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**Children, Youth & Families
Summer
Tips to Keep Kids Safer
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) calls on
parents to be more engaged in their children's lives. Recent news reports of
children being exploited in retail stores and through the Internet underscores
the seriousness of child sexual exploitation in the U.S. "Research shows
that 1 out of 5 girls and 1 out of 10 boys will be sexually victimized before
they reach adulthood," according to the president of NCMEC.
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=1397
Leading Authority Disputes
Child Care Statements
The head of the National
Institute for Early Education Research took issue a study from the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development which found that child care can
lead to increased behavior problems.
"Bashing child care, with isolated findings, is not the answer, especially
given the number of parents who have to work - who don't have a choice. We need
to fix it."
http://nieer.org/news/index.php?NewsID=607
Will Federal Tax Cuts Harm
America's Children?
The Every Child Matters
Education Fund today released a study entitled, "Will Federal Tax Cuts
Harm America's Children?" The study describes the
implications for children and families of recent tax cuts that pull trillions
of dollars in revenue from the federal budget over the next decade. The study
concludes that, yes, given the historic and central role that the federal
government has played in funding health and social services, the federal tax
cuts assuredly will harm America's children.
http://www.everychildmatters.org/
New Powerful Adoption
E-Tool for Parents and Professionals
The National Center for Adoption Law & Policy released the nation's
first comprehensive online compilation and synthesis of the law of adoption.
This new e-tool, available at www.adoptionlawsite.org, provides free access to
the adoption related statutes and regulations, as well as the key cases and
articles, from every U.S. state and territory, along with federal and
international materials.
http://www.law.capital.edu/adoption/press_releases/lawsite071503.htm
Parents Troubled by
Underage Drinking and Alcohol Companies' Advertising Practices
According to a survey
sponsored by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University, two-thirds of parents say that seeing and hearing
alcohol ads make teens more likely to drink alcohol, and almost three-quarters
of parents say that alcohol companies are not doing enough to limit the amount
of alcohol advertising that teens see.
http://camy.org/press/release.php?ReleaseID=13
Teens’ Distorted Body
Image may Lead to Unhealthy Behaviors
According to a new study from
the University of Delaware, high school girls tend to see themselves as 11 pounds over their
ideal body weight while boys perceive their current and ideal body images as
almost the same. Understanding how
adolescents perceive their bodies can have practical consequences. Health professionals can address questions of
body dissatisfaction to help young people avoid poor health behavior and reduce
risk of associated illnesses.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-07/cfta-tdb071603.php
Hip-Hop Finds a Positive
Note
Independent record company
De-U Records' latest audio CD "Science and Geography" completes the
trilogy that includes "Multiplication Hip Hop," and "It's
Elementary." These Children's Learning Tools were released October 2000,
December 2001 and December 2002. Street and Internet sales have made these
educational audio CD's one of the hottest selling music CD's on the East coast.
The CD's have already assisted over 20,000 children locally and nationally in
learning their times table and much more. The CD's feature a
brand of music that all children love, hip-hop.
http://www.de-urecords.com/
**Civil Society
Americans Believe
Affirmative Action in Hiring Practices Has Been Good for the Nation
According to the latest
national survey commissioned by the Employment Law Alliance, More than 6 out of
10 Americans believe that giving women and minorities preferences in hiring has
been good for the nation, but there is significantly less support for
continuing affirmative action programs in the workplace.
http://fm.employmentlawalliance.com/ela/FMPro?-DB=ela_articles.fp5&-Format=article.html&-RecID=32974&-Find
Report Finds Progress in
the States
A Report on Proactive,
Progressive Victories in 2003, released by the Center for Policy Alternatives
finds that the progressive movement is alive and well in state legislatures
across the nation. The report describes
154 proactive, progressive measures that have become law, or are about to
become law, in 2003. Overall, the study demonstrates the vitality and variety
of progressive successes in the states.
http://www.stateaction.org/cpa/pressroom/index.cfm
**Community
Development
Better
Banking for the Poor
A report from the Brookings
Institution finds that despite wholesale innovations in the banking industry,
low-income households continue to be left out of the financial services
mainstream. A new analysis of the banking and alternative financial services
industries suggests that increasing access to banking for these households
could boost both family financial stability and broader societal anti-poverty
efforts.
http://www.brookings.org/es/urban/publications/20030715_barr.htm
Seizing
City Assets: Ten Steps to Urban Land Reform
This PowerPoint presentation
from the Brookings Institution presented to the Vacant Land Forum reviews the
10 steps to urban land reform. It highlights the 10 steps with innovative case
studies and programs from cities and counties that are struggling with vacant
land and brownfields.
http://www.brookings.org/es/urban/speeches/20030709_katzvacantland.htm
HUD Data Show
Administration's Budget Request for Section 8 Falls Far Short of Projected Need
The Department of Housing and
Urban Development issued a statement which does not provide any facts or
analysis substantively contesting the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities'
conclusion that under the budget request the number of families assisted would
be cut by approximately 184,000.
http://www.cbpp.org/7-16-03hous.htm
**Disabilities
Time to Make the
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Work
Better
The National Council on
Disability (NCD) released an excerpt from its soon-to-be-released report,
National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, December 2001 - December 2002,
which highlights a number of issues related to education for students with
disabilities, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
which is currently being reauthorized by Congress. The report also discusses the interaction
between IDEA and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/news/r03-419.html
** Economic Security
Ending
the Safety Net as We Know It? Assessing the New Federal Block Grant Proposals
The Brookings Institute held
a forum on this topic on July 13. The
transcript outlines that this year; Congress is considering a number of
administration proposals to turn federally administered anti-poverty programs
into block grants to the states. The speakers at this forum examined what the
proposed shift in national domestic policy could mean for states, localities,
and low-income families.
http://www.brookings.org/es/urban/speeches/20030613_blockgrants.htm
Boom Times A Bust for Less-Educated Young Men
According to a new report
from the Center for Law and Social Policy, most demographic groups saw their
employment rates and incomes rise in the economic heyday of the late 1990s,
especially less-educated women. However, on the whole, less-educated young men
have bucked this trend; this demographic group saw employment rates drop during
this period of economic growth.
PDF: http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1058362464.08/Boom_Times.pdf
Older Workers Remain in
the Labor Force
The week’s economic snapshot
from the Economic Policy Institute finds that older workers, especially those
between the ages of 55 and 64, are staying in the labor force longer instead of
retiring. This is due largely to a loss of retirement savings following the
stock market crash and the rising cost of health care for the elderly and near
elderly.
http://www.epinet.org/printer.cfm?id=956&content_type=1
**Education
Head Start Reauthorization
Should Build on Program's Strengths
According to the Moving Ideas
Network Head Start reauthorization should build on the program's
strengths. For thirty-eight years, the
Head Start program has provided proven, comprehensive services to help
disadvantaged pre-school children to successfully perform in school. The House
will soon vote on a Head Start Reauthorization bill. According to the Moving
Ideas Network, HR 2210 threatens to compromise the program by offering little
additional funding, downplaying Head Start's developmental and other
non-academic benefits, allowing religious discrimination against employees, and
redirecting needed funding to create experimental state-run programs.
http://www.movingideas.org/blitz/071103.html
**Health
UCLA Report Shows
Disparities in Children’s Health
A study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found wide gaps in the
health and access to care among California's children under 6 years of
age. The report notes that the lack of
access to health care and quality child care for many young Californians may
have long-term consequences for children's development and ability to grow and
learn.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-07/uoc--urs071003.php
Depression in
African-American Men May be Barrier to High Blood Pressure Control
A study from The Johns
Hopkins University School of Nursing concludes depression may sabotage efforts
to control high blood pressure in urban, African-American men. The researchers
found no direct link between depression and high blood pressure, but the
depressed men were five times more likely to abuse alcohol, leading to
behaviors that counteract efforts to control blood pressure.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-07/jhmi-dia071103.php
Prevention Experts Urge
High Blood Pressure Screening for All Adults Age 18 and Older
The U.S. Preventive Services
Task Force today reaffirmed its recommendation that clinicians measure blood
pressure of all adults who are 18 and older because of good evidence that early
detection and treatment of high blood pressure can significantly reduce the
risk of cardiovascular disease.
Hypertension, affects approximately one-quarter of the adult population
of the United
States,
or roughly 50 million people. It can cause heart attacks, heart failure,
stroke, kidney failure, and other serious problems. However, one-third of
patients with high blood pressure are unaware that they have the disease
because they lack warning signs and symptoms and have not been screened.
http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2003/highbppr.htm
**Homelessness
Homeless People are More Likely to Die Early
A study from Great Britain finds that homeless people staying in hostels are
four times more likely to die early than people in the general population. was higher in the
younger age groups (15-34 years) and among homeless women. The highest
mortality was among homeless people staying only a short time at a hostel or
staying more than once during 1991, showing that this transient population is
the most vulnerable and has the highest risk of early death
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-07/bmj-hpa070903.php
**Hunger
Emerging Links Between Hunger and Obesity Require Attention
A joint analysis released by
the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Brandeis University and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) shows
how hunger and obesity not only pose separate and distinct health risks, but
also can co-exist in the same household.
The apparent paradox of expanding waistlines and persistent hunger and
food insecurity in America is driven in part by the economics of buying food.
Households without money to buy enough food first change their purchasing and
eating habits - relying on cheaper, high calorie foods over more expensive, nutrient-rich
foods - before they cut back on the amount of food.
http://www.frac.org/html/news/071403hungerandObesity.htm
**Philanthropy
Effects
of Estate Tax Reform on Charitable Giving
A report from the Urban
Institute finds that estate tax repeal would reduce charitable bequests by
between 22 and 37 percent, or between $3.6 billion and $6 billion per
year. The implied reduction in annual
charitable donations in life and at death of $10 billion due to estate tax
repeal implies that, each year, the nonprofit sector would lose resources
equivalent to the total grants currently made by the largest 110 foundations in
the United
States.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&NavMenuID=3&Template=/TaggedContent/NewReports.cfm&PublicationID=8474
**Welfare Reform &
Reauthorization Activities
TANF State-By-State Fact
Sheets 2003
The Children’s Defense Fund
has posted state-by-state TANF fact sheets in order to highlight what
improvements to the TANF program states need in order to help low-income
families make successful transitions from welfare to work. The fact sheets also
explain why the provisions contained in H.R. 4 are not as helpful for families,
as well as what provisions we hope to see in the Senate bill.
http://www.childrensdefense.org/TANF_fact_sheets_2003/default.htm
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