grey literature May 2008 archives
May 9, 2008
This report is part of the effort of the Population Division to disseminate the information resulting from its monitoring activities. It provides an overview of population policies and dynamics for 195 countries for which data are available around the middle of the decade for the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s—that is, near the time of the convening of the United Nations population conferences at Bucharest, Mexico City and Cairo—as well as for 2007.
Based on data drawn from a variety of sources, the estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect is $103.8 billion in 2007 value. This figure represents a conservative estimate as a result of the methods used for the calculation. First, only children who could be classified as being abused or neglected according to the Harm Standard in the Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3) are included in the analysis. The Harm Standard requirements, compared to the Endangerment Standard requirements used in NIS-3, are more stringent (Sedlak & Broadhurst, 1996). Second, only those costs related to victims are included. We have not attempted to quantify other costs associated with abuse and neglect, such as the costs of intervention or treatment services for the perpetrators or other members of the victim’s family. Third, the categories of costs included in this analysis are by no means exhaustive. As examples, a large number of child victims require medical examinations or outpatient treatment for injuries not serious enough to require hospitalization; maltreated children are at greater risk of engaging in substance abuse and require alcohol and drug treatment services; and youth with histories of child abuse and neglect may be at greater risk of engaging in risky behaviors such as unprotected sexual activities as well as greater risk of teen pregnancy.
A final rule was published on February 26, 2008 in the Federal Register (73 FR 10338) which amends the Federal regulations at 45 CFR 1356. The final rule implements the data collection requirements of the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-169) as incorporated into the Social Security Act at section 477, and requires States to collect and report data to the Administration of Children and Families on youth who are receiving independent living services and on the outcomes of certain youth who are in foster care or who age out of foster care. In this final rule, we have made revisions to the proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on July 14, 2006 (71 FR 40346), in response to the many comments we received.
All 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories have mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting laws that require certain professionals and institutions to report suspected maltreatment to a child protective services (CPS) agency. Examples of these mandatory reporters include health care providers and facilities, mental health care providers, teachers and other school staff, social workers, police officers, foster care providers, and daycare providers. The initial report of suspected child abuse or neglect is called a referral. Approximately one-third of referrals are screened out each year and do not receive further attention from CPS. The remaining referrals are "screened in" and an investigation or assessment is conducted by the CPS agency to determine the likelihood that maltreatment has occurred or that the child is at risk of maltreatment. After conducting interviews with family members, the alleged victim, and other people familiar with the family, the CPS agency makes a determination or finding concerning whether the child is a victim of abuse or neglect or is at risk of abuse or neglect. This determination often is called a disposition. Each State establishes specific dispositions and terminology. Each State has its own definitions of child abuse and neglect based on minimum standards set by Federal law.
Historically, putative fathers have had fewer rights with regard to their children than either unwed mothers or married parents. Over the past several decades, putative fathers have used the Fourteenth Amendment to challenge the termination of their parental rights when the birth mothers relinquish their children for adoption. Nevertheless, States have almost complete discretion to determine the rights of a putative father at termination of parental rights or adoption proceedings. The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutional protection of a putative father's parental rights when he has established a substantial relationship with his child. The Court defined a substantial relationship as the existence of a biological link between the child and putative father, and it defined the father's commitment to the responsibilities of parenthood as participating in the child's upbringing.
This report represents the first step in the process of identifying initiatives intended to assist TANF recipients living with disabilities to obtain and maintain employment that may be worthy of further study. The outcomes and impacts of such initiatives are of substantial interest to program administrators and policymakers for several reasons. First and foremost is the concern over the well-being of these recipients and their families. Second, these initiatives often require considerable staff effort and intensive services and, therefore, can be costly to implement. Third, states and localities are under growing pressure to meet increased federally mandated work participation rates and recipients living with disabilities are one of many groups that program administrators and policymakers may consider targeting to increase those rates. To assist program administrators and policymakers in deciding how they should spend limited resources, it is critical to know whether the initiatives are, indeed, producing their desired effects. The time may be ripe for rigorously testing the impact of employment initiatives for low-income families living with disabilities and this report presents some potential options for doing so.
Beginning with the passage of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in 1974, the U.S. Congress has implemented a number of laws that have had a significant impact on State child protection and child welfare services.1 Such legislation frequently requires Federal departments and agencies, such as the Children's Bureau within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to issue or amend Federal policy and regulation.2 New legislation also prompts responses at the State level, including enactment of State legislation, development or revision of State agency policy and regulations, and implementation of new programs. The largest federally funded programs that support State and Tribal efforts for child welfare, foster care, and adoption activities are authorized under titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act (the Act). These programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and include the title IV-B Child Welfare Services and Promoting Safe and Stable Families (formerly known as Family Preservation) programs, the title IV-E Foster Care Program, the title IV-E Adoption Assistance Program, and the title IV-E Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is authorized under title XX of the Act and funds a wide range of programs that support various social policy goals. To provide a framework for understanding the Federal legislation that has shaped the delivery of child welfare services, this publication presents a summary of Federal legislation since 1974 that has had a significant impact on the field. It provides an overview of each act and its major provisions.
It is hard to believe that in 21st century Britain, four out of 10 children are living in poverty in one of the richest cities in the world. And yet in London it is not just that child poverty rates are higher than elsewhere in the country, families are more likely to be deeper in poverty, more likely to be without a job, to have fewer choices about their housing and to face multiple disadvantages. The government has boldly pledged to abolish child poverty in a generation, setting a target of halving it by 2010/11. The other political parties too have pledged to address child poverty. Indeed, there has been progress nationally: 600,000 children taken out of poverty, a fall in severe deprivation and a rise in the number of lone parents in work. But more recently progress has stalled nationally and in London it has come to a halt with no significant improvement since 2000.
May 8, 2008
Information is covered for families of veterans returning from deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and other emotional and behavioral problems that veterans may face. Before developing this pamphlet, companion to CP-534-IADIF (Post-Deployment Stress: What You Should Know, What You Can Do), RAND surveyed a couple hundred existing educational materials on these topics. The researchers then coded and classified these materials and reviewed them to identify gaps in information and to isolate the best materials from which to draw upon. Based on these refined materials, the booklet was further improved by feedback from RAND Corporation experts, other military mental health experts, and nine focus groups including service members and their families.
The nineteenth century witnessed dramatic improvements in the legal rights of married women. Given that these changes took place long before women gained the right to vote, they mounted to a voluntary renouncement of power by men. In this paper, we investigate men’s incentives for sharing power with women. In our model, women’s legal rights set the marital bargaining power of husbands and wives. We show that men face a tradeoff between the rights they want for their own wives (namely none) and the rights of other women in the economy. Men prefer other men’s wives to have rights because men care about their own daughters and because an expansion of women’s rights increases educational investments in children. We show that men may agree to relinquish some of their power once technological change increases the importance of human capital. We corroborate our argument with historical evidence on the expansion of women’s rights in England and the United States.
As the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted, states have the primary obligation to ensure child welfare. However, Congress provides significant federal funds to help states exercise this responsibility ($7.9 billion appropriated in FY2008). Most of this support is provided for children who are in foster care and who meet specific federal eligibility criteria. This report discusses the federal framework for child welfare policy; reviews the scope of activities, and children and families served, by state child welfare agencies; summarizes several child welfare-related hearings that were held in 2007; describes child welfare and related legislative proposals that have been introduced in the 110th Congress; and reviews child welfare programs for which funding authorization has expired or is set to expire on the last day of FY2008. Child welfare agencies seek to ensure the well-being of children and their families, including protecting children from abuse or neglect and ensuring that they have a safe and permanent home. In FY2005 child protection agencies found more than 899,000 children to be victims of abuse or neglect. Some of these children were removed to foster care, some remained in their homes and received services, while others received no further follow-up from the agency. After reaching a recorded high of 567,000 on the last day of FY1999, the number of children in foster care has
declined by about 10%, and on the last day of FY2006, an estimated 512,000 children were in foster care. Less than half of these children are eligible for federal foster care support under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. Legislation that would respond to a number of the concerns raised in the child welfare hearings held during 2007, including proposals to change the federal child welfare financing structure, has been introduced in the 110th Congress.
This study used 1999-2004 Current Population Survey data in conjunction with the Urban Institute’s Transfer Income Model (TRIM3) to quantify the impact of the 2002 Farm Bill’s eligibility restorations. About half the estimated impact came from increases in newly eligible families, while the rest came from increases in eligible family members within already-eligible families (usually within families with citizen children). By 2004, the restorations had extended eligibility to roughly 1 million legal immigrants and 148,000 additional families. The extension in eligibility reached around two-thirds of those made ineligible by the 1996 welfare reform law rules and not covered by the 1998 restorations. The estimated participation gain over the period was 780,000 individuals and 139,000 legal immigrant families. The restorations took place in an era of large increases in food stamp caseloads overall; even so, the share of families containing legal immigrants increased substantially.
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5106a), requires States to make provision for the cooperation of State law enforcement officials and State agencies providing human services in the investigation, assessment, prosecution, and treatment of child abuse or neglect. All 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories have statutes specifying procedures that State agencies must follow in handling reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. In most States, these procedures include requirements for cross-system reporting and/or information sharing among professional entities. Typically, reports are shared among social services agencies, law enforcement departments, and prosecutors' offices.
The data presented in this report were compiled between November 2006 and June 2007. Sources included papers in peer-reviewed medical and social science literature, reports from national agencies and international organizations, and direct communication with contacts either in the country of interest or at the agencies and organizations responsible for managing or funding treatment programs and HIV relief efforts. Most of these articles and reports were in English, but some foreign language materials were reviewed, especially when information was not available in English. Data for each of the countries covered in this report were analyzed to identify the extent of the opioid addiction problem and the extent to which maintenance therapy programs meet this need. In cases of conflicting data, conclusions were based on the preponderance of evidence, but if alternatives were credible, these were reported as well. In this report, we focus our attention on 12 countries in Asia, Africa, and eastern Europe that have experienced significant increases in reports of injection drug use, injection-related HIV, or both during the past decade. These countries also receive significant aid from the United States either directly through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief or through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
One in seven people go to bed hungry every day. That’s 854 million people worldwide. Hunger is one of the world’s major problems and therefore one of its most important challenges. People who are forced to live from hand to mouth are denied a life of dignity. The 2007 Global Hunger Index illustrates that this problem has assumed an alarming scale in 36 countries: twenty-five of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa, nine in Asia, on in the Middle East and Latin America respectively. There is some progress in the fight against hunger in specific regions throughout the world, and the Millennium Development Goal agreed upon by 189 heads of state in 2000 to halve worldwide hunger by 2015 could be achieved. In fact, if the current trend continues, there will still be around 580 million people going hungry in 2015 – a situation we won’t accept. Without public pressure little can be done to alleviate worldwide hunger. There is no shortage of know-how, but there is a lack of political will. The Global Hunger Index (GHI), developed by IFPRI and made public last year for the first time, is an ideal tool to record hunger and support lobby work and advocacy on both national and international platforms.
May 7, 2008
The study discussed in this monograph focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and traumatic brain injury, not only because of current high-level policy interest but also because, unlike the physical wounds of war, these conditions are often invisible to the eye, remaining invisible to other servicemembers, family members, and society in general. All three conditions affect mood, thoughts, and behavior; yet these wounds often go unrecognized and unacknowledged. The effect of traumatic brain injury is still poorly understood, leaving a large gap in knowledge related to how extensive the problem is or how to address it. RAND conducted a comprehensive study of the post-deployment health-related needs associated with these three conditions among OEF/OIF veterans, the health care system in place to meet those needs, gaps in the care system, and the costs associated with these conditions and with providing quality health care to all those in need. This monograph presents the results of our study, which should be of interest to mental health treatment providers; health policymakers, particularly those charged with caring for our nation’s veterans; and U.S. service men and women, their families, and the concerned public.
The emphasis on placing TANF recipients into paid employment quickly is consistent with employment assistance approaches employed by several recent demonstration projects (outside of TANF) for youth and adults living with a disability. However, because TANF recipients living with a disability may have other deficits such as low education levels and limited work experience that further limit their employment prospects, they may not be successful at finding paid competitive employment within the time allotted. When this occurs, TANF agencies may choose to create work opportunities outside of the competitive labor market as a first step towards permanent unsubsidized employment. In this practice brief, we profile three programs that use different approaches (unpaid work experience, subsidized employment, and unsubsidized transitional employment) to create work opportunities for TANF recipients who are living with a disability and have not been successful in finding competitive employment.
About 6.5 million children under age 18 – or nearly 9 percent of all U.S. children – received part of their family income from Social Security in 2005. They include 3.1 million children who receive benefits as dependents of deceased, disabled, or retired workers and an estimated 3.4 million other children who do not themselves receive Social Security but live with relatives who do. Social Security benefits often make the difference in lifting children out of poverty. Of the 6.5 million children in families that received Social Security, fully 1.3 million were lifted out of poverty by Social Security income. Social Security is the most widespread form of life insurance for American families. Almost all U.S. workers – including men and women in the armed forces – have life insurance through Social Security when tragedy strikes. For example, Social Security continues to pay benefits to more than 2,000 children whose parents died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Graduation rates have become a prominent feature in the landscape of high school reform and within the larger world of educational policy. Studies conducted over the past several years have repeatedly demonstrated that far fewer American students are completing high school with diplomas than had previously been realized. Whereas the conventional wisdom had long placed the graduation rate around 85 percent, a growing consensus has emerged that only about seven in 10 students are actually successfully finishing high school. Graduation rates are even lower among certain student populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities and males. That same conventional wisdom also suggests that the type of community in which a student lives and attends school will exert a strong and pervasive influence on a variety of educational outcomes. This connection between place and performance applies to both the experiences of individual students and the collective performance of schools and school systems. Striking differences between schools situated in urban and suburban environments, for instance, have frequently been documented in the area of tested achievement. An analysis by the EPE Research Center also shows that high school graduation rates are 15 percentage points lower in the nation’s urban schools when compared with those located in the suburbs. Despite the acknowledged importance of such contextual factors, apart from attention to broad national-level patterns, there has been limited detailed investigation into the connection between where a young person lives and his or her chances of graduating from high school. This report takes a geographically-informed approach to the issue of high school completion.
This summary presents the findings of a public consultation exploring the social evils facing Britain today. In 1904, Joseph Rowntree identified what he believed were the worst social evils. The new list is the result of a web survey of 3,500 people and discussions with groups whose voices are not usually heard. It reveals a strong sense of unease about some of the changes shaping British society.
May 6, 2008
A logic model is a map or simple illustration of what you do, why you do it, what you hope to achieve, and how you will measure achievement. It includes the anticipated outcomes of your services, indicators of those outcomes, and measurement tools to evaluate the outcomes. . . . The Logic Model Builder will take you step-by-step through the process of developing a logic model so you can plan program evaluation activities for child abuse and neglect prevention, family support, and parenting programs.
Some TANF recipients may have disabilities that would qualify them for the specialized employment preparation services Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies provide. TANF recipients may seek out VR services on their own, or be referred to VR by a TANF case manager on his or her own accord, however, because VR is an unfamiliar service system, few may be inclined to do so. Creating a formal partnership between the agencies can ensure that all TANF recipients who can benefit from VR services have access to them. Though linking the services of these two agencies through formal cooperative agreements is not a widespread strategy, some states have had such partnerships in place for many years and other states are developing them. This practice brief explores the benefits and challenges of linking TANF and VR services, describes partnerships that have been formed in Vermont and Iowa, then discusses key features that appear to be critical to developing a successful partnership.
In 2004, the California legislature passed a bill that tightened the participation requirement for California's welfare program, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Program (CalWORKs) and mandated a study of CalWORKs sanction policy for participant noncompliance in the welfare-to-work program. RAND was asked by the California Department of Social Services to carry out this study. Findings show that county welfare caseworkers' implementation of the state's statutory sanction policy makes the sanctions weaker in practice than might have been expected given stated policy. Both caseworkers and higher-level county welfare department employees are strongly reluctant to sanction clients. Furthermore, caseworkers perceive the statutory noncompliance process to be burdensome. Implementation of sanction policy varies widely across California's 58 counties. RAND researchers note three possible directions for reforming California's sanction policy and practice: (1) swifter sanctions, (2) stronger sanctions with greater financial penalties, and (3) safer sanctions, to ensure that clients are not inappropriately sanctioned due to some combination of caseworker error, lack
of knowledge of how to remedy the sanction, or the existence of undisclosed serious barriers.
Since October 2001, approximately 1.64 million U.S. troops have been deployed for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) in Afghanistan and Iraq. Early evidence suggests that the psychological toll of these deployments — many involving prolonged exposure to combat-related stress over multiple rotations — may be disproportionately high compared with the physical injuries of combat. Concerns have been most recently centered on two combat-related injuries in particular: post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. With the increasing concern about the incidence of suicide and suicide attempts among returning veterans, concern about depression is also on the rise. The study discussed in this monograph focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and traumatic brain injury, not only because of current high-level policy interest but also because, unlike the physical wounds of war, these conditions are often invisible to the eye, remaining invisible to other servicemembers, family members, and society in general. All three conditions affect mood, thoughts, and behavior; yet, these wounds often go unrecognized and unacknowledged. The effect of traumatic brain injury is still poorly understood, leaving a large gap in knowledge related to how extensive the problem is or how to address it.
Many State legislatures have enacted legislation to address infant abandonment and infanticide in response to a reported increase in the abandonment of infants. Beginning in Texas in 1999, "Baby Moses laws" or infant safe haven laws have been enacted as an incentive for mothers in crisis to safely relinquish their babies to designated locations where the babies are protected and provided with medical care until a permanent home is found. Safe haven laws generally allow the parent, or an agent of the parent, to remain anonymous and to be shielded from prosecution for abandonment or neglect in exchange for surrendering the baby to a safe haven. To date, approximately 47 States and Puerto Rico have enacted safe haven legislation. The focus of these laws is protecting newborns. In approximately 15 States, infants who are 72 hours old or younger may be relinquished to a designated safe haven. Approximately 14 States and Puerto Rico accept infants up to 1 month old. Other States specify varying age limits in their statutes
This report brings together resources and research about maintaining family ties for children of prisoners. It provides a review of literature from the past fifteen years as well as examples of practice from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland of what works to support children and their families.The findings highlight the negative impact parental imprisonment can have on children. This area of work cuts across a number of sectors and requires a multi-disciplinary readership and response if outcomes for this group of children are to be improved.
May 5, 2008
Personal and work supports can be instrumental in helping TANF recipients living with disabilities prepare for and maintain employment. For many TANF recipients living with disabilities, the path to self-sufficiency is encumbered by personal and family challenges that interfere with steady employment. Recognizing that these TANF recipients may require more intensive support than is available through traditional employment programs, some TANF agencies have increased the intensity and/or types of supports available to those living with disabilities. Such supports may include intensive case management, rehabilitative services, job coaching, and support groups, among others. In this practice brief, we profile four programs that provide specialized personal and work supports to help TANF recipients living with disabilities succeed in competitive employment.
This the second report in the Hunger Safety Net series which is designed to track trends in hunger and create research-based solutions to hunger and poverty throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The report includes findings on New York City residents who rely on emergency food programs (EFPs), including soup kitchens and food pantries; the operations, resources and services of EFPs; and an analysis of New York City residents’ access to private and government food assistance at varying poverty levels, including a spatial analysis of need and services. This research updates and expands upon results from Hunger Safety Net 2004: Measuring Gaps in Food Assistance in New York City.
When the state takes an abused or neglected child from their parent, a court names the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) the legal custodian of the child—essentially making the state the parent of the child. The state must then do for the child what any parent must—provide food, clothing, and shelter. 1 Since January 2007, however, the state has had to keep over 500 abused and neglected children for at least one night, some for more, in a state office or a hotel room. Every region in the state has had to use offices or hotels, though some more than others. This is only one manifestation of a growing problem—the state does not have enough foster homes. This policy page examines this problem and makes recommendations for capacity building.
Assessment often is the first step in helping TANF recipients living with a disability find and maintain employment. While some TANF recipients living with a disability enter TANF fully aware of their disability, many do not. There are multiple strategies that TANF agencies can employ to identify recipients whose program participation or employment difficulties may be influenced by the presence of a disability or to develop an appropriate employment plan once a disability is identified. In this practice brief, drawing on the experiences of six different TANF initiatives targeted to recipients living with a disability, we describe five different approaches to assessment: disability screening, psychosocial assessments, clinical and psychological assessments, functional needs assessments and vocational assessments.
- Labor has proposed action steps that one-stops may take to link employers and older workers and has ongoing efforts to promote employment for older workers to a wider audience. While Labor knows little about the results of these efforts, planned evaluations may provide some information about the impact of WIA services onolder workers.
- Based on our survey results, we estimate that most one-stops took multiple actions to link employers and older workers. One-stop officials identified some actions as most effective, such as training staff to assist older workers, and often used multifaceted approaches. Several factors, for example, the local economy, might affect what actions one-stops take to serve older workers. One factor, performance measures, may create disincentives for serving older workers.
Access to scientific literature is very important for the scientific work in developing countries . As a result of different projects a large collection of e-journals is now available for researchers in developing countries. The number of Open Access Journals is growing steadily as we can see in the Directory of Open Access Journals. Major UNO organizations like WHO, FAO and UNEP have their specific programs for the scientific institutions in low-income countries. Finally a lot of universities, institutes and other organizations are supporting access programs. The most important are INASP, eIFL and eJDS. All these programs and projects have their own website and/or search engine. With the Open Science Directory IOC/IODE, with the support of EBSCO and Hasselt University Library, is creating a unique access point to all the journals contained in the different programs.
May 2, 2008
Cancer care today often provides state-of-the-science biomedical treatment, but fails to address the psychological and social (psychosocial) problems associated with the illness. This failure can compromise the effectiveness of health care and thereby adversely affect the health of cancer patients. Psychological and social problems created or exacerbated by cancer--including depression and other emotional problems; lack of information or skills needed to manage the illness; lack of transportation or other resources; and disruptions in work, school, and family life--cause additional suffering, weaken adherence to prescribed treatments, and threaten patients' return to health. Today, it is not possible to deliver high-quality cancer care without using existing approaches, tools, and resources to address patients' psychosocial health needs. All patients with cancer and their families should expect and receive cancer care that ensures the provision of appropriate psychosocial health services. Cancer Care for the Whole Patient recommends actions that oncology providers, health policy makers, educators, health insurers, health planners, researchers and research sponsors, and consumer advocates should undertake to ensure that this standard is met.
The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme has one principal aim - to help PCTs implement NICE Guidelines for people suffering from depression and anxiety disorders. The Government is committed to improving access to psychological therapies and announced additional funding to increase services over the next three years. This Commissioning Toolkit is designed to help PCTs improve or establish stepped care psychological therapies following NICE guidelines. The toolkit is structured around the commissioning cycle and is specifically linked to the World Class Commissioning competencies. It brings together a wide range of existing tools and guides and includes positive practice examples throughout.
This report outlines seven ethical principles of caregiving that can help guide policy makers and other stakeholders in their efforts to ensure that the country meets its obligations to the dependent elderly and their caregivers. From this principled foundation, we can better envision and design specific policy strategies. The seven principles are:
- An Ecological Ethic: Recognizing the interconnectedness of people, systems, and policies.
- Respect for Human Dignity: Respecting the unique worth of all people and their pursuit of a good life at all stages.
- Beneficence: Maximizing benefits, including health and security.
- Compassion: Demonstrating concern for the well-being of others, especially the vulnerable.
- Reciprocity: Appreciating and compensating those who give back to society.
- Temperance: Taking a long view rather than looking for short-term fixes.
- Social Justice: Treating all people fairly and equally and building just social institutions.
A state-by-state examination of trends in income inequality over the past two business cycles ffinds that inequality has grown in most parts of the country since the late 1980s. The incomes of the country’s highest-income families have climbed substantially, while middle- and lower-income families have seen only modest increases. In fact, the long-standing trend of growing income inequality accelerated between the late 1990s and the mid-2000s (the latest period for which state data are available).
• On average, incomes have declined by 2.5 percent among the bottom fifth of families since the
late 1990s, while increasing by 9.1 percent among the top fifth.
• In 19 states, average incomes have grown more quickly among the top fifth of families than
among the bottom fifth since the late 1990s. In no state has the bottom fifth grown significantly faster than the top fifth.
• For very high-income families — the richest 5 percent — income growth since the late 1990s has been especially dramatic, and much faster than among the poorest fifth of families.
Teens typically fail to use contraceptives consistently, which contributes to high rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among this age group. Existing research has focused primarily on how teens’ own characteristics are related to contraceptive use, but has paid less attention to how the characteristics of teens’ relationships and partners might influence contraceptive use and consistency. Using survey data from high school students, this Fact Sheet presents findings from recent Child Trends research examining how multiple dimensions of teens’ sexual relationships and sexual partners may influence their contraceptive use and consistency. A better understanding of these issues can help parents, program providers, and teens themselves reduce high rates of unintended teen pregnancy, childbearing, and STIs in the United States.
- SAMHSA's 2005 and 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use & Health were combined to examine the quantity and frequency of alcohol use among drinkers under the legal age, i.e., drinkers aged 12 to 20.
- Based on combined data from SAMHSA's 2005 to 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use & Health, an annual average of 28.3% of underage drinkers (10.8 million persons aged 12 to 20) drank alcohol in the past month.
- Underage drinkers who drank in the past month used alcohol an average of 5.9 days in the past month and consumed an average of 4.9 alcoholic drinks per day on the days they drank in the past month.
- Person under the legal age consumed, on average, more drinks per days on the days they drank in the past month than drinkers of legal age (4.9 drinks vs. 2.8 drinks).
Helping you through a hospital stay helps older people to understand and manage the feelings, anxieties and concerns they may have when they are entering or leaving hospital. It suggests how they can be involved in their treatment and care, and in planning for return home. The booklet has been written and developed with the input of an advisory group of older people who have firsthand experience of going into hospital. It covers all aspects of the hospital stay including how to prepare for the hospital visit, essential things to pack, what to expect from doctors, nurses, social workers and other professionals, and includes an extensive list of useful contacts for both pre and post hospital care. It will also be an invaluable aid for carers, relatives and friends.
May 1, 2008
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.
While most evidence suggests that immigration has had a modest negative effect on black employment, especially for those without a high school diploma, changes in immigration law will probably not improve job prospects for young blacks, Senior Fellow Harry Holzer told the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He offered six suggestions for policymakers looking to improve outcomes for young African Americans, such as improving their early work experience and occupational training with high-quality career and technical education.
The primary goal of this research is to determine the size of the drug-involved offender population that could be served effectively and efficiently by partnerships between courts and treatment. Despite a growing consensus that substance abuse treatment promotes desistance, few arrestees receive sufficient treatment through the criminal justice system to reduce their offending. Strict eligibility rules and scarce resources limit access to treatment, even in jurisdictions that embrace the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence. The result is that existing linkages between the criminal justice system and substance abuse treatment are so constrained that at best only small reductions in crime can be achieved. The limited access to treatment for the criminal offender population appears to be based on subjective judgments of both the risks of treating offenders in the community and the benefits of treatment. Risks are assumed to be high for most offenders, and the benefits of treatment are assumed to be low. As a result, almost all drug-involved arrestees are determined to be ineligible for participation in community-based treatment programs. An important question for the nation's drug policymakers is whether a substantial expansion of substance abuse treatment would yield benefits from reduced crime and improved public safety. A related question is whether evidence-based strategies can be developed to prioritize participation, given limited resources.
The vision for the school is to celebrate difference while ensuring that all children feel special and have an understanding and appreciation of each other’s culture and lifestyle. The school has high aspirations for all children and recognises that Traveller children, in view of their transience, need to see themselves and their culture reflected from the minute they walk into the school in order to feel that this is a place where they will be supported and welcomed.
This briefing focuses on factors contributing to either stress or resilience in families where one or both parents have mental health problems. It considers the position of parents and children focusing upon issues of stress or resilience arising from individual and ‘informal’ sources. While recognising the role that services have in mediating either stress or resilience, the briefing does not consider service interventions or evaluations, as these are the subject of a SCIE systematic review to be published separately.
Every year, millions of children and adolescents are exposed to violence—either as direct victims or as witnesses of violent events—in their homes, schools, and communities. In the past 15 years, researchers and practitioners have come to recognize that such exposure can negatively impact a child’s development and functioning. Children and young people who face early and prolonged exposure to violence are at greater risk for a range of learning and social difficulties as well as for perpetuating violence within their own families. Children confront tense and frightening events all the time, whether it is going to school for the first time, experiencing the death of a beloved grandparent, or becoming hospitalized. According to the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child at Harvard University, worrying situations fall on a continuum, ranging from short-term, tolerable, and even beneficial stress to prolonged, uncontrollable stress, that is toxic to the child’s development. How a child responds to uncontrollable stress, such as being exposed to violence, may be sudden or gradual, visible or invisible, transitory or long lasting. The response depends on the frequency, intensity, and history of exposure as well as on environmental supports.