyrocketed since the early 1990s. The rise
in subprime and predatory lending has been most dramatic in minority communities.
Subprime lenders account for half, 51 percent, of all refinance loans made in
predominantly black neighborhoods, compared to just 9 percent of the refinance
loans made in predominantly white neighborhoods
HTML:
http://www.acorn.org/acorn10/predatorylending/plreports/SU2002/main.htm
PDF: http://www.acorn.org/acorn10/predatorylending/plreports/SU2002/main.pdf
HOPE VI Helps Many in America's Worst Public Housing, but Vulnerable Families
Face Significant Barriers
A report from the Urban Institute finds that a large number of families face
serious barriers to leaving their dilapidated homes, while others who have moved
struggle to find and maintain private market housing,. The report is the first
systematic, multicity evaluations of HOPE VI's impact on residents.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=PressReleases&NavMenuID=4&PublicationID=8048&Template=/TaggedContent/PressReleases.cfm
The HOPE VI Program — What about the Residents?
A report from the Urban Institute finds that while much has been written about
the impact of welfare reform on the lives of former recipients, until now little
has been known about the impact of the dramatic shift during the 1990s in public
housing policy on the lives of residents.
PDF: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310593_HopeVI.pdf
Census Bureau Unveils Survey's Findings for New England
The Census Bureau released 2001 Supplementary Survey data for the United States,
Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The data include
changes between 2000 and 2001 in home values, income, travel time to work, education
and child poverty. The survey is a forerunner of the nationwide American Community
Survey, which will replace the census long form by 2010. Community leaders can
use these data to plan and evaluate public programs such as new roads, public
transportation, housing and day care centers.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/presskit2_SS01.html
**Economic Security
Training for Microenterprise Development: A Guide to Curricula
A report from the Aspen Institute finds that that although more than 90 percent
of all microenterprise programs provide training and technical assistance, there
are few resources available to help implementers improve their services and/or
assess their efforts against best practice standards. This guide to curricula
aims to address that need. With support from the U.S. Small Business Administration
and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Fund for Innovation, Effectiveness,
Learning and Dissemination has created a series of “best practices”
training modules designed to help microenterprise programs deliver more effective
training and technical assistance to low-income clients.
PDF: http://www.fieldus.org/publications/PrimeVol3.pdf
Unemployment Rate Soars as Benefits End
The National Employment Law Project reports that more than 300,000 workers newly
unemployed in November will spend the holidays knowing that they won't have
access to federal jobless benefits. They join the millions of unemployed workers
slighted last month by the House and the Bush administration when they failed
to renew the extension of federal unemployment insurance benefits.
PDF: http://www.nelp.org/pr120602.pdf
November Labor Market Data Confirm the Need To Extend and Strengthen the Temporary
Federal Unemployment Program,
An analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that the unemployment
rate and long-term unemployment both increased during the month of November.
http://www.cbpp.org/12-6-02ui.htm
**Education
Study: Head Start's Quality Higher Than Other PA Child Care
According to the Pennsylvania Early Childhood Quality Settings Study, Head Start's
quality was significantly higher than all other forms of early care and education
in Pennsylvania. The research reinforces the government's FACES (The Family
and Child Experiences Survey) study that found that Head Start centers across
the country are of high quality, including a higher quality than most center-based
early childhood programs.
http://www.state.pa.us/papower/cwp/view.asp?Q=432218&A=11
Wallace Funds Supports New York City's New Leadership Academy to Bring Excellence
to All 1,200 Schools
The Wallace Funds agreed in principle to provide up to $15 million to help establish
the New York City Leadership Academy to prepare a new generation of principals
capable of helping all children achieve at higher levels. Details of the final
agreement will be worked out over the next several weeks. . For the past year,
the Wallace Funds have invested in twelve large, mostly urban districts - including
Community District 10 in the Bronx - to discover and adopt new ways of strengthening
leadership and to have those changes improve the prospects of students in districts
across the country.
http://www.wallacefunds.org/newsroom/news_article.cfm?xIDNews=75391196
National Policy Forum to Discuss Edtech Report
The Benton Foundation and the Education Development Center's Center for Children
and Technology conducted a national policy forum to discuss their forthcoming
report, The Sustainability Challenge: Taking Edtech to the Next Level. In the
last 10 years, the United States has invested over $40 billion placing computers
in schools and connecting classrooms to the Internet. The report cautions that
this massive investment in educational technology, or edtech, may be at risk.
http://www.benton.org/press/2002/pr1112.html
Broad Foundation Invests In Charter Schools; $4.74 Million Investment Will Create
Seven New Charter Schools In California
The Broad Foundation announced an investment of up to $4.74 million in Aspire
Public Schools to create seven new charter schools by 2007. The goal of this
investment is to dramatically increase the number and quality of charter schools
in California. Eli Broad, founder of The Broad Foundation and a public education
reform advocate, said: "Charter schools address this century's most important
civil rights issue by providing high quality public schools in our nation's
neediest communities.
http://www.broadfoundation.org/investments/charters-int.shtml
Poll Finds D.C. Voters Strongly Oppose Vouchers
According to a new National School Boards Association / Zogby International
poll, more than three-fourths of voters in the District of Columbia say they
oppose private school vouchers, and 80 percent say they would expect any private
school that accepts taxpayer-funded vouchers to be held publicly accountable.
D.C. voters' expectations of public accountability for the spending of public
dollars is especially pertinent given the recently enacted bi-partisan No Child
Left Behind Act, which holds all public schools accountable for meeting high
standards.
http://www.nsba.org/pressroom/pr121002.htm
**Health
HHS Strengthens Health Care Safety by Awarding $13 Million
The Department of Health and Human Services announced 42 grants worth more than
$13 million to create new health center sites and expand capacity at existing
centers in 23 states. The grants are expected to provide health care services
for an additional 195,000 Americans. The awards are the latest expansion under
President Bush's five-year plan to add or expand health centers in 1,200 communities
by 2006 and to increase the number of patients served annually to more than
16 million -- up from 10 million in 2001.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2002pres/20021209.html
HHS Announces Grant to Prevent, Treat Diabetes Among Indians
The Department of Health and Human Services announced $100 million in grants
to support programs to prevent and treat diabetes among American Indians and
Alaska Natives, especially among children and teenagers. Funded through HHS'
Indian Health Service (IHS), the grants will go to 318 tribal, urban Indian,
Indian organizations and IHS health programs to support diabetes prevention
and treatment programs, including efforts to reduce cardiovascular disease associated
with diabetes.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2002pres/20021210.html
Many Seniors Continue To Participate in Medicare+Choice Despite Plans Backing
out of Program
According to a report released by Weiss Ratings, although Medicare+Choice plans
have dropped coverage for more than 2.4 million seniors since 1998, many Medicare
beneficiaries continue to participate in the program. The number of health insurers
that offer Medicare+Choice plans has decreased from 346 to 179, or 48.3%, between
1998 and 2003, but enrollment in the plans has decreased only 16.6% over the
same time period, the report found.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=15041
108th Congress Expected To Address Immigrant Health Benefits
CongressDaily reports that members of Congress will likely consider legislation
to allow documented immigrants to have immediate access to public health insurance
programs after a similar bill failed to pass in the 107th Congress. Earlier
this year, Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) sponsored an amendment to a bill to reauthorize
the 1996 Welfare Reform Act that would have ended a provision in the law that
requires documented immigrants to wait five years before they can have access
to programs such as Medicaid and increased access to services under the CHIP
program.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=15017
Bush Administration Considering New Program That Would Offer Low-Income Seniors
Subsidies for Prescription Drug Coverage
The Washington Post reports that the Bush administration may propose a "more
limited plan" than earlier efforts to help low-income seniors cover prescription
drug costs in an effort to "break the stalemate" in Congress over
a Medicare prescription drug benefit,. Under the plan, the federal government
would encourage Medicare beneficiaries to purchase private pharmacy discount
cards "worth several hundred dollars" and private insurance policies
to protect against "catastrophic" prescription drug costs.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=14991
**Reproductive Health
Internet Filters Often Block Sexual Health Information, Study Says
According to a study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Internet filters
intended to block access to pornography on school and library-based computers
often block access to sites containing information on sexual health. Researchers
searched for information on 24 health topics, including birth control and other
sexual health topics, as well as for pornographic terms. Programs set at the
least restrictive level blocked 1.4% of health sites; those set at the most
restrictive blocked nearly 25% of health sites. However, the programs blocked
a "much higher" percentage of sexual health sites: 9% at the least
restrictive setting and 50% at the most restrictive setting.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=15033
Pregnant Latinas in California Face More Difficult Time Obtaining Public Health
Insurance Than Those in Florida, New York, Study Says
Researchers from the University of California-San Francisco and the New York
Academy of Medicine have found that pregnant Latinas in California confront
"greater obstacles " and have a "greater sense of fear"
when applying for public health insurance such as Medicaid or CHIP to cover
prenatal care than do pregnant Latina women in New York and Florida. The study
found that 55% of the women in San Francisco found the application process "confusing"
or said they were concerned that applying for benefits would affect their immigration
status. In comparison, 33% of women in Miami and 9% of women in New York reported
similar concerns.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=14961
Routine Chlamydia Screening for Sexually Active Teenage Girls Detects More Cases
According to a study in the Dec. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association, routinely screening sexually active teenage girls during regular
doctor visits is an "effective way" to detect chlamydia and help teenagers
avoid infertility due to disease progression.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=15053
Protecting Reproductive Health Care for Low-Income Women
The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League /NY Foundation’s
Institute for Reproductive Health Access and the National Health Law Program
have created an organizing guide for reproductive health care advocates, low-income
health care advocates and legal service organizations. This guide profiles current
barriers to reproductive health care for low-income women, provides guidance
to legal service organizations and details information and resources to enhance
advocacy efforts.
PDF: http://www.healthlaw.org/pubs/2002reproaccessguide.pdf
**Welfare and Welfare Reform
Domestic Violence and Welfare Policy
The Research Forum has released a new issue brief Domestic Violence and Welfare
Policy: Research Findings That Can Inform Policies on Marriage and Child Well-Being.
This report examines research on the prevalence and correlates of domestic violence
among women on welfare; the effects of domestic violence on child well-being;
and marriage and domestic violence. It also assesses the implications for welfare
policy and future research.
Full Report – PDF: http://www.researchforum.org/newsletter/DomVio.pdf
Executive Summary – PDF: http://www.researchforum.org/newsletter/DomViosummary.pdf
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