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November 29, 2007Studies of 20,000 Smokers Show Quit Rates Double with Counseling and Free Nicotine PatchesFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Increasing the level of Quitline smoking cessation services and offering free nicotine patches are a successful and cost-effective way to reduce smoking rates, according to two new studies in the December issue of Tobacco Control, a peer-reviewed publication of the British Medical Journal. Both studies were conducted by researchers at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland, the Oregon Health Department, and Free & Clear in Seattle, a phone-based tobacco treatment program. One study found that the number of callers to the Oregon Tobacco Quitline jumped from 6,426 to 13,646 annually, and their quit rates nearly doubled, when Oregon became the first state in the country to promote Quitline services by combining one 30-minute telephone counseling session with a free two-week supply of Nicotine Replacement Therapy using "earned" or unpaid media to increase calls from smokers. Prior to this initiative, the Oregon Tobacco Quitline provided one 30-minute telephone counseling session with no NRT and promoted the service through paid advertising. The second study looked at 4,600 smokers and is the largest randomized trial ever conducted on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative Quitline services and polices. Smokers in the study were randomly assigned to one of six levels of services when they called the Oregon Tobacco Quitline: brief counseling (one 15-minute call) with or without NRT, moderate counseling (one 30-minute call and one follow-up call) with or without NRT, or intensive counseling (one 30-minute call and four follow-up calls) with or without NRT. Posted by Michael at 7:47 PM | TrackBack Overburdened and Overwhelmed: The Struggles of Communities with High Medical Cost BurdensFrom The Commonwealth Fund: The number of people with potentially high medical cost burdens varies widely across the nation, reflecting differences in the number of people who lack health insurance coverage and people who have coverage but nevertheless have high costs relative to their income. To address this problem, many states are undertaking expansions of insurance coverage, but federal support will be critical, particularly in states with large numbers of low-income residents. Posted by Michael at 7:38 PM | TrackBack Immigrant Integration in Low-income Urban Neighborhoods : Improving Economic Prospects and Strengthening Connections for Vulnerable FamiliesFrom Urban Institute: The paper explores the financial well-being and economic integration of immigrant groups compared with native-born minorities and whites in vulnerable urban neighborhoods. Among the main findings from the analysis is that immigrants and native minorities in the neighborhoods we examine face similar types of economic difficulties. However, after controlling for citizenship, English proficiency, educational attainment, and having a drivers license and a reliable car, many of the economic disadvantages disappear for immigrant groups, but not for native-born minorities. These findings suggest that even in tough neighborhoods, the potential for economic integration of immigrants is strong. Posted by Michael at 7:34 PM | TrackBack Low-Income Families Face 3 Barriers to Health CareFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: There are so many problems in our health care delivery system and its financing structure that even families who have health insurance are having problems getting care as well as paying for it, according to a recent study by an Oregon Health & Science University family physician. The study, "Insurance Plus Access Does Not Equal Health Care: Typology of Barriers to Health Care Access for Low Income Families," recently was published in the journal Annals of Family Medicine. A more comprehensive approach is desperately needed," said Jennifer DeVoe, M.D., D.Phil., research assistant professor of family medicine, OHSU School of Medicine. The study was designed to the identify barriers low-income parents face when accessing health care for their children and how insurance status affects their reporting of these barriers. DeVoe found three major barriers: lack of insurance coverage, poor access to services and unaffordable costs. About 25 percent of those responding reported gaps in coverage during the previous year, suggesting difficulties getting and keeping continuous insurance coverage. According to DeVoe, the motto for the first group could be: "We have insurance and we have a family physician, but we can't afford to get health care." The second group's could be: "We have health insurance, but we can't always find the care that we need." Posted by Michael at 7:34 PM | TrackBack Pre-School Program Shown to Improve Key Cognitive Functions, Self-ControlFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: An innovative curriculum for pre-schoolers may improve academic performance, reduce diagnoses of attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and close the achievement gap between children from poor families and those from wealthier homes, according to research led by a Vancouver neuroscientist who is an expert in the development of cognitive function. University of British Columbia Psychiatry Prof. Adele Diamond, who is Canada Research Chair in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, led the first evaluation of a curriculum called Tools of the Mind (Tools), that focuses on executive functions (EFs) that depend on the prefrontal cortex area of the brain. The skills are rarely taught, but can be, even to preschoolers. Children from lower-income families may enter school with disproportionately poor EF skills and fall progressively farther behind in school each year -- facts which Diamond says are related and correctible. Researchers compared Tools with a curriculum called balanced literacy (dBL) that covered the same academic content as Tools but without a focus on EF. The Faculty of Medicine at UBC provides innovative programs in the health and life sciences, teaching students at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels, and generates more than $200 million in research funding each year. The Brain Research Centre at Vancouver Hospital, a partnership between Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and UBC's Faculty of Medicine, has more than 200 investigators with broad, multi-disciplinary research expertise to advance knowledge of the brain and to explore new discoveries and technologies that have the potential to reduce the suffering and cost associated with disease and injuries of the brain. Posted by Michael at 7:32 PM | TrackBack November 28, 2007Empty Cupboards, Empty FeelingsOregon Center for Public Policy: Oregon adults in households without adequate access to food are significantly more likely to be depressed than those with secure food access. In 2005, Oregon adults in food insecure households were more than twice as likely to suffer from depression as adults in households with adequate food. Suicide surfaces more often in households experiencing food insecurity. Women are more vulnerable than men to both food insecurity and depression. In 2005, depressed adults in food insecure homes were twice as likely as those with adequate access to food to say that they had never received treatment for depression and three times as likely to report that they had no health insurance. Oregon adults in food insecure households were nearly as likely as those in food secure households to be employed in 2005. Yet, among those who were employed, only 55 percent of adults in food insecure households had some form of health care coverage, while 86 percent of adults in households with secure access to food had health care coverage. OCPP recommends that the state's Interagency Council on Hunger and Homelessness (ICHH) examine ways for Oregon to better link its anti-hunger efforts with its mental health improvement services. Specifically, the ICHH should improve coordination among hunger advocates, mental health advocates, and state agencies; seek mental health expertise to inform its activities; and use the Oregon BRFSS to measure progress. Email this page to a friend or colleague. The Oregon Center for Public Policy does in-depth research and analysis on budget, tax, and economic issues. Posted by Michael at 5:21 PM | TrackBack Are Food Stamps Reaching Those in Need?A new policy brief finds that about 65 percent of eligible people in the United States received food stamp benefits in 2005. The brief also notes that 57 percent of the eligible working poor---people who qualify for food stamps and live in households in which someone earns income from a job---participated in the program. Participation rates varied widely from state to state for both groups. Of those 26 million, over 10 million---41 percent---lived in households that had income from earnings, up from 30 percent of all food stamp recipients in 1996, the year in which the federal government began to place more emphasis on work for recipients of public assistance. The Food Stamp Program is the largest of the domestic food and nutrition assistance programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service. Its participation rate---the percentage of eligible people who actually participate in the program---has been a widely used standard for assessing how well the program meets its goals. Mathematica, a nonpartisan firm, conducts policy research and surveys for federal and state governments, foundations, and private-sector clients. The employee-owned company, with offices in Princeton, N.J., Washington, D.C., and Cambridge, Mass., has conducted some of the most important studies of nutrition, early childhood, health care, welfare, education, and employment policies and programs in the U.S. Mathematica strives to improve public well-being by bringing the highest standards of quality, objectivity, and excellence to bear on the provision of information collection and analysis to its clients.
Posted by Michael at 11:21 AM | TrackBack November 26, 2007The Nation's Report Card: Trial Urban District Assessment Mathematics 2007National Center for Education Statistics: This report presents trial school-district-level results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics 2003, 2005, and 2007 assessments at grades 4 and 8 for 10 urban public-school districts: Atlanta City, Boston School District, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, City of Chicago School District 299, Cleveland Municipal School District, Houston ISD, Los Angeles Unified, New York City Public Schools, and San Diego City Unified. In 2005, Austin ISD was added and also participated in 2007. These districts participated voluntarily in the trial assessment. Data for the District of Columbia, which regularly participates in NAEP, are also included. Student performance is reported in terms of average scale scores on the NAEP mathematics scale and the percentages of students who attained the achievement levels set by the National Assessment Governing Board. Comparisons are made to results for public schools in large central cities. Student performance is reported by race/ethnicity, eligibility for free/reduced-price school lunch, and for students with disabilities and English language learners. At grade 4, between 2003 and 2007, mathematics performance improved in 8 of the 10 districts that participated in both years. Between 2007 and 2005, four districts scored higher and one scored lower. At grade 8, eight districts had higher scores in 2007 than in 2003, and six had higher scores when 2007 was compared with 2005. Posted by Michael at 1:52 PM | TrackBack The Nation's Report Card: Trial Urban District Assessment Reading 2007National Center for Education Statistics: This report presents results for four years of trial school-district-level reading assessments in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) at grades 4 and 8. Five urban public-school districts voluntarily participated in NAEP in 2002 and 2003: Atlanta City, City of Chicago School District 299, Houston ISD, Los Angeles Unified, and New York City Public Schools. In 2003, four additional districts participated: Boston School District, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Cleveland Municipal School District, and San Diego City Unified. Results are reported for these 10 districts and for the District of Columbia, which regularly participates in NAEP. Student performance is reported in terms of average scale scores on the NAEP reading scale and percentages of students who attained the achievement levels set by the National Assessment Governing Board. Comparisons are made to results in large central cities. Student performance is reported by race/ethnicity, eligibility for free/reduced-price school lunch, and for students with disabilities and English language learners. At grade 4, average reading scores increased between 2002 and 2007 in four districts and in two districts between 2005 and 2007. One district had a lower average score when 2007 was compared with 2005. At grade 8, increases were noted in two districts when comparing 2007 to 2002 and in four districts when comparing 2007 with 2005.
Posted by Michael at 1:47 PM | TrackBack Nonprofit Organizations Are Overcoming Barriers To Serve Rural Homeless PeopleAccording to the most recent issue of Rural Voices magazine, nonprofit organizations are overcoming challenges of isolation and limited resources to combat rural homelessness and make their programs work. "The fall issue of Rural Voices illustrates some of the innovative ways rural homeless providers are accessing and using resources," notes Moises Loza, executive director of the Housing Assistance Council, which publishes Rural Voices. "As we shed some light on the situations of individuals and families who are homeless in rural America," he added, "HAC applauds the work of providers who work tirelessly to meet their housing and shelter needs." The magazine's articles describe how organizations are using federal data to understand trends and refine programs, working in collaboration to support each other and serve local needs, and solving the funding puzzle to build effective treatment centers. It also provides an overview of the strategies used by federal government agencies to address homelessness in rural communities. Rural Voices, the quarterly magazine of the Housing Assistance Council, is available on HAC's website, www.ruralhome.org. Print subscriptions by mail are also available; one subscription per organization is free, and additional subscriptions are $12 per year. To request a print subscription, contact Luz Rosas, HAC, 202-842-8600, luz@ruralhome.org. A national nonprofit corporation headquartered in Washington, D.C., and founded in 1971, the Housing Assistance Council publishes numerous reports, program manuals, and other materials on rural housing topics. HAC helps local organizations build affordable homes in rural America by providing below-market financing, technical assistance, research, training, and information services. HAC's programs focus on local solutions, empowerment of the poor, reduced dependency, and self-help strategies. Posted by Michael at 10:40 AM | TrackBack November 23, 2007Vouchers for Housing and Child Care : Common Challenges and Emerging StrategiesFrom Urban Institute: Vouchers play an important role in federal efforts to help low-income families obtain both housing and child care. These programs constitute essential components of the promise of welfare reform to encourage and support work among low-income families. And both types of vouchers have the potential to enhance long-term outcomes for children. Although federal housing and child care voucher programs differ in important respects, they also face common challenges, and innovations in one area can potentially inform efforts in the other. In the mid-1970s, the federal government began offering vouchers to help low income families pay for rental housing in the private market. Beginning in 1988, the federal government required states to offer parents the choice of receiving a voucher rather than enrolling with a contracted care provider2. The Child Care and Development Fund is a block grant to states, allowing substantial variability in design and implementation, which essentially leads to a different voucher program in each state (and sometimes within states). This pattern is thought to be related to the tight link between subsidy eligibility and work, the dynamic work patterns of low-income families, what families must do to retain subsidies, and the changing nature of the child care needs of low-income families. First, the success of both programs in helping families access high-quality services depends upon the supply of these services in the private market and the willingness of providers to accept voucher families. Posted by Michael at 9:56 PM | TrackBack Eligible but Not Enrolled : How SCHIP Reauthorization Can HelpFrom Urban Institute: More than 6 in 10 uninsured children qualify for Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) but are not enrolled. For example, Medicare now uses government data to identify eligible, low-income seniors and provide them with subsidies for prescription drugs and other benefits. SCHIP reauthorization could give Medicaid and SCHIP the flexibility to use similar methods for enrolling eligible, low-income children. More than six in 10 uninsured children qualify for Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) but are not enrolled. Although controversy surrounds many aspects of SCHIP reauthorization, leaders across the political spectrum agree on the need to cover these children. Child health coverage programs now reach 79 percent of their target population---more than any other traditional, means-tested program. Since the enactment of SCHIP in 1997, states have intensively pursued a decade of outreach efforts and streamlining of application procedures, with positive results---but non-traditional methods may now be required to reach the remaining children who qualify for coverage but are not enrolled. For child health programs to move substantially beyond current enrollment levels, SCHIP reauthorization will need to offer states the flexibility to use similar data-driven methods like those Medicare now employs to help low-income seniors. Posted by Michael at 9:55 PM | TrackBack Minnesota Integrated Services Project : Participant Characteristics and Program ImplementationFrom Urban Institute: The Minnesota Integrated Services Projects focus on improving the delivery of employment, health, and social services to families who receive cash assistance and have serious or multiple barriers to employment. Operating in eight sites, the project seeks to provide comprehensive assessments of participants' barriers, improve access to more complete services that address multiple needs, and coordinate services provided by multiple service systems. This report examines the implementation of the projects, provides information on participants' demographic, economic and barrier-related characteristics, and describes changes in economic outcomes among participants within a short (six-month) follow-up period. The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 set the course for a work-oriented welfare system by establishing the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, requiring many welfare recipients to enter the labor market and imposing a lifetime limit on cash assistance of 60 months. In 2005, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) initiated a new effort that seeks to address the needs of long-term cash assistance recipients in the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), many of whom are in danger of reaching their time limit on cash assistance benefits. Reflecting its focus on bringing together multiple service systems to address the needs of this population, the project is known as the Minnesota Integrated Services Project (ISP). Subsequent reports will track longer-term employment, earnings, welfare, and other outcomes for program participants and assess the extent to which the interventions were able to improve economic and other outcomes for these individuals. Posted by Michael at 9:54 PM | TrackBack Center on Media, Crime and Justice Receives $500,000 Grant From Open Society InstituteFrom Ascribe Newsfeed: The Center for Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice received a $500,000 two-year grant from the Open Society Institute (OSI) Justice Initiative to enhance and augment its programs for students, budding journalists, ethnic and community media editors and reporters, and mid-career professionals. In accepting the grant, President Jeremy Travis noted, "The Center on Media, Crime and Justice is providing a much needed nexus between journalists and academics on the issues of crime and justice. According to Center Director Steve Handelman, "The media plays a key role in the public's understanding of criminal justice, and the grant will enable both the Center and John Jay College to bring journalists and editors together with the best scholars, researchers and practitioners in the criminal justice world." The Center's mission is to raise the quality of media coverage on criminal justice issues around the nation by helping journalists interpret current academic research. In addition, the Center aims to establish itself as a national resource of information from an international network of recognized scholars, practitioners and NGOs. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. AScribe Newswire distributes news from nonprofit and public sector organizations. Posted by Michael at 9:52 PM | TrackBack Most Physicians Aren't Prepared to Deal with Obesity EpidemicFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: The soaring obesity rates across the globe have been called the most critical challenge to public health of the 21st century. A top university researcher argues that most physicians are not adequately prepared to deal with this obesity epidemic. In an article published in Canadian Family Physician, University of Alberta researcher Tim Caulfield examines the vital role physicians play in managing and identifying obesity and highlights the obstacles these physicians must overcome when treating obese patients. Caulfield, who is the Canada Research Chair in Health Law at the U of A and professor and research director in public health sciences, is recognized as one of the foremost experts in health law research in Canada. By law, overweight and obese patients are entitled to the same level of care as the general public; however, there are reasons to believe this patient population is not, in some circumstances, receiving optimal care and advice. "Family physicians play a crucial role in identifying and managing obesity," says Caulfield. Caulfield notes that earlier studies have found that most physicians (83 per cent) were less likely to perform physical examinations on reluctant obese patients, and 17 per cent admitted reluctance to perform pelvic exams on obese patients. "By identifying the legal issues that may come with treating these patients, it will become easier for family physicians to address weight management." Steps should be taken, according to Caulfield, to ensure family physicians have the skills, tools and resources necessary to satisfy their legal duties and to optimize their role in managing this complex public health concern. Posted by Michael at 9:50 PM | TrackBack Report Connects Disabilities, Employment and PovertyFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: There is a dramatic employment and poverty gap between working-age people with disabilities and those without disabilities, according to a new Cornell report. The Third Annual Disability Status Report, the only report of its kind in the nation, reveals that almost 38 percent of people with disabilities are employed, compared with almost 80 percent of people without disabilities. There are 22.3 million people with disabilities of working age (21-64), which is 13 percent of the total working-age population. The researchers also found that Americans with disabilities are more than twice as likely to live in poverty -- 25.4 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities live in poverty compared with 9.5 percent of those without disabilities. People with disabilities constitute 28 percent of the working-age American population living in poverty. "The employment gap for people with disabilities is long-standing," said Andrew Houtenville, director of Cornell's Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics (StatsRRTC). "They are not participating in the recovery from the 2001 recession." The StatsRRTC, funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, is part of the Employment and Disability Institute in Cornell's ILR School and the Department of Policy Analysis and Management in Cornell's College of Human Ecology. The reports, issued annually in the fall by Cornell, "fill a pressing need for timely and relevant statistics about people with disabilities," added Houtenville. "We hope they will become an annual event that policy-makers, advocates, the media and people with disabilities across the United States will anticipate and depend on." Posted by Michael at 9:44 PM | TrackBack November 20, 2007College Preparation Advice for Parents on TVFrom Education Newsfeed: Tips for parents on how to help their children prepare for college will be among the topics explored tonight in the U.S. Department of Education's monthly TV show, Education News Parents Can Use, in a program entitled, "Higher Education: Ensuring America's Competitive Edge." The program will be carried from 8 to 9 p.m. ET Tuesday on the Dish Network, dozens of PBS stations and numerous cable outlets. Others, including The Learning Channel, will broadcast the show on a tape-delayed basis. A complete listing of viewing options is available at www.ed.gov/edtv. In addition, the program will be available as an archived webcast at www.connectlive.com/events/ednews/. When should parents and students start thinking about saving for college, and what programs and resources are available to help? How are the Commission on the Future of Higher Education's final report and the Secretary's Action Plan improving the accessibility, affordability and accountability of U.S. colleges and universities? As under secretary, she oversees all activities related to postsecondary education, vocational and adult education and federal student aid. Also appearing will be Michele Brown with the Education Department's Federal Student Aid office; Odette Duggan with the College Board in New York; Frank Alvarez, president of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund; Maria Torres-Flores, principal at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Los Angeles; and Barbara Smith with Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), a fourth- through twelfth-grade system to prepare students in the academic middle for four-year college eligibility. The Education News Parents Can Use TV series airs monthly during the school year. Posted by Michael at 10:02 PM | TrackBack Three New Reports on Retirement SecurityFrom Economic Policy Institute: The American people need an economic agenda that will spur growth, reduce insecurity, and provide broadly shared prosperity. Drawing upon some of the best informed and most innovative experts, the Agenda for Shared Prosperity will advance an economic program that is comprehensive, understandable, and workable. For more information regarding the scope of EPI's policy initiative, read the project overview and a list of topics. See what others have written about the Agenda for Shared Prosperity in the media. EPI's latest Agenda for Shared Prosperity event included the release of three new reports on retirement security. Teresa Ghilarducci (New School for Social Research) discussed her new briefing paper, Guaranteed Retirement Accounts, a plan which combines the best features of traditional defined-benefit pensions and 401(k)-style defined-contribution plans. Nancy Altman (Pension Rights Center) contributed a briefing paper on Protecting Social Security's Beneficiaries, and Virginia Reno (National Academy of Social Insurance) presented her briefing paper about Building on Social Security's Success. Posted by Michael at 10:01 PM | TrackBack Study Links Lack of Sleep to Weight Gain for New MomsFrom Kaiser Permanente/Harvard Medical School: Mothers who reported sleeping five hours or less per day when their babies were six months old had a threefold higher risk for substantial weight retention (11 pounds or more) at their baby's first birthday than moms who slept seven hours per day, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente and Harvard Medical School / Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. The study, published in the November issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, is the first to look at the impact of sleep deprivation on postpartum weight retention. Previous studies have looked at the effect of early postpartum sleep deprivation on mothers' cognitive and emotional health but never associated weight gain. "We've known for some time that sleep deprivation is associated with weight gain and obesity in the general population, but this study shows that getting enough sleep -- even just two hours more -- may be as important as a healthy diet and exercise for new mothers to return to their pre-pregnancy weight," said Erica P. Gunderson, PhD, an investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland and the lead author of the study. Today it encompasses the not-for-profit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Permanente Medical Groups. Those Harvard hospitals and research institutions include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge Hospital, The CBR Institute for Biomedical Research, Children's Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Forsyth Institute, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Joslin Diabetes Center, Judge Baker Children's Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, VA Boston Healthcare System. Posted by Michael at 9:51 PM | TrackBack Doubled Calorie Intake from Beverages Likely Contributes to Adult ObesityFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: It's not just sugary sodas that are adding to the obesity crisis -- it's fruit drinks, alcohol and a combination of other high-calorie beverages, say University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health researchers. Over the past 37 years, the number of calories adults get through beverages has nearly doubled, according to a UNC study published in the November issue of Obesity Research by Kiyah J. Duffey, a doctoral candidate in the department of nutrition, and Barry M. Popkin, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and a fellow at the Carolina Population Center. The study used nationally representative data to quantify both trends and patterns in beverage consumption among 46,576 American adults aged 19 and older. Researchers found that, over these 37 years, total daily intake of calories from beverages increased by 94 percent, providing an average 21 percent of daily energy intake among U.S. adults. Water intake was measured from 1989 to 2002, and during that time, the amount of water consumed stayed roughly the same, but the average adult consumed an additional 21 ounces per day of other beverages, Popkin said. "This has considerable implications for numerous health outcomes, including obesity and diabetes as this is just adding several hundred calories daily to our overall caloric intake," Popkin said. Data analyzed for this study came from the federally funded Nationwide Food Consumption Surveys of 1965 and 1977-1978 and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys of 1989-1994 and 1999-2002. "For each exam year, we calculated total energy intake, percent consuming and calories per consumer for 16 different beverages, and determined total beverage intake (fluid ounces) for each beverage," Duffey said. Alcohol (up 73 calories per day) and fruit juice (up 20 calories per day) had considerable increases in their contribution to daily energy intake as well. Posted by Michael at 9:49 PM | TrackBack Student Facebook Use Predicted by Race, Ethnicity, EducationFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: New research from Northwestern University finds that college students' choice of social networking sites -- including Facebook, MySpace and Xanga -- is related to their race, ethnicity and parents' education. The findings challenge discourse about the democratic nature of online interaction and fly in the face of conventional wisdom suggesting that all college students communicate via Facebook, the popular social networking site (SNS) launched in 2004 by a Harvard undergraduate. "That race, ethnicity and the education level of one's parents can predict which social network sites a student selects suggests there's less intermingling of users from varying backgrounds on these sites than previously believed," says Eszter Hargittai, author of "Whose Space" Differences Among Users and Non-Users of Social Network Sites." That study, now in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, finds that Facebook is the social networking site of choice for white students, that Hispanic students prefer MySpace and that Asian and Asian-American students are least likely to use MySpace. While prodigious users of Facebook, Asian and Asian-American students were found to use the less popular social network sites Xanga and Friendster more than students from other ethnic groups. "There seems to be a positive relationship between years of parental schooling and Facebook and Xanga use, and a negative one between years of parental education and MySpace use," says Hargittai, assistant professor of communication studies and sociology at Northwestern University and faculty associate at the Institute for Policy Research. What's more, it suggests that social networking sites actually may contribute to a two-tier social system if, as the study suggests, people who already are interacting less with others on campus are also doing less interacting online. Posted by Michael at 9:48 PM | TrackBack TANF Caseload Composition and Leavers Synthesis ReportFrom Urban Institute Latest ReportsSearch: Since the passage of federal welfare reform in 1996, policy makers have been concerned about the well-being of families that have left welfare as well as those who have remained on the caseload. This report synthesizes the most up-to-date research about what is known about the composition of the TANF caseload and the status of TANF leavers, and how this has changed over time. This synthesis is supplemented by tabulations of data from the NSAF, SIPP and CPS on the demographics, economic situation, and barriers to work of current and former TANF recipients over time. Read more from this post. Posted by Michael at 9:41 PM | TrackBack Grant Allows Kansas State Counseling Services to Create Anti-Suicide Web SiteFrom Ascribe Newsfeed: Counselors at Kansas State University know that cultivating a good attitude is one of the best ways to head off the worst choice a student can make during a college career: a suicide attempt. Read more from this post. Posted by Michael at 9:40 PM | TrackBack Concerns about Parents Dropping Employer Coverage to Enroll in SCHIP Overlook Issues of AffordabilityFrom Urban Institute Latest ReportsSearch: One of the more prominent concerns in the SCHIP reauthorization debate is that many children enrolling in the program could have been insured through their parents' employers. However, concern about parents dropping employer coverage to enroll their children in SCHIP typically ignores the affordability of that coverage. We show that families' spending burden is, on average, lower under public insurance than under employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), especially for the lowest-income families. For families in which children are covered by Medicaid or SCHIP, out-of-pocket spending is, on average, 4 to 5 percent of their income. However, for families in which children have ESI for a full year, the out-of-pocket spending burden is higher, ranging from 12.9 percent of income for families below 150 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) to 6.1 percent for families between 250-400 percent of FPL. Read more from this post. Posted by Michael at 9:40 PM | TrackBack Assessing Asset Data on Low-Income Households: : Current Availability and Options for ImprovementFrom Urban Institute: This report identifies the most reliable and informative data sources for understanding low-income households assets and liabilities, details their limitations, and provides options for improving asset data sources and collection methods. The report evaluates 12 data sets and identifies three as having the greatest potential for future asset research the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Posted by Michael at 9:39 PM | TrackBack Can a Child Health Insurance Tax Credit Serve as an Effective Substitute for SCHIP Expansion?From Urban Institute: As the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has come up for reauthorization, the coverage of children with incomes above 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) has become a contentious issue. Proposals have surfaced that would subsidizing the purchase of health insurance for children between 200 and 300 percent of the FPL using tax credits and the private insurance market, as an alternative to allowing states to continue enrolling these children in SCHIP coverage. This analysis compares the family financial burdens of covering children under SCHIP and under a refundable tax credit providing a $1400 per child subsidy. Posted by Michael at 9:37 PM | TrackBack The Labor Market and Young Black Men: Updating Moynihan's PerspectiveFrom Urban Institute: This paper reviews Daniel Patrick Moynihan's views on employment and young black men in his 1965 report. It then updates the evidence on their employment status, and reviews the causes and policy implications of these trends. Moynihan was extremely prescient in forecasting a "crisis...that would only grow worse." He understood that these trends involve both limits on labor market opportunities that these young men face as well as skill deficits and behavioral responses by the young men themselves. Policies that deal with a wide range of disadvantages and behaviors are needed to reverse these trends. Posted by Michael at 9:37 PM | TrackBack Unstable Housing Status Increases the Risk of HIV TransmissionFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: New studies show that there is a demonstrable correlation between a person's housing status and his or her likelihood of transmitting or getting HIV. The groundbreaking research from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and others has been reported in a special issue of the journal AIDS and Behavior. According to researchers from the CDC, homelessness and unstable housing "increase the risk of HIV acquisition and transmission and adversely affect the health of people living with HIV." The findings prompted the researchers to issue a call to action that "homelessness be treated as a major public health issue confronting the United States." The first publication of its kind, this special issue of AIDS and Behavior includes 18 peer-reviewed articles on the relationship of housing status and HIV risk and health outcomes, including a policy perspective from former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros. Receipt of housing assistance enabled homeless persons with substance use and mental health problems to achieve stability over time and to cease or reduce both drug related and sexual risk behaviors. These and other findings reported in the special issue add to the growing evidence that housing itself independently reduces risk of HIV infection and improves the health of persons living with HIV. "The findings reported here suggest that the condition of homelessness, and not simply traits of homeless individuals, influences risk behaviors and health care utilization," says Housing and HIV/AIDS Special Editor Dr. Angela Aidala of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Springer (www.springer.com) is the second-largest publisher of journals in the science, technology, and medicine (STM) sector and the largest publisher of STM books. Posted by Michael at 9:36 PM | TrackBack Temporary Help Agencies and the Advancement Prospects of Low EarnersFrom Urban Institute : In this paper we use a very large matched database on firms and employees to analyze the use of temporary agencies by low earners and its impact on their employment outcomes. Our results show that, while temp workers have lower earnings than others while working at these agencies, their subsequent earnings are often higher but only if they manage to gain stable work with other employers. Furthermore, the positive effects seem mostly to occur because those working for temp agencies subsequently gain access to higher-wage firms, and they persist over time. Posted by Michael at 9:36 PM | TrackBack Partners for Fragile Families Demonstration Projects : Employment and Child Support Outcomes and TrendsFrom Urban Institute: The Partnership for Fragile Families Demonstration projects, operating in 13 sites across the country, provided a range of services aimed at increasing the capacity of young, economically disadvantaged fathers in becoming financial and emotional resources to their children and sought to reduce poverty and welfare dependence. As part of a multi-component evaluation, this report examines how participants fared in two key areas: (1) employment rates and earnings levels and (2) the establishment of child support orders and the payment of child support. Posted by Michael at 9:34 PM | TrackBack Quality of Early Childhood Health Care in the Los Angeles Healthy Kids ProgramFrom Urban Institute: The Los Angeles Healthy Kids program was created in 2003 to provide health insurance to uninsured children ages 05 years in families with household income below 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) who are ineligible for SCHIP or Medicaid. A quality of care survey sampled parents of 538 children ages 1272 months enrolled in the program for at least one year. Results show that quality of preventive care for children in Healthy Kids has similar patterns as care for children in low-income households, both in California and nationally. Content of preventive care is well below American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations, although it is consistent with statewide and national levels of care. Posted by Michael at 9:33 PM | TrackBack Three Independent Evaluations of Healthy Kids Programs Find Dramatic Gains in Well-Being of Children and FamiliesFrom Urban Institute: This brief presents highlights from rigorous, independent evaluations of the Healthy Kids programs in three California counties, Los Angeles, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. The three Healthy Kids programs provide children with comprehensive health insurance coverage. Children are eligible for Healthy Kids if they are ineligible for California's two major state insurance programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, and live in families with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) in Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties, and 400 percent of the FPL in San Mateo County. This brief describes some of the many positive impacts that Healthy Kids programs have had on children, including improvements in their access to and use of medical services and reductions in their unmet need for care. Posted by Michael at 9:32 PM | TrackBack Eating Disorders in AdolescentsFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Eating disorders in the U.S. among ethnic groups were thought to be rare, but recent studies have shown that many cultures are now exposed to the thin beauty ideal. As a result, experts expect to see an increase in eating disorder symptoms among ethnic groups. It is also suspected that eating disorders and weight control behaviors may be increasing among adolescent boys. Although research has shown that eating disorders begin during adolescence, few epidemiological studies have been conducted with teens and those that have examined weight control practices among adolescents are too varied to be able to discern trends. A new study, one of the first to examine trends in adolescent weight control behaviors over a 10-year period, found that the prevalence of these behaviors in male adolescents significantly increased, while black females appear to resist pressure to pursue thinness. The results showed that the prevalence of dieting and diet product use among female adolescents significantly increased between 1995 and 2005 and as did the prevalence of all weight control behaviors (including dieting, diet product use, purging, exercise and vigorous exercise) among males. The increase in weight control behaviors among males indicates that the social pressure for men to achieve unrealistic body ideals is growing, putting young males at an increased risk of body dissatisfaction and developing an eating disorder, according to the authors. "Considering that males have negative attitudes toward treatment-seeking and are less likely than females to seek treatment, efforts should be made to increase awareness of eating disorder symptomatology in male adolescents, and future prevention efforts should target male as well as female adolescents," they state. Posted by Michael at 9:32 PM | TrackBack HHS Provides Over $131 Million In Energy AssistanceFrom HHS News and Events: HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the release of $131 million in energy assistance to help eligible low income homeowners and renters meet home energy costs. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds are expected to provide states with heating assistance for the fall and winter months ahead. "No one should suffer from the cold," Secretary Leavitt said. "These funds will put states in a better position to help those in need keep their homes warm when cold weather strikes." Of the $131 million, $106 million will go to help individuals heat or cool their homes in all 50 states. As the following states were identified as having large numbers of eligible households that use oil to heat their homes, Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont will share an additional $25 million under LIHEAP. "The release of these funds will give some of our most vulnerable citizens one less thing to worry about," said Daniel Schneider, acting assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families. "The Bush Administration is making sure that when temperatures drop, the heat stays on." The funds released today bring the total delivered under LIHEAP to approximately $2.16 billion this year. For a complete list of state allocations of the funds released today go to: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2007/liheap_fund_092007.html. Individuals interested in applying for energy assistance should contact their local/state LIHEAP agency. For more information, go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/liheap/ or http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/liheap/brochure.html. Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news. Posted by Michael at 9:31 PM | TrackBack NCLB Accountability Systems are Largely in Place, But Act's Promises are Largely UncertainFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: After five years of effort, states have implemented most of the test-based accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, and now must focus their efforts on improving poor-performing schools that have been identified, according to a new U.S. Department of Education report written by experts from the RAND Corporation and the American Institutes for Research. The report, "Accountability Under NCLB: Interim Report," includes analyses of data from the largest national survey of teachers, principals, paraprofessionals and school district staff to be conducted since the law was passed by Congress in 2001. The report concludes that all states had adopted most of the accountability requirements of the law and that three-quarters of the nation's schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) as defined by those states in 2003-04, a 2 percent increase from the previous year. Overall, students with disabilities, those with limited English proficiency, and African-American students were the subgroups most likely not to make AYP. The Department of Education asked RAND and AIR to gauge how states have implemented the standards, assessments and accountability provisions of Titles I and III of NCLB. Overall, the studies found results to be mixed as states and school districts have, for the most part, met the relevant NCLB accountability requirements through the 2004-2005 school year. Nearly all schools were making improvement efforts; most common efforts included: using achievement data to improve instruction, providing additional instruction to low-achievers, and aligning curriculum and instruction with standards or tests. Those schools that were identified for improvement also focused on more areas of improvement than non-identified schools. Posted by Michael at 9:31 PM | TrackBack Adding rapid response team to children's hospital reduces risk of death, cardiac arrestsFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A children's hospital that added a rapid response medical team for patients not in the intensive care unit saw an 18 percent decrease in the death rate, and about a 70 percent decline in the rate of cardiac and respiratory arrests, according to a study in the Nov. 21 issue of JAMA. Read more from this post. Posted by Michael at 9:29 PM | TrackBack Rapid response teams save children's lives at pediatric hospital, Stanford/Packard study showsFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Deploying the hospital's "rapid response teams" proactively at the first inkling of trouble in hospitalized children can save lives, say clinicians and researchers at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine. Read more from this post. Posted by Michael at 9:29 PM | TrackBack Even minute levels of lead cause brain damage in childrenFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Even amounts of lead in the blood well below current federal standard are linked to reduced IQ scores in children, finds a new six-year Cornell study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Read more from this post. Posted by Michael at 9:28 PM | TrackBack Mentoring, Policy and PoliticsIn this policy brief, former P/PV President Gary Walker asks, "Is mentoring now a durable part of American social policy? If so—is this unalloyed good news?" P/PV designs, tests and studies initiatives that increase supports, skills and opportunities of residents of low income communities; works with policymakers to see that the lessons and evidence produced are reflected in policy; and provides training, technical assistance and learning opportunities to practitioners based on documented effective practices. For the past 15 years, mentoring has been America's single most publicly talked about, written about and broadly popular social intervention to improve the lives of disadvantaged youth. When P/PV did its study in the early 1990s, most sites in the study had long waiting lists, and it was not unusual for a youth to wait 18 months to get a mentor. But the more serious limit on the number of volunteers available is neither competence nor desire, but what mentoring asks of its volunteers. Reviewing the pros and cons of the above issues leads me to conclude that on balance, the advance of mentoring into the realm of public policy and public funding has been a very positive phenomenon, substantively and strategically. It is better for the long-term effectiveness of social policy if mentoring and its broader idea of the critical importance of non-family relationships are as policy (a) injected in appropriate forms into the various existing legislation and policy domains relating to youth and (b) highlighted or tested as special initiatives to demonstrate new uses or emphases for mentoring, be they targeting children of prisoners or homeless families, assisting the transition from foster care, guiding the transition into work and careers, reducing the extreme isolation of juvenile facilities or working with very young children who are exhibiting poor behaviors in the classroom. Posted by Michael at 1:54 PM | TrackBack November 19, 2007Low Standards of Child Well-Being Linked to Greater Income InequalityFrom EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Improvements in child wellbeing in rich countries might depend more on reductions in income inequality rather than further economic growth, according to a study published today on bmj.com. Poorer children fare less well than richer ones in each society. But a recent UNICEF report detailing 40 indicators of child wellbeing, said children in the UK and the USA fared worse than in any of the other rich countries. To answer this question, the authors examined whether measures of child wellbeing were most closely related to average income (material living standards) or to the scale of income differences (inequality) in each society. Among the 23 rich countries, the UNICEF index of child wellbeing (covering material wellbeing, health and safety, educational wellbeing, family and peer relationships, unhealthy and risky behaviours, and subjective wellbeing) was unrelated to average income, but was strongly related to the size of the income differences between rich and poor within each country. Data were analysed for teenage births, juvenile homicides, infant mortality, low birth weight, educational performance, high school drop-out rate, the proportion of children overweight, and mental health problems. The authors used data from various sources, including the United Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), UNICEF, World Bank, US Census Bureau, and US National Centre for Health Statistics. Among the 50 states of the USA and among affluent countries, the results suggest that children's wellbeing is not higher, either among the richest of the 50 US states, or among the richest of the affluent countries. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
