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**Children, Youth & Families
Adoptions Stall,
More Legal Orphans Created by Failed Federal Law, National Child
Advocacy Group Says
According to the
National Coalition for Child Protection Reform the number of foster-child
adoptions has stalled, even as the number of "legal orphans"
continues to grow as a result of a failed federal law. Worst of
all there still are more children in foster care now than when the
so-called "Adoption and Safe Families Act" was passed,
and those children continue to languish in foster care for as long
as they did before ASFA became law.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20041228.091006&time=09%2030%20PST&year=2004&public=1
Report on Health
Insurance Coverage of Iowa Children Shows Gaps
A new report from
the University of
Iowa on health
insurance coverage of Iowa children indicates that nearly 90,000 children in the
state are uninsured at some point in the year. Some programs, however,
are available to help families, and more could be done to expand,
as well as educate people about, options.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/uoi-roh121604.php
U.S. Spends More to Protect Vulnerable Children Despite Sluggish
Economy
A new study from
the Urban Institute finds that even with mounting fiscal constraints,
states spent $22.2 billion in federal, state, and local funds in
2002 to protect abused and neglected children, an 8-percent increase
from 2000's $20.8 billion. When Congress reconvenes next year,
hearings on changes to the federal child welfare financing structure
are expected to continue. Hearings were held this past summer on
reforms proposed by the administration, recommendations made by
the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, and a bill introduced
by Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA).
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20041215.110400&time=21%2000%20PST&year=2004&public=1
**Economic Security
Black Baby Boomers'
Income Gap Cited
According to a new
Duke University study,
Black Americans born between 1946 and 1964 "are no better off
relative to whites than their parents and grandparents" were
in terms of income. Black baby boomers are still earning about
66 percent of what their non-Hispanic white age peers earn.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5932-2004Dec16.html?nav=rss_nation
**Education
Leave No City
Behind: England/United States Dialogue on Urban Education Reform
According to The Urban Institute both the United States
and England initiated ambitious standards-based education reform to eliminate large
gaps between their highest and lowest achievers. England appears
to be ahead, having started in 1988 with a national curriculum,
tests, and performance tables. The United
States' No Child Left Behind Act began rewriting state rules
in 2002 with more incentives and punitive measures aimed at school
performance. Viewing the contrasts as opportunity, educators and
policymakers from each side of the Atlantic gathered in Philadelphia in mid-October for the second half of a dialogue on
urban education.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=9129
National Forum
Calls on Policy Makers to Focus on Providing More Supports to Middle
Grades
The National Forum
to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform calls on policy makers to focus
on the middle grades in an effort to boost math performance. The
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) released results
this month that showed 15 year-olds in the United
States struggling compared to many of their international counterparts
in their ability to use math to solve real-life problems. Another
study released this month, the Trends in International Mathematics
and Science Study (TIMSS) showed some improvement in eighth-graders'
ranking compared to 4 years ago but the results still placed the
US at 15 out of 45 nations.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20041222.103317&time=11%2009%20PST&year=2004&public=1
Pre-College Program
for Minority Students Recognized as 'Outstanding'
The Academically
Interested Minorities program at Kettering University received the 2004 "Outstanding Program" award
from the Michigan Association of College Registrars and Admissions
Officers. The program was recognized for its dedication to the development
and career success of its students.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20041221.082052&time=09%2002%20PST&year=2004&public=1
**Health
New Study Develops
Links between Socioeconomic Status and Poor Health
Findings from a
UCLA study suggest that individuals with high overall cardiovascular
risk in midlife can be identified by relatively higher risk factors
when they are younger. They found also that young people from families
with a lower Socioeconomic Status experienced greater increases
in those risk factors than people higher on the scale. Also, the
researchers found that the effect of SES on risk accumulation is
stronger in women than in men, and stronger in blacks than in whites.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/uoc--nus121604.php
Race May be Factor
in Doctor-Patient Communication Style
According to a new
study of primary care visits conducted by researchers at the Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine, doctors are less likely to actively engage their black
patients in conversation when compared to the conversations they
had with their white patients.
http://www.jhsph.edu/PublicHealthNews/Press_Releases/PR_2004/Cooper_communication.html
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