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Conference TANF Agreement
Requires States to Increase Work Participation
The Center for Law and Social Policy reports that
the budget conference agreement includes a mandate that states meet a 50 percent
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) work participation rate in
order to avoid federal penalties. The bill forces states to make an unpalatable
choice: increase work participation rates by an estimated 69 percent or cut
the number of families receiving assistance-or both.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/publications/tanf_conference.pdf
Catholic
Charities USA Decries Senate Budget Reconciliation
Bill as Vital Programs for Low-Income Families, Elderly, Disabled
Are Slashed
“Congress has
turned its back on our nation’s poor and vulnerable by slashing
programs vital to the health and well-being of our children, fragile
families, the elderly, and disabled adults,” president of Catholic
Charities USA, said in reaction to the Senate’s passage of a budget
bill, which was approved by the House earlier this week. “This
measure, with its harsh budget and program changes, is certain
to have long-term, harmful effects on countless families across
our nation.” The U.S. Senate passed a budget reconciliation conference
report that contains drastic cuts and program changes to programs
such as Medicaid, child support enforcement, child welfare, and
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/news/content_displays.cfm?fuseaction=display_document&id=741&location=3
Conference
Agreement TANF Provisions Impose Expensive New Work Requirements
on States and Will Result in Loss of Child Care Subsidies For
Working Poor
According to reports from
the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities the conference agreement on the spending reconciliation bill
includes a major restructuring of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) work participation requirements, imposing expensive and unfunded new
requirements on states and severely limiting the flexibility they were afforded
under the 1996 law that created the TANF block grant. A new Congressional
Budget Office analysis shows that the work requirements would be even more
expensive for states to meet than those included in the controversial House-passed
bill.
http://www.cbpp.org/12-18-05bud2.htm
Budget Conference Agreement
Contains Substantial Cuts Aimed at Low-income Families and Individuals
According to reports from
the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities some are claiming that the conference agreement on the budget
reconciliation bill is closer to the Senate-passed bill in the low-income
area than to the House bill and does not harm low-income Americans to any
significant degree. While some low-income cuts in the House bill have been
dropped, the conference agreement contains numerous cuts in various low-income
areas — including Medicaid — that are much closer to those in the House-passed
bill than to the provisions of the Senate bill.
http://www.cbpp.org/12-18-05bud3.htm
**Children, Youth &
Families
Researchers Find Youth
Involvement in Various Extracurricular Activities Has Social, Psychological,
Academic Benefits
Two recent studies by Jennifer
an assistant professor of human development of Connecticut College, and a professor of psychology at
the University of Michigan, found that greater involvement in
extracurricular activities is associated with a range of academic, psychological,
and social benefits. Forget what you've heard about over-scheduling and over-stressing
your teen-agers. It just may be that those dance classes, soccer practices,
piano lessons and church groups may lead to better academically- and socially-developed
adolescents.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20051209.112436&time=12%2046%20PST&year=2005&public=1
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Congress Passes Violence
Against Women Act; Reauthorization Provides New Tools
for Communities to Prevent Violence and Support Survivors
Congress renewed legislation
to continue nationwide efforts to combat domestic violence, sexual assault,
dating violence and stalking. Passing with overwhelming support in the House
and Senate, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
of 2005 reauthorizes existing programs and creates new ones to meet emerging
needs of communities working to prevent the violence. The bill now goes to
President Bush for signature. The National Network to End Domestic Violence
praised Congress for their continued dedication to improving the lives of
women and children.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=58352
**Community Development
2005 Brought Both Catastrophe
and Optimism on the Metro Program Beat
Well, without a doubt, 2005
was the year of Hurricane Katrina—not just for Metropolitan Policy Program
researchers at Brookings, but for all who care about cities, metro areas,
and the ways flawed or wise policy choices can and do influence metropolitan
outcomes. Notwithstanding the wreckage in New Orleans, 2005 saw the MPP group begin to present
a new, more aspirational, and even optimistic view
of cities and metropolitan areas. More than ever before cities and suburbs
are seizing the moment to become pivotal players in a globalizing economy.
http://www.brookings.org/metro/2005review.htm
Out of Reach - 2005 -
Housing Affordability
Despite the emphasis on
homeownership and the marginalization of renters, renter households still
make up fully one-third of the households in the United States - nearly 36 million households. Out
of Reach is a side-by-side comparison of wages and rents in every county,
Metropolitan Area, combined non-metropolitan area and state in the United States.
http://www.nlihc.org/oor2005/
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Get more information on
these issues at http://www.ecommunityissues.com.
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HUD Announces $20 Million
Aimed at Increasing Public Housing Resident Self-Sufficiency
The Department of Housing
and Urban Development awarded $19,515,433 in grants that will be used to help
public housing residents become economically self-sufficient and provide the
elderly and people with disabilities supportive services to allow independent
living. HUD's Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Program
grants are awarded to public housing authorities (PHAs),
resident organizations or non-profit organizations acting on behalf of residents
to link residents with supportive services, such as education and job training,
and to promote independent living for the elderly and persons with disabilities.
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr05-172.cfm
HUD Announces $1.33 Billion
in Grants to House and Serve Homeless Individuals and Families
Thousands of local programs
that house and serve homeless persons-from emergency shelters and transitional
housing projects to permanent supportive housing programs-will receive $1.33
billion in funding through grants announced by the Department of Housing and
Urban Development. HUD funding will support a record number of local programs
and are expected to provide critically needed assistance to approximately
172,000 persons and families living without a home of their own. In the past
five years, HUD has awarded $6 billion in funding to state and local communities
to support the housing and service needs of homeless persons and families.
HUD's funding is provided in two ways:
http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr05-175.cfm
**Economic Security
Women and Social Security
According to a report from
the Urban Institute, Social Security keeps millions of American women out
of poverty in old age, but many low-income unmarried women remain at risk.
The program provides more generous benefits to some women over others with
the same earnings, and favors married women who do not work outside the home.
Renewed attention to Social Security's long-term deficit offers an opportunity
for reform to recognize women's changing roles without creating inequities,
discouraging work, or harming the most vulnerable.
http://www.urban.org/publications/900902.html
**Education
New Report on Adult Literacy
Levels, First Since 1992, Shows Need for High School
Reform
American adults can read
a newspaper or magazine about as well as they could a decade ago, but have
made significant strides in performing literacy tasks that involve computation,
according to the first national study of adult literacy since 1992. The report
also showed that five percent of U.S. adults, about 11 million people, were
termed "nonliterate" in English, meaning
interviewers could not communicate with them or that they were unable to answer
a minimum number of questions.
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/12/12152005.html
Center for Rural Education
Established at Education Department
The U.S. Department of Education
announced the creation of the Center for Rural Education to address challenges
facing rural schools. Housed within the Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(OVAE) and working in tandem with the Secretary's Task Force for Rural Education,
the center will serve as an information resource for policymakers at the local,
state, and federal levels. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that
nearly 42 percent of the nation's public schools are in rural communities
or small towns.
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/12/12162005.html
**Health
States in Action: A Quarterly
Look at Innovations in Health Policy
The States in Action quarterly
newsletter from the Commonwealth Fund identifies and describes innovative
state health-related programs across the country. It is intended to help policymakers,
administrators, and researchers as they work to stretch health care dollars
and meet the needs of their residents. States in Action is part of a new
initiative on state innovations. The initiative aims to increase understanding
about state health system performance, identify and measure the effects of
policies intended to improve performance, and spread information about promising
practices.
http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=327242
State and Beneficiary
Challenges in Transitioning Drug Coverage from Medicaid to the New Medicare
Drug Benefit
The Kaiser Commission on
Medicaid and the Uninsured convened a focus group of state Medicaid officials
to discuss the impact of the new Medicare drug program on states and Medicaid
enrollees. State insights on the transition of dual eligibles
and some beneficiary experiences are discussed in new materials and an audio
briefing.
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/kcmu121905pkg.cfm
Drug Prices in Medicare
Plans Are 48 Percent Higher than Veterans' Prices
A survey released found
that drug prices under the new Medicare drug program will be considerably
higher than the prices negotiated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
According to the survey, the median price difference for the 20 drugs most
frequently used by seniors is 48.2 percent. The survey, released by the consumer
health organization Families USA, found that prices under the new Medicare
drug benefit will have a big impact on both the drug costs borne by senior
citizens and on American taxpayers.
http://www.familiesusa.org/resources/newsroom/press-releases/drug-prices-in-medicare-plans.html
More Than 21 Million
Medicare Beneficiaries To Be Covered For Prescription
Drugs As of January 2006
More than 21 million seniors
and people with disabilities will get prescription drug coverage as of Jan. 1, 2006, according to the Department of Health
and Human Services. The number includes more than one million Americans who
signed up for the new stand-alone coverage in the first 28 days it was offered.
Another 500,000 are expected to be enrolled by the end of January.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2005pres/20051222.html
**Hunger and Nutrition
U.S. Conference of Mayors Report Shows
Increased Demands for Food Assistance
The U.S. Conference of Mayors/Sodexho
USA annual hunger and homelessness survey released reports increased need
for emergency food and shelter in 24 U.S. cities, especially among the nation's
working poor families. Requests for emergency food assistance increased by
an average of 12 percent in the past year with 76 percent of the cities surveyed
reporting an increase in demands.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=58484
FRAC Special Analysis:
Mayors Document Hunger and Homelessness
The annual survey “U.S.
Conference of Mayors/Sodexho Survey on Hunger and
Homelessness”, released on December 19th, documented increased food security
needs among families with children and elderly persons as well as insufficient
resources to fully meet needs in many cities. On average, 18 percent of the
demand for emergency food assistance is estimated to have gone unmet in survey
cities during the last year. Forty-three percent of cities said emergency
food assistance programs were turning people away due to lack of resources.
http://www.frac.org/html/news/mayors121803.htm
**Substance Abuse
2005 Monitoring the Future
Survey Shows Continued Decline in Drug Use by Students
While the 2005 survey showed
a general decline in drug use, there are still high rates of non-medical use
of prescription medications. The MTF survey has measured drug, alcohol, and
cigarette use and related attitudes among adolescents since 1975.
http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/alerts/reader/0%2C1854%2C578778%2C00.html
Returning Troops Abusing
Alcohol
U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are abusing alcohol in greater numbers,
as well as experiencing marital and anger-management problems. Army researchers
found that 21 percent of soldiers returning from combat areas were misusing
alcohol a year after their return home; just 13 percent were found to misuse
alcohol prior to deployment. Soldiers with anger and aggression problems increased
from 11 percent to 22 percent, and the divorce rate rose from 9 percent to
15 percent.
http://www.jointogether.org/saredirect/?Object_ID=578737&Type=sa
