This provides statistics on children looked after by local authorities. It is a revised update from the previous statistics released in March 2005. It includes detailed local authority figures and contains new data on mothers in care and on distance between home and placement.

- Forty-four percent of American adults report knowing only “a little” or “almost nothing at all” about mental illnesses.
- Forty-five percent of adults surveyed say they are “not too” or “not at all” wellinformed when it comes to identifying the basic warning signs of mental illness.
− Asked whether they would benefit from knowing more about the
warning signs of mental illness, 84 percent said yes.
- Mental Illnesses are more common than Americans think. About 20 percent of adults in the United States suffer from a diagnosable mental illness annually, yet most of those surveyed think the figure is 10 percent or less.

AIDS Medicines

Adoption is a significant public and private issue. This site is based on the conviction that history is an indispensable resource for understanding the personal, political, legal, social, scientific, and human dimensions of this particular form of kinship. The Adoption History Project is devoted to making adoption history accessible and interesting to visitors who may not be aware that adoption has a history at all. This site introduces the history of child adoption in the United States by profiling people, organizations, topics, and studies that shaped adoption during the twentieth century. I hope individuals with personal or professional ties to adoption who are curious about adoption’s past will find the site relevant to their concerns. It is also intended for students and teachers interested in social welfare, the human sciences, and the history of children and families in the modern United States. This site was created and is maintained by Ellen Herman in the Department of History at the University of Oregon.

Adult children are a crucial source of care for frail older Americans, especially for widowed and divorced people who cannot turn to spouses for help. Informal care options are limited for frail unmarried adults without children, however. Some may turn to friends, charitable organizations, or other family members for help. Others may purchase home care from paid providers. But some frail childless adults may receive inadequate care in the community or be pushed into nursing homes. Although most people with long-term care needs have children who can provide help, declining fertility rates will increase the number of frail childless Americans in coming decades. This article examines the receipt, amount, and source of care for frail older adults without children and compares their care to that received by older adults with children.

The UK has not yet found a clear, fair and adequate system for financing the growing demand for long-term care as the population ages. In the 1990s it shied away from major reform which would have secured a sustainable and rational financing structure, as implemented in some other countries and recommended by many in the UK. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has been leading a debate on how to start moving towards better funding arrangements. While the need for big change over the long term has not gone away, important steps could be taken now to reduce the difficulties in the present system. This Foundations reviews the evidence and arguments brought forward and concludes this JRF programme of work by presenting some costed options for reform.

View image of Figure 2.1 Any Illicit Drug Use in Past Month among Persons Aged 12 or Older, by State

This report presents State estimates for 22 measures of substance use or mental health problems based on the 2003 and 2004 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs).1 Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), NSDUH is an ongoing survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 years or older. Interview data from approximately 135,500 persons were collected in 2003-2004. State estimates presented in this report have been developed using a small area estimation (SAE) procedure in which State-level NSDUH data are combined with local-area county and census block group/tract-level data from the State. This model-based methodology provides more precise estimates of substance use at the State level than those based solely on the sample, particularly for smaller States.

The changing profile of New Hampshire’s population and families will have dramatic impacts on health care for the elderly. In an attempt to highlight the issues involved, the Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau (ELMI) has assembled information that defines the pertinent labor market and demographic elements. This report focuses on the following occupations related to Eldercare services:
• Personal and home care aides
• Home health aides
• Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants

Assisted living is a significant provider in the long term care spectrum and
continues to receive attention nationwide. Assisted living is no longer a
provider category “in its infancy.” It is a long term care option that is preferred by many individuals and their families because of its emphasis on resident choice, dignity and privacy. There are federal laws that impact assisted living but oversight of assisted living occurs primarily at the state level. The varying laws and regulations affecting these settings have created a diverse and fluid operating environment for providers and a mix of terminology, settings, and available services for consumers. Overall, these variations reflect the development of assisted living to meet the needs of the individuals in each particular state. More than two-thirds of the states use the licensure term “assisted living”and some states use a similar term (e.g., Tennessee uses “assisted care living facilities”). In 2005, assisted living regulations continued to evolve, in some states reflecting a trend toward rising resident acuity levels. While a few states overhauled their regulations, many implemented targeted reforms and/or made minor adjustments. And, as in recent years, many states made no regulatory changes.

The term “home and community-based long-term services and supports” (HCBS) refers to assistance with daily activities that generally helps people with disabilities to remain in their homes. Many people with functional limitations or cognitive impairments need assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, and using the toilet, or instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) such as shopping and doing laundry. Services such as personal care, chore assistance, transportation, congregate meals, or adult day services all constitute HCBS. People of all ages with disabilities who use these services live in a variety of settings: their own homes or apartments, assisted living facilities, adult foster homes, congregate care facilities, or other supportive housing. Estimates of the population with some type of limitation on daily activities vary, depending on the definition of “disability.” In 2002, about 8.7 million people age 65 or older living in the home had a limitation in at least one ADL or IADL (almost 27 percent of the population). About 6 percent of this age group (2 million people) had more severe disabilities (limitation in 3 or more ADLs).

Turnover of direct care workers in the long-term care industry, has reached alarming proportions. It ranges from 45 percent to over 100 percent and costs nearly $4.1 billion annually. Among the many factors contributing to the high turnover rates of direct care workers is inadequate initial training, poor orientation to the job and lack of on-going training which results in feelings of incompetence, confusion and provision of poor quality of care to frail and chronically ill populations.

Extensive consultation across Scotland and consideration of a wide range of evidence draws us to three over-riding conclusions:

Doing more of the same won't work. Increasing demand, greater complexity and rising expectations mean that the current situation is not sustainable:
Tomorrow's solutions will need to engage people as active participants, delivering accessible, responsive services of the highest quality and promoting wellbeing.

Social work services don't have all of the answers. They need to work closely with other universal providers in all sectors to find new ways to design and deliver services across the public sector:
Tomorrow's solutions will involve professionals, services and agencies from across the public, private and voluntary sectors in a concerted and joined-up effort, building new capacity in individuals, families and communities and focusing on preventing problems before they damage people's life chances irreparably.

Social workers' skills are highly valued and increasingly relevant to the changing needs of society. Yet we are far from making the best use of these skills:
Tomorrow's solutions will need to make the best use of skills across the public sector workforce, refocusing on the core values of social work. Social workers will need to make effective use of therapeutic relationships and find new ways to manage risk.

- Reviews the progress made across the country in delivering the recommendations of the Homelessness Task Force, with a particular focus on progress made in the time since our last report to Ministers was published in April 2005. As with our previous reports, it should be noted that we are reporting progress made by the Group and its subgroups but also by a wide range of delivery partners;
- Sets out arrangements put in place to monitor the effects of implementation of the recommendations; and our understanding of the effects of these changes - reflecting analytical work carried out to support the production of the Ministerial Statement on the Abolition of Priority Need which was published in December 2005; and
- Sets out the key areas of work for the Monitoring Group and its subgroups for 2006-07.

This report, one of a series of supplementary reports to The same as you? review of services for people with learning disabilities 1 focuses on improving services and supports for children and young people with learning disabilities and with autism spectrum disorder in Scotland. . . . In The same as you? report, the definition of learning disability is 'a significant lifelong condition which has three facets: reduced ability to understand new or complex information or to learn new skills; reduced ability to cope independently; and a condition which started before adulthood (before the age of 18) with a lasting effect on the individual's development'

The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) has been producing Progress since 1996. This magazine-style publication provides a wealth of information on different factors that influence the health and well-being of Canadian children and youth. This 7th edition reports on many indicators, including family life, economic security, physical safety, learning, and more. Because the report tracks this information over time, it helps identify trends, successes, and challenges.

A total of 937,499 records for clients discharged in Year 2003 were submitted by 26 States. Ninety-five percent of these records (n =888,432) could be linked to a TEDS admission record from 2000, 2001, 2002, or 2003 . . . The primary substance reported at admission for 40 percent of all Year 2003 linked discharges was alcohol. Nineteen percent reported opiates, 16 percent reported marijuana, 14 percent reported cocaine, and 8 percent reported stimulants . . .
Forty-two percent of Year 2003 discharges were from outpatient treatment, 23 percent were from detoxification, 12 percent were from intensive outpatient treatment, 8 percent each were from long-term residential treatment and
short-term residential treatment, 5 percent were from methadone treatment, and 1 percent were from hospital residential treatment

In 2003-2004, past month alcohol use rates for persons aged 12 to 20 were among the lowest in Utah (18.6 percent) and Tennessee (22.3 percent) and among the highest in North Dakota (42.7 percent) and South Dakota (39.1 percent). Between 2002-2003 and 2003-2004, past month alcohol use increased in California (from 24.7 to 26.3 percent) and Wisconsin (from 34.7 to 38.3 percent), while binge alcohol use increased in Iowa (from 24.7 to 27.7 percent) and Oklahoma (from 19.1 to 21.5 percent). Past month alcohol use decreased between 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 in South Carolina (from 27.2 to 24.1 percent) and Michigan (from 31.8 to 30.2 percent), while binge alcohol use decreased in South Carolina and North Carolina (both from 18.0 to 15.9 percent) and in Tennessee (from 15.9 to 13.1 percent)

In 2003, opiates other than heroin (non-heroin opiates) were the primary substance of abuse for 51,000 substance abuse treatment admissions (3 percent of all admissions). Some 47 percent of non-heroin opiate admissions were female compared with 32 percent of heroin admissions. Non-heroin opiate admissions were more likely than heroin admissions to be entering treatment for the first time (40 vs. 22 percent)

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN):
In 2004, there were over 15,000 emergency department (ED) visits by adolescents aged 12 to 17 whose suicide attempts involved drugs.
- Almost three quarters of these drug-related suicide attempts were serious enough to merit the patient's admission to the same hospital or transfer to another health care facility.
- Pain medications were involved in about half of the suicide attempts.
- Antidepressants or other psychotherapeutic medications were involved in over 40 percent of the suicide attempts by adolescents who were admitted to the hospital. DAWN data do not distinguish which of the patients had been prescribed antidepressants to treat a preexisting condition.

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN):
- During 2004, an estimated 192,690 patients in drug-related emergency department (ED) visits were diagnosed with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.
- When ED visits involved co-occurring disorders, nearly as many patients were treated and released as were admitted to inpatient units (40.4% and 42.2% of visits, respectively).
- Cocaine and alcohol (in 31.8% and 29.3% of visits, respectively) were the drugs most frequently reported for ED visits with co-occurring diagnoses.

This report presents summary results from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) for 2004. The report provides information on the demographic and substance abuse char-acteristics of the 1.9 million annual admissions to treatment for abuse of alcohol and drugs in facilities that report to individual State admin-istrative data systems. . . . Five substances accounted for 95 percent of all TEDS admissions in 2004: alcohol (40 percent), opiates (18 percent; prima-rily heroin), marijuana/hashish (16 per-cent), cocaine (14 percent), and stimulants (8 percent; primarily methamphetamine)

One of the largest policy debates in South Africa currently revolves around the issue of whether or not poverty and inequality have been reduced since political transition from the apartheid regime to democracy. When it initially came into power in 1994, the new government was tasked with alleviating widespread poverty within the context of high unemployment rates and, at that time, a stagnant economy. This study tracks trends in the South African income distribution over the past decade and a half, with a particular focus on poverty trends in the post-transition period. The assumptions used throughout the study are those likely to yield the lowest estimates of poverty reduction that the national accounts data support. Thus these estimates are also purposely biased towards recording the least rather than the most likely estimates of income growth for the Black population, since this group contains the majority of the poor. From ELDIS

This chapter analyses the alternative approaches to targeting the poor that have been used in healthcare delivery and draws together evidence from a range of countries about their effectiveness. The authors emphasise the importance of programme design and implementation issues and argue that successful programmes will need to identify these issues and devote adequate resources to overcoming them. The authors propose a conceptual framework for understanding the key elements of targeting policies. These elements are: who is targeted; what is the targeted benefit; what is the targeting method; and what evaluation criteria are used to measure the impact. The paper then uses this framework to assess six different targeting mechanisms that have been applied in the health sector in a range of contexts. These approaches are: resource allocation formulae, contracting Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), user fee exemptions, cash transfers, vouchers and market segmentation strategies using self-selection. A critical issue identified in the chapter is the availability of good information for programme design and evaluation. Most evaluations in this area have focused on the main targeting outcomes (coverage, under-coverage and leakage) and have neglected the other issues of concern to policymakers such as cost and sustainability. Future research in this area needs to consider a broader range of outcomes, and more systematically compare the costs and consequences of alternative methods of directing resources towards those most in need. from ELDIS

This Web application and online guide identifies clinical preventive services for screening, counseling, and preventive medication based on a patient's age, sex, and pregnancy status. It reflects current recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and can be used as a clinical tool for delivering appropriate services.

Women are increasingly being affected by the HIV/AIDS
epidemic. In the United States, HIV/AIDS is the sixth
leading cause of death among all women ages 25 to 34 and the fourth leading cause of death among all women ages 35 to 44. More than 81,000 women have already died of AIDS in the United States. Women now account for an estimated 27% of the estimated 40,000 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States each year. African-American women comprise 67% of new AIDS diagnoses among women, while Hispanic women account for 16%. The majority of women acquire HIV through unprotected sex with HIV-infected men. Approximately 71% of women who acquired HIV in 2003 were infected by their male sexual partners, while approximately 27% acquired the virus through injection drug use. Women are vulnerable to heterosexual transmission of HIV due to sex without the use of condoms and the high-risk behaviors of their partners.

This brochure provides information about women and diabetes.

This study examines the magnitude of the link between child poverty and poverty later in adult life using members of two cohorts from two national datasets, one group in their teens in the 1970s and the other in their teens in the 1980s. The study looks at the following questions:
- How great an impact does living in a poor family as a teenager have on the chances of living in poverty in the early thirties?
- How much has this impact changed between the two cohorts that were teenagers in the 1970s and the 1980s?
- How far do other characteristics at age 16 and in adulthood explain these links?

The Government is committed to 'A Scotland in which every child matters, where every child regardless of their family background, has the best possible start in life.' The starting point for such a commitment has to be the reality of children's lives here in Scotland. And if we look at what we know we see that:
- There are approximately 1 million children under the age of 16 living in Scotland and a further 326,000 16 to 21-year-olds. . . .
If every child does matter, there is much to do and both the targeted and universal services that children and their families come into contact with must address better the picture presented here.

This leaflet provides information on the annual Households Below Average Income data. It clarifies definitions used and provides up to date figures for Scotland. It gives an introduction to the new ‘Child Poverty Measure’ being introduced this year. It also provides some background to what the Scottish Executive is doing to address the issues of low income and poverty in Scotland.

Millions of people from more than 200 different cultural and ethnic backgrounds now reside in Canada’s provinces, cities and communities. In 2001, about 18% of the population was born outside of Canada, and increasing numbers of immigrants are settling in Canada’s major urban centres. But how are immigrants to Canada faring? Are they engaged in the social, economic, and political activities of their cultural communities – and the broader community at large? Do they volunteer? Vote? Donate to charities? Join groups? Do they follow current affairs? In other words, how are they doing with respect to social inclusion? This report tries to answer those questions by examining different measures of social and civic engagement among the immigrant population and flagging areas of concern. In the report, social and civic engagement is broadly defined as “the active connections between people that foster mutual respect and facilitate cooperative action.”

• Overview


• Faculty Salaries: 2004-2005


• The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities


• The New Finance of Public Higher Education


• Rights Revoked: Attacks on the Right to Organize and Bargain


• More Than They Bargained For: Contingent Faculty


• Addendum — Summary of Provisions: Contingent Faculty


• Veblen Revisited: Faculty Workload and Productivity in an Era of Privatization and Assessment


• Benefits and Retirement: 2005


• ESPs: Professional Development Opportunities


• Appendix: NEA Higher Education Bargaining Units


• The NEA 2004-2005 Faculty Salary Report

Although children's care before they enter school influences readiness in important ways, quality of care can vary widely. Low-income families tend to rely on family, friends, and neighbors--“kith and kin caregivers”--especially for infants and toddlers. The Enhanced Home Visiting Pilot Project, funded by the Head Start Bureau in 2004, supports the quality of care that kith and kin caregivers provide to infants and toddlers enrolled in home-based Early Head Start programs.

A growing number of Medicaid beneficiaries receiving disability-related assistance in their homes hire workers and manage the services themselves under consumer-directed care. Although consumer direction clearly benefits beneficiaries, it is sustainable only if workers are satisfied with their experiences. Directly hired workers in this study were almost always the consumers' friends or relatives; compared with agency workers, these individuals provided comparable amounts of care and reported similar levels of physical injury, but they were more likely to report emotional strain and want more respect from the consumer's family. States may be able to reduce emotional strain and injury through educational materials and counseling.

The Private Lives study, carried out in early 2005, is one of the largest surveys of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) people ever conducted. It aimed to document aspects of the health and wellbeing of a large sample of GLBTI people in Australia, to explore the impact of factors such as
homophobia, discrimination, family and community connection on health and wellbeing, and to investigate aspects of health service use. In all, 5476 people between 16 and 92 years of age (mean age 34) completed the on-line survey. This sample provides us with a detailed picture of the lives of GLBTI in Australia in all their diversity and complexity. Of the sample 63% were male and 35% were female; just over half (52%) identified as a “gay man”, 18% as “lesbian” and 10% as “bisexual”. There were 100 transgender and 18 intersex participants. There was a broadly representational spread of participants from all states and territories, and 22% lived outside major cities (34% in 2001 national census).

The HIV Futures 4 survey was completed by 1064 HIV positive Australians from all states and territories, of whom 96 (9.0%) were women. This represents approximately 8.0% of HIV positive women in Australia. There was a wide age range, with a mean of 40.5 years and a median of 39.5 years. The majority of women were Australian born (73.7%). Two women (2.1%) indicated they were of
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Island origin.

If you have a friend or loved one who has talked about suicide, has attempted suicide or has followed through on suicide, learning about this ultimate act of despair can help you understand the thought processes behind this decision. It can also help you recognize the signs of suicidal thought and may help you prevent someone from taking his or her life. What is suicide? Suicide is neither an illness nor a condition. Rather, it's a complex set of behaviors that exists on a continuum, from ideas to actions. For instance, someone you know may wish he or she were dead but never intend to act on those thoughts. They may think about suicide but not have a specific plan. On the other hand, they may have a very specific plan, with a date, location and method. Or they may have a plan as well as the intent and the means to carry it out.

Objectives. The RTI International—University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center (RTI-UNC EPC) systematically reviewed evidence on efficacy of treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED), harms associated with treatments, factors associated with the treatment efficacy and with outcomes of these conditions, and whether treatment and outcomes for these conditions differ by sociodemographic characteristics. . . .
Conclusions. The literature regarding treatment efficacy and outcomes for AN, BN, and BED is of highly variable quality. In future studies, researchers must attend to issues of statistical power, research design, standardized outcome measures, and sophistication and appropriateness of statistical methodology.

Some of the most important new data to emerge on young adult drinking were collected through a recent nationwide survey, the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). According to these data, in 2001–2002 about 70 percent of young adults in the United States, or about 19 million people, consumed alcohol in the year preceding the survey. It’s not only that young people are drinking but the way they drink that puts them at such high risk for alcohol-related problems. Research consistently shows that people tend to drink the heaviest in their late teens and early to mid-twenties.

This provides a summary of responses to the consultation exercise on the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (ICMA) service. The consultation asked for comments on the issues around the operation and implementation of the service and set out the topics that the Government saw as central to the debate, including issues around the role and functions of the IMCA, definitions of serious medical treatment and whether the service should be provided to other groups and situations.

This sets out recommendations for guiding the development of mental health nursing, with the core aim of improving the outcomes and experience of care for service users and carers.

This Good Practice Guide is designed to complement From values to action: The Chief Nursing Officer’s review of mental health nursing (www.dh.gov.uk/cno). It is one of a number of publications currently available to support recruitment and retention. The Chief Nursing Officer’s (CNO’s) review was established to answer the question ‘how can mental health nursing best contribute to the care of service users in the future?’ The review has recognised the importance of staffing issues and the need to improve recruitment and retention, as well as considering how new ways of working might answer some of the challenges of expanding services with a limited nursing workforce. The review included a formal national consultation that sought answers to a range of questions, including about how best to improve the recruitment and retention of mental health nurses (MHNs). A literature review was also completed to inform the review and included identification of evidence around recruitment and retention issues.

The NHIS-D was a supplement to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in 1994 and 1995 and is one of the more comprehensive data sources regarding people with disabilities in the United States. In addition to the broader disability questions used in the NHIS, the supplement contains additional questions that can help identify disability including questions about health conditions (both physical and mental), service receipt and program participation (e.g. SSI), activity limitations, and participation restrictions. The supplement also contains extensive information about the different facets of the lives of people with disabilities including the types of services people with disabilities receive, transportation issues facing working age adults with disabilities, social activities of people with disabilities, vocational rehabilitation services, and disability accommodations. The highlight of the NHIS-D is its breadth of information about disability. All individuals in the NHIS are asked many detailed questions that can be useful in defining various populations of people with disabilities. Questions include those that identify activity limitations, mental health issues, and particular conditions.

Mental Health is a major priority for NHS Scotland. We want to improve the quality of life and increase opportunities for social inclusion for people experiencing mental health problems and their families and carers. We can take pride in our distinctive and rights-based mental health legislation in Scotland. The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 is rightly recognised as groundbreaking, rights-based legislation, and is admired throughout the world. We can also take pride in our transformational policy for the NHS. Delivering for Health sets out a radical and progressive new vision for NHS Scotland and partner agencies and signals a new direction for services. It reaffirms our vision of better prevention, better health promotion and better services to meet the mental health and physical needs of people within their communities.

The internet has become increasingly important to users in their everyday lives. The proportion of Americans online on a typical day grew from 36% of the entire adult population in January 2002 to 44% in December 2005. The number of adults who said they logged on at least once a day from home rose from 27% of American adults in January 2002 to 35% in late 2005. And for many of those users, the internet has become a crucial source of information-- Pew Internet & American Life Project show that fully 45% of internet users, or about 60 million Americans, say that the internet helped them make big decisions or negotiate their way through major episodes in their lives in the previous two years.

These fact sheets contain results from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and School Health Profiles (Profiles) related to childhood overweight. The YRBS results describe the problem by identifying the percent of high school students who are overweight, engage in unhealthy dietary behaviors, or are physically inactive. The Profiles results describe characteristics of health education, physical education, opportunities for physical activity, and the school environment among middle/junior and senior high schools that may help address the problem.

In the United States, 54 million young people attend school for about 6 hours of class time approximately 180 days per year. Schools are in a unique position
to help improve the health status of children and adolescents throughout the United States. In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in
collaboration with state and local education and health agencies, developed the School Health Profiles (Profiles) to measure health education practices and some school health policies. Using input from education and health agencies, Profiles evolved to provide a more comprehensive assessment of school health policies and programs. The CDC developed Profiles to help state and local education and health agencies monitor and assess characteristics of and trends in school health education; physical education; asthma management activities; school health policies related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention, tobacco-use prevention, violence prevention, physical activity, and competitive foods (foods and beverages sold outside of the USDA school meal program); food service; and family and community involvement in school health programs. Profiles has been conducted biennially since 1996 and includes state and local surveys of principals and lead health education teachers in middle/junior and senior high schools.

The monograph includes five chapters. Chapter 1 describes individuals with psychiatric disabilities, introduces common views on how VR provided services to this population, and identifies barriers preventing VR from providing services. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the history of the public VR programs serving individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Chapter 3 discusses current and best practices, in addition to presenting new and alternative methods. Chapter 4 addresses systemic issues impacting service delivery. Finally, Chapter 5 outlines implications for managing change and provides case study examples.

Family members and other supporters of people with mental illnesses (referred to here as consumers of mental health services) can play a key role in their treatment and recovery, including helping the consumer find services (if the consumer wants services), promoting self-determination (the right to have power over one’s own life), providing encouragement and fostering hope. Watching someone you care about cope with mental illness can be difficult and painful. As is true for all caregivers, it is crucial that you take care of yourself, respect your limits and find the support and respite you need in order to avoid irritability or burnout.

The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill was published today with the aim of overhauling the country's adoption system to ensure more vulnerable youngsters enjoy the benefits of a stable home life. Education and Young People Minister Peter Peacock said: "Our proposals are designed to put the interests of the child first. We know that the stability family adoption offers can improve future life chances and that's why adoption will remain an option to improve children's lives."

In 1940, statistics on educational attainment were collected for every person enumerated in the census and from a sample of them thereafter. In 1940, only 25 percent of the population age 25 and older had a high school diploma, and just 5 percent earned a bachelor’s degree or more. By the close of the 20th century, these figures had increased to 80 percent with high school diplomas and 24 percent with bachelor’s degrees. Educational attainment data are shown by sex, race and Hispanic origin (since 1980) at the regional and state levels. These data are based on the decennial census and are separate from annual data collected in the Current Population Survey.

Gonorrhea (pronounced gah-nuh-ree-uh) is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). This means that you get it by having oral, anal, or vaginal sex with someone who has gonorrhea. It’s caused by a type of bacteria that can grow in warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, like the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes in women as well as the urethra in men and women. Gonorrhea can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes, and anus.

Chlamydia (pronounced kluh-mid-ee-uh) is the most frequently reported sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by bacteria (Chlamydia trachomatis) in the U.S. An estimated 2.8 million Americans get chlamydia each year. Women are often reinfected, meaning they get the STD again, if their sex partners are not treated. Reinfections place women at higher risk for serious reproductive health complications, including infertility.

This study by researchers from the Institute of Fiscal Studies examines trends in poverty over the past 30 years, using expenditure to measure poverty rather than income. It also examines spending levels among the lowest-income households, to assess whether income or spending would give a better guide to their living standards. Finally, it examines whether pensioners’ spending has increased as a result of higher means-tested benefits.

Over the last several decades, there has been a substantial increase in interest among the pediatric health policy and practitioner communities in moving beyond narrow medical models of health to promote more broadly the development of very young children including their social, emotional, intellectual, and physical well-being. In this report, we review existing national data sources in terms of their capacity to inform child health policy and practice in their efforts to promote early child development. The body of the report provides an overview of existing areas of strength, identifies gaps, and makes recommendations for future data development. Some 26 national surveys and administrative data sources are assessed for their collective ability to support research and for their adequacy as sources of descriptive social indicator data.

Concern, and anger, over gentrification has grown in communities across the country as housing rental and sales prices have soared. Housing markets strengthened during the 1990s along with the national economy, and have remained strong even while the economy began to slow down in the spring of 2000, one of the few sectors to do so. Decreases in affordable housing units have accompanied the higher prices in many places, and there are numerous reports of resident displacement from neighborhoods long ignored that now attract higher-income households. Increased housing prices themselves are not a problem per se. It is when costs increase in predominantly lower-income neighborhoods where residents' incomes do not keep pace that displacement can occur. As housing prices increase, lower-income households are at risk of being pushed out or prevented from moving into certain geographic areas because of the prohibitive costs and limited household earnings. It is this geographic component, along with restricted economic opportunities, that makes gentrification-related displacement a problem.

This document is intended as an initial good practice guide for all commissioners, including those within primary care care trusts (PCTs), local authorities and partnerships (joint commissioning managers/joint commissioning groups), responsible for the commissioning of in-patient treatment and residential rehabilitation (Tier 4 interventions) drug and alcohol services. It precedes guidance that will be published later this year, as part of the cross-Government work programme on Tier 4 treatment.

- There were 8.4 million families in Canada in 2001.
- The majority of Canadian families are married households. In 2001, 70.4% of families were married couples, 13.8% were common-law relationships, and the remaining 15.6% were lone-parent families.
- Although married families are the most common family type in Canada, Quebec and the Northern Territories have a smaller percentage. In 2001, only 58.2% of families in Quebec were married families, while 25.2% were common-law. In the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, common-law families ranged from 23% to 31%, higher than the Canadian average of 13.8%.

Suicide has stolen lives around the world and across the centuries. Meanings attributed to suicide and notions of what to do about it have varied with time and place, but suicide has continued to exact a relentless toll. In the United States, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death and contributes–through suicide attempts–to disability and suffering for hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. There are few who escape being touched by the tragedy of suicide in their lifetimes; those who lose someone close as a result of suicide experience an emotional trauma that may take leave, but never departs.

The media can play a powerful role in educating the public about suicide prevention. Stories about suicide can inform readers and viewers about the likely causes of suicide, its warning signs, trends in suicide rates, and recent treatment advances. They can also highlight opportunities to prevent suicide. Media stories about individual deaths by suicide may be newsworthy and need to be covered, but they also have the potential to do harm. Implementation of recommendations for media coverage of suicide has been shown to decrease suicide rates.

Evidence outlined in this report has shown that:
- there are significant connections between reported alcohol use and depressive symptoms
- people report using alcohol to help them sleep
- people drink more when experiencing moderate to high levels of shyness or fear
- anxious people use drinking ‘to cope’ and are more likely to avoid social situations where alcohol is not available
- as many as 65% of suicides have been linked to excessive drinking
- 70% of men who kill themselves have drunk alcohol before doing so
- almost a third of suicides amongst young people are committed while the person is intoxicated
- anxiety and depressive symptoms are more common in heavy drinkers
- heavy drinking is more common in those with anxiety and depression
- there is a significant relationship between job stress and alcohol consumption
- many GPs believe that alcohol is a cause of mental health problems.

The NHS End of Life Care (EoLC) Programme is part of an overall strategy to address some of these challenges. The aim of the programme is to improve end of life care for all patients, irrespective of diagnosis and seeks to provide greater choice for patients in their place of care and death. Also to reduce the number of emergency admissions to acute care for those who have expressed a
wish to die at home and reduce the number of patients transferred from
care homes to acute care in the last week of life. This report highlights progress made over the last year and gives examples of innovative work to improve end of life care and the importance of key partnerships with both statutory and voluntary organisations.

On Track is a long-term, multi-component initiative aimed at children and the families of children aged four to 12 who may be at risk of offending and anti-social behaviour. It is currently operational in 23 areas of particularly high crime and high deprivation. This report summarises the key findings from a survey of pupils in 20 secondary schools and pupils in years seven and eight in six middle schools in On Track areas.

This statistical first release (SFR) shows outcomes: by institution type; by age (16 to 18, 19 and over); level by age; level by qualification type; by age sector subject area; by gender ethnicity; by gender and disability status by age. For work-based learning for young people, the SFR will show outcomes: by programme strand by age; by programme strand by sector; subject area by gender; and by programme strand by ethnicity.

Depression is one of the most common reasons for people to visit their GP, around 321,000 people in Scotland contacted their doctor in the last recorded year and it has been estimated that as many as 75% of people with depression do not seek help from their doctor. This is largely because many people mistakenly believe that depression is a sign of their own weakness or an inability to cope rather than realising that it is a common and treatable illness. People with depression can and do greatly improve their quality of life when they receive appropiate treatment. The most important step however is to ask for help and not to suffer in silence. Depression Alliance Scotland provides information and support both for anyone affected by depression and their friends and family.

This tools answers common questions about menopause.

Millions of women take hormones around the time of menopause, called menopausal hormone therapy. Some women should not. It may or may not be the right choice for you. This tool answers common questions about taking hormones after menopause.

This guide is a comprehensive clinical manual that addresses the primary care needs unique to women with HIV infection. The target audience is clinicians who provide primary care to women as well as those seeking a more in-depth understanding of how to care for women with HIV/AIDS.

Results from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using measured heights and weights, indicate that an estimated 66 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese . . . One of the national health objectives for 2010 is to reduce the prevalence of obesity among adults to less than 15 percent. However, the NHANES 2003-2004 data for persons age 20 years and over suggest an increase in the proportion of obese adults in the United States, where the estimated age-adjusted prevalence moved upward from a previous level of 23 percent in NHANES III to a new level of approximately 32 percent.
View trends for both overweight and obese

This paper reports on the health component of the BRAC project entitled "Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra Poor" (CFPR/TUP). The paper examines changes in the self-reported health status of these ultra poor women in northern Bangladesh over a period of one and half years. A self-reported health score is used to compare differences in health. Women's self-reported health status is compared across several variables of interest, such as marital status, education, age, previous health, disability, occupation, sanitary knowledge and behaviour, previous food deficits, family planning, and location. (Eldis Programme)

The guide focuses on simple steps individuals can take to prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks with chemical, biological, radiological (“dirty bomb”) and nuclear weapons. The guides contain both preparatory steps and specific response guidance. This includes what individuals will experience, what their goals should be, and what they should do during each type of attack.

The Congressional Pig Book is CAGW's annual compilation of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget. The 2006 Pig Book identified 9,963 projects in the 11 appropriations bills that constitute the discretionary portion of the federal budget for fiscal 2006, costing taxpayers $29 billion. A "pork" project is a line-item in an appropriations bill that designates tax dollars for a specific purpose in circumvention of established budgetary procedures. To qualify as pork, a project must meet one of seven criteria that were developed in 1991 by CAGW and the Congressional Porkbusters Coalition.

Over recent decades, policymakers have recognized that helping parents on welfare pay for child care is essential to help them move from welfare to work. As such, child care subsidies that help defray some of or all the cost of child care have consistently been an integral part of federal and state welfare reform efforts (box 1). They were a major focus of the 1996 welfare reform legislation, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), and the cash assistance and welfare-to-work program it established (the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF, program). Although TANF families make up a relatively small proportion of the families that receive child care subsidy funding (with some additional families receiving child care support through TANF direct spending), child care is a key component of TANF welfare-to-work programs' efforts to help families move toward self-sufficiency. . . . Despite the critical role child care subsidies play in welfare-to-work efforts, little research has examined how sites have approached putting these services together for families. The Urban Institute engaged in a multiyear study to help fill the information gap about the complex interactions of these two systems on behalf of welfare families

Since it first “went national” in 1998, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (the Campaign) has aired a slew of anti-drug messages in paid and donated advertising across a full range of media. . . . What happens when exposure to the Campaign is combined with a school-based drug prevention curriculum? Because the first year of the Campaign’s full implementation phase fortuitously coincided with the ninth-grade year of a trial of Project ALERT Plus — a drug prevention curriculum for middle school students that has been recognized as an exemplary program by the Department of Education and as a model program by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention — RAND Corporation researchers were able to answer that question. The results are promising

Supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the GTO model — which includes the manual, training, and onsite technical assistance — guides communities through the phases of evidence-based, locally developed substance-abuse prevention programs:
- Planning — articulating a vision of local needs, identifying program goals, selecting evidence-based models and best practices to meet those goals, and incorporating these elements into a plan.
- Implementing — adapting the goals to local conditions and marshaling the capacities and resources to put the plan into action.
- Evaluating — developing a process for evaluating the program, assessing how well the program works, and incorporating strategies for continuous quality improvement.

The Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the encyclopedic NIS studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The NIS program was terminated in 1973 except for the Factbook, map, and gazetteer components. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO). The year 2006 marks the 59th anniversary of the establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency and the 63nd year of continuous basic intelligence support to the US Government by The World Factbook and its two predecessor programs.

HIV-positive men and women may have fertility desires and may intend to have children. The extent of these desires and intentions and how they may vary by individuals’ social and demographic characteristics and health factors is not well understood. METHODS: Interviews were conducted from September through December 1998 with 1,421 HIV-infected adults who were part of the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study, a nationally representative probability sample of 2,864 HIV-infected adults who were receiving medical care within the contiguous United States in early 1996. RESULTS: Overall, 28-29% of HIV-infected men and women receiving medical care in the United States desire children in the future. Among those desiring children, 69% of women and 59% of men actually expect to have one or more children in the future.

Although most Americans aspire to healthy aging, they will probably grow old and accumulate diseases for a long time before dying. The author lays out the framework of an approach to reform for the health care system so that people can “live well while very sick and dying.” She discusses three trajectories of decline-long maintenance of good function with a few weeks of rapid decline (e.g., as with most cancers); slow decline in physical capacity punctuated by serious exacerbations, with death coming rather seriously (e.g., as with heart failure); and long-term dwindling of function, needing years of personal care-and shows how society could build care arrangements based on each trajectory. Finally, she discusses the shape of a reform agenda that might make the last part of lift as meaningful as possible at a cost the community can sustain.

Caution should be exercised when using proxies as a source of information about older patients’ health perceptions. Questions asking about proxies’ views yield suboptimal agreement with patient responses. However, proxy scales of UI and fall concern are internally consistent and may provide valid independent information.

This research brief summarizes the findings on access to care from the HIV Costs and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS), the first comprehensive U.S. survey of health care use among a nationally representative sample of HIV-positive patients.

This 260-page report presents a comprehensive, reliable, user-friendly account of juvenile offending, victimization of juveniles, and the justice system’s response to these problems. It compiles the latest available statistics from a variety of sources to answer questions frequently asked by juvenile justice professionals, policymakers, the media, and concerned citizens. The authors, Howard Snyder and Melissa Sickmund of the National Center for Juvenile Justice, present the data in hundreds of easy-to-read tables, graphs, and maps, accompanied by clear, nontechnical analysis.

Causal effect modeling with naturalistic rather than experimental data is challenging. In observational studies participants in different treatment conditions may also differ on pretreatment characteristics that influence outcomes. Propensity score methods can theoretically eliminate these confounds for all observed covariates, but accurate estimation of propensity scores is impeded by large numbers of covariates, uncertain functional forms for their associations with treatment selection, and other problems. This article demonstrates that boosting, a modern statistical technique, can overcome many of these obstacles.

The lead professional is a key element in providing integrated support for children or young people who require services from a number of practitioners. They co-ordinate provision across agencies, offering a single point of contact for the child and their family, and reducing overlap and inconsistency in the services received. This guide is for all strategic and operational managers across all children's services who have responsibility for implementing a lead professional model of working to ensure better outcomes for children, young people and their families.

The lead professional is a key element in providing integrated support for children or young people who require services from a number of practitioners. They co-ordinate provision across agencies, offering a single point of contact for the child and their family, and reducing overlap and inconsistency in the services received. This guide is for practitioners who want to find out more and for those who are already carrying out lead professional work.

This document considers the different methods of measuring women's empowerment and possible ways of assessing its impact in India. The author analyses the impact of interventions amongst poor women and the provision of supporting facilities in order to help thrift, credit and income generating programmes to run smoothly. The paper concludes that the empowerment and general situation of women and girls continues to deteriorate due to a number of factors.

This paper explores how politically engaged Cambodian women build strategies and perform various types of resistance against the male domination of democratic arenas. It investigates possible ways to eliminate gendered hierarchies of power and how to alter the stereotypes of men and women. Two different processes are discussed: networking - as a factor that enables women's political participation; and identities - possible ways to change the dominant understandings regarding women, femininity and women's political identities.

Previous analysis of NELS:88 data found that students who are at-risk of school failure, but who are engaged and participate in school, achieve educational success. The 1993 study was a cross-sectional examination of the differences among successful versus unsuccessful students at-risk of school failure, particularly with respect to participation and engagement in school. The current study is a longitudinal investigation of the power of participating in high school and later educational outcomes. High school noncompleters, with the highest level of academic risk, stood out in each case. In postsecondary education programs, noncompleters earned the fewest credits; the mean number of credits earned by noncompleters who entered a postsecondary program was 17.0, compared to 49.4 credits for marginal completers and 87.8 credits for successful completers. High school noncompleters were less likely to be employed in 2000 (77 percent) than were successful completers (88 percent) or marginal completers (86 percent).

Conclusions—There are significant differences in physical health status and mental health status among U.S.-born and foreign-born adults. Foreign-born adults enjoy considerable advantages over their U.S.-born counterparts for many health measures despite limited access to health care and unfavorable sociodemographic characteristics. Differences in the impact of length of stay in the United States on immigrant health suggest that the role of acculturation in understanding immigrant health is complex and may differ for various race/ethnicity groups.

Older adults represent an ever-increasing proportion of the U.S. population. In 1900, adults aged 65 years and over constituted 4.1% of the U.S. population. By 2000, this percentage had tripled to 12.4%, and the number of adults in this age group grew from 3.1 million to 35 million (1). The near elderly population, comprised of those aged 55–64 years, accounted for 8.6 percent of the U.S. population (24.3 million) in 2000 (2). Together, the near elderly and the elderly represent a significant and growing portion of the U.S. population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2020 the population aged 55–64 is projected to be 42.7 million, and those 65 years and over is projected to be 54.6 million.

While it is recognised that heroin is a dangerous drug causing considerable damage to individuals and communities, there are some people who appear to be able to control their use of the drug. A study, by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, King’s College London, focused on a population of non-dependent and controlled dependent heroin users who saw their use as relatively problem-free.

In recent years there has been a rise in the number of children looked after by local authorities, with consequences both for the children and families themselves and for local authority resources. It is therefore timely to consider the option of reuniting some children with their families. This review of the research in the UK and USA, by Nina Biehal at York University, presents the available research evidence on patterns and outcomes of reunion.

In collaboration with The California Endowment Supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, December 1, 2005, Beckman Center of the National Academies, Irvine, CA, Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity

States and localities across the United States are feeling the aftereffects of a 25-year incarceration binge. In a period of just 15 years, from 1980 to 1995, the number of people incarcerated in federal and state prisons and local jails more than tripled, from about 500,000 to more than 1.5 million. Today, more than 2 million people are behind bars nationwide. Since almost all prisoners are eventually released, an incarceration boom necessarily translates into a reentry boom. In fact, more than 600,000 people are released from prison each year. Unfortunately, most end up back in the criminal justice system before long. With state and local budgets strained by the high cost of incarceration, breaking the cycle of recidivism is one promising way to shrink the prison population — as well as to increase public safety and to improve the well-being of former prisoners, their families, and their communities.

This study used a range of data from England, Scotland and Wales to examine the material resources and financial satisfaction of older people. Vanessa Burholt and Gill Windle, from the Centre for Social Policy Research and Development at the University of Wales, Bangor, identified the key determinants of poverty in old age. Overall, the findings suggest that differences in material resources and financial well-being in old age were determined by earlier life experiences, for example engagement in the labour market and subsequent ability to save and invest.

Few continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) have been developed in the UK, although they are expected to become increasingly common. As a relatively new concept, there is a general lack of understanding of the characteristics and role of CCRCs and the issues they raise. This analysis of current and emerging policy and practice is intended to provide practical assistance to those involved in the planning and development process, especially local authority planning officers.

There has been a growing policy emphasis on promoting independence for older people, offering them choices, and improving their quality of life. Retirement villages appear to serve current policy agendas very well. They offer purposefully designed barrier-free housing with its associated autonomy, a range of facilities and activities that are not care related which generate opportunities for informal and formal social activity and engagement, alongside a range of care and support services that can respond quickly and flexibly to a range of care needs over time.

The purpose of this Statistics Release is to present national figures for care homes for adults in Scotland. This release also includes details of long stay residents in Care Homes for Older People for censuses dating back to March 2003. This is the first time such information has been published since the introduction of the current form of the census in March 2003. At September 30, 2005 there were a total of 1,504 registered care homes providing 43,583 places to 38,433 residents.

This publication note presents estimates released by the Scottish Executive, of the proportions and numbers of children, working age adults and pensioners living in low income households in Scotland. The estimates are derived from the Department for Work and Pensions' Households Below Average Income (HBAI) analysis, which is based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS).

This 34 page A5 booklet gives an overview of the Drug Interventions Programme for the prison and probation services. It is aimed at professionals and organisations working within the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the prison and probation services, including prison healthcare workers, CARAT workers, drug programme staff, prison officers, prison governors, resettlement teams and probation managers and staff. It provides an overview of the Programme and the vital contribution prison and probation services make to its interventions.

New developments, trends and in-depth information on selected issues.

This highlights the outcomes of a project designed to investigate suitable methods for raising response rates in school surveys. It considers the factors underlying the increasing difficulty researchers face in achieving satisfactory response rates in surveys of schools.

This document sets out how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It is addressed to all practitioners and front-line managers who have particular responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and to senior and operational managers in organisations that are responsible for commissioning or providing services to children, young people, parents and carers.

The National Audit Office, the Audit Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Healthcare Commission have joint aims to promote improvement in patient care and efficiency in the NHS and public health. This document sets out their combined programme of national studies for 2006-07 and approach to 2007-08.

This booklet has been created to help patients and their families through the process of organ transplantation and to provide the information needed to make knowledgeable healthcare decisions.

Test how much you know about how physical activity affects your heart.

Updated Trend Tables
These tables were updated as of March 2006 and differ from the printed book.

Reliable and stable child care helps parents retain steady employment and reduces workplace absenteeism. Working parents with affordable, dependable child care are less likely to face child care interruptions that can result in absences and other schedule disruptions in the workplace. Yet meeting the high costs of child care is difficult for lowincome working families. In February, Congress passed the fiscal year 2006 federal budget (called the “Deficit Reduction Act of 2005”), which included significant changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. As a result, many states will have to increase the number of families receiving TANF who participate in work activities. Provision of a child care subsidy can make a significant difference in helping these families access the child care that best meets their needs and retain stable employment. Research shows that when families are not able to access child care assistance, they may go into debt, return to welfare, choose lower-quality, less stable child care, or face untenable choices in their household budgets (for example, between paying for child care or paying for rent or clothes).

This protocol has been devised with the understanding that most young people under the age of 18 will have an interest in sex and sexual relationships. It is designed to assist those working with children and young people to identify where these relationships may be abusive, and the children and young people may need the provision of protection or additional services.

This study aims to provide salient, up-to-date information on parents' use, views and experiences of childcare and early years provision, and the survey of parents of three and four-year-old children and their use of early years services series.

The National Audit Office, the Audit Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Healthcare Commission have joint aims to promote improvement in patient care and efficiency in the NHS and public health. This document sets out their combined programme of national studies for 2006-07 and approach to 2007-08.

This document sets out how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It is addressed to all practitioners and front-line managers who have particular responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and to senior and operational managers in organisations that are responsible for commissioning or providing services to children, young people, parents and carers.

This paper examines ways to measure new dimensions of development, such as institutions, governance, and social and political participation. It presents the issues addressed in survey modules on governance, democracy and multiple dimensions of poverty, which have been appended to household surveys by National Statistics Institutes in twelve African and Latin-American developing countries, and examines the methodological lessons learnt from this approach.

Microfinance—or formal financial services for the poor—helps people fight poverty on their own terms, in a sustainable way. Poor people use loans, deposits, and other financial services to reduce their vulnerability, seize opportunities, and increase their earnings. Indirectly, microfinance improves schooling, health, and women’s empowerment. In most settings, however, microfinance does not reach the people at the very bottom of the socioeconomic scale—the “poorest.” Today there is much debate about whether microfinance is for the poorest. Many millions of people living on less than a dollar a day (the very poor) are already being served by microfinance institutions (MFIs). And yet few MFIs reach the “poorest” customers at the bottom of the poverty scale in their own countries.

This evidence into practice briefing aims to help increase and maintain the uptake of physical activity among adults. It is for professionals working in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors with roles and responsibilities for physical activity.

Rape is an appalling crime that devastates the lives of victims and their families and inspires fear in communities. This consultation paper explains and invites comments on four proposals for changes to the law to help secure a conviction where rape has occurred: capacity in relation to consent; expert evidence; first complaint; and use of pre-recorded video evidence.

This patient and public booklet provides the latest science-based information about Sleep. Learn about . . .
- Common sleep myths and practical tips for getting adequate sleep
- Coping with jet lag and nighttime shift work
- Avoiding dangerous drowsy driving
This booklet also gives information on sleep disorders, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy, and some parasomnias.

Between 1993 and 2003, the number of substance abuse treatment admissions increased from 1.62 million to 1.84 million treatment admissions. This increase in substance abuse treatment admissions was almost 14%. The proportion of admissions also increased between 1993 and 2003 for those reporting as their primary substance of abuse: marijuana (increased from 7% in 1993 to 16% in 2003), opiates (increased from 13% to 18%), or stimulants (increased from 2% to 7%). The proportion of admissions decreased during this decade for those reporting alcohol (57% to 41%) or cocaine (17% to 14%) as their primary substance of abuse. Substance abuse treatment admissions that were aged 25 to 34 decreased from 40% of admissions in 1993 to 25% of treatment admissions in 2003.

In 2003-2004, past month alcohol use rates for persons aged 12 to 20 were among the lowest in Utah (18.6 percent) and Tennessee (22.3 percent) and among the highest in North Dakota (42.7 percent) and South Dakota (39.1 percent). Between 2002-2003 and 2003-2004, past month alcohol use increased in California (from 24.7 to 26.3 percent) and Wisconsin (from 34.7 to 38.3 percent), while binge alcohol use increased in Iowa (from 24.7 to 27.7 percent) and Oklahoma (from 19.1 to 21.5 percent)

This letter from chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson provides an update on some of the elements of clinical good practice on sexual health and, in particular, the more serious sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV.

This letter aims to alert to the financial allocations being made available to support patients affected by changes to social security benefit rules. The letter contains important information for mental health providers, primary care trust commissioners and social services authorities about financial allocations.

This ambitious project was developed with two key goals in mind. The first was to facilitate improved access for genealogists and other researchers to some of Library and Archives Canada's frequently used immigration documents, such as passenger lists and land grants. Researchers can get tips on how to find documents related to an individual immigrant in Find an Immigrant and access information on some of Library and Archives Canada's major immigration "collections" in The Documentary Trail. The second goal was to provide Canadians with a unique history of Canadian immigration for the years 1800-1939.

This bulletin provides a comprehensive overview of many different aspects of cocaine use in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It presents data gathered in the All Ireland Drug Prevalence Survey 2002/2003 relating to both cocaine powder and crack use on a lifetime (ever used), last year (recent use), and last month (current use) basis. The bulletin also examines age of first use, regular use, method of taking cocaine, ease of obtaining cocaine, reasons for stopping use, perceptions of risk and the profile of cocaine users.

A database of drug treatment services in England, Wales and Scotland

An online encyclopaedia of drugs and their history, effects and the law

Evidence Network has developed over the past five years in response to a decision in 1999 by the Economic and Social Research Council that a major initiative was needed to bring social science research much nearer to the decision making process. Funding of £3 million over three years was allocated in 2000 for a national co-ordinating Centre and a network of research Nodes that made up the initial Evidence Network. With further funding since 2003, the Network has grown substantially through the Centre's Associate programme, and some 900 researchers, practitioners and policy makers world-wide had joined by October 2005.

In order to demonstrate t