grey literature November 2007 archives
November 30, 2007
Attitudes to punishment have been inconsistent. Although evidence indicates that abuse of children was known about throughout the review period, public awareness didn’t develop until the 1980s. Throughout the period there was a lack of qualified care staff, perhaps a symptom of the low status given to residential child care. The law didn’t provide adequately for talking and listening to children and taking their views into account until the end of the review period. The law in place during the first half of the review period didn’t ensure that children’s residential care services responded sufficiently to the needs of the children requiring the services. The law responded slowly to growing awareness of the abuse of children across the review period and to strengthening the protection of children in residential establishments and children’s homes. Corporal punishment was permitted in residential establishments into the 1980s despite concerns expressed about abuse in residential child care. And the law did not require inter-agency working and sharing information as an aid to protecting children until after the review period.
BACKGROUND: A majority of states require parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion. In light of two U.S. Supreme Court rulings that prohibit parents from having absolute veto over their daughters’ decision to have an abortion, many states require the consent or notification of only one parent, usually 24 or 48 hours before the procedure. Many parental involvement requirements also include a medical emergency exception and a judicial bypass procedure, through which a minor may receive court approval to obtain an abortion without parental involvement. Not all states adhere to this model. On the more stringent end of the spectrum, a handful of states require the consent or notification of both parents. On the other end, several states allow grandparents or other adult relatives to be involved in place of the minors’ parents; in cases of neglect or abuse, some states waive the consent or notification requirement altogether. State court decisions have also contributed to the diversity in requirements: Some state courts have enjoined laws they conclude violate their states’ constitutions; at the same time, similar or even more restrictive laws remain in effect in other states.
Improving the Odds shines a spotlight on state variation in the policy commitment to low- income young children and families. The result is a unique, state-by-state picture of the population of young children and the policy choices that states make across a range of services. The project provides state-specific profiles that integrate data about an array of policies that affect early childhood development. These policies fall into three major categories: health and nutrition, early care and learning, and parenting and economic supports.
The following reports are available by State: Statewide Assessments, Final Reports, Program
Improvement Plans, and Individual Key Findings Reports.
For at least three decades, policymakers, researchers, and program operators have developed and studied strategies to improve employment outcomes for people who face serious obstacles to steady work. Interest in the hard-to-employ surged in the 1990s, when the strong economy, rising employment, and dramatic declines in the welfare caseload all combined to focus a spotlight on groups who had been left behind. For the first time on a large scale, welfare agencies began developing or brokering services for recipients with mental health conditions, substance abuse problems, disabilities, and other serious barriers to work. Parallel changes were occurring in other systems: Criminal justice officials began to focus on the daunting problems facing prisoners returning to their communities, and the rapid growth of disability programs led policymakers to look for ways to encourage work among beneficiaries.
This paper looks at the effectiveness of the implementation of Tough Choices from 1 April 2006 in changing the characteristics of people coming through the drug interventions programme and improving the retention of drug users in the programme.
BACKGROUND: Many states require parental involvement in a minor’s decision to terminate a pregnancy. In sharp contrast, states overwhelmingly consider minors who are parents to be capable of making critical decisions affecting the health and welfare of their children without their own parents’ knowledge or consent. Nearly every state permits minor parents to place a child for adoption, although some require an adult to be involved in the process in some capacity. Moreover, most states authorize minor parents to make health decisions for their children, and some allow minor parents to authorize surgery.
Despite low levels of unemployment, average household income has declined since 2000. The number of children living in low-income families has continued to rise. Programs that provide supports for low-income, working parents can increase income and child well-being.
November 29, 2007
BACKGROUND: The advent of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s spurred states to reevaluate their sex education policies and, in some cases, expand their requirements. Most states require that public schools teach some form of sex or STI/HIV education. Most states, including some that do not mandate the instruction itself, also place requirements on how abstinence or contraception should be handled when included in a school district’s curriculum. This guidance is heavily weighted toward stressing abstinence; in contrast, while many states allow or require that contraception be covered, none requires that it be stressed. Further affecting whether students receive instruction on sex or STIs/HIV are parental consent requirements or the more frequent “opt-out” clauses, which allow parents to remove students from instruction the parents find objectionable.
The Phenomenon. Lone- or single-parent families, primarily lone mothers are becoming an increasingly significant family type in all the advanced industrialized countries (see Table 2.17a).According to Eurostat, lone parents are those who live alone with their dependent children (Lehmann and Wirtz, 2004). Dependent children are those under age 16 or 16-24 and living in a household of which at least one of their parents is a member and who are economically inactive (e.g. in education or training). Cohabiting couples, another growing family type, are no longer counted as single parents, at least in most countries.
BACKGROUND: The legal ability of minors to consent to a range of sensitive health care services—including sexual and reproductive health care, mental health services and alcohol and drug abuse treatment—has expanded dramatically over the past 30 years. This trend reflects the recognition that, while parental involvement in minors’ health care decisions is desirable, many minors will not avail themselves of important services if they are forced to involve their parents. With regard to sexual and reproductive health care, many states explicitly permit all or some minors to obtain contraceptive, prenatal and STI services without parental involvement. Moreover, nearly every state permits minor parents to make important decisions on their own regarding their children. In sharp contrast, the majority of states require parental involvement in a minor’s abortion. In most cases, state consent laws apply to all minors age 12 and older. In some cases, however, states allow only certain groups of minors—such as those who are married, pregnant or already parents—to consent. Several states have no relevant policy or case law; in these states, physicians commonly provide medical care without parental consent to minors they deem mature, particularly if the state allows minors to consent to related services.
• By their 18th birthday, six in 10 teenage women and more than five in 10 teenage men have had sexual intercourse.
• Between 1995 and 2002, the number of teens aged 15–17 who had ever engaged in sexual intercourse declined 10%.
• Of the approximately 750,000 teen pregnancies that occur each year, 82% are unintended. More than one-quarter end in abortion.
The statistics about older workers in Arkansas in 2004 show this group’s proportion of the state’s labor force has increased. Changes in the size and composition of age groups may affect government program and policy choices and the options available to businesses. National projections indicate that the population 65 and older will increase from about 1 in 8 people to 1 in 5 people by 2030, so that older workers will likely compose an increasingly larger proportion of each state’s workforce.1 Whether, and in what industries, the large wave of workers born during the Baby Boom of 1946 to 1964 are currently working may influence their labor force behavior beyond traditional retirement ages. That is important information for firms planning for the eventual loss of experienced workers and the payout of pensions. In 2004, the Baby Boom cohort was aged 40 to 58.
This report gives an update on the effectiveness of drug treatment in England, within the context of changing patterns of drug use and an expansion in criminal justice referrals.
Help is available to callers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Hotline advocates are available for victims and anyone calling on their behalf to provide crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals to agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Assistance is available in English and Spanish with access to more than 140 languages through interpreter services. If you or someone you know is frightened about something in your relationship, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224.
November 28, 2007
Older adults in Cambodia are survivors of harsh living conditions, including poverty and periods of extreme violence. Although these experiences may affect health outcomes, little data has existed to monitor Cambodia’s older population. The current paper uses data from the 2004 Study of the Elderly in Cambodia (SEC) and focuses on disability status. The data is the first of its kind for Cambodia*a comprehensive survey employing a representative sample of adults 60 and older living across the country. Disability prevalence by age and sex, Active Life Expectancy (ALE) and common correlates of disability, using Activity of Daily Living (ADL) items, are examined. In addition, disability prevalence rates are compared to those for older adults living in other countries in South-east Asia. The results indicate that older Cambodians are more disabled than their counterparts living elsewhere. Possible reasons include long-term influence of social disruption and poverty. Women live longer than men, but spend a greater proportion of their remaining life in states of disability and severe disability. Correlates of disability show that younger age, being male, having higher income satisfaction, being married and living in urban areas associate with lower probabilities of reporting disability. A contribution of the analysis is the examination of a basic measure of health among a population of which little is known.
Despite the importance of recidivism, there is a large divide between research and policy. What policy makers would like to measure often bears little resemblance to what researchers are able to measure, given the limitations on appropriate data and available information. As a result, research findings are often used out of context and with little regard for limitations imposed on them by the methodological constraints they face. This is driven primarily by a lack of clarity surrounding an appropriate definition of recidivism and clear articulation of research methodologies. This report deals with important questions relating to recidivism research. It provides a conceptual framework through which recidivism can be defined and interpreted and arms both researchers and policy makers with a battery of tools useful in critical assessment of the research literature. It begins by looking at the general definition of recidivism and the problems inherent in its measurement and identification.
Higher education is one of the most effective ways that parents can raise their families’ incomes. There is clear evidence that higher educational attainment is associated with higher earnings. Over the past two decades, parents with less education have been losing economic ground. Policies that support education for low-income parents and children offer them the potential for lasting economic security.
Welcome to the Online Directory of Crime Victim Services, an OVC resource designed to help service providers and individuals locate nonemergency crime victim service agencies in the United States and abroad.
The communication difficulties often experienced by people with dementia mean that a wide range of staff in different settings, as well as family and friends, may wish to find ways to communicate more effectively with people with dementia. 'Talking Mats' is a low-technology communication framework that was developed at the University of Stirling to help people with communication difficulties to express their views. It uses a simple system of picture symbols and a textured mat that allow people to indicate their feelings about various options within a topic by placing the relevant image below a visual scale. The project compared how well people at different stages of dementia could express their views about four aspects of their well-being (activities, people, environment and self) in three types of conversation.
The Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration was launched in 1996 to test different approaches for helping families with children make progress toward self-sufficiency and improving efficiency in the public housing and Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher programs. As the Urban Institute concluded in its evaluation, however, the lack of attention to research objectives in designing the demonstration and “the lack of consistent data on resident characteristics, incomes, and rent payments” have meant that “there is no way to determine with certainty whether individual programs have achieved the goal of work and self-sufficiency.” HUD’s Inspector General similarly concluded that insufficient data had been collected to determine whether the various goals of the demonstration had been me
November 27, 2007
For at least three decades, policymakers have struggled to promote work among welfare recipients, while continuing to protect these vulnerable families from economic deprivation. At first, work-oriented services were offered on a voluntary basis to a narrow range of recipients. Over time, participation in work-focused activities became mandatory, initially for recipients with no young children and, eventually, for a very broad share of the welfare caseload. MDRC’s pathbreaking welfare studies have provided rigorous evidence at every major stage of this evolving story and on every major programmatic strategy that has been tried.
One of the lessons learned from IHI and the pioneering study “Crossing the Quality Chasm” by the Institute of Medicine was the tremendous gap between best care and everyday care in hospitals and office practices, and the fundamental system changes that were needed to close this chasm. It occurred to us that the child abuse field could benefit by learning from many of the methodologies designed by the IHI and building them on to identified best practices in child abuse. We set out to engage some of the nation’s leaders in child abuse and asked their guidance in how the best thinking of both fields could be brought together. . . . We hope that this document will stimulate further collaboration between the healthcare and child abuse fields, and will accelerate the improvement of care provided so that, one day, every child in America who is the victim of abuse will receive the best treatment provided in the most effective way.
Many states are searching for ways to promote employment among welfare recipients facing serious barriers to work. This report presents interim results from an evaluation of New York City’s Personal Roads to Individual Development and Employment (PRIDE) program, a large-scale welfare-to-work program for recipients with work-limiting medical or mental health conditions. The PRIDE evaluation is part of the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project, which was conceived by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The ERA project is being conducted by MDRC under contract to ACF, with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. PRIDE operated from 1999 to 2004, serving more than 30,000 people, before it was replaced by a new program that builds on the PRIDE model. PRIDE started with an in-depth assessment of participants’ work and education history and their medical conditions. The program’s employment services were similar to those in New York’s regular welfare-to-work program — emphasizing unpaid work experience, education, and job placement assistance — but, in PRIDE, staff tried to ensure that participants were assigned to activities that took account of their medical conditions (most commonly, orthopedic problems, mental health conditions, asthma, or high blood pressure).
Nationally, from 1997 to 2005, the number of working families paying more than half their income for housing increased 87 percent, from 2.4 million to 4.5 million. Adding in families living in severely inadequate, or dilapidated, housing yields a total of 5.2 million working families with critical housing needs in 2005—an increase of some 73 percent over the 3 million families experiencing these problems in 1997. In the most recent two-year period from 2003 to 2005, however, the number of working families with critical housing needs grew only modestly from 5 million to 5.2 million households. While encouraging, one troubling sign is that virtually all of the increase was among renters. In fact, the number of renters paying more than half their income for housing rose 103 percent, from 1 million in 1997 to 2.1 million in 2005. Meanwhile, renters remain twice as likely as homeowners to live in inadequate housing or crowded conditions, and the number of non-working families with critical housing needs— many of whom are renters—climbed significantly between 2003 and 2005.
The Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) are conducted by the Children's Bureau, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to help States improve safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes for children and families who receive services through the child welfare system.
A practical ambulance service and A&E urgent care pathway for older people with complex needs caused by falls, confusional states or hip fracture. It identifies best clinical practice in these three areas and constructs a clear and auditable clinical care pathway.
November 26, 2007
This publication brings together statistics on deaths and mortality in Australia. In the main, statistics refer to deaths registered during the calendar year shown, unless stated otherwise. Populations used in the calculation of rates for 2006 are preliminary estimated resident population by age and sex at 30 June 2006. State/territory relates to the state/territory of usual residence of the deceased at the time of death, unless stated otherwise.
Summary: Drinks with “lower” alcohol content are produced in each of the major beverage alcohol categories (beer, wine, and spirits). The existence of such drinks points toward an interest on the part of the beverage alcohol producers to provide an expanded range of choices reflecting consumers’ lifestyles, health-consciousness, price sensitivities, as well as tastes. This report examines lower alcohol beverage (LABs) from the perspectives of the beverage alcohol producers, governments, and consumers. It provides an overview of the types of LABs available, identifies trends, and reviews relevant research.
Older adults in sub-Saharan Africa face harsh living conditions including severe poverty and an HIV/AIDS epidemic that results in unprecedented rates of mortality. Yet, because of a lack of available data and only a trickle of past studies, the impact of these conditions on living circumstances and subsequent quality of life is unclear. By reducing the availability of children and by increasing grand-parenting obligations, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in particular, has been hypothesized to have impacts on living arrangements. This study utilizes cross-sectional and longitudinal Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from sub-Saharan African countries that are characterized by differing levels of severity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Individual level data is examined to assess regional living arrangement distributions. National level data from twenty-two countries is examined to tests hypotheses that the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic relates to being more or less likely to live with children and grandchildren, and more or less likely to live in specific types of arrangements, like in a skipped generation household. Longitudinal data from nine countries is used to test whether changes in these types of arrangements are more or less common where rates of HIV prevalence have been higher. Despite a small number of observations points, several fairly robust associations are found. For instance, older adults living in countries that have had a high accumulation of AIDS-related deaths are much more likely to live with a double-orphaned grandchild, while the average annual increase in the percent living with a double-orphaned grandchild over a decade or so is much higher in countries that have had higher AIDS prevalence. Although there are several possible explanations for these associations, they are consistent with hypotheses related to the loss of availability of children and the increase in grand-parenting obligations that accompany a severe HIV/AIDS epidemic. Results suggest that the AIDS epidemic could be negatively impacting quality of life for older adults in the region.
This chartpack provides detailed information about Medicare beneficiaries’ enrollment in the many private drug plans available to them in 2007. The charts demonstrate that a relatively small number of companies which captured the most enrollees in 2006, the new benefit’s first year, continued to lead in market share in the current year. In addition, most enrollees in 2007 are in plans without gap coverage – with about 11.8 million people potentially at risk for reaching the benefit’s coverage gap and having to pay the full cost of their drugs.
Policymakers are interested in promoting healthy marriages in adulthood by providing services to strengthen the adolescent precursors of healthy marriage, especially within low-income populations. But if programs and curricula targeting adolescent romantic relationships are to be effective, they must be grounded in an accurate understanding of how adolescent relationships function and the role that they play in the development of healthy adult marriages. This report evaluates the current landscape of theory, research, and interventions addressing the role of adolescent romantic relationships in the development of healthy adult marriages. Drawing on a thorough review of the existing theoretical and empirical literature in this area, as well as interviews with practitioners directly involved with developing or administering relationship education to adolescents, the authors bring together relevant research and theory from a wide range of disciplines that have examined these issues, and suggest future directions for research and intervention. In particular, they note that although research describing romantic relationships in low-income populations is sparse, there are already-existing nationally representative data sets that include data from substantial numbers of well-sampled low-income adolescents. Analyses of these data would have relatively low cost and a potentially high yield for informing policies that target low-income youth.
"The Antisocial Behaviour Act has now been in force for three years and in some areas is making a real difference to the quality of people's lives across Scotland. Now is an appropriate time to take a fresh look at the ASB strategy, to work with local government, the police and other key interests, to see where it can be strengthened and improved - and community involvement enhanced"
These materials come out of a conference held by the Commission for Social Care Inspection that focused on the needs and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who use care services.
November 21, 2007
From just getting by at the end of each month to getting ahead is a hard climb for low-wage workers, often requiring several steps, and the key to making sustained progress is to reach high enough to make sure that each step actually leads to financial gain. But because of the complex ways in which earnings interact with taxes and the phase-out of work supports (what economists refer to as “high marginal tax rates”), it is difficult for workers to anticipate whether a given advancement step pays. This report analyzes the interaction between earnings and the full package of work supports for different types of families and explores how career coaches in two of the sites — Dayton and San Diego — help low-wage workers understand and negotiate these complex interactions and guide them to make the best advancement decisions possible.
Over the past year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has intensified immigration enforcement activities by conducting several large-scale worksite raids across the country. From an in-depth study of three communities—Greeley, CO, Grand Island, NE and New Bedford, MA—this report details the impact of these worksite raids on the well-being of children. The report provides detailed recommendations to a variety of stakeholders to help mitigate the harmful effects of worksite raids on children.
Homestudies should not be expected to identify only “perfect families.” All families have areas of weakness. The homestudy should act as an educational tool that will help families be successful. It is also a screening process that acts to remove families who are markedly unsuitable for parenting children who will need extra help from sensitive parents. The two percent of prospective families who should not adopt children are also the ones who take inordinate amounts of time away from the child welfare system. Identifying unsuitable families before, not after placement, allows for significantly more time for post-placement training and support for families, completing adoptions, and recruiting more families.
Results: The prevalence of dementia among individuals aged 71 and older was 13.9%, comprising about 3.4 million individuals in the USA in 2002. The corresponding values for AD were 9.7% and 2.4 million individuals. Dementia prevalence increased with age, from 5.0% of those aged 71–79 years to 37.4% of those aged 90 and older. Conclusions: Dementia prevalence estimates from this first nationally representative population-based study of dementia in the USA to include subjects from all regions of the country can provide essential information for effective planning for the impending healthcare needs of the large and increasing number of individuals at risk for dementia as our population ages.
There are significant costs to be paid by both the individual and the nation as a whole for each and every student who drops out of high school. In general, dropouts face significant challenges to obtaining employment and achieving economic security. Female dropouts are at particular economic risk. As compared to their male peers, girls who fail to graduate from high school have higher rates of unemployment; make significantly lower wages; and are more likely to need to rely on public support programs to provide for their families. With so many students dropping out of high school each year, the aggregate drain on our nation’s economy—through foregone income tax revenue and increased public spending—is substantial. At a time when every hour counts, the dropout rates and educational experiences of female students cannot be ignored. This report therefore focuses on female students who do not complete high school. The report systematically evaluates (I) current dropout rates for female students in the United States; (II) the consequences of dropping out for female students; (III) the factors that put students at risk of dropping out, with a focus on factors that may particularly affect female students; and (IV) recommendations for the future.
This research looks at how changes in health status through time are affected by a variety of factors, including changes in employment, care and well-being. It uses data from the families and children study and the British Household Panel Survey.
- Combined data from SAMHSA's 2004 - 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health indicate than an annual average of 7% of veterans aged 18 or older experienced past year serious psychological distress, 7.1% met the criteria for a past year substance use disorder, and 1.5% had co-occurring serious psychological distress and substance use disorder.
- Veterans aged 18 to 25 were more likely than older veterans to have higher rates of serious psychological distress, substance use disorder, or co-occurring psychological distress and substance use disorder in the past year.
- Veterans with family incomes of less than $20,000 per year were more likely than veterans with higher family incomes to have had serious psychological distress, substance use disorder, or co-occurring psychological distress and substance use disorder in the past year.
This report looks at a cross-section of families in relation to disability, caring and employment. It investigates the characteristics of families, including their employment opportunities.
November 20, 2007
Search engines are the most important phenomenon on the Internet today and Google is the gold standard of search. Google evokes ambivalent feelings. It is adored for its ingenuity, simple, modest-looking interface and superb services offered at no (evident) cost. Yet increasingly, it is feared by privacy advocates who view it as a private sector big brother posing perhaps the biggest privacy problem of all times. Google is an informational gatekeeper harboring previously unimaginable riches of personal data. Billions of search queries stream across Google's servers each month, the aggregate thoughtstream of humankind, online. Google compiles individual search logs, containing information about users' fears and expectations, interests and passions, and ripe with information that is financial, medical, sexual, political, in short – personal in nature. How did Google evolve from being a benevolent giant seeking to do no evil into a privacy menace reviled by human rights advocates worldwide? Are the fears of Google's omniscient presence justified or overstated? What personal data should Google be allowed to retain and for how long? What rules should govern access to Google's database? What are the legal protections currently in place and are they sufficient to quell the emerging privacy crisis? These are the main issues addressed in this article.
The Partnership for Fragile Families Demonstration projects, operating in 13 sites across the country, provided a range of services aimed at increasing the capacity of young, economically disadvantaged fathers in becoming financial and emotional resources to their children and sought to reduce poverty and welfare dependence. As part of a multi-component evaluation, this report examines how participants fared in two key areas: (1) employment rates and earnings levels and (2) the establishment of child support orders and the payment of child support.
Homelessness is a challenge for the Swedish welfare state. Up to now responsibility for combating homelessness has largely rested with the municipal social services. Naturally, the social services still have their responsibility, but if work to address homelessness is to be successful in the long term, more actors must be involved. The Government’s strategy is a framework for further work to combat homelessness and exclusion from the housing market. The objectives specify its direction and make it possible to monitor and gradually develop the actions taken. Since 2002 the National Board of Health and Welfare has had a commission from the Government to develop knowledge about the scale of homelessness and about methods to combat homelessness by carrying out surveys and providing support for local development work.
Prior studies have found that partner abuse is related to risky sexual behavior. However, few studies have explored gender, sexual orientation, or substance use differences in this association, especially among people with HIV. We examined data from the Risk and Prevention survey from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS) sample on 726 sexually-active individuals in three gender/orientation groups (286 women, 148 heterosexual men, and 292 gay/bisexual men). The study assessed whether individuals with HIV who experienced or perpetrated abuse within a close relationship were likely to engage in unprotected intercourse with that same partner. Both abuse perpetration and victimization were significantly associated with having any unprotected intercourse. In multivariate tests, gender/orientation and substance use during sex moderated the perpetration effects. Secondary HIV prevention interventions need to take into account potentially abusive contexts in which sexual activity may occur for both men and women.
Despite low levels of unemployment, average household income has declined since 2000. The number of children living in low-income families has continued to rise. Programs that provide supports for low-income, working parents can increase income and child well-being.
Working with infants, toddlers and their families is all about relationships. We know from scientific research that every domain of development is impacted by nurturing, caring relationships in early childhood. “Babies are born with a drive to relate to and connect with others, and they continue to develop the social skills necessary to form strong, healthy relationships throughout their lives. These findings teach us not only about babies, but about the ways in which people of all ages relate to others. Our understanding of relationships and early childhood development can help guide us in various aspects of our lives. Relationship-building is at the core of our work with young children, and it truly lies at the heart of effective policy, advocacy and systems work. That makes those of us in the early childhood community perfectly suited for policy work.
This document provides the Government's response to Facing the Future: A review of the role of health visitors. It includes recommendations on the workforce and sets out the Government's plans for taking forward the relevant recommendations.
November 19, 2007
This is the 11th in the Essence of Care series, and concerns the environment within which the care of patients takes place. It is intended for all staff groups caring for patients across all organizations and settings, including patients' homes.
The Food Stamp Program (FSP) provides millions of Americans with the means to purchase food for a nutritious diet. The FSP is the largest of the 15 domestic food and nutrition assistance programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). This report presents an overview of the FSP eligibility requirements and benefit levels, as well as the characteristics of food stamp households and participants nationwide, in fiscal year 2006 (October 2005 to September 2006). The appendices include detailed tabulations of household and participant characteristics for the nation and by State, and a brief description of the sample design and the sampling error associated with the estimates presented in the report.
This document is designed to help local authorities plan and deliver the third phase of the Government’s national roll-out of 3,500 Sure Start Children’s Centres by 2010, one for every community.
Schools and colleges are valued institutions that help build upon the Nation’s foundations and serve as an arena where the growth and stability of future generations begin. Crime in schools and colleges is therefore one of the most troublesome social problems in the Nation today. Not only does it affect those involved in the criminal incident, but it also hinders societal growth and stability. In that light, it is vital to understand the characteristics surrounding crime in schools, colleges, and universities and the offenders who reportedly commit these offenses so that law enforcement, policy makers, school administrators, and the public can properly combat and reduce the amount of crime occurring at these institutions.
The private finance initiative (PFI) procurement method may also be used by Local Authorities (LAs) for the development of adult social care. Eligible social care PFI schemes can be awarded PFI credits from DH. The award of PFI Credits (paid in the form of an annuity to LAs alongside their central grants) supports PFI in LAs. It follows the principles of PFI that apply in all other areas, which is that the private sector partner carries out the Design, Build, Financing, Operating and Maintenance of the build, with payment from the public sector when the building is commissioned, using a payment mechanism that is based on performance and availability standards.
One in five persons experiences a diagnosable mental illness in a given year. Half of all persons will experience a diagnosable mental illness during their lifetime. Mental illness strikes people of all ages, gender, race, and income affecting their well-being, health, and productivity. The World Health Organization has found that mental illness imposes the second highest burden (including direct care, family impact, and lost productivity) of any disease—behind only cardiovascular disease and ahead of cancer. As a Maine legislator, the issue of how to help persons with mental illness may come before you in several ways.
The National Recovery Guidance has been produced by the National Recovery Working Group over a period of nine months, as commissioned by TIDO(Prepare). The guidance aims to provide a single point of reference to local responders dealing with the recovery phase of an emergency.
November 16, 2007
State legislators are in a unique position to tackle hunger and nutrition issues from various angles. They can provide incentives for schools to institute school meal programs, create legislation that would appropriate more funds toward a WIC farmers market nutrition program, or establish an award to recognize those individuals and organizations that are champions in the fight against hunger in their community. Furthermore, with their access to local and state organizations, legislators can bring together varied interests from the nonprofit, private and foundation sectors to inspire meaningful change and innovative solutions to best serve low-income communities. In short, state policymakers have the chance to serve as catalysts in the battle to end hunger in the United States, starting with their communities and their states.
The Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD) was created by the 1996 welfare reform legislation to facilitate its evaluation. This paper describes the evolution of that survey, discusses its implementation, and draws lessons for future evaluation. Large-scale surveys can be an important part of a portfolio of evaluation methods, but sufficient time must be given to data collection agencies if a high-quality longitudinal survey is expected. Such a survey must have both internal (agency) and external (policy analyst) buy-in. Investments in data analysis by agency staff, down played in favor of larger sample sizes given a fixed budget, could have contributed to more external acceptance. More attention up-front to reducing the potentially deleterious effects of attrition in longitudinal surveys, such as through the use of monetary incentives, might have been worthwhile. Given the problems encountered by the Census Bureau in producing the SPD, I argue that ongoing multi-purpose longitudinal surveys like the Survey of Income and Program Participation are potentially more valuable than episodic special-purpose surveys.
This paper provides specific guidance to care homes for older people who do not have nutritional requirements due to illness or disease. It aims to support the wider care standards and provide the basis of assessment for residents, their family, care home staff and those responsible for commissioning and monitoring standards.
This report identifies the most reliable and informative data sources for understanding low-income households’ assets and liabilities, details their limitations, and provides options for improving asset data sources and collection methods. The report evaluates 12 data sets and identifies three as having the greatest potential for future asset research—the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).
Social phobia is a strong fear of being judged by others and of being embarrassed. This fear can be so strong that it gets in the way of going to work or school or doing other everyday things. People with social phobia are afraid of doing common things in front of other people; for example, they might be afraid to sign a check in front of a cashier at the grocery store, or they might be afraid to eat or drink in front of other people. All of us have been a little bit nervous, at one time or another, about things like meeting new people or giving a speech. But people with social phobia worry about these and other things for weeks before they happen.
Facts about substance use among youth aged 12 to 17 are based on data from SAMHSA's 2006 National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH) and SAMHSA's 2005 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), and for clients under the age of 18 from SAMHSA's 2005 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS). Data are presented on first substance use, past year substance use, receipt of substance use treatment, and source of substance use treatment referrals "on an average day."
We study workplace segregation in the United States using a unique matched employer employee data set that we have created. We present measures of workplace segregation by education and language, and by race and ethnicity, and – since skill is often correlated with race and ethnicity we assess the role of education- and language-related skill differentials in generating workplace segregation by race and ethnicity. We define segregation based on the extent to which workers are more or less likely to be in workplaces with members of the same group, and we measure segregation as the observed percentage relative to maximum segregation. Our results indicate that there is considerable segregation by education and language in the workplace. Among whites, for example, observed segregation by education is 17% (of the maximum), and for Hispanics, observed segregation by language ability is 29%. Racial (blackwhite) segregation in the workplace is of a similar magnitude to education segregation (14%), and ethnic (Hispanic-white) segregation is somewhat higher (20%). Only a tiny portion (3%) of racial segregation in the workplace is driven by education differences between blacks and whites, but a substantial fraction of ethnic segregation in the workplace (32%) can be attributed to differences in language proficiency. Finally, additional evidence suggests that segregation by language likely reflects complementarity among workers speaking the same language.
The phenomenon of ‘undeclared work’ is known under a broad variety of different names. Terms such as ‘black work’, ‘informal economy’, ‘shadow economy’, ‘moonlighting’ and many others have been used to describe the phenomenon or parts of it. For various reasons, knowledge of the extent of undeclared work within an economy is of considerable political interest. Undeclared economic activities are, on the one hand, unlawful behaviour creating considerable costs on several levels: tax authorities receive less revenue in the form of income tax or value added taxes; social security institutions do not get contributions and undeclared activities partly inhibit the creation of regular employment with full social protection. Yet on the other hand, undeclared work is part of the economy and its importance should therefore be estimated as accurately as possible. The transformation of undeclared work into formal work is an important issue for the current employment policy of the European Commission. Transforming informal work into formal work can be an important step towards the fulfilment of the EU employment goals set out in the Lisbon strategy.
November 15, 2007
A Good Start in Life: Revisiting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Outcomes At and After Birth
Intergroup differences in health can reflect on and result in unequal life opportunities. In particular, racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes have long been a concern for both researchers and policy makers. Differences in health at birth are especially critical because they may lead to disparities in health as well as socioeconomic conditions throughout one’s whole life.
In order to better understand the social realities of European Union citizens, the European Commission launched a special Eurobarometer survey that gauges many dimensions of social life in the European Union. . . . The survey covers opinions and feelings about a vast array of the dimensions of social, economical, political and everyday life of the European citizens offering a great deal of information about life in the European Union at the end of 2006.
First published in 2006, the Health Profile of England provides a collation of national and regional data to provide a baseline against which people can compare data from their own Local Health Profile (LHP). The 2007 report updates tables showing regional comparisons and national trends for indicators presented in LHP, as well as a wide ranging snapshot of public health and well-being in England and a section on international comparisons.
The two main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. A third category is “eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS),” which includes several variations of eating disorders. Most of these disorders are similar to anorexia or bulimia but with slightly different characteristics. Bingeeating disorder, which has received increasing research and media attention in recent years, is one type of EDNOS.
The labor market is often asserted to be characterized by rigidities that make it difficult for older workers to carry out their desired trajectory from work to retirement. An important source of rigidity is restrictions on hours of work imposed by firms that use team production or face high fixed costs of employment. Such rigidities are difficult to measure directly. We develop a model of the labor market in which technological rigidity affects the age structure of a firm's work force in equilibrium. Firms using relatively flexible technology care only about total hours of labor input, but not hours of work per worker. Older workers with a desire for short or flexible hours of work are attracted to such firms. Firms using a more rigid technology involving team production impose a minimum hours constraint, and as a result tend to have a younger age structure. A testable hypothesis of the model is that the hazard of separation of older workers is lower in firms with an older age structure. We use matched worker-firm data to test this hypothesis, and find support for it. Specification tests and alternative proxies for labor market rigidity support our interpretation of the effect of firm age structure on the separation propensity. These results provide indirect but suggestive evidence of the importance of labor market rigidities.
This study is concerned with the relationship between two policy agendas:
- the devolution of power and responsibilities to elected bodies in Scotland and Wales, the restoration of democratically elected government in London, and the decentralisation of decision-making to a regional tier of organisations – Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), Regional Assemblies (RAs) and Government Offices (GOs) – in the English regions;
- a range of policies in England, Scotland and Wales aimed at tackling the economic problems of the most deprived neighbourhoods in order to improve their residents' well-being, particularly focusing on tackling worklessness and promoting wider social inclusion.
November 14, 2007
This study compares the relationship between official crime rates and residents' perceptions of crime in census tracts. Employing a unique dataset that links household level data from the American Housing Survey metro samples over a period of 25 years (1976-2000) with official crime rate data for census tracts in selected cities during selected years, this large sample provides considerable ability to generalize the findings. I find that residents' perception of crime is most strongly related to official rates of tract violent crime. Models simultaneously taking into account both violent and property crime consistently found that property crime actually has a negative effect on perceived crime. Among types of violent crime, the robbery rate is consistently related to higher levels of perceived crime in the tract, where as it appears a structural shift occurred in the mid-1980s in which aggravated assault and murder rates now impact perceptions of crime, even when taking into account the robbery rate.
The authors examine attitudes about help seeking and help giving related to dating violence among Latino ninth graders, including survey and focus group data. Latino teens are more likely to seek help for a dating violence situation from informal sources of support (e.g., friends) than from formal sources (e.g., health professionals). Students are most likely to turn to other teens for help and do not confide in or trust the adults in their social network. Teens are reluctant to intervene in dating violence situations. The quality of help offered by teens related to dating violence
This paper reviews studies on girl-child survival in China and corresponding intervention activities of the Chinese government. Discrimination against girls in China was long in existence, and the abnormally high sex ratio at birth (SRB) and excess female child mortality (EFCM) in recent years reflect women’s low social status, as well as a deteriorating survival environment for girls. Discrimination against girls has occurred in both pre-natal and post-natal periods: sex-selective abortion of female foetuses leads to the abnormally high SRB, while neglect of girls results in EFCM. This paper analyzes the current situation, trends and regional variations in SRB and EFCM, and discusses proximal, conditional and fundamental causes of deteriorating environment for the survival of girls, as well as the subsequent demographic and social implications. To protect women’s rights and promote gender equality, the Chinese government has introduced a series of laws and regulations on equal rights regarding economic and political participation, education, property inheritance, marriage and old-age support.
Reflecting concerns about how the housing, care and support needs of the growing number of older people will be met, there is much interest in the role of housing schemes for older people that combine independent living with care. However, there is no single blueprint for housing with care schemes. Provider organisations across the statutory, not-for-profit and private sectors have undertaken various new developments or remodelled existing schemes, often taking quite different approaches to type of tenure, care services and provision of amenities and facilities. This study set out to explore a number of different models of housing with care for later life, and to examine 'what works best?' from the perspective of a number of key stakeholders, including provider organisations, residents and on-site staff.
This report presents the first‐ever calculation of the real expenses of caring for a child in foster care in the United States. It systematically demonstrates that rates of support for children in foster care are far below what is needed to provide basic care for these children in nearly every state in the nation. On average, across the U.S., current foster care rates must be raised by 36 percent in order to reach the Foster Care Minimum Adequate Rates for Children (the “Foster Care MARC”) calculated through this project. In some states, rates are less than half of what it actually costs to care for a child in foster care. On any given day, there are more than half a million children in foster care in the U.S., the majority of whom have entered care due to abuse and neglect by their parents. Three‐fourths of them are placed by the government with foster parents who open their homes to care for these vulnerable children and almost one‐fifth are placed in group homes and institutions.
There are ongoing policy concerns about deprivation of individuals, poverty relating to place and how to transform the prospects of deprived places. Concentrations of worklessness persist despite a favourable economic climate and policies aimed at helping people to find work. This has provoked an upsurge of interest in the role of geography in the labour market behaviour of people living in deprived areas. This study was undertaken to provide new insights into the role of attachment to place in shaping the attitudes, aspirations and behaviour of young people from deprived areas in accessing post-compulsory education, training and work. It examines their horizons and questions what policies would be helpful in 'widening horizons' to help improve their prospects.
This gives information about the model clinical trials agreement, which is designed to simplify and speed up the process for signing-off and initiating trials involving NHS patients in NHS hospitals.
November 13, 2007
There are two primary tax benefits parents use to offset childcare costs. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) provides a tax credit of up to 35 percent on up to $3,000 of expenses per child ($6,000 total), for a maximum credit of $1,050 per child ($2100 total). Or, employees can arrange with their employers to exclude up to $5,000 from their salary to pay for child care. While benefits from the CDCTC swamped those available from the exclusion in 2006; benefits from the child care credit are projected to decline dramatically, largely due to the increase in the number of taxpayers subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) beginning in 2008.
This gives information about the indicators designed to measure the quality of prison health services to help achieve the same standard of healthcare in prisons as in the NHS.
Drug treatment clients are at high risk for institutionalization, i.e., spending a day or more in a controlled environment where their freedom to use drugs, commit crimes, or engage in risky behavior may be circumscribed. For example, in recent large studies of drug treatment outcomes, more than 40% of participants were institutionalized for a portion of the follow-up period. When longitudinal studies ignore institutionalization at follow-up, outcome measures and treatment effect estimates conflate treatment effects on institutionalization with effects on many of the outcomes of interest. In this paper, we develop a causal modeling framework for evaluating the four standard approaches for addressing this institutionalization confound, and illustrate the effects of each approach using a case study comparing drug use outcomes of youths who enter either residential or outpatient treatment modalities. Common methods provide biased estimates of the treatment effect except under improbable assumptions. In the case study, the effect of residential care ranged from beneficial and significant to detrimental and significant depending on the approach used to account for institutionalization. We discuss the implications of our analysis for longitudinal studies of all populations at high risk for institutionalization.
This report examines the effects of a comprehensive set of 13 welfare, Food Stamp, individual development account (IDA), earned income tax credit (EITC), and minimum wage program rules on the asset holdings of low-education single mothers and families. This report finds empirical evidence that more lenient asset limits in means-tested programs and more generous IDA program rules may have positive effects on asset holdings of low-education single mothers and families.
Using a multivariate framework, we analyze recent trends in employer provision of retiree health insurance (RHI), eligibility for new retirees, and retiree contribution requirements. We also explore whether local labor market characteristics such as the unemployment rate influence RHI provision. Finally, we examine whether the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) was associated with diverging trends in RHI access for Medicare-eligible and early retirees. Data come for the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component (MEPS-IC). We find that, while RHI provision to existing retirees remained stable, eligibility for new retirees declined, and contribution requirements increased between 2000 and 2004. The local labor market had no effect on RHI provision. While early retiree coverage was more common than coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees, we did not find a divergence subsequent to MMA. These results suggest growing financial instability for retirees, both because RHI contribution requirements increased, and because businesses dropped coverage for new retirees.
This booklet is for parents and includes information on the National Child Measurement Programme. It looks at why maintaining a healthy weight is important and the steps that parents can take to help their family develop a healthy lifestyle
November 12, 2007
We present evidence on changes in workplace segregation by education, race, ethnicity, and sex, from 1990 to 2000. The evidence indicates that racial and ethnic segregation at the workplace level remained quite pervasive in 2000. At the same time, there was fairly substantial segregation by skill, as measured by education. Putting together the 1990 and 2000 data, we find no evidence of declines in workplace segregation by race and ethnicity; indeed, black-white segregation increased. Over this decade, segregation by education also increased. In contrast, workplace segregation by sex fell over the decade, and would have fallen by more had the services industry – a heavily female industry in which sex segregation is relatively high – not experienced rapid employment growth.
Martha Burt, in congressional testimony regarding the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, discussed definitions of homelessness, activities to prevent homelessness, the advisability of a setaside for permanent supportive housing, and the composition of local homeless planning bodies and their relationship to 10-year planning processes. She also addressed what works for whom, accountability, performance outcomes, and incentives.
- Based on SAMHSA's 2005 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), 52% of the substance abuse treatment admissions aged 25 to 44 had never married, 28% were formerly married, and 20% were currently married.
- Based on the 2000 Census for persons aged 25 to 44 in the nation as a whole, 25% had never married, 14% were formerly married, and 61% were currently married.
- Substance abuse treatment admissions who had never married (44%) were more likely than those were formerly (39%) or currently married (36%) to report daily use of their primary substance.
- Substance abuse treatment admissions who had never married were more likely to have extensive treatment histories and less likely to be entering substance abuse treatment for the first time than other substance abuse treatment admissions aged 25 to 44 in 2005.
The paper explores how shifts in both social welfare policies and economic conditions beginning in the mid-1990s altered the relative well-being of blacks— compared to whites—between 1997 and 2002. It uses the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) to assess how the relative well-being of black families improved or disparities persisted. The findings suggest that some of the disparities between whites and blacks narrowed between 1997 and 2002, especially among people with low incomes. But gaps in income, child school outcomes, employment, assets, and welfare and other income supports, remained essentially unchanged over the period.
The context for this study was the Government's aim to halve child poverty by 2010 and abolish it by 2020. However, the Government failed to lift a quarter of children out of poverty by 2005. Recent research has shown that these ambitious aims will not be met unless further progress is made in encouraging women with children – both lone parents and those with partners – into the labour market. High take-up rates of Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit, which were introduced in April 2003, will also be needed. Using information from the Families and Children Study 2002-03 to 2004-05, the two main objectives of this study were to:
- analyse the impact of CTC and WTC on labour-market participation and the working hours of women with children;
- explore reasons for non-take-up of these tax credits.
November 9, 2007
Persons with disabilities remain amongst the most marginalized in every society. While the international human rights framework has changed lives everywhere, persons with disabilities have not reaped the same benefits. Regardless of a country’s human rights or economic situation, they are generally the last in line to have their human rights respected. Being denied the opportunities that would enable them to be self-sufficient, most persons with disabilities resort to the kindness or charity of others. In recent years, there was a growing realization throughout the world that continuing to deny 650 million individuals their human rights was no longer acceptable. It was time to act. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the response of the international community to the long history of discrimination, exclusion and dehumanization of persons with disabilities. It is historic and groundbreaking in many ways, being the fastest negotiated human rights treaty ever and the first of the twenty-first century. The Convention is the result of three years of negotiations involving civil society, Governments, national human rights institutions and international organizations. After adopting the Convention in the United Nations General Assembly in December 2006, a record number of countries demonstrated their commitment to respecting the rights of persons with disabilities by signing the Convention and Optional Protocol when they opened for signature in March 2007.
People with anxiety disorders feel extremely fearful and unsure. Most people feel anxious about something for a short time now and again, but people with anxiety disorders feel this way most of the time. Their fears and worries make it hard for them to do everyday tasks. About 18% of American adults have anxiety disorders. Children also may have them. Treatment is available for people with anxiety disorders. Researchers are also looking for new treatments that will help relieve symptoms. This booklet is about one kind of anxiety disorder called generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and methamphetamine use are emerging public health problems. We conducted a case–control investigation to determine risk factors for MRSA skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in residents of a largely rural southeastern community in the United States. Case-patients were persons >12 years old who had culturable SSTIs; controls had no SSTIs. Of 119 SSTIs identified, 81 (68.1%) were caused by MRSA. Methamphetamine use was reported in 9.9% of case-patients and 1.8% of controls. After we adjusted for age, sex, and race, patients with MRSA SSTIs were more likely than controls to have recently used methamphetamine (odds ratio 5.10, 95% confidence interval 1.55–16.79). MRSA caused most SSTIs in this population. Transmission of MRSA may be occurring among methamphetamine users in this community.
Presidential candidates, governors, and members of Congress are advancing proposals to expand health insurance coverage to all Americans—the most important step in improving access to quality health care. This report, prepared for The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System, explores the different options and how each may not only increase coverage for the uninsured, but also improve quality and efficiency and gain control over spiraling health care costs. Proposals are grouped into three approaches: tax incentives and the individual insurance market; mixed private–public group insurance with shared responsibility for financing; and public insurance. The Commission believes the most pragmatic approach to coverage for all is mixed private–public group insurance that builds on the best features of our current system with shared responsibility for financing from individuals, employers, and government that minimizes dislocation for the millions of Americans who currently have good coverage.
1. What types of data have grant recipients collected and reported to HHS and DOJ related to services provided under these grant programs to victims, specifically data by type of service on the extent to which men, women, youth, and children receive each service?
2. What challenges, if any, do federal departments report that they and their grant recipients would face in collecting and reporting information on the demographic characteristics of victims
November 8, 2007
Card playing for money among college-age youth (18 to 22) has declined, according to the latest National Annenberg Survey of Youth. Weekly use of the Internet for gambling also declined among this age group. Both declines are statistically significant. “This year’s strong drop in weekly card playing among college-age youth indicates that the fad has peaked,” said Dan Romer, director of the Annenberg survey. “The strong drop in use of Internet sites also suggests that federal legislation restricting the transfer of funds to Internet gambling sites has had its intended effect. Whether this will last remains to be seen.” Card playing for money among college-age youth (18 to 22) has now declined to the same level reported by high school youth (ages 14 to 17). The overall percentage of male youth ages 18 to 22 who reported playing cards for money on a weekly basis dropped to 4.4 percent in 2007 from 16.3 percent in 2006 (see Table 1), a statistically significant decline. This level of gambling was not different from that reported by male high school-age youth in 2007 (5.5 percent). Card playing in high school-aged males remained at about the same level as reported in 2006 (6.6 percent).
Canada’s declining poverty rate over the last decade is evidence of substantial social policy success, which should be reflected in future policy approaches to battling poverty. Over the last decade, Canada’s unemployment rate has fallen; the employment rate has risen; and the overall poverty rate has declined. While not all is right with Canadian social policy, these trends suggest that some things are going well. A combination of favourable labour-market changes and effective policy changes has had a beneficial impact on poverty in Canada. In particular, the link between Canada’s rising employment rate and falling poverty rate over the last decade has been very strong. The impact on employment among those at high risk of incurring poverty should always be a criterion for assessing proposed policy reforms, and policies that embody powerful incentives to enter the labour market usually make sense. For instance, the introduction of new provincial welfare protocols probably explains much of the last decade’s increase in the employment rate among groups with high rates of poverty. At the heart of new protocols has been a stricter exercise by social workers in judging whether a welfare applicant is or is not employable. Admittedly, making these judgments is prone to error, and good welfare policy means much more than restricting access among those classified as employable. However, in three of the four large provinces the changes in welfare policies and the magnitude of decline in caseloads have been dramatic.
Making the Grade is the first-ever report card to assess the overall health of women at the national and state levels. The Report Card is designed to promote the health and well-being of women in the United States by providing the most comprehensive assessment to date of women’s health.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 gives the police powers in designated areas to disperse groups of two or more where their presence or behaviour has resulted, or is likely to result, in a member of the public being harassed, intimidated, alarmed or distressed. The powers are controversial due to the discretion they accord to police and the infringements of individual's rights they entail. This study explores the implementation and impact of dispersal orders and highlights implications for policy.
Armed conflicts and natural disasters cause significant psychological and social suffering to affected populations. The psychological and social impacts of emergencies may be acute in the short term, but they can also undermine the long-term mental health and psychosocial well-being of the affected population. These impacts may threaten peace, human rights and development. One of the priorities in emergencies is thus to protect and improve people’s mental health and psychosocial well-being. Achieving this priority requires coordinated action among all government and nongovernment humanitarian actors.
November 7, 2007
The central long-term fiscal challenge facing the nation involves rising costs in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health-related programs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is therefore expanding its work in examining the rising costs within the nation’s federal health programs as well as possible policy responses. Medicare’s benefit package includes coverage for shortterm posthospitalization care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Medicare beneficiaries can qualify to receive Medicare-covered SNF care if they previously had an inpatient hospital stay of at least three days and if they require skilled nursing services. SNFs’ covered services include rehabilitation and medical services such as intravenous drug therapy.
Foundations created this project to build momentum for national action addressing poverty in 2009. Spotlight has invited the presidential candidates to answer five questions concerning poverty and economic opportunity. Spotlight will also seek to provide other opportunities for the candidates to set forth their views on these important issues, including a Forum in Washington DC in May 2008. In order to stimulate a national dialogue on poverty and opportunity, the Spotlight website offers current press coverage, commentary and debate, and the policy options. Recent reports, analyses, and data on poverty and opportunity will be profiled on the site and readily available to policy makers and thought leaders. Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity: Foundations Ask the Presidential Candidates What They’ll Do for America is interested in promoting a national dialogue on these important issues. Spotlight does not support or oppose any candidate for public office and does not take positions on legislation.
For women who inject drugs, the stigma of injection drug use is added to gendered discrimination; these factors combined can push women into behaviors that increase their risk of HIV. There is a higher likelihood that women drug users will provide sex in exchange for housing, sustenance, and protection; suffer violence from sexual partners; and have difficulty insisting that their sexual partners use condoms. Women drug users may also rely on men to inject them with drugs and acquire drugs and injection equipment, a behavior shown to increase the likelihood of injection with contaminated equipment. Factors that reduce women drug users’ access to health care include punitive policies, discrimination by police and health care providers, the intense social stigma attached to drug use by women, a preponderance of harm reduction and drug treatment programs directed primarily toward men, an absence of sexual and reproductive health services for drug users, and poor access to effective outpatient drug treatment, in which methadone or buprenorphine are prescribed to reduce cravings for illicit opiates.
Two-thirds of American adults are obese or overweight, and in the past year, obesity rates have continued to rise in 31 states. Eighty-five percent of Americans believe that obesity is an
epidemic, according to a new poll conducted by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).1 Poor nutrition and physical inactivity are increasing Americans’ risk for developing major diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke and some forms of cancer.2 But while the obesity epidemic has garnered increased attention, a comparable increase in action has yet to occur.
The United States spends more money on health care than any other country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD consists of 30 democracies, most of which are considered the most economically advanced countries in the world. According to OECD data, the United States spent $6,102 per capita on health care in 2004 — more than double the OECD average and 19.9% more than Luxembourg, the second-highest spending country. In 2004, 15.3% of the U.S. economy was devoted to health care, compared with 8.9% in the average OECD country and 11.6% in second-placed Switzerland. Why does the United States spend this amount on health care? Economists break health care spending into two parts: price and quantity (which includes the number of visits to health care providers and the intensity of those visits).
November 6, 2007
Preventing homelessness or ending it quickly for Massachusetts residents with serious mental illness (SMI) has been a strong element of the Department of Mental Health’s agenda for approximately two decades. The Department of Mental Health (DMH, or the Department) estimates that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is home to approximately 48,000 adults with SMI. Of these, the Department serves the most disabled and the poorest. Client incomes hover around 15 percent of the area median income. Most clients are not employed, and rely on SSI-SSDI benefits for their income. DMH efforts to prevent or end homelessness for its clients have been greatly strengthened since 1992, when the legislature passed the first Special Homeless Initiative (HI) legislation. HI provides resources to reduce the incidence of homelessness among people with SMI. Housing development, both specifically for homeless people and more generally for people with SMI, has been a strong component of the overall DMH effort and the major focus of HI investment specifically. Related aspects of DMH policies and practices include protocols for discharge planning, staff training to focus on housing issues, outreach to people with SMI living on the streets or in shelters, development of specialized shelters, and other aspects of homelessness prevention and intervention.
Facts about substance use among youth aged 12 to 17 are based on data from SAMHSA's 2006 National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH) and SAMHSA's 2005 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), and for clients under the age of 18 from SAMHSA's 2005 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS). Data are presented on first substance use, past year substance use, receipt of substance use treatment, and source of substance use treatment referrals "on an average day." On an average day in 2006, youth used the following substances for the first time: 7,970 drank alcohol for the first time, 4,348 used an illicit drug for the first time, 4,082 smoked cigarettes for the first time, 3,577 used marijuana for the first time, and 2,517 used pain relievers nonmedically for the first time.
Families want to live in homes and neighborhoods that will get their children off to the best possible start. Yet high housing costs in many parts of the country complicate housing decisions, as families must weigh tradeoffs among cost, housing quality, and location. Poor and low-income families likely face the greatest constraints on their housing choices. To make matters worse, poor or lowincome children tend to fare worse in other areas such as health or cognitive development. These children, who are already some of the most vulnerable in America, are also the most likely to suffer from housing-related problems. This paper examines how the characteristics of children’s homes affect their health, social, and emotional well-being and offers strategies for funders concerned with improving outcomes for children.
Combined data from SAMHSA's 2004 to 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health were used to determine rates of past year depressive episodes among employed adults by age, gender, and occupational category. SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health found an annual average of 7% of full time workers aged 18 to 64 had experienced a major depressive episode in the past year. Differences in depression rates were found by age, gender, and occupational category.
This paper attempts to quantify the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on social capital with cross-country data. Using data from the World Values Survey (WVS), the author estimates reduced-form regressions of the main determinants of social capital controlling for HIV prevalence, institutional quality, social distance and economic indicators. The results obtained indicate that HIV prevalence affects social capital negatively. The empirical estimates suggest that a one standard deviation increase in HIV prevalence will lead to a 1 percent decline in trust, controlling for other determinants of social capital. If one moves from a country with a relatively low level of HIV prevalence such as Estonia to a country with a high level such as Zimbabwe, one would observe an approximate 8% decline in social capital. These results are robust in a number of dimensions and highlight the empirical importance of an additional mechanism through which HIV/AIDS hinders the development process.
November 5, 2007
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was enacted at a time when the number and rate of uninsured children were growing, especially among those just above the povert