Human Services News

August 23, 2007

Helping Women Stay Off Welfare: The Role of Post-Exit Receipt of Work Supports

Urban Institute:

This paper assesses the role of work support programs (specifically, food stamps and Medicaid) and other factors in reducing welfare reentry and promoting stable employment among women exiting the TANF program.

Using data from the 1996 and 2001 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the paper finds that welfare leavers who use food stamps as a transitional support when they leave TANF are less likely to return to TANF and more likely to be stably employed (for the year after exit) than women who do not receive food stamps when they exit welfare.

Over the past decade, millions of families have left welfare for work, and millions more have toiled in low-paying jobs struggling to stay off welfare.

Studies show that about one-quarter of the women heading families that leave welfare for work end up returning to welfare within a year of exit, and every year some families enter welfare for the first time.

Gaining a better understanding of what helps keep families off welfare and whether these factors have changed since the early years of welfare reform will help policymakers better design and target programs aimed at supporting work.

Posted by Michael at 11:14 PM | TrackBack

August 21, 2007

Providing Long-Term Services after Major Disasters

Urban Institute:

Nonprofit organizations are a crucial link in our nation's emergency preparedness and disaster response efforts, but their role is not always well integrated into disaster planning.

After both Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, nonprofits provided immediate and longer-term assistance to help people cope with devastating life changes and the emotional aftermath, but the importance of long-term services is not well understood or even acknowledged by victims and policymakers alike.

This brief highlights the lessons learned from the Urban Institutes's assessment of the American Red Cross September 11th Recovery Program, which provided grants to community-based organizations to provide longer-term case management, mental health services, and other services to facilitate recovery to eligible individuals.

A portion of the 9/11 funds was designated for a new program called the Recovery Grants Program (RGP) to help people directly affected by the events of 9/11 with their longer-term recovery needs.

Posted by Michael at 6:20 PM | TrackBack

August 20, 2007

The Quality of School-Age Child Care in After School Settings

Harvard Family Research Project:

Growing evidence tells us that quality after school programs can make a difference in children’s lives. But what defines quality in after school settings?

This brief by Harvard Family Research Project’s Priscilla Little offers an overview of the features of high-quality after school settings, including an examination of key research on links between program quality and developmental outcomes.

The brief, published by Child Care & Early Education Research Connections, also reviews current practice in program quality assessment, and a set of quality-related considerations for policymakers.

Posted by Michael at 6:10 PM | TrackBack

Mental Health, Work and Mental Health Service Use among Low-Income Mothers

Urban Institute:

This paper analyzes how mental health problems impede low-income mothers' ability to work and how health insurance improves access to mental health treatment services.

According to data from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families, low-income mothers in poor mental health are significantly less likely to work and to work full time than those without these problems.

Low-income mothers with public or private health insurance are significantly more likely to receive treatment than those without insurance.

Mental health problems are n important barrier to work among low-income women, and access to treatment could be improved through increased health insurance coverage.

Posted by Michael at 12:23 AM | TrackBack

Affordable Rental Housing in Healthy Communities: Rebuilding After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Urban Institute:

The devastation and displacement of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to families’ lives and to communities poses a unique set of affordable housing challenges in order for the area to recover. So far, rebuilding has been slow and the prospects for the future are uncertain.

Although everyone who was displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita faces significant housing challenges, the needs of low- and moderate-income renters warrant far more attention than they have thus far received.

Without affordable rental options, many original residents will not be able to return to their communities, lower income households will face the greatest uncertainty and hardship, and the region’s economic recovery is likely to be undermined by the lack of critical workers.

This report is intended to serve as a resource to help inform and invigorate public debate about affordable rental housing policies and to present a set of promising programs and practices that would expand the availability of permanent, affordable rental housing in the ongoing effort to recover from the storms.

Posted by Michael at 12:08 AM | TrackBack

August 19, 2007

Student Art Competition Winners Announced by U.S. Department of Education Office of Indian Education

From Education Newsfeed:

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Indian Education (OIE) last week announced the 2007 winners of the annual Native American Student Art Competition.

Today, Assistant Secretary of Education Kerri Briggs and Deputy Director of the Office of Indian Education (OIE) Cathie Carothers opened the exhibit, Education: A Gift Without Boundaries.

Winning entries may be seen beginning August 8, at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. as part of the agency's Headquarters Art Exhibit Program.

In September, the exhibit will travel to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

"This competition exemplifies the value of culture, the arts, and academic achievement to Native youth," said Assistant Secretary Briggs.

"Congratulations go to the winners as well as the numerous other students whose submissions made this year's judging exciting and challenging."

The theme for the 2007 competition, which received 1,379 entries from 34 states and 175 tribes, was Education, A Gift Without Boundaries.

Entries were judged by staff members from OIE and NMAI based on originality, relationship to the contest theme, creativity, composition, and control of materials.

"The Office of Indian Education would like to thank all of the students for their hard work," Deputy Director Carothers said.

"We especially want to thank their parents and teachers for providing the support and encouragement needed for these students to enter the competition.

In 2007 and 2008 the art exhibit will travel to the Chicago Children's Museum, the Trickster Gallery in Schaumburg, IL; the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City, OK; the Ancient Traders' Gallery in Minneapolis, MN; the Indian Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM as well as other locations.

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Depression May Play a Bigger Role in Readjustment for Troubled Vets

From EurekAlert! - Breaking News:

Depression may be an unrecognized readjustment problem for recently returning veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a study released today at the American Psychological Association 115th Annual Convention.

Researchers working with veterans referred for psychiatric evaluation from a primary care service found that major or minor depression was associated with domestic abuse and other family problems.

Two-thirds of the married/cohabiting veterans reported some type of family readjustment problem or conflict occurring several times a week: 42 percent felt like a guest in their household, 21.8 percent reported their children were not acting warmly or were afraid of them, and 35.7 percent were unsure about their role in regular household responsibilities.

The presence of family problems may limit the effectiveness of treatments for depression or PTSD because of the importance of positive family relationships to veterans' recovery.

According to the researchers, the results suggest an opportunity to improve treatment for returning veterans by involving family in the veteran's recovery.

In addition, about 56 percent of the patients with current or recently separated partners reported severe conflicts involving "shouting, pushing or shoving," and 35 percent reported that this partner was afraid of them.

The researchers, led by Steven L. Sayers, PhD, of the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, noted that while there has been very little empirical research focused on the family problems of veterans in the first year or two following their return from a major military conflict, family problems among those with partners are common.

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists.

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Posted by Michael at 4:04 PM | TrackBack

Cynical Shyness Can Precipitate Violence in Males and May be Factor in School Shootings

From EurekAlert! - Breaking News:

After performing an analysis of school shootings in the last decade, researchers at the Shyness Research Institute in Indiana say that the perpetrators are likely to suffer from cynical shyness---an extreme form of shyness that predominantly affects males and can lead to violent behavior.

Presenting at the 115th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), psychologist Bernardo Carducci, PhD, and Kristin Terry Nethery, BA, examined the cases involving eight individuals between 1995 and 2004 who had committed shootings at their high schools.

They examined the news accounts of these shootings for personal and social indicators of cynical shyness---lack of empathy, low tolerance for frustration, anger outbursts, social rejection from peers, bad family relations and access to weapons.

"Our results indicate that the individuals involved in the seven deadly high school shootings within the last decade clearly had characteristics of cynical shyness.

This allows the cynically shy person to distance himself from the hurt but also makes it easier for him to retaliate with violence, as in the case of these school shootings."

To intervene early on and prevent future violence in schools, teachers, parents and mental health professionals need to be on the lookout for those students whose shyness is a source of anger and hostility, said Carducci.

"Most young people who are shy do not experience their shyness as a source of anger and hostility.

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists.

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Court Approval Sought to Distribute Over $1 Million in Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Against Baltimore Housing Authority

From PR Newswire:

The Justice Department today announced that it will seek court approval for the pro rata distribution of over $1 million in monetary damages among 756 individuals who were identified through a claims process as part of the resolution of a 2004 lawsuit by the United States that alleged a pattern or practice of discrimination by Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) against persons with disabilities.

The Justice Department's lawsuit was resolved together with a lawsuit filed by three individuals with disabilities who were represented by the Maryland Disability Law Center.

On Dec. 20, 2004, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland entered a consent order that settled the matter and required HABC to establish a $1 million victims compensation fund and implement changes to its housing facilities, programs, policies and practices.

"Federal law guarantees that Americans with disabilities have the right to seek fair and accessible housing within their communities," said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

"The Justice Department will continue its vigorous enforcement of all the fair housing laws."

This initiative was inspired by the plight of displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina who were suddenly forced to find new places to live.

Operation Home Sweet Home is not limited to the areas hit by Hurricane Katrina and targets housing discrimination all over the country.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status.

Since Jan. 1, 2001, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has filed 230 cases to enforce the Fair Housing Act, 105 of which have alleged discrimination based on disability.

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Posted by Michael at 3:56 PM | TrackBack

'Hope and Harmony for Humanity' Collaborative Opens Tigua Achievement Center at Ysleta del Sur Pueblo

From Ascribe Newsfeed:

Sponsors and partners of the "Hope and Harmony for Humanity" Initiative will open the third Technology Achievement Center for rural Native American communities Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007 at the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in El Paso, Texas.

The Tigua Achievement Center located at the Tigua Education Center (11100 Santos Sanchez, El Paso, TX 79927), will provide computer and Internet access, education and training for reservation residents of all ages.

"The Tigua community is very honored to have been selected as part of the Hope and Harmony for Humanity Initiative," said Governor Art Senclair, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo.

"This Achievement Center provides the Tigua Pueblos with the opportunity to improve their computer literacy, enabling them to learn valuable life and work skills as well as to keep in touch with their family and the world at large.

The resources we've made available to the Tigua can create opportunities that will transform their community and help them realize their potential."

Drawing on resources from across IBM and key Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage of the new era of e-business.

ABOUT THE OFFICE OF INDIAN ENERGY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) was established within the Office of the Secretary, Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior to provide high-level support for the Department's goal of serving tribal communities by providing access to energy resources and helping tribes stimulate job creation and economic development.

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August 16, 2007

Colleges That Change Lives Programs Offer Timely College Admissions Advice as National Tour Comes to Texas

From Ascribe Newsfeed:

It is possible to experience a stress-free, successful college search process that ends with a college fit that is right for each student.

This is the message that Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) will bring to Houston and Austin, Texas, during the continuation of the 10th annual series of national tours.

"Too often the focus of the college search is on ranking and ratings, which does not acknowledge the individual needs of each student and how they will 'fit' with the mission and identity of a campus community," says Marty O'Connell, Executive Director of Colleges That Change Lives.

O'Connell adds, "The current record high numbers of college bound students, coupled with narrowly focused media stories about college admissions, have led the public to believe that college choices are severely limited.

The CTCL events, which are free to the public and do not require pre-registration, start with a panel presentation followed by a college fair, featuring admission representatives from the colleges and universities featured in the book of the same name, "Colleges That Change Lives," by former New York Times education editor and author Loren Pope.

Their inclusion in the book stems from their overall impact on students' educational experiences where faculty are focused on teaching and advising undergraduate students, and provide unique undergraduate research opportunities and emphasis on campus involvement.

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Posted by Michael at 8:06 PM | TrackBack

Tips to Help Parents Keep Children Away From Lead Exposure, Poisoning

From Pennsylvania Department of Health:

In response to a string of recent recalls of lead-tainted toys worldwide, the Pennsylvania Department of Health today offered parents tips to reduce their child's risk of getting lead poisoning.

Lead poisoning affects people of all ages, but it most severely affects young children under the age of six who are still developing physically and mentally.

Over time, lead poisoning can impair learning and physical development, cause blindness, affect speech and hearing, weaken muscles, cause high blood pressure and anemia, trigger convulsions, cause mental retardation and lead to paralysis, kidney failure, coma and death.

Lead can be stored in a woman's body and, if she becomes pregnant, may be carried to her unborn child, causing miscarriage, premature birth, birth defects or developmental problems.

Lead poisoning can be hard to detect since there are usually no symptoms.

The primary source of lead exposure is deteriorated or peeling lead-based paint and lead dust in older homes.

Lead paint can be found on kitchen and bathroom walls and on wood surfaces, such as doors, windows, stairway banisters, trim moldings and porches.

Windowsills can be especially dangerous because young children often put their mouths on them.

Children tend to put their hands, or other objects like toys, into their mouths, increasing the risk of lead exposure.

Lead hazards in the home can be temporarily reduced by immediately removing recalled toys from the home, repairing damaged paint surfaces and planting grass to cover soil with high lead levels.

Parents should contact their family physician or pediatrician with questions about their child's health and possible lead exposure.

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Children's Mental Health, Substance Abuse Association

From Rutgers University:

Research underway at Rutgers University---Camden seeks to examine links between children's mental health problems and alcohol, nicotine, and illegal drug use over time.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a highly prestigious Career Development Award to Naomi Marmorstein, an associate professor of psychology at Rutgers-Camden, who will use the $649,503 grant to further her intensive research on how children's anxiety and depression may be associated with substance abuse throughout adulthood.

According to the NIH, Marmorstein's award is part of an integrated program designed to foster the development of outstanding scientists and enable them to expand their potential to make important scientific contributions.

If we can get youth on a trajectory of healthy emotional and behavioral development, they are at reduced risk for psychiatric and substance abuse problems as adults," says Marmorstein.

During the next five years, Marmorstein will receive specialized training on complex statistical techniques; collect her own data with child-appropriate questionnaires; and revaluate existing data with new research methodologies that allow for more fine-grained analyses of developmental trajectories over time.

She also will seek to pinpoint crucial differences between types of internalizing disorders, like generalized anxiety and social anxiety, to examine whether these problems relate to substance abuse in different ways.

"We have known for a long time that some people who have depression or anxiety drink alcohol or use drugs to cope with those unpleasant feelings; this is called the 'self-medication' model of substance abuse.

It is time to apply the advances we have made in research methodologies in order to better understand these associations," says Marmorstein.

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Posted by Michael at 7:55 PM | TrackBack

Health Care Disparities Start at the Local Pharmacy

From University of California:

Despite years of effort in reaching out to their local communities, the role pharmacists play as health care providers still remains unclear to the people who need them the most -- elderly Americans with multiple medications for chronic diseases.

As a result, many patients with the most complex prescription needs may be hesitant to ask the questions they need to take their medications safely and consistently, according to a new study from the UCSF School of Pharmacy.

In one of the first studies to interview only elderly African-Americans regarding their perceptions of their community pharmacist, UCSF researchers also report that most would like to relate to their pharmacist the way they do with their personal doctors, but very few actually achieve that.

Findings were published last month in the spring issue of the journal "Ethnicity and Disease."

"There are many articles describing physician-patient relationships, but there is a paucity of information on patients and their pharmacists," explained Sharon Youmans, PharmD, MPH, a UCSF associate professor of clinical pharmacy who led the study.

Yet few participants reported feeling comfortable initiating such discussions, due to either not being able to identify the pharmacist or a sense that the pharmacist was too busy to talk with them.

Youmans said the study highlights the importance of patient-pharmacist communication and identifies the need for far more training of pharmacists and pharmacy staff in cultural competence and communication.

The study also showed that the individual pharmacists, and the profession as a whole, need to make increased efforts to become integral partners of local, state and national initiatives aimed at decreasing health disparities, she said.

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Posted by Michael at 7:45 PM | TrackBack

1.6 Million Low-Income Beneficiaries Will Be Forced into New Drug Plans

From: Families USA:

An estimated 1.6 million Americans who are low-income beneficiaries of Medicare Part D will be forced to join---or will be assigned---new drug plans by January 1, or they face the option of paying more out of pocket for their prescription drug coverage.

These reassignments will occur because of premium increases and technical adjustments buried in the Medicare prescription drug bill, which the Bush administration has fought to preserve unchanged.

The scheduled reassignment of low-income beneficiaries to new drug plans was included in a recent news release from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which also announced the 2008 Part D premiums.

Low-income beneficiaries have been receiving subsidies---as much as $33 per month, depending on the region where they live---to help cover the cost of their Part D premiums.

However, because of a combination of subsidy decreases and premium increases, 1.6 million low-income individuals will no longer have a sufficient subsidy to cover the premiums of their existing plans.

"While the administration is touting the fact that premiums have gone up less than they feared, the fact remains that our most vulnerable citizens continue to be the victimized by fundamental flaws in the Part D plan," Kathleen Stoll, Director of Health Policy at Families USA, said today.

"Sadly, the flaws in Part D continue to disproportionately affect the people who most desperately need this program, and we urge Congress to fix this discrepancy as soon as possible."

Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers.

It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Posted by Michael at 12:16 PM | TrackBack

Charity Navigator Finds Catholic Charities USA a "Slam Dunk" For Donors

Catholic Charities USA:

Catholic Charities USA is a "Slam Dunk" for donors looking to maximize their investment, according to Charity Navigator, the country's largest independent charity evaluator, which recently recognized Catholic Charities USA as the eighth most fiscally responsible charity in the nation.

In addition, Charity Navigator awarded Catholic Charities USA its highest rating --four stars-- for both organizational efficiency and organizational capacity.

"At Charity Navigator we’ve scrutinized the financial health of more than 5,300 of the best-known charities in America.

"Catholic Charities USA stands out not just as one of the most fiscally healthy, but also for their strong commitment to respecting the rights of donors," said Trent Stamp, president of Charity Navigator.

Catholic Charities USA, which was founded in 1910, serves as the membership association of one of the nation's largest social service networks, providing networking opportunities, national advocacy, and media efforts, program development, training and technical assistance, and financial support.

For more than 275 years, Catholic Charities agencies and institutions nationwide have provided vital social services to people in need, regardless of their religious, social, or economic backgrounds.

We commend Charity Navigator for helping donors make intelligent giving decisions that will result in a positive lasting impact.

Charity Navigator aims to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome the nation’s most persistent challenges.

For more than 275 years, local Catholic Charities agencies have been providing a myriad of vital services in their communities, ranging from day care and counseling to food and housing.

Posted by Michael at 12:07 PM | TrackBack

August 15, 2007

Colleges That Change Lives Programs Offer Timely College Admissions Advice as National Tour Comes to Tulsa, Okla.

From Ascribe Newsfeed:

It is possible to experience a stress-free, successful college search process that ends with a college fit that is right for each student.

"Too often the focus of the college search is on ranking and ratings, which does not acknowledge the individual needs of each student and how they will 'fit' with the mission and identity of a campus community," says Marty O'Connell, Executive Director of Colleges That Change Lives.

"College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won and the CTCL programs help families start their college search with this perspective in mind."

O'Connell adds, "The current record high numbers of college bound students, coupled with narrowly focused media stories about college admissions, have led the public to believe that college choices are severely limited.

The CTCL events, which are free to the public and do not require pre-registration, start with a panel presentation followed by a college fair, featuring admission representatives from the colleges and universities featured in the book of the same name, "Colleges That Change Lives," by former New York Times education editor and author Loren Pope.

Their inclusion in the book stems from their overall impact on students' educational experiences where faculty are focused on teaching and advising undergraduate students, and provide unique undergraduate research opportunities and emphasis on campus involvement.

This is the message that Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) will bring to Tulsa, Okla., during the continuation of the tenth annual series of national tours on Thursday, Aug. 30, at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center, starting at 7 p.m. Read more from this post.

Posted by Michael at 8:06 PM | TrackBack

How Minorities are 'Movin' On Up' When They Move to New Neighborhoods

From University of Michigan:

A new study shows that minorities are making equal or even better economic gains than whites when moving to new neighborhoods, but adds that white children still populate the most advantaged neighborhoods in the nation.

On Aug. 12 at the 102nd annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) in New York, Jeffrey Timberlake, UC assistant professor of sociology, presented his paper, "Scratchin' and Surviving or Movin' on Up" Two Sources of Change in Children's Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status."

Timberlake analyzed data from the 1990 to 1995 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative survey of about 5,000 which families, merged with data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Censuses.

He says that the most striking finding from the research was that despite lower average incomes in minority families, residential mobility appears to lessen neighborhood socioeconomic inequality for African-American and Latino children.

"It does appear as though in the early 1990s, when African-American and Hispanic families moved into new neighborhoods, they did as well or better than whites in terms of moving into higher-status neighborhoods.

Timberlake speculates that those gains may result from job advancements for white heads-of-household, as well as public and private investments in neighborhoods including better schools, roads and police and fire protection.

"Whatever the mechanisms, however, this research reinforces prior findings that children from different racial and ethnic backgrounds experience vastly unequal neighborhood contexts as they grow and develop," writes Timberlake.

He suggests financial incentives to build more integrated neighborhoods and more investments in low-income neighborhoods as possible remedies, but says in the current political and fiscal climate, the chances of such high-cost expenditures appear to be slim.

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Posted by Michael at 12:05 AM | TrackBack

Children of Depressed Moms do Better When Dad is Involved

From Saint Louis University:

Children whose mothers are depressed are less likely to develop problem behaviors if their fathers are actively engaged in family life, a Saint Louis University researcher finds.

It is well documented that children living in homes with depressed mothers are at increased risk of developing problems such as aggression, hyperactivity, depression and anxiety.

However, an involved father -- one who has a positive relationship with his children -- may reduce the risk of those behaviors.

The 10-year, population-based study published in the July issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, is the first to examine a father's role in a household with a depressed mother.

"My study corroborates findings from previous research that a child is at increased risk of problem behaviors when the mother is depressed," said Jen Jen Chang, Ph.D., assistant professor of community health in epidemiology at the Saint Louis University School of Public Health and principal investigator.

"I would advocate for health professionals to educate parents, specifically fathers, to be more involved with their children when their wives are diagnosed with depression.

Her sister suffered from mental illness and Chang witnessed how difficult the illness was on her sister, her family and her sister's family.

"Health care professionals must do a better job of screening for this debilitating and under-diagnosed illness."

Chang next plans to study the effect of a mother's depression on a child's risk of substance abuse and whether a father's positive involvement in a child's life may reduce this risk.

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Posted by Michael at 12:03 AM | TrackBack

University of California, Davis to Launch Asian American Center on Disparities Research

From University of California:

The grant, from the National Institute of Mental Health, will establish the Asian American Center on Disparities Research.

Headquartered at UC Davis, the new center will support and coordinate the efforts of a network of researchers who study Asian-American mental health issues.

"Contrary to the 'model minority' myth, Asian Americans have serious needs for mental health care that have been inadequately addressed," said UC Davis psychology professor Nolan Zane, director and principal investigator of the new center.

"Not only are their rates of mental illness much higher than previously believed, but Asian Americans who enter into the mental health system tend to be more severely disturbed than other ethnic groups.

In addition, there is compelling evidence that mental health services are inadequate for many Asian American clients, along with serious doubt as to whether treatments that have been validated with predominantly white patient populations are actually effective for Asian Americans.

The center's research will address these issues that continue to challenge the mental health field."

The center will partner with the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association, whose members include most of the mental health and health agencies nationwide that specialize in serving Asian American communities.

A recent analysis of 379 National Institute of Mental Health-funded psychiatric clinical trial studies published between 1995 and 2004 found that fewer than half included information on patients' ethnicity.

Another disorder, known in Korean as hwa-byung, may be three times more common in Korean Americans than in Koreans living in Korea.

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August 14, 2007

Lessons from Local Access Initiatives: Contributions and Challenges

From The Commonwealth Fund:

Community health initiatives--locally crafted responses to health care access problems--have been steadfast in their efforts to connect uninsured and medically indigent people to health care services and health insurance.

This report offers five case studies of community health initiatives that seek to improve access and coverage for those most likely to be uninsured: low-income, nonelderly adults.<

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Posted by Michael at 9:10 PM | TrackBack

'Double Financial Bubble' Looming Large for Middle-Income Communities

From Rochester Institute of Technology:

"America is facing the financial consequences of a 'double bubble' where falling housing prices and bloated mortgage payments are squeezing consumers burdened with record household debt," says Robert D. Manning of Center for Consumer Financial Services at Rochester Institute of Technology's E. Philip Saunders College of Business.

Manning, author of "Credit Card Nation" and frequent expert witness before U.S. Congressional Committees, is available to discuss his "double financial bubble" argument and the next phase of the subprime mortgage crisis, which he predicts will beset middle- and upper middle-income communities in one-and-a-half to two years.

Manning is a leading critic of the nation's financial services industry and research professor and director of the Center for Consumer Financial Services at E. Philip Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology.

As Manning explains, the Federal Reserve and government regulators have contributed to this perilous situation, and he recommends pro-active strategies where local communities get involved during the often-lengthy foreclosure process to help save these communities before the foreclosure and bankruptcy waves become overwhelming.

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California State Board of Equalization Makes Historic Decision; Alcopops to Be Taxed as Distilled Spirits

From Marin Institute:

The California State Board of Equalization (BOE), under the strong leadership of State Controller John Chiang, made history today when they set in motion a rulemaking procedure to tax alcopops as distilled spirits, instead of the current "beer" classification.

The decision was immediately applauded by alcohol activists and youth from the California Youth and Alcopops Coalition, the group that initiated the drive with a petition to the BOE last fall.

"Flavored Malt beverages should be taxes as distilled spirits because they fall under the category of distilled spirits, as written in California law," stated Chiang.

"This is an enlightened step forward in controlling underage consumption of alcohol," said Bruce Lee Livingston, MPP, Executive Director of Marin Institute.

"For generations, Big Alcohol has evaded proper taxation on these products.

A recent Marin Institute report detailed the true costs of the consumption of alcopops by underage youth in California.

With the new tax in place, the lives of 21 youth will be saved, as well as $437 million in societal costs.

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Posted by Michael at 9:02 PM | TrackBack

Only Half of Income-Eligible Households Receive Food Stamp Benefits

National Priorities Project:

A new analysis released today of 2004 county-level data and statistics found that half of all low-income people do not receive Food Stamp program benefits, according to the National Priorities Project (NPP), a non-profit, non-partisan research group that studies the local impact of federal budget policies.

The report shows that:

* A significant number of counties, 13.2 percent, had below-average percentages of low-income people benefiting from Food Stamps, yet had above-average poverty rates.

* Counties with lower poverty rates and higher median household incomes had lower percentages of low-income people that were Food Stamp recipients.

* The rural South had the highest percentage of enrollment in the Food Stamp program and more than half of all children were eligible for lunches through the National School Lunch Program.

"We've got over 35 million people in this country struggling to get enough food to eat and 50 percent of all low-income people are not receiving the benefit that is intended to alleviate this food insecurity," said Greg Speeter, executive director of the National Priorities Project. "While the Food Stamp program provides a vital service, clearly too many people are still going without. "

Posted by Michael at 10:55 AM | TrackBack

Year-Round Schools Don't Boost Learning

From Ohio State University:

Students in "year-round" schools don't learn more than their peers in traditional nine-month schools, new research has found.

A sociologist at Ohio State University found that, over a full year, math and reading test scores improved about the same amount for children in year-round schools as they did for students whose schools followed a traditional nine-month calendar.

"We found that students in year-round schools learn more during the summer, when others are on vacation, but they seem to learn less than other children during the rest of the year," said Paul von Hippel, author of the study and research statistician in sociology at Ohio State.

The total number of school days and vacation days remains unchanged, but they are distributed more evenly over the calendar.

Although school districts often adopt year-round schedules to help alleviate overcrowding, some educators have claimed that eliminating the long summer vacation will provide academic benefits for students.

Von Hippel examined reading and math test scores of children in kindergarten and first grade in 748 public schools and 244 private schools from around the country.

Scores from students in 27 public schools classified as year-round (none of the private schools had a year-round calendar) were compared to scores of students in schools with traditional calendars.

Von Hippel said he was able to take into account issues such as poverty and overcrowding when comparing scores to ensure that comparisons between test scores in year-round and traditional schools were fair.

If a school has a non-academic reason for adopting a year-round calendar -- such as coping with overcrowding -- it can do so without any major harm to academics.

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Philanthropists Need Better Information, Hewlett President Says in Annual Statement

From William and Flora Hewlett Foundation:

Philanthropists would benefit from the development of an online "marketplace" of information to help them make more informed decisions about which organizations to support, the president of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation said in an essay accompanying the Foundation's 2006 annual report, which was released this week.

Likening such a marketplace to the robust financial information available to private investors, Hewlett President Paul Brest said the creation of such online sites to provide accurate information about nonprofit organizations' finances, strategies and accomplishments ultimately would help the best of them get the most support, increasing the effectiveness of philanthropy in solving problems.

The Hewlett Foundation works to develop exactly these types of resources as a part of its Philanthropy Program, which makes grants to improve the practice of philanthropy.

The Foundation concentrates its resources on activities in education, the environment, global development, performing arts, philanthropy and population, and makes grants to support disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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August 13, 2007

Hispanic Drug Use Rises in US Culture

From Oregon State University:

Substance abuse increases among recent Hispanic immigrants as they replace their traditional cultural beliefs with those of white Americans, according to new research presented today by Oregon State University assistant professor Scott Akins at the American Sociological Association's Annual Meeting in New York.

Previous research on the effect of acculturation on drug use has been conducted in states with larger Hispanic enclaves such as California, Florida and the Southwest.

In these states Hispanics are more likely to live in heavily concentrated ethnic communities, which may slow their acculturation or assimilation.

Acculturation involves the adoption of new cultural information and social skills by an immigrant group, which often replaces traditional cultural beliefs, practices and social patterns.

"In general, recent Hispanic immigrants are more family-oriented and have less tolerant views of drug and alcohol use," Akins said.

"When Hispanics acculturate to dominant American society their substance use behavior appears to mimic that of whites, the culture they are acculturating to."

The research also showed that acculturated Hispanics were almost twice as likely as non-acculturated Hispanics to report current binge drinking and more than three times as likely to report drinking continuously for days in a row without sobering up, also known as bender drinking.

"In states such as California, you have large Hispanic enclaves that have a protective buffering effect for new residents.

But we wanted to find out what was happening in Washington, a state with a relatively small Hispanic population (only 9 percent statewide), which is disproportionately rural and dispersed."

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Disability Payments May Spur Drug Abuse

From University of California:

Paying out certain types of government aid in a monthly lump sum appears to fuel a spate of harmful and often fatal drug binges, according to a new study in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Public Economics that links the monthly arrival of disability checks with a sharp rise in drug related hospitalizations and deaths.

The findings by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Texas A&M University suggests that spreading out aid payments over several weeks could be a way to relieve some of the stress on hospitals and health care workers who struggle to handle the monthly surge.

The analysis found that in California, the 23 percent increase in drug-related hospital admissions that occurs in the first five days of any given month is driven largely by the arrival of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (DI) payments.

In particular, hospital deaths among SSI recipients increase 22 percent at the beginning of the month.

This research was funded by the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (SAPRP) of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"SSI aid arrives on the first of the month and hospital admissions begin rising on the second while DI aid arrives on the third of the month and the admissions surge begins on the fourth," says lead author, Carlos Dobkin, PhD, with the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (www.saprp.org) of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funds research into policies related to alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs.

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Nine Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Awarded Nearly $12 Million

From Education Newsfeed:

Tribally controlled colleges and universities in Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin have been selected to receive grants totaling $11,982,128 to assist their efforts to improve and expand their capacity to serve American Indian students, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced today.

"Tribal colleges and universities provide thousands of students the education foundation they need to be successful in the workforce and in life," said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, "They also perform a valuable service by helping to preserve the languages and rich cultural traditions of American Indians."

The grant awards, provided for under Title III of the Higher Education Act, are intended to help tribal colleges and universities plan activities and develop new capabilities to improve and expand their capacity to serve American Indian students.

More information about U.S. Department of Education support for tribally controlled colleges and universities is available at http://www.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whtc/edlite-links.html.

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Cases of Undiagnosed Diabetes Drop Sharply; Minorities No Longer More Likely to Be Undiagnosed But Less Educated Are

From RAND:

Study author James P. Smith found that in 1999-2002 about 20 percent of American men who had diabetes did not know they had the disease, in contrast to 25 years ago when about half of the men with diabetes were undiagnosed.

Ethnic disparities among those with undiagnosed diabetes essentially disappeared during the same period, a sign that diabetes programs targeting minority groups have encouraged more people to get tested, according to the study appearing in the August edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

On a less positive note, Smith found that while disparities in undiagnosed diabetes disappeared over the past 25 years, new disparities have developed based upon education levels.

Smith found that during the period studied, the proportion of men diagnosed with diabetes jumped from about 3 percent to 7 percent -- a more than doubling of the prevalence rate.

Even after diagnosis, people with less education had more difficulty successfully managing the complex regimes of medicines and making the lifestyle changes needed to reduce the consequences of the illness, according to the study.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world.

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Education AND HUD Secretaries Visit Memphis School and Housing Development

From HUD Press Releases:

Two members of President Bush's Cabinet were in Memphis to highlight the positive effects a stable home environment has on children in the classroom.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings joined Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson to tour a local school and HOPE VI housing development at Uptown Memphis.

No Child Left Behind has helped grant families access to free tutoring services and public school choice in Memphis and throughout Tennessee.

Following their visit to Humes Middle School, both officials toured the home of Bobbie Wallace, a resident at Uptown Memphis.

Wallace used federal housing programs to transition from public housing, to a HOPE VI apartment complex and then into her own home.

"Bobbie's journey from public housing to rental housing and now to a home is proof of what we say at HUD: with good money management and sound spending habits, families of all income levels can take part in the American Dream and become homeowners," said Secretary Jackson.

Uptown was awarded a $35 million HOPE VI grant in 2001, and has leveraged $60 million in private funding.

Once complete, 926-units of affordable housing will be available to local families.

The HOPE VI program serves a vital role in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's efforts to transform Public Housing.

For 15 years, HOPE VI has been HUD's primary vehicle for redeveloping substandard public housing and moving residents to mixed-income and market-based communities.

The program has helped communities attract private development and break up concentrations of poverty.

Forging partnerships with other agencies, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses to leverage support and resources.

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Grandparents, Older Adults Encouraged to Seek Help for a Sleep Disorder

From South Florida Sleep Diagnostic Center:

September 9th is National Grandparents Day, a day to honor grandparents across America as important members of our families and communities.

While older adults need about seven to eight hours of sleep each night, many often get less sleep, which may make them more susceptible to health problems.

"As we get older, our sleep is more easily disturbed," says James P. Krainson, MD, of the South Florida Sleep Diagnostic Center in Miami and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

Cardiovascular, neurologic, urologic and psychologic disturbances can likewise play havoc with our sleep.

Many older adults often have more trouble falling asleep than persons in other age groups.

A study of adults over the age of 65 found that 13 percent of men and 36 percent of women take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep.

There are many other possible explanations for changes in older adults' sleep patterns, says Dr. Krainson.

Regular aerobic exercise, combined with sleep hygiene education, improves sleep and quality of life in older adults with chronic insomnia.

A sleep-related breathing disorder may be associated with impairments in cognitive function in older men.

While associations between insomnia and separated, divorced or widowed marital status were strongest in younger age groups, longer bouts with insomnia were more common in the older population, who are also more likely to be taking types of sedatives that have particular problems with addiction and side effects.

Those who have trouble sleeping are advised to see a sleep specialist at a facility accredited by the AASM.

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Adverse Housing Conditions Contribute to Diabetes Risk

From Washington University:

Studying people in their homes and neighborhoods, investigators have found that poor housing conditions contribute to the risk for diabetes in urban, middle-aged African-Americans.

A team of investigators from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Indiana University School of Medicine and other institutions conducted the study.

"We looked at several risk factors to see if they could explain why some African-Americans were more likely to develop diabetes," explains Mario Schootman, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology and medicine and chief of the Division of Health Behavior Research at Washington University.

Individuals who live in poor housing conditions may be more likely to be under stress as a function of where they live.

Interviewers spoke to participants in their homes.

They gathered data about health status, access to medical care and demographic characteristics, but they also were trained to look for certain things in neighborhoods and houses.

"It's not clear exactly how housing conditions are exerting this influence," says senior author Douglas K. Miller, M.D., the Richard M. Fairbanks Professor in Aging Research and Regenstrief Institute research scientist at Indiana University School of Medicine.

In the original study, researchers looked at several factors responsible for the higher incidence of health problems experienced by later middle-aged and older African-Americans living in St. Louis.

Schootman M, Andresen EM, Wolinsky FD, Malmstrom TK, Miller JP, Yan Y, Miller DK.

The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

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Impact of Deficit Reduction Act May Close Pharmacy Doors

From Pharmacy Access Partnership:

Communities nationwide could face the strong possibility of losing their local pharmacies, if federal legislation falls by the wayside.

The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) proposes higher prescription drug costs and lower Medicaid reimbursement rates for pharmacies, among other issues.

According to a report from the Government Accountability Office in December 2006, the DRA proposes reimbursing pharmacists 36 percent less than the actual cost to purchase many of Medicaid's most expensive - and most commonly used - products.

Ultimately, these policy changes will have the hardest impact on low-income communities and students, who may no longer be able to obtain contraceptives and other critical prescription products at discounted rates.

Additionally, reduced reimbursement rates could have a significant impact on pharmacies' ability to continue to provide services to low-income clients over the long term.

We will continue to monitor the developments of the DRA as relates to pharmacy reimbursement and contraceptive access at the state and national levels and educate consumers about this important issue.

Pharmacy Access Partnership was established in 1999 as a center of the independent, nonprofit Public Health Institute.

Its purpose is to expand consumer access to contraceptive commodities and reproductive health services in pharmacies, and to give pharmacies a stronger role in promoting community health.

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Working Parents -- Who Puts Family First When a Child Gets Sick?

From University of Cincinnati:

New research out of the University of Cincinnati finds that the more times are changing, the more the traditional gender roles between husbands and wives remain the same.

Research conducted by UC Sociology Professor David Maume finds that in the case of urgent child care, women are more likely to leave their jobs to attend to their children.

Maume will present his paper -- "Gender Differences in Providing Urgent Child Care Among Dual-Earner Parents" -- on Monday, Aug. 13, at the 102nd annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) in New York City.

Men and women in dual-income families (a sample of 813 working women and 599 working men) were asked which parent was more likely to take off from work if a parent needed to take care of a child due to illness, failed child-care arrangements, an appointment, school-closing or other urgent child-care events.

Maume says his analysis of the data finds a large gender disparity in providing urgent child care, with 77.7 percent of women taking time off from work and 26.5 percent of men reporting that they attend to child-care needs (because the sample involved workers and not couples, the figures don't add up to 100 percent).

He adds that the gender differences in providing emergency child care exist regardless of the ideology of traditional families versus contemporary families that support equally sharing the housework, child-care and other family/work issues.

"These findings suggest that men are more likely to provide urgent child care after acquiring some power in their employment relationships, either by their record of service or by acquiring favorable job benefits," writes Maume.

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August 10, 2007

Let's Stop Reinventing Potholes

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently published an editorial by the presidents of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the James Irvine Foundation that calls for a "more open culture in philanthropy." The piece highlights two recently released reports by the foundations that share the challenges that occurred during large-scale efforts and outline steps taken to address midpoint shortfalls.

Politicians and philanthropic organizations share a common fault: We find it difficult to admit when we have made mistakes. In politics, it's easy to understand why. Voters may treat a legitimate mistake as a sign of incompetence and throw an elected official out of office.

Being insulated from criticism perhaps lures us into believing that we, as grant makers, never make mistakes — a temptation reinforced by a pervasive tendency not to evaluate the results of our efforts. We rarely acknowledge shortcomings even to ourselves, let alone to others.

The Irvine report describes the difficulties experienced by the CORAL initiative and provides critical lessons for future efforts.

In arriving at lessons, I am also influenced by my own three decades of experience with major philanthropic initiatives while working at MDRC and Public/Private Ventures, and by my experience serving on the boards of directors of various foundations.

The history of major initiatives offers little evidence that extended time and increased external resources produce better results in either of these areas.

The report from the Hewlett Foundation highlights a philanthropic initiative that did not meet the expectations of its many stakeholders. Given the challenging social problems that foundations and grantees try to solve, it should be expected that shared aspirations might not often be met. When this happens, the opportunity should be seized to understand the causes in order to improve performance and benefit others working in the field.

From 1996 through 2006, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation committed over $20 million to a Neighborhood Improvement Initiative (NII), an initiative designed to improve the lives of residents in three Bay Area communities - West Oakland, East Palo Alto, and the Mayfair area of East San Jose.