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March 31, 2005Purdue Researchers Find Children of Working Poor Need More Help
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Many low-income parents are trying to find quality child care that will help their children develop to their fullest potential, but they're not getting enough help from their employers, government and communities, Purdue child development experts found...
Missed Opportunities: The Possibilities and Challenges of Funding High-Quality Preschool through Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act
From Center for Law and Social Policy: by Danielle Ewen, Jennifer Mezey, and Hannah Matthews. This paper provides general background on the legislation behind Title I and provides an overview of the available data on the use of Title I...
House Budget Resolution Would Require Much Deeper Cuts In Key Low-Income Programs Than Senate Budget Plan
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The budget resolutions passed by the House and Senate in mid-March differ sharply in the size of their cuts in key "mandatory" (or "entitlement") programs that assist low-income families with children, the elderly,...
HIV testing should be routine part of primary health care for sexually active
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Primary health care providers should incorporate HIV testing into routine patient care for all sexually active individuals, regardless of risk factors, say a group of physician/researchers at Emory University School of Medicine, Brown Medical School,...
Patients newly diagnosed with HIV are more likely to enter outpatient care with case management
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Patients recently diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are significantly more likely to seek medical treatment if they are followed even briefly by a case manager, according to findings of the national Antiretroviral Treatment Access...
Major Study to Improve Health Through Physician, Patient Education; Goal Is to Reduce Treatment Disparities
From Ascribe Newsfeed: The University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Bon Secours Baltimore Health System are investigating the effectiveness of education to improve the health of patients diagnosed with either hypertension or diabetes. The study, called the Baltimore...
Judge Blocks Rule Allowing Companies to Cut Benefits When Retirees Reach Medicare Age
From NYT > National: A judge blocked a Bush administration rule that would have allowed employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they reach age 65. Read more from this post....
Violent crime surges hurt businesses most in low-crime areas
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: When violent crime surges in low-crime areas, retail businesses there seem to suffer more than do their counterparts in areas with normally high crime rates, new research has found. When the number of homicides increased...
U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic's Case Expands Age Discrimination Protection
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Stanford Law School today released the following. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that workers over 40 do not have to show intentional discrimination by employers to recover damages under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act...
Solving sleep problems helps epileptic children
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Epilepsy has long been thought to cause excitability and contrariness in children. But researchers with the University of Florida's McKnight Brain Institute believe the real reason some of these children cannot sit still or pay...
March 30, 2005
Information and Market-Based Community Development
Two complementary papers from the Brookings Institution examine the role of information resources in spurring markets and creating investment strategies to boost urban neighborhoods. Together, both papers offer a framework for market-based community economic development, presenting business-planning tools for inner...
Where Do Your Taxes Go 2005
When Tax Day comes on April 15th, taxpayers should know that 30 cents of each federal income tax dollar they paid supported military and defense, while four cents went to education, according to the National Priorities Project (NPP), a...
Kids Today Take Fewer Risks than Parents, Study Says
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: Today's youth do less drugs and binge drinking than their parents and also commit fewer crimes, but many eat poorly and are overweight, according to the Child Well-Being Index. Read more from this post....
Bullying among sixth graders a daily occurrence, UCLA study finds
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Nearly half the sixth graders in two Los Angeles area public schools were bullied by classmates during a five-day period, UCLA researchers report in the first study of daily school harassment. Read more from this...
UW study shows blacks and Latinos are more satisfied with physicians of the same race
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Black and Latino patients who perceive racism in the health care system prefer and are more satisfied with physicians from the same race or ethnicity, according to a University of Washington study published in the...
Study Shows Problems With Drug Companies' Charitable Programs
From Ascribe Newsfeed: A new study shows that while free medication programs offered by the pharmaceutical industry help some low-income patients without drug coverage, health care providers report substantial barriers for patients who could otherwise benefit from these programs. The...
New Poll Gauges Cleveland's Jobs Situation; Attracting New Business, Improving Education are Top Priorities
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Clevelanders cite local hospitals and the superb quality of the area's colleges and universities as key selling points for job creation and economic development. But they also express concern about public education and the need to...
Public Transportation Ridership Up by 2.11 Percent in 2004
From U.S. Newswire Releases: The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced that 9.6 billion trips were taken on U.S. local public transportation systems in 2004, an increase of 2.11 percent over the previous year. This growth rate was faster than...
Only the ethical need apply
From Christian Science Monitor | Work/Money: The "great global brain drain" is how futurist Richard Samson describes it. As the century progresses, he predicts, more and more jobs will be sucked up by technology and sophisticated computers, forcing humans to...
Law Enforcement Has Impact on Youth Alcohol Sales, Study Says
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: Year-round compliance checks on alcohol sellers can help cut sales to minors, according to a new study. Read more from this post....
SAMHSA Program Aims to Divert Inmates to Treatment
From Substance Abuse Funding News: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will award funding under its "Targeted Capacity Expansion Grants for Jail Diversion Programs." Read more from this post....
High Court Supports Title IX Protection
From washingtonpost.com - Nation: The Supreme Court ruled that the law prohibits not only unequal treatment of girls and women at school, but also official retaliation against anyone who blows the whistle on unequal treatment. Read more from this post....
March/April 2005 Annals of Family Medicine tip sheet
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Highlights from the March/April 2005 issue of Annals of Family Medicine, including new research and an an accompanying editorial on the family's contribution to health status. Read more from this post....
Teens' Risky Behavior Down Since 1993 (AP)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: AP - In many ways, children today are doing better than their parents did. They take fewer drugs, commit fewer crimes and have fewer babies. If they would just lay off the chips and soda....
March 29, 2005
Social Security and the income of the elderly
From Economic Policy Institute: The current Social Security program ensures workers and their families a basic quality of life in retirement or in the event of disability or death. Social Security is of particular importance to Americans age 65 and...
Protecting children from industrial chemicals in the environment
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: An article published in the premier open-access journal PLoS Medicine argues that the existing requirements in the United States for toxicity testing and regulation of pesticides and industrial chemicals are inadequate to safeguard children. Read...
Tax Reform and Fairness for Families: Presentation to the President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform New Orleans, LA
From The Urban Institute: Tax reform affects many areas of policy--children, charitable contributions, federal policy toward states and localities, health care, retirement policy, and business--to mention only a few. Tax reform cannot dodge these important issues, but must come to...
New Website for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Information
From The Kaiser Family Foundation: Designed to help journalists, researchers, policy makers and NGOs efficiently sort through the latest and most accurate information on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, this new website provides the latest news, information and data on the...
Element of Medicare Trustees' Report Could Spell Trouble For Beneficiaries In Future Years
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Robert Greenstein, Richard Kogan, Edwin Park Read more from this post....
Schools, Tobacco Companies Battle over Students
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: Cigarette companies have stepped up their marketing to college students, but some schools are fighting back. Read more from this post....
Housing Grants for Homeless Alcoholics
From Substance Abuse Funding News: The Department of Housing and Urban Development is funding a program that offers housing and supportive services to recovering homeless alcoholics. Read more from this post....
Hepatitis C and health-related quality of life
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: According to a new systematic review, patients with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a significant decrease in their health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL), although treatment success can mitigate this negative effect. Read more from this post....
March 28, 2005
D.C. Response Slow in Life-And-Death Cases (AP)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: AP - Though Congress rushed to intervene in the case of a brain-damaged Florida woman, those lobbying on life-and-death medical issues that affect thousands or even millions of people often find themselves struggling to get...
New Ad Campaign to Target Tax Hiking Republican, Red State Dems on Social Security
From U.S. Newswire Releases: The Club for Growth, the nation's leading free-market political advocacy organization, will hold a conference call on Tuesday, March 29, to discuss a new television ad campaign in three states, including one that criticizes a sitting...
Medicare Applications Sent to Low-Income Americans
From NYT > National: Advocates for low-income people said the form for Medicare's new prescription drug benefit was so complex that they expected fewer than 5 percent to respond. Read more from this post....
Study provides new estimates of the causes of child mortality worldwide
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have developed the most accurate estimates to date of the causes of death of children under age 5. The...
Do you know where you are? Body and self not the same
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Normally, we think of our selves as being located in our bodies. Hugging a child brings the child both closer to one's body and closer to one's representation of self. Researchers Arthur B. Markman of...
Disability Awareness Coloring Book
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital has created a coloring book for children that addresses the awareness and acceptance of individuals living with disabilities and emphasizes the respect and dignity of all people, regardless of their physical appearance or...
Trends in Higher Education Report Published by Society for College and University Planning Is Available Online
From Ascribe Newsfeed: The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) publishes a quarterly report on trends in six key areas effecting higher education: demographics, economy, environment, learning, politics, and technology. Read more from this post....
Brady Campaign: NRA Calls for More Guns in Schools
From U.S. Newswire Releases: The incoming president of the National Rifle Association told the Associated Press that in order to prevent school shootings like last week's horror in Red Lake, Minn., we should arm teachers with guns, according to the...
NYU College of Dentistry study equates poor oral health with preterm birth risk
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Pregnant women with high levels of an oral bacterium associated with tooth decay and caries (cavities) are at risk for delivering preterm low birth weight (PLBW) babies, according to a study that was published today...
Cultural and social factors influence prostate cancer treatment
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Researchers say social and cultural factors play a significant role in patients' prostate cancer treatment decisions. A new study finds non-medical variables, such as marital status, high school education, and race/ethnicity may play a larger...
NY Legislature's Health Budget Keeps Access & Affordability High on List for Older New Yorkers; AARP Commends Legislative Leaders for Rejecting Hurtful Medicaid Proposals and Proposing Consumer Friendly Preferred Drug List
From U.S. Newswire Releases: New Yorkers concerned about accessing long term care services such as nursing home and home care had reason to rejoice yesterday after seeing the State Legislature's Joint Subcommittee report on Health, Medicaid and Aging. The Legislature's...
Green Mountain College Awards Full Scholarships to 10 Who 'Make a Difference' in Their Communities
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Read more from this post....
CBPP Briefing: State-By-State Impacts of Cuts in Programs for Low-Income Families
From U.S. Newswire Releases: WHAT: Conference call briefing on state-by-state impacts of cuts in programs for low-income families: A comparison of the house and Senate budget resolutions Read more from this post....
New study links colic, maternal depression to family problems
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Some families with new babies face excessive infant crying, or colic. And some new mothers go through maternal post-partum depression (PPD) following childbirth. Neither situation is considered healthy, but a recent study published in the...
Illinois' Only Statewide Children's Health Foundation Announces 2005 Requests for Proposals
From U.S. Newswire Releases: The Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF) today announced its 2005 "Requests for Proposals". Nearly $6 million dollars is available for grants through the Foundation's annual review process. The deadline for submission of letters of ... Read...
March 25, 2005
Who Graduates in California?
From The Urban Institute: This policy bulletin presents a new analysis on high school graduation rates for California. Graduation rates are calculated using the Cumulative Promotion Index, a widely reported statistical indicator developed at the Urban Institute. Although the state's...
Policy Challenges and Opportunities in Closing the Racial/Ethnic Divide in Health Care
From The Kaiser Family Foundation: This brief reviews the issues and the evidence underpinning five broad areas of policy initiatives that flow from recommendations made in the Institute of Medicine's 2002 report, Read more from this post....
Kaiser Conversations on Health - Tommy Thompson
From The Kaiser Family Foundation: During this "Kaiser Conversations on Health" on Thursday, March 24, former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson provided an assessment of his tenure as HHS Secretary and discussed the challenges ahead in federal health policy, including...
Stability and Change in Child Care and Employment
From MDRC: In a study of over 3,500 women in welfare-to-work programs in three states, child care instability did not appear to be a major cause of employment instability. Read more from this post....
Nearly half of middle schoolers report daily incidents of harassment
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: This study found that almost half of 6th grade urban middle school students were harassed by their peers within two weeks. Peer harassment was related to negativity towards school, as was witnessing their classmates being...
Higher Education Association Announces Closing
From Ascribe Newsfeed: After nearly four decades leading the national movement to improve higher education, the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Board of Directors announced today that the Association will cease operations later this year. In a statement to...
CTA Institute for Teaching Embarks on Effort to Improve High School Education; Gates Foundation Sponsored Program to Select 8 CA High Schools For Grants
From U.S. Newswire Releases: The California Teachers Association's (CTA) Institute For Teaching (IFT), through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, today kicked off its multi-year High School Outreach Program with a workshops and seminars in Los Angeles....
Survivors of High School Rampage Left With Injuries and Questions
From NYT > National: Survivors of the violence that ripped through Red Lake High School in Minnesota face an added question: Why them? Read more from this post....
Improving access to healthy food has little effect on diet
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Improving food shopping access for people living in deprived neighbourhoods has little effect on diet and health, says an editorial in this week's BMJ. Read more from this post....
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Study Shows Consumers Want Info to Help Them Make Healthcare Treatment Decisions; RAND Report Shows Consumers Are Seeking Greater Knowledge to Support Treatment Decisions and How Info Changes Behavior, Saves Money
From U.S. Newswire Releases: More than 60 percent of American consumers have searched for information to help them make treatment decisions in the last 12 months with about onethird saying the information they found affected their treatment choices or their...
Long-Term Care Leaders Speak to Medicare & Medicaid Cuts That Would Threaten Progress of Quality Care Improvements in Maine's Skilled Nursing Facilities
From U.S. Newswire Releases: National and State Long-Term Care Leaders Speak to Severe Medicare and Medicaid Cuts That Would Threaten Progress of Quality Care Improvements in Maine's Skilled Nursing Facilities Read more from this post....
Report Emphasizes Shortfall in Medicare (washingtonpost.com)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: washingtonpost.com - The two independent trustees overseeing Social Security and Medicare broke with the Bush administration's trustees yesterday, saying Medicare's financial problems far exceed Social Security's and are in urgent need of attention. Read more...
A Study Ties Loss of a Child to Mental Ills
From NYT > Health: The death of a child not only alters a family but also sharply increases the risk that parents will later be hospitalized for a mental illness, researchers said. Read more from this post....
Cost-Cutting Medicare Law Is a Money Loser for States
From NYT > Health: As states do the arithmetic on the new Medicare law, many find that they will have to give back most of the savings to the federal government. Read more from this post....
Retirement communities need to do more to help residents cope with loneliness and depression
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: As the nation's population ages, greater numbers of people will be moving to old-age/retirement communities. Moving to one of these communities can trigger depression in many individuals. Mental health professionals in these communities must become...
Smart borders may be failing the people and countries they seek to protect
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: While politically appealing, the new securities policies complicate problems in border communities and between the US, Canada, and Mexico in general. Read more from this post....
Republicans Consider Slowing Benefits Growth for Most
From NYT > Washington: President Bush and other officials are gingerly promoting the idea of reducing future Social Security benefits as a way to cut costs. Read more from this post....
Child care may affect entire community's risks of infection
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Any parent knows how quickly a cold or a cough can spread between children who play together. However, child care may also affect an entire community's carriage of potentially dangerous bacteria known as Streptococcus pneumoniae,...
The best way to get teens to learn
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: When a teenager knows that learning something will help them attain an intrinsic goal, they are more likely to be interested in learning it. The study was based on adolescents who were told that their...
Tell children racial prejudice is wrong: They'll be less likely to be prejudiced
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: When children under 10 are aware that racial prejudice is wrong, they are more likely to suppress it in their peer group. New evidence shows that once children are older than 10, they are less...
Scratch a nurturing mom, find a mom who was nurtured herself
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Women raised in households with a pattern of positivity, cohesion and communication throughout preschool, childhood and adolescence have been seen to express similar parenting styles when raising their children. These same effects were not seen...
Quality of mom's time, not quantity, most important in early infant development
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A recent study found no differences in the social and intellectual development in the first three years of life between children whose mothers spent a lot of time with them and children whose mothers' time...
March 24, 2005
Federal Budget 101
How does the budget process work, anyway? An excellent document from the Center for Community Change provides a month-by-month breakdown of key steps in the process used by Congress to pass its budget resolution. It also includes, at each step...
OJJDP Annual Report 2003 - 2004
Describes the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's activities and accomplishments during fiscal years (FY) 2003 and 2004. During this period, OJJDP implemented significant changes in its programs resulting from the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention...
Impact of Tsunami Disaster Relief Efforts on Nonprofits
Commulinks of Colorado conducted a nationwide survey to determine the projected impact of tsunami disaster relief efforts on the nation's nonprofit community. This special report will summarize survey findings, and it includes a link directly to the survey data. CommUlinks...
Statement on Social Security & Medicare Trustees' Report
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: 3/23/05 The new trustees' report provides further evidence that Social Security more closely resembles a house with a leaking roof in need of repair than a house that is built on quicksand. Social...
FDA Tobacco Regulation Bill Reintroduced
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: A bid to empower the federal Food and Drug Administration to regulate the sale and marketing of tobacco products has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate. Read more from this post....
Supporting Cross-Program Integration: Some Recommendations for Federal Policy and Practice
From Center for Law and Social Policy: by Mark Greenberg and Jennifer L. Noyes. This brief is based on the paper Increasing State and Local Capacity for Cross-Systems Innovation. Drawing on the papers' findings and consultation with a range of...
Increasing State and Local Capacity for Cross-Systems Innovation: Assessing Flexibility and Opportunities under Current Law
From Center for Law and Social Policy: by Mark Greenberg and Jennifer L. Noyes. This paper was written as part of a collaborative effort between the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Hudson Institute, and CLASP. The authors analyze...
To Have and To Hold: Congressional Vows on Marriage and Sex
From Center for Law and Social Policy: by Jodie Levin-Epstein. This paper discusses what the government has already done to promote abstinence-unless-married programs and marriage, and what it proposes to do with the reauthorization of the welfare law. The article...
Testimony of Mark Greenberg on TANF Reauthorization
From Center for Law and Social Policy: . This testimony, presented to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness of the U.S. House of Representatives on March 15, 2005, focuses reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. This testimony discusses...
March/April 2005 CLASP Update
From Center for Law and Social Policy: . Article topics include: the relationship between public benefits rules and marriage; the emergence of pre-kindergarten delivered in community-based settings; CLASP written testimony on TANF; and CLASP analyses of proposed child care and...
March 23, 2005
Findings by American Institutes for Research Experts Are at Core of Debate Over Adequacy of New York Public School Funding
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Findings by experts for the American Institutes for Research is serving as the basis for information being used by leaders and the public in New York as they address the issue of adequate state funding for public...
Soc. Sec. Report Changes Numbers Slightly (AP)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: AP - A new report on the financial health of Social Security changed the numbers only slightly and the terms of the political debate even less so. Read more from this post....
Report Says Medicare Is in Poor Fiscal Shape
From NYT > Washington: A report predicted that the monthly Medicare premiums paid by almost all Americans 65 and older would rise by another 12 percent next year. Read more from this post....
Fewer Employers Totally Cover Health Premiums
From NYT > Health: As old-line American companies struggle in global markets, fewer and fewer of them are able to shoulder 100 percent of workers' health insurance premiums. Read more from this post....
Mental health service costs offset by savings in other public sectors
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Penn State researchers have found that reduced expenditures for inpatient hospitalization, the juvenile justice system, the child welfare system and the special education system offset the costs of the improved mental health services delivered to...
States Worry About Meeting Requirements of Education Law
From NYT > Washington: States have doubts about their ability to meet the No Child Left Behind Act, especially when it comes to helping students in struggling schools. Read more from this post....
Career Academies
From MDRC: Career Academies produced substantial and sustained improvements in earnings of young men after high school, without limiting opportunities to attend college. Read more from this post....
SAMHSA to Award $6.3 Million for Drug Courts
From Substance Abuse Funding News: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration invites state, county, and other drug courts to apply for its FY 2005 treatment drug courts grants program. Read more from this post....
Element of Forthcoming Medicare Trustees' Report Could Spell Trouble For Beneficiaries In Future Years
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Robert Greenstein, Richard Kogan, Edwin Park Read more from this post....
Steroids? Alcohol is the Real Problem
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: Instead of devoting a whole day to hauling in baseball stars and executives, Congress should focus on the promotion of alcohol use by college and professional sports, says columnist Joan Ryan. Read more from...
Implications of the Bush budget for people over age 55
From Economic Policy Institute: The Bush Administration's budget proposal effectively denies the government enough revenue to continue current income support to retirees through 2030, guaranteeing a financial loss to many people ages 55 and older. For an analysis of the...
Preventing School Shootings May Require Rethinking Individual Liberties
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Monday's shooting rampage by a teen-ager in northern Minnesota points to the limitations of how American society currently deals with an epidemic of dysfunctional youth and violence, says a Duke University legal scholar and author of the...
March 22, 2005
Abuse and HIV status linked to suicide risk
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: According to a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, George Washington University and St. Michael's Hospital, in Toronto, Canada, women who are HIV-positive or are abused are more...
Gingrich Proposes Healthcare Changes at NMA's Sixth National Colloquium on Health
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, during an appearance at the National Medical Association's Sixth National Colloquium on African American Health, said that transforming the American healthcare system requires major change ......
Welfare-to-work reform didn't help children, study shows
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Poverty itself matters at least as much as the parents' source of income. Welfare reforms haven't helped poor children, study shows Welfare reforms have made no substantial difference to the development of Canadian pre-school children...
Understanding Ethnic Disparities in Health Care
From The Kaiser Family Foundation: This national initiative was designed to raise physician awareness about racial and ethnic disparities in medical care, beginning with cardiac care. A report highlights the evidence on the scope and causes of disparities in cardiac...
Promoting Work in Public Housing
From MDRC: Can a multicomponent employment initiative that is located in public housing developments help residents work, earn more money, and improve their quality of life? The Jobs-Plus Community Revitalization Initiative for Public Housing Families (Jobs-Plus, for short) sought to...
Study Sees Rise in Alcohol Deaths, DUI in College
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: Alcohol-related injury deaths and drunk driving both increased among college students over the past few years, according to a new report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Read more from this...
Seamless Network of Services Needed to Help Ex-Prisoners with Health Problems Begin Anew in Cincinnati
From The Urban Institute: Former prisoners with serious physical or mental health problems and health care and social service providers in the Cincinnati area agree: a seamless transition from care inside the prison walls to care on the outside must...
Amendment to Senate Budget Would Move Up Medicare Insolvency By Four Years
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: An amendment to the budget that the Senate adopted yesterday would move up by four years — to 2015 — the point at which the Medicare Hospital Insurance program becomes insolvent. In addition,...
In Need of Help: Experiences of Seriously Ill Prisoners Returning to Cincinnati
From The Urban Institute: This research brief presents findings from an exploratory study of the health care needs and experiences of seriously ill prisoners returning to Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2004, Urban Institute researchers interviewed 81 male prisoners with serious mental...
March 21, 2005
VolunteerMatch Records 2 Millionth Volunteer Referral
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Jessica O'Connell, an English teacher and Honor Society Adviser made history on March 16 when she volunteered to help with a fundraiser in New York City. O'Connell found an opportunity with the Huntington's Disease Society on VolunteerMatch,...
New colorectal cancer screening recommendations for African Americans
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: New recommendations from the American College Gastroenterology urge healthcare providers to begin colorectal cancer screening in African Americans at age 45 rather than 50 years using colonoscopy as "first line" test. Read more from this...
Study shows use of budesonide reduced the risk of asthma related events by 40% in children
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: New data indicated that earlier intervention with once-daily budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid delivered by dry powder inhaler to children with mild persistent asthma, significantly reduced the long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma-related events as...
Pushy parents can be bad for their children's health
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Well intentioned, but pushy parents, intent on exercising their rights as healthcare consumers, can be bad for their children's health, suggests a small study in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Read more from this post....
Cavity prevention tips for pre-school age children
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Providing proper care and oral hygiene during preschool years can mean a lifetime of good oral health, according to a recent article in the January/February issue of General Dentistry, clinical, peer-reviewed journal of the Academy...
Strengths and failings of U.S. health care 'system' are driven by embedded vested interests
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Medical sociologists examine how American social, cultural, and political-economic contexts govern the structure, efficiency, and operational nature of U.S. health care delivery in a special issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior (JHSB),...
Employment prospects good for most cancer survivors -- but not all
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Only one of five cancer survivors surveyed in a Penn State study were disabled or out of work four years after treatment, but a minority suffered lasting effects that prevented them from working. Read more...
National Social Work Month Kicks Off Campaign Focusing on the Many Faces of the Social Work Profession
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Professional social workers help people of all ages, incomes and situations cope with some of life's most difficult challenges. This is what the MA Campaign for America's Professional Social Workers (MCAPSW) wants people to know as...
University of Virginia Study Traces Transition From Student to Scientist
From Ascribe Newsfeed: A University of Virginia professor is tracking how a student makes the shift from being a consumer of knowledge to being a producer of knowledge - such as an independent researcher who might win a Nobel prize...
Expert Commentator: How Will Cuts Affect Medicaid?
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Comments by Richard G. Stefanacci, DO, MGH, MBA, AGSF, CMS, Founding Executive Director, Health Policy Institute, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP), in response to the House passing budget with Medicaid cuts: "Seniors that currently receive...
NHS stop-smoking services are insufficient to deliver national smoking targets
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: NHS Stop-Smoking Services are insufficient to deliver national smoking targets, and Government smoking targets are themselves insufficient for the poorest communities, says a study published online by the BMJ today. Read more from this post....
Invasive pneumonia and antibiotic resistance decreased after childhood vaccine introduced
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: The problem of increasing antibiotic resistance in cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, was dramatically reversed following the licensing and use of a new conjugate vaccine for young children...
Virginity pledges do not reduce STD risk: May encourage high risk sexual behavior
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Young adults who take virginity pledges as adolescents are as likely to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases as those who do not take virginity pledges, Yale and Columbia University researchers report in the March...
Court Tackles Town's Role in Child Safety
From washingtonpost.com - Nation: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday in a case that advocates for victims of domestic violence are calling a crucial opportunity to put teeth into the country's domestic violence laws. Read more from this...
March 18, 2005
College Alcohol Problems Exceed Previous Estimates
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: New research shows that unintentional fatal injuries related to alcohol among U.S. college students and the number of students who drove under the influence of alcohol increased between 1998 and 2001. Read more from...
HUD Data Show Housing Voucher Costs Leveled Off Starting In 2003 As Rental Market Cooled
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The Administration has pointed to "spiraling" costs for the Housing Choice Voucher program to justify radical changes in the program’s funding structure and the elimination of many key protections for low-income families. HUD...
Senate Backs Budget Defying Bush on Medicaid (Reuters)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: Reuters - The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a $2.6 trillion budget rejecting President Bush's planned spending curbs for Medicaid and nearly doubling its tax cut plans, setting up a fight with the House of...
Report: Wal-Mart Has Highest Number of Employees on Welfare in Homestate; Retail Giant's Ongoing Media Blitz Fails to Hide Company Record
From U.S. Newswire Releases: In Arkansas, the birthplace and headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the state's Department of Human Services released damning figures yesterday stating that the retail giant leads the list of top 10 employers whose workers are receiving...
March 17, 2005
In emergency, flu vaccine could be made quickly in existing facilities
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: In an emergency such as a pandemic outbreak or last year's vaccine shortage, the influenza vaccine could be produced twice as fast using cell cultures in existing biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, according to Henry Wang, a...
Teenage highs and lows
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: What risk factors influence teenagers to start experimenting with marijuana or to move from experimental to regular use? Involvement with other substances (alcohol and cigarettes), delinquency and school problems have been established as the three...
Small schools make rural communities more prosperous
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Cornell University sociologist Thomas Lyson finds that rural villages with their own schools are significantly more prosperous and stable than villages without schools on almost every measure of economic and social well-being. Read more from...
Explosion of child obesity predicted to shorten us life expectancy
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: It's been assumed that U.S. life expectancy would rise indefinitely, but a new data analysis, published as a special report in the March 17 New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that this trend is about...
March 16, 2005
Children, Social Security, and Private Accounts: 10 Questions for Policymakers
Social Security has provided a retirement safety net for the elderly for more than six decades. But the program also provides working parents with valuable—and irreplaceable—insurance protection for their families against the tragedies of serious disability and death. Given the...
Disparities in Knowledge of the EITC
From The Urban Institute: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), administered through the federal income tax system, is the largest cash assistance program for low-income families. Data from the 2001 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) show large disparities in...
Agreement Sends Wrongfully Expelled Minority Students Back to Berkeley High
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Read more from this post....
Dealing with conflict in caring for the dying patient
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: How can a dying patient's family members and physicians get along when faced with difficult decisions on end-of-life treatment? In the March 16 Journal of the American Medical Association, Robert M. Arnold, M.D., from the...
American Medical Association and Gay and Lesbian Medical Association Announce Commitment to Include LGBT Issues in Health Disparities Effort
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Officials of the American Medical Association (AMA) emerged from a meeting with the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) on Saturday, March 12 with a commitment to fully include the health concerns of gay, lesbian, bisexual,...
Forthcoming wealth transfer among African-Americans projected in new report
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A report from the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy provides new information on wealth and wealth transfer within the African-American community in the U.S. Researchers project between $1.1 trillion and $3.4 trillion will...
Balance and better interactions between primary-care and specialist physicians improve US health
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: New research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and New York University found that communities with more primary-care physicians have lower mortality rates. They also found that having more specialty-care physicans in...
Sen. Sarbanes, Reps. Frank and Shays Support NLC Effort to Save CDBG
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Members of Congress joined local elected officials from across the country today in urging the House and Senate to continue to fund the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program at current levels and support keeping this...
March 15, 2005
Why Social Security Matters to Children and Families: What Every Policymaker Should Know
Social Security has provided a reliable retirement safety net for the elderly for more than six decades. But the program also provides working parents with valuable—and irreplaceable—insurance protection for their families against the tragedies of serious disability and death. Over...
'Power Hour' a Dangerous Ritual for Young Drinkers
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: A drinking game that requires players to drink as much liquor as they can in an hour to celebrate their 21st birthday can lead to coma or death. Read more from this post....
Policy Workshop on Formularies and Medicare
From The Kaiser Family Foundation: The Foundation hosted a policy workshop on the use of drug formularies in the private sector and their potential implications for beneficiaries under the new Medicare drug benefit, set to go into effect January 1,...
Study Finds Poor Performance by Nation's Education Schools
From NYT > National: Nine of every 10 principals consider the graduates unprepared for what awaits them in the classroom, a new survey has found. Read more from this post....
Finances, not having a dentist are primary barriers to seniors receiving needed dental care
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: To say that health-care professionals have to fight tooth-and-nail to provide dental services to senior citizens is not much of a stretch. A survey of 415 senior citizens in Western New York, conducted by researchers...
Dental practitioners can be instrumental in preventing their patients' eating disorders
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Dental practitioners play a crucial role in the early identification, referral, and case management of their patients with eating disorders, yet little has been reported regarding current secondary prevention practices. Dental professionals are often the...
Brain imaging suggests how higher education helps to buffer older adults from cognitive decline
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: College seems to pay off well into retirement. A new study from the University of Toronto sheds light on why higher education seems to buffer people from cognitive declines as they age. Brain imaging showed...
Medicaid enrollment at late stages may partly explain poor outcomes for cancer
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A new study concludes that the unavailability of health insurance prior to Medicaid enrollment may contribute to poor outcomes in the Medicaid-insured cancer population. Read more from this post....
Treating depression helps slow physical decline in older adults, study shows
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: This is first study to report that successful treatment of depression in older adults also improves their ability to perform tasks critical to independent living such as keeping track of medications or managing money. Read...
Minorities, poor, uneducated bear the burden
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Disparities in health care are pervasive in America. These disparities adversely impact the cardiovascular health of Americans, especially African Americans, Hispanics, poor and uneducated people. Read more from this post....
Health care report cards may increase racial/ethnic disparities in bypass operations
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Medical "report cards" intended to improve the quality of health care may sometimes reduce it for racial and ethnic minorities. Read more from this post....
Cardiovascular health disparities must be eradicated
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Research, advocacy and education must "close the gaps" in cardiovascular health disparities among races. Read more from this post....
Alan B. Astrow, M.D., Named Director of Hematology/Oncology at Maimonides Medical Center
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Read more from this post....
The Quality Cure?
From NYT > Health: Instead of trying to cut health-care costs or ration services, a Harvard economist wants to reward doctors for doing a better job. Read more from this post....
Mountain life spells longer life
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Mountain dwellers live longer than people in lowland areas, finds research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Read more from this post....
Community Care Tops Medical Care at Preventing Heart Disease in Black Americans, But Health Inequalities Persist
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Having a health clinic in the apartment next door may not be everyone's idea of a good neighbor. But a new study shows that such a clinic can be much more effective than a traditional one in...
Hispanic Elected Local Officials Speak Out on Budget Issues
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Members of the Hispanic Elected Local Officials (HELO) today challenged Administration proposals to cut the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, indicating that if the funding for this critical program is reduced, cities and towns would...
Presidential Freedom Scholarships Available to Honor High School Students for Outstanding Service
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Two students from every high school in the country are eligible to receive $1,000 Presidential Freedom Scholarships in recognition of their outstanding service to the community, the Corporation for National and Community Service announced today. Read...
Consensus on childhood obesity recommends classification as disease
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: The consensus statement reflects the conclusions from an international summit held in Israel last year and includes a controversial recommendation to classify obesity as a disease. This landmark statement reviews the available research evidence on...
Childhood deficits in the cerebellum may be linked to adult alcoholism
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: The brain's cerebellum is key to the body's coordination of movement. New research examines the possible association between developmental deficits in the cerebellar vermis during childhood and later alcoholism. Deficits in muscle tone five days...
Staying positive when helping a child with homework stimulates motivation
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Your child has a homework assignment, doesn't understand it and is acting helpless. So what's a parent to do? Help, but stay loving and make the process fun, say researchers at the University of Illinois...
Nature helps create religious adults
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Environmental factors, like attending religious ceremonies with family, affect our religiousness as children, but genes most likely keep us attending and believing as we become adults. Read more from this post....
March 14, 2005
Federal Budget Advocacy Toolkit Now Available for Local Catholic Charities
This tool kit is designed to help Catholic Charities staff advocate in support of federal poverty programs during the coming congressional deliberations over federal budget priorities. Federal programs serving low-income communities will be under enormous budgetary pressure this year. As...
Colo.: Should Addicted Moms Be Treated or Punished?
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: Giving birth to a baby born addicted to illicit drugs is a form of child abuse, Colorado lawmakers agreed, but what to do about the problem remains a bone of contention. Read more from...
March 13, 2005
The James Irvine Foundation Announces $7.5 Million in New Grants, Including $1.6 Million for Arts Training Schools and $1 Million to Support Ethnic Media
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Read more from this post....
Hispanic Elected Local Officials Speak Out on Federal Budget Cuts, March 14, 11 a.m.
From U.S. Newswire Releases: On March 14, the National League of Cities (NLC) will sponsor a media availability with the Hispanic Elected Local Officials (HELO) to discuss the effects that the Administration's budget will have on the Hispanic community and...
National League of Cities Meeting Opens in Washington; Mayor Anthony A. Williams Gives Keynote Address
From U.S. Newswire Releases: National League of Cities (NLC) President Anthony A. Williams, mayor of Washington, D.C., today led the call in the fight against cuts in the Community Development Block Grant program and voiced the need for a better...
Proposed Medicaid and Tax Cuts Hurt Children; Vote Expected Next Week
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Read more from this post....
AHA Applauds Congressional Action to Get Children More Active
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Yesterday's passage in the House of Representatives of a six-year funding measure for transportation marked a vote for improving our children's fitness, according to the American Heart Association. The legislation - the Transportation Equity Act: A...
March 11, 2005
Navigating Medicare and Medicaid: Resource Guides for People with Disabilities, Their Families, and Their Advocates
From The Kaiser Family Foundation: These guides explain the critical role Medicare and Medicaid have come to play in the lives and the futures of roughly 20 million children, adults, and seniors with disabilities - and give people with disabilities...
The House Budget Committee's Proposed Medicaid and SCHIP Cuts Are Larger Than Those the Administration Proposed
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Yesterday, the House Budget Committee voted on Chairman Nussle�s proposed federal budget plan for Fiscal Year 2006. The plan�s required reductions in mandatory programs are likely to lead to cuts in federal expenditures...
The Senate's Cuts in Medicaid and SCHIP Substantially Exceed Those the Administration Proposed
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The Senate Budget Committee is voting today on Chairman Gregg’s proposed federal budget plan for Fiscal Year 2006. The plan requires $15.2 billion in reductions over five years in programs within the jurisdiction...
March 10, 2005
House Budget Resolution Cuts Key Low-Income Programs: Yet Budget Finds Room For Further Tax Cuts For The Wealthy
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The budget resolution passed by the House Budget Committee on March 9 includes substantial reductions in key programs for low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities while calling for large tax cuts whose...
Access to oral health care: Not a level playing field
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: One of the topics, Access to oral health care: Not a level playing field, will be discussed at the upcoming 83rd General Session of the International Association for Dental Research conference. Read more from this...
Will your kids grow up to be fat?
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: New research shows that children between 8 and 15 years old who are in the upper half of the normal weight range are more likely than their leaner peers to become obese or overweight as...
Preventing SCD1 expression prevents obesity
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Effective therapies to treat obesity and metabolic syndrome are urgently needed but are currently lacking. A JCI study demonstrates a new therapeutic approach to treat obesity and metabolic syndrome. Researchers block stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) -...
Weight Status of Children Ages 8 to 15 Predicts Obesity, High Blood Pressure in Adulthood
From Ascribe Newsfeed: New research shows that children between 8 and 15 years old who are in the upper half of the normal weight range are more likely than their leaner peers to become obese or overweight as young adults....
Gambling with our Children's Future: Statement by President, CEO of National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
From U.S. Newswire Releases: The following is a statement by Barbara B. Kennelly, president and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, on President Bush's plan on privatizing Social Security: Read more from this post....
SV40 not implicated in mesothelioma
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: SV40 does not have a role in the majority of malignant mesotheliomas -- a cancer associated with exposure to asbestos - according to a study in this month's Cancer Research. The study, led by Mount...
WI: Safe Rides Program Funded by Drunk Drivers
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: A Wisconsin program that offers safe rides home to people who have been drinking too much is funded by tavern owners and fees charged to convicted drunk drivers. Read more from this post....
Opportunity, Assets, and Ownership: An Evolving Policy Agenda
From The Urban Institute: [First Tuesday's Transcript] As President Bush champions new policies geared toward the formation of an "ownership society," sweeping proposals have emerged prompting a variety of viewpoints. Panelists at this First Tuesday forum discussed issues surrounding choices...
By How Much is the House Budget Committee Proposing to Cut Funding for Medicaid and SCHIP?
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Yesterday, the House Budget Committee voted on Chairman Nussle’s proposed federal budget plan for Fiscal Year 2006. The plan 's required reductions in mandatory programs are likely to lead to cuts in federal...
March 09, 2005
University of California Scientists Confirm Healthier Food Costs More; March Is National Nutrition Month
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Making a few simple dietary improvements, such as substituting 100 percent whole wheat bread for white bread, lean ground beef for regular, and low-fat cheese for whole-fat, increases monthly food spending $70 to $80 per month for...
Legislative Conference Addresses School Nutrition Programs
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Over 750 school nutrition professionals will meet in Washington, DC next week to advocate for strong school nutrition programs. From March 13 to 16, 2005, the 33rd annual Legislative Action Conference of the School Nutrition Association...
Community Technology Foundation Appointed to FCC Consumer Advisory Committee
From Ascribe Newsfeed: The Community Technology Foundation of California (CTFC) was recently appointed by the Federal Communications Commission to its Consumer Advisory Committee. "CTFC's work in addressing the needs of the underserved communities of California was a significant factor in...
Harassment Claims Roil Habitat for Humanity (washingtonpost.com)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: washingtonpost.com - AMERICUS, Ga. -- Since Habitat for Humanity fired its founder and president, Millard Fuller, for sexual harassment six weeks ago, his supporters throughout the giant nonprofit housing organization have campaigned to reinstate him....
There's one rule for the rich...
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: It is well known that the world's wealth is shared out unfairly. Now, physicists in America are using models based on simple laws of physics to understand the distribution of wealth. They found that 3%...
Palo Alto Medical Foundation, San Carlos Education Foundation to Promote Health and Well-Being of Children
From Ascribe Newsfeed: The San Carlos Educational Foundation (SCEF) announced today that it has entered into a long-term relationship with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) to promote the health and well-being of children in the San Carlos School District....
American Public Health Association Supports KidsFirst Act of 2005 to Ensure Health Care Coverage for Uninsured Children
From U.S. Newswire Releases: The following is a statement by Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, executive director, American Public Health Association, on the KidsFirst Act of 2005: "The American Public Health Association strongly supports the KidsFirst Act as a comprehensive...
Census Bureau Estimates Number of Children and Adults in the States and Puerto Rico
From U.S. Newswire Releases: The number of elementary school-age children (ages five through 13) declined by 381,000 while the number of their high school-age counterparts (ages 14 through 17) increased by 329,000 between 2003 and 2004, according to estimates released...
Senate Nixes Efforts to Soften Bankruptcy Bill (Reuters)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: Reuters - Efforts to soften the effect of tougher bankruptcy rules on families with children and close a loophole for the wealthy were rejected by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday as the legislation moved toward...
College Students Outdrink their Peers
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: A new study concludes that college students in the U.S. consume more alcohol and are more likely to binge drink than youth of the same age who are not in school. Read more from...
Solutions to the DC Region's Growing Pains
From The Urban Institute: Every day, Washington-area families face what seem like the inevitable consequences of our region's booming growth--housing prices spiraling out of reach, new developments gobbling up open spaces, traffic snarls and endless commutes, and worsening air pollution....
Census Report Details Lives of U.S. Arabs
From NYT > National: People of Arab descent living in the United States tend to be better educated and wealthier than other Americans, the Census Bureau says. Read more from this post....
End AIDS drug waiting lists, HIV care providers tell policymakers
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: The nation's frontline HIV medical providers are calling for an end to waiting lists for essential anti-AIDS drugs that patients need in order to live. Read more from this post....
NMA Holds Its Sixth National Colloquium on African American Health
From U.S. Newswire Releases: WHO: The National Medical Association's (NMA) Sixth National Colloquium on African American Health Read more from this post....
Erasing Debts With Bankruptcy Gets Harder (AP)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: AP - Erasing medical bills, credit card charges and other debts in bankruptcy soon will become more difficult under landmark legislation that has vaulted its last major hurdle before Senate passage. Read more from this...
Workshops to Focus on Transportation, Eminent Domain, Housing, More at National League of Cities Congressional City Conference
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Workshops to Focus on Transportation, Eminent Domain, Housing and more at National League of Cities Congressional City Conference March 11 - 14th Read more from this post....
Study finds indoor allergen levels vary, cockroach allergens cause more asthma symptoms
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Cockroach allergens exacerbate the symptoms of asthmatic children living in inner cities - more so than dust mite or pet allergens - and amounts of cockroach allergens varies widely in cities across the country, according...
Cigarette smoke worsens respiratory infections in infants
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Studying Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) to learn what puts children at risk for the most severe infections, Washington University researchers at St. Louis Children's Hospital found that a child's age at the time of infection...
March 08, 2005
Missouri Gov. Cuts Addiction, Mental Health Services
From Substance Abuse Funding News: Thousands of people in need of substance abuse and mental health treatment will lose services if Missouri Gov. Matthew Blunt's 2006 budget is approved. Read more from this post....
Moving to Better Neighborhoods with Mobility Counseling
From The Urban Institute: This brief examines the efficacy of providing housing mobility assistance to families with vouchers by examining the Housing Opportunity Program in Chicago. To help families move to opportunity neighborhoods, HOP provides housing search counseling and unit...
Low-Income Families Are Moving to Better Neighborhoods with Help from Chicago's Housing Mobility Program
From The Urban Institute: Families with housing vouchers are 52 percent more likely to move to low-poverty neighborhoods if they receive housing search assistance, a new study from the nonpartisan Urban Institute shows. The study, which looked at Chicago's Housing...
What New CBO Data Indicate About Long-Term Income Distribution Trends
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The Congressional Budget Office releases the most comprehensive data available on changes in incomes and taxes for different income groups. The data that CBO issues have two main advantages compared with the more...
March 07, 2005
Democratic Leaders to President Bush: Do Not Shift Medicaid Costs to States
From U.S. Newswire Releases: House and Senate Democratic Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid today released a letter Democratic leaders sent to President Bush today on Medicaid funding. Read more from this post....
Study: A happy marriage can help mend physical wounds (USATODAY.com)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: USATODAY.com - A happy marriage apparently is good medicine, but hostile spouses may be harmful to one another's health. Couples in conflict-ridden marriages take longer than the happily married to heal from all kinds of...
Report Says Medicaid Overpays for Drugs
From NYT > National: Federal health officials are not enforcing a law that requires drug companies to cut their prices on drugs bought for poor people under Medicaid, Congressional investigators said. Read more from this post....
More elderly residents do not necessarily reduce school tax base
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A concentration of senior citizens in a community can be a financial boon to a school district, rather than an adversary, unless the group includes a high percentage of newcomers with few, if any, emotional...
Justice Unit Puts Its Focus on Faith (Los Angeles Times)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: Los Angeles Times - WASHINGTON — One of the main jobs at the Justice Department is enforcing the nation's civil rights laws. So when a nonprofit group was accused of employment discrimination last year in...
Violence exposure and traumatic stress reactions can lead to poor health in children
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A study in the March issue of The Journal of Pediatrics examines the effect of traumatic stress reactions on the health of children exposed to violence and maltreatment within the community and their families. Read...
How effective are herbal supplements in reducing illnesses in children?
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A study in the March issue of The Journal of Pediatrics reviews the medical literature to provide information about the effectiveness of some of the most common herbal supplements in children. Read more from this...
Cockroach allergens have greatest impact on childhood asthma in many US cities
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: New results from a nationwide study on factors that affect asthma in inner-city children show that cockroach allergen appears to worsen asthma symptoms more than either dust mite or pet allergens. Read more from this...
Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) to Convene National Conference in Washington, DC
From U.S. Newswire Releases: The Child Welfare League of America will convene its annual advocacy conference in Washington, DC March 9-11, 2005 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. This conference marks the 85th anniversary of the country's oldest and largest...
CWLA and the Idea Public Charter School Partner to Host CWLA's First-Ever Youth Poetry Slam
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Please join the Child Welfare League of America at this celebration of youth creativity and self-expression, sponsored by the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Read more from this post....
Truancy Prevention Website
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) announces the launch of Truancy Prevention-Empowering Students, Schools, and Communities. Drawing on the expertise and resources of OJJDP and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, the...
Defacto Shelters: Homeless Living in Vacant Public Housing Units
From The Urban Institute: As Chicago's public housing is demolished to make way for new mixed-income communities, an unknown number of homeless squatters living illegally in vacant public housing units will also lose their housing. As illegal squatters, these residents...
'Truth' Bid to Win Big Tobacco Funds
From Substance Abuse Funding News: The Citizen's Commission to Protect the Truth submitted a brief asking a Washington, D.C. federal district court to order Big Tobacco to fund independent anti-smoking campaigns. Read more from this post....
Drinking Declines with Age, Study Finds
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: Alcohol consumption generally declines as people age, partly because alcohol affects the bodies of older people in different ways, say researchers from UCLA. Read more from this post....
Payrolls expand nicely, but unemployment rises
From Economic Policy Institute: Today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that payrolls expanded by 262,000 jobs in February, the strongest month of job growth since October 2004. However, this was coupled with an increase in unemployment to...
Job growth leaves large job deficit
From Economic Policy Institute: Despite recent job growth there remains a large jobs deficit: employment lags growth in the working-age population and job growth over the last year has not closed the job gap. Get the full analysis at JobWatch.org....
March 06, 2005
Credit Card Penalties, Fees Bury Debtors (washingtonpost.com)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: washingtonpost.com - For more than two years, special-education teacher Fatemeh Hosseini worked a second job to keep up with the $2,000 in monthly payments she collectively sent to five banks to try to pay $25,000...
New SAT, Big Business
From washingtonpost.com - Nation: The test-prep industry is booming as students nationwide prepare to take the revised exam on Saturday. Read more from this post....
Defying Experts, Insurers Join Medicare Drug Plan
From NYT > Health: A substantial number of big insurance firms plan to offer prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries next year. Read more from this post....
Low socioeconomic status is a risk factor for mental illness
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Does having a low socioeconomic status (SES) lead to depression or does depression lead a person into poverty? According to a study that examined a database of 34,000 patients with two or more psychiatric hospitalizations...
Severe injuries on the rise among children and adolescents riding motorbikes
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: The use of motorbikes among children and adolescents is dangerous, on the rise and leading to a greater number of injuries, according to a new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study. Read more from this...
Budget Cuts Will Hurt Children
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Cuts to children's programs in the Bush administration's budget will reverse the decades-long commitment the federal government has made to America's youngest and most vulnerable citizens, according to a network of 16 national groups that speak out...
March 04, 2005
2004: Little Progress in Reducing Underage Drinking
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: The nation made little, if any, progress in 2004 in reducing underage drinking, according to a new status report on underage drinking released by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Read more from...
Growing Acceptance for School Sobriety Tests
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: After winning acceptance for student alcohol breath-testing at dances, pep rallies, and other events, some schools are starting to test students on normal school days. Read more from this post....
Medicaid Cuts In President's Budget Would Harm States and Likely Increase Ranks Of Uninsured
From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: A new Center report finds that the Medicaid proposals in the President�s fiscal year 2006 budget would likely lead to increases in the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans by weakening states' ability...
Telemedicine revolution is 'disappearing' from the NHS
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Despite high expectations, telemedicine and telehealthcare systems, which enabledoctors to interact with patients many miles away via video, digital imaging and electronic data transmission, have had only limited impact on the National Health Service, according...
Conference Looks at Health Care for Muslim Women in the U.S.
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Read more from this post....
House OKs Bill on Faith-Based Jobs (Los Angeles Times)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: Los Angeles Times - WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday approved a job-training bill that would allow faith-based organizations receiving federal funds to consider a person's religious beliefs in making employment decisions. Read more from...
Greenspan Touts Consumption Tax (AP)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday that a new consumption tax — such as a national sales tax — could spark the economy as a partial replacement for income taxes. Read more...
Study examines racial differences among children to environmental tobacco smoke exposure
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A new study may help explain why African American children suffer disproportionately from tobacco-related illness. Read more from this post....
School Breakfast Means Great Performances, Says School Nutrition Association
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Children who eat a school breakfast perform better academically, making this year's National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) theme particularly appropriate. From March 7-11, 2005, schools nationwide will celebrate breakfast with the theme: "School Breakfast: ... Read...
March 03, 2005
Public-private partnerships may not always be the best solution
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Recently, there has been a massive growth, in many countries, in public-private partnerships for the provision of public service infrastructure, such as, roads and health care facilities. Research funded by the Economic and Social Research...
High-Income Families Benefit Most from New Education Savings Incentives
From The Urban Institute: If funds from education savings plans are not used for schooling, the penalties more than offset the tax benefits for lower-income families; higher-income families gain even if their children do not go to college. A new...
Reports Sees Little Progress in Cutting Underage Drinking
From Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco News: The United States is in denial about underage drinking, the government is not tracking the problem adequately, and little progress was made last year in fighting youth alcohol use, according to the Center on...
HHS Grants for HIV/Drug Abuse Interventions for Pregnant Women
From Substance Abuse Funding News: March 21 is the deadline for Department of Health and Human Services grants for HIV and Drug Abuse Interventions among Pregnant Women in Drug Abuse Treatment. Read more from this post....
Grants for Drinking and Violence Prevention Among College Students
From Substance Abuse Funding News: March 25 is the deadline for the "Grant Competition To Prevent High-Risk Drinking or Violent Behavior Among College Students" offered by the U.S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities National Program....
Scholarships Available for National Rural Institute on Alcohol and Drug Abuse
From Substance Abuse Funding News: Drug-court and medical-student scholarships are available for the National Rural Institute on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Read more from this post....
OJJDP Substance Abuse/Mental Health Grants for Tribal Organizations
From Substance Abuse Funding News: The Office of Justice and Juvenile Delinquency Prevention is offering up to $225,000 over a three-year period to federally recognized Native American and Alaskan Native organizations under its Mental Health and Community Safety Initiative. Read...
March 02, 2005
Labor Department Lauds House Passage of the Job Training Improvement Act
From U.S. Newswire Releases: Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco issued the following statement on the House of Representative's passage of the Job Training Improvement Act: Read more from this post....
One occupational hazard for teens: harassment
From Christian Science Monitor | Work/Money: The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed harassment lawsuits against fast-food franchise owners. Read more from this post....
School-based smoking prevention programs ineffective
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Smoking prevention programs in junior high or high school have little influence on whether teens choose to light up or not, according to Sarah Wiehe, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at the Indiana University School of...
Walkmans to iPods: Social Security is better equipped to provide family income protection
From Economic Policy Institute: The Social Security system offers more benefits than any private retirement savings plan--it is a fully equipped iPod, compared to the stripped-down Walkman of a 401(k) account. The Snapshot for February 28 explains how Social Security...
The Trend in Federal Housing Tax Expenditures
From The Urban Institute: Tax programs that provide deductions to homeowners or credits to both builders and owners, greatly exceed direct federal outlays on housing. The beneficiaries of these tax programs tend to be middle-to-upper income families who own their...
Mount Sinai researchers identify key to controlling HIV
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found alpha-defensin-1, a protein found in immune cells, can control HIV infection by at least two mechanisms. Earlier studies have primarily looked at the role of defensins...
Perspective Change Needed in Obesity Prevention; March Is National Nutrition Month
From Ascribe Newsfeed: Read more from this post....
African-Americans receive less aggressive heart attack treatment
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: According to a study at the Maya Angelou Research Center on Minority Health at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, African-Americans continue to receive less aggressive treatment for heart attack than whites. Read more from...
Governors and Officials Step Up Talks on Medicaid
From NYT > Washington: The secretary of health and human services said he saw 8 to 10 "areas of potential common ground" with the governors on ways to clamp down on Medicaid costs. Read more from this post....
Parents who quit smoking may influence their offspring to quit as young adults
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Parents who quit smoking when their children are young may have a big influence on whether their offspring will quit smoking as young adults. Read more from this post....
Natural mentors help mold lives of teens, study says
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Natural mentoring relationships positively impact teens, but these relationships do not meet all the needs of at-risk youth, according to a study by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers. Read more from this post....
Teenagers find information about sex on the internet when they look for it - and when they don't
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Teenagers find information about sex on the Internet when they look for it - and when they don't, UCLA's Children's Digital Media Center reports. American children live in an "all-pervasive sexualized media environment" that produces...
U.S. Supreme Court Decision on Child Offenders Doesn't Cleanse Death Penalty System, Says U.S. Human Rights Network
From U.S. Newswire Releases: "While today's US Supreme Court decision outlawing the execution of child offenders will finally bring the US in line with international law on this issue and thus should be welcomed, it should be seen as only...
High Court Ends Death Penalty for Youths (AP)
From Yahoo! News: Top Stories: AP - A closely divided Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for juvenile criminals on Tuesday, declaring there was a national consensus such executions were unconstitutionally cruel and ending a practice that had brought international...
March 01, 2005
Tell Congress to Reject an Irresponsible and Harmful Budget
From: OMB Watch -- Compose a Message The President's budget lays out his priorities for the federal government for fiscal year 2006. These priorities include steep cuts to Medicaid, Food Stamps for working families with children, education, National Parks, and...
Illness and Injury As Contributors To Bankruptcy
Our friends at the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty highlight an article in Health Affairs on the intersection of illness and bankruptcy filings. In 2001, 1.458 million American families filed for bankruptcy. To investigate medical contributors to...
Sleep loss increases cardiovascular disease in alcoholics
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Sleep loss increases the heart rate and sympathetic catecholamine levels in alcoholics, compared with non-alcoholics, disrupting cardiovascular health. Increases persist after nights of partial and recovery sleep. The findings suggest habitual sleep loss may play...
AGS Foundation for Health in Aging Launches Web-Based Resource for Patients and Their Clinicians
From Ascribe Newsfeed: The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA) has just launched "Aging in the Know: Your Gateway to Health and Aging Resources on the Web" (www.healthinaging.org/agingintheknow). Based on the professional education programs of the American Geriatrics Society...
States Resist Bush's Appeal for Fast Deal on Medicaid
From NYT > National: President Bush told governors that he wanted to work with them to rein in the soaring cost of Medicaid. Read more from this post....
The Challenge of Tracing a Rare H.I.V. Strain
From NYT > Health: In investigating the case of a rare strain of H.I.V., public health officials are relying on classic methods and luck. Read more from this post....