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**Children, Youth &
Families
New Report on Educational Media for Babies,
Toddlers, and Preschoolers
In recent years, there has been a big increase
in new electronic media products for very young children, including those
as young as one month old. A driving force behind this new market is the advertising
and package labeling that makes claims about the educational benefits of specific
products. A new report from The Kaiser Family Foundation examines the educational
claims about commercially available educational media products (videos and
DVDs, computer software, and video games) for very young children and the
research to substantiate the educational claims.
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia121405pkg.cfm
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Mental Health of Children Most Harmed
before Divorce
The most harm to a child's mental health
takes place in the years before parents split up, according to a University
of Alberta study that suggests staying together for the sake of
the kids is not always the right choice.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/uoa-mho121305.php
Mental Distress Due to Abortion Lasts
for Years
Women who have had an abortion still experience
mental distress related to the abortion years after it happened. A study
published in the open access journal BMC Medicine reveals that five years
on, women who have had an abortion suffer higher levels of mental distress
than other women and than women who have had a miscarriage.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/bc-mdd120605.php
**Civic Engagement
Impact of Disaster-Relief
Fundraising on Nonprofits
A new national survey released
by several firms working with nonprofit organizations confirms that donors
need to dig deeper in 2005. Funding shortfalls at nonprofit organizations
are another disaster in the making -loss of key services. The results of
this survey are critical because many nonprofits receive 50% of their charitable
gifts in November and December and provide the data to deliver the message
of the need for charitable giving at home. The survey gathered information
from over 500 donors, nonprofits and nonprofit consultants nationwide.
http://www.commulinks.com/survey/katrina.asp
**Community Development
HUD Study Finds Five
Million Families in "Worst Case Need" of Affordable Housing
The Department of Housing
and Urban Development reported the number of low-income households paying
excessive rent or living in substandard conditions remains essentially unchanged
from the mid-1990s. In its Affordable Housing
Needs report to Congress, HUD found that in 2003, a total of 5.18 million
low-income households experienced critical housing needs compared to 5.20
million households in 1995.
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr05-168.cfm
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Get more information on
these issues at http://www.ecommunityissues.com.
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Worker Centers--Organizing Communities
at the Edge of the Dream
Low-wage workers in the U.S. face obstacles
including racial and ethnic discrimination, a pervasive lack of wage enforcement,
misclassification of their employment, and for some, their status as undocumented
immigrants. In the past, political parties, unions, and fraternal and mutual-aid
societies served as important vehicles for immigrant workers who hoped to
achieve political and economic integration. As these traditional civic institutions
have weakened, these workers must seek new structures for mutual support.
Worker centers are among the institutions to which workers turn as they strive
to build vibrant communities and attain economic and political visibility
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/bp159
**Economic Security
Catholic Charities Agencies
Giving Hope For Christmas In Times Of Increasing Need
A survey conducted by Catholic
Charities USA of more than 70 Catholic Charities agencies found that agencies
are finding that increasing numbers of the working poor, homeless, and seniors
are seeking financial assistance to pay for basic commodities such as food,
housing, and utilities. The survey found that 81 percent of agencies report
an increase in the need from the working poor; 64 percent of agencies cite
an increase in the number of families seeking help; 52 percent of agencies
are seeing more seniors in need; and 49 percent are seeing more homeless seeking
help.
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/news/content_displays.cfm?fuseaction=display_document&id=732&location=3
Declining Share of Adults Receiving Training
under WIA are Low-Income or Disadvantaged
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA)
significantly changed the way federally funded job training and employment
services are structured, and has impacted who receives training under the
program. In particular, the share of training recipients who are low-income
or have barriers to employment has dropped since WIA was enacted. This paper
examines the data, considers some possible explanations for this decline,
and offers recommendations for WIA reauthorization and state and local action
to increase the share of training resources directed to adults who are low-income,
single parents, or have other barriers to finding and keeping employment.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/publications/decline_in_wia_training.pdf
Hopeful Workers, Marginal
Jobs: LA's Off-The-Books Labor Force
This report examines the
extent and nature of the 'informal' labor force in LA. Included in the report:
an overview of the 'informal economy', how many informal workers exist in
LA, characteristics of these workers (by gender, occupation/industry, immigration
status), and public costs of the informal economy. Undocumented workers as
a significant portion of informal workers are examined (by service planning
area, industry, and total numbers). Also included are general policy recommendations,
an overview of the LA labor market and more.
PDF: http://www.economicrt.org/pub/hopeful_workers_marginal_jobs/hopeful_workers_marginal_jobs.pdf
**Education
High Quality, Universal
Preschool Would Benefit California’s Population Centers
A RAND Corporation study
estimating the local impact of high-quality universal preschool in California concludes that such early education
would benefit each of the state's most populated regions by cutting the need
for special education, reducing juvenile crime and eliminating the need for
many children to repeat grades. Regions that have larger numbers of poor
and disadvantaged children would see benefits at rates that surpass what is
expected statewide, the study says.
http://www.rand.org/news/press.05/12.15.html
To Raise Achievement of Students with
Disabilities, Greater Flexibility Available for States, Schools
The Department of Education Margaret announced
proposed regulations to enhance the ability of schools and states to more
effectively measure the achievement of America's students
with disabilities. The proposed rules are designed to meet the needs of students
with disabilities who may not reach grade level within the same time frame
as their peers, but who can make significant strides, given the right instruction.
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/12/12142005a.html
Bridges to the Future Afterschool Program Funded for 2005-06 School
Year
The award-winning Bridges
to the Future afterschool program has secured funding for the full 2005-06
school year, thanks to a one-year, $2.17-million grant from the Charles Stewart
Mott Foundation to United Way of Genesee County.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20051215.103635&time=11%2020%20PST&year=2005&public=1
American Institutes for
Research Experts Assist in National Assessment of Adult Literacy
The National Assessment
of Adult Literacy (NAAL), released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), found little change between
1992 and 2003 in adults' ability to read and understand sentences and paragraphs
or to understand documents such as job applications. African Americans scored
higher in 2003 than in 1992 in all three categories, increasing 16 points
in quantitative, eight points in document and six points in prose literacy.
Overall, adults have improved in document and quantitative literacy with a
smaller percentage of adults in 2003 in the Below Basic category compared
to 1992.
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/12/12152005.html
Emphasis on Individuality
in College Admissions Disadvantages Minority Students
A new study published in
the latest issue of Review of Policy Research finds alternative reasons why
capable students from disadvantaged backgrounds frequently fail to take advantage
of the college options available to them. Looking beyond deficiencies in testing
and a lack of exposure to scholarship information, author Jennifer A. Zimbroff
cites social identity, self-contrast, and group identity among several core
reasons.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/bpl-eoi121505.php
**Health
House Passes Health,
Education Spending Cuts
The U.S. House of Representatives
on Wednesday narrowly passed a $602 billion bill to cut funds for health,
education and labor programs nearly one month after a slightly different version
of the measure was unexpectedly rejected.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http:/news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051214/pl_nm/congress_budget_protest_dc
Medicaid Provisions of House Reconciliation
Bill Both Harmful and Unnecessary
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
reports that the House and the Senate are attempting to work out a conference
agreement on a budget reconciliation bill that reduces funding for a range
of programs, including Medicaid. The House and Senate bills differ dramatically
in their approach to Medicaid. The House bill would significantly increase
the co-payments and premiums imposed on low-income Medicaid beneficiaries
and restrict the availability of important health care services. The Congressional
Budget Office (CBO) has found that if these provisions become law, many low-income
people would forgo health care services, and others would lose health coverage
altogether.
http://www.cbpp.org/12-9-05health.htm
'Unwarranted Variation'
in Use of Medicare Services
According to a report from
the Commonwealth Fund, some of the most highly regarded hospitals in the nation
differ sharply in the way they manage severely ill Medicare patients, a Fund
report finds. This is often true even among hospitals in the same state or
city.
http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=326732
**Hunger and Nutrition
School Breakfast Served
7.5 Million Low-Income Children in 2005, After Biggest Annual Jump Since 1995
Participation in the nation's
School Breakfast Program rose by more than 378,000 low-income children in
the 2004-2005 school year, the largest increase since the 1994-1995 school
year, according to the annual School Breakfast Scorecard released by the Food
Research and Action Center (FRAC). A record 7.5 million children received
free or reduced price breakfast each day, a 5.3 percent increase in the number
of low-income children eating breakfast at school compared to the prior year.
Since 1990, the number of low-income students receiving free or reduced price
breakfasts has more than doubled.
http://www.frac.org/Press_Release/12.13.05.html
Administration Preventing States From
Adjusting Food Stamp Benefits to Reflect Impact of Higher Home Heating Costs
on Food Budget
The Administration announced that it will
not allow states to update their food stamp benefit levels now to reflect
the higher home heating costs that will leave low-income households with less
money for food this winter, a new Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis
explains. As a result, states will effectively be forced to base this winter's
food stamp benefit levels on last winter's heating bills.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=58186
**Substance Abuse
Adapting to Life in the US can
Increase Alcohol Consumption among Latinas
As Hispanic or Latino immigrants adapt to
life in the United States,
exposure to more favorable drinking norms and significant social stressors
may provoke increased alcohol consumption. Acculturation may especially take
its toll on women in this group, called "Latinas." A study in the
December issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research uses sophisticated
data analysis to confirm that Latina women who are highly acculturated to American society
tend to drink more than those who are not so highly acculturated.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/ace-atl120705.php
Public Backs Federal
Alcohol Tax Hike
The federal government could
raise $20 billion over the next five years by raising alcohol taxes by five
cents per drink, a move supported by most Americans, a new survey says.
http://www.jointogether.org/saredirect/?Object_ID=578752&Type=sa
