hsn / human service newsbytes

NEWS & DEVELOPMENTS

 Children and Youth

Teen Birth Rates Begin to Drop After Two-Year Spike
US teen births dropped two percent in 2008, reversing a two-year upswing that had interrupted a fourteen-year decline.  The biggest drops occurred among older teens, ages 18 to 19 (4%), and Latino women (5%).   Read the full article in Youth Today here.

Don’t Forget the Kids! Rethinking the Immigration Debate
The ongoing debate over immigration reform takes into account everything from job availability to community demographics, but tends to overlook the5.5 million American-born children who are negatively affected by deportation laws (First Focus).  Read about the impact on these kids and policy recommendations here.

Let’s Not Shoot for Fifty – Forty Years Since Last White House Conference on Children and Youth
The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is marking April's National Child Abuse Prevention Month by campaigning for a White House Conference on Children and Youth, the last of which was held in 1970. Learn more about what you can do to support the campaign here.

Older Americans

Homeless Population Ages Along with Boomers
With homelessness projected to more than double by 2050, the population of older sheltered homeless persons will also grow, going from 43,450 to 95,000.  Read the National Alliance to End Homelessness article here.

Health Care

Healthier Choices on the Horizon for Millions of Americans
HHS awarded $372 million in prevention and wellness grants to forty-four communities around the nation to help create healthier choices for residents, such as increasing access to nutritious foods and safe places for physical activity, while discouraging tobacco use (HHS).  Read more about the grants and grantees here.

Poverty and Community

Communities of Color Say Job Creation Can’t Wait
In response to March unemployment figures – 12.6% of Hispanics and 16.5% of Blacks were unemployed, compared to 9.7% of the labor force overall – The National Council of La Raza and other Latino civil rights organizations have outlined a series of policy recommendations urging a fast track for job creation.   Read the recommendations here. 

Jobs Up, but Unemployment Holds Steady
Numbers released by Bureau of Labor point to mixed results – nearly 400,000 workers entered or re-entered the labor market in March,  48,000 of whom work on the Census,  but unemployment remained unchanged at 9.7% (EPI).  See the other unemployment statistics here.

Nonprofit Sector

America's Nonprofits Brace for Tough 2010
According to a survey released by the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) America's nonprofits expect that 2010 will be financially more difficult or as difficult as 2009, as 80% anticipate an increase in demand for services, leading many to seek creative alternatives.  Access the survey here.

POLICY

So, That’s Where it Goes . . . Federal Expenditure on Children
Roughly two-thirds of federal spending for pre-k and elementary age children is put towards six programs – The Child Tax and Earned Income Tax Credits, dependent exemption, child nutrition, Medicaid, and education for the disadvantaged (UI).  Get the full analysis here for kids ages 6-11 and here for pre-K and Kindergarten children.

Too Little, Too Late? Experts Fear 2011 Budget Won’t Resolve Housing Crisis
Local agencies, like the New York City Housing Authority where there’s talk of revoking 10,000 housing vouchers, are finding it a challenge to meet the growing need for housing.  In response, the 2011 budget allocated $875 million above the 2010 funding level, but it still may not be enough.  Read the Urban Institute’s report here and a NY Times article on NYC housing here.

Tougher Times Ahead for Unemployed
Congress’s failure to extend the ARRA enacted measures providing extra weeks of unemployment insurance (UI) and subsidized COBRA health insurance coverage for unemployed workers has greatly reduced the number of weeks of coverage in every state, meaning hard days to come for many Americans.  Read the CBPP emergency report here.

RESOURCES

Models of Success: Twenty-three Examples of Effective Youth Development Programs
The American Youth Policy Forum’s report, Every Step of the Way offers youth development professionals and policy experts an in-depth evaluation of twenty-three of the nation’s leading programs, identifying what makes these programs so successful and how these practices can translate into effective policy.  Read the report here.

What Works and What Doesn’t:  Preventing and Treating Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity rates have more than doubled in the last twenty-five years to over 17% of children between the ages of six and seventeen.  The strategies in the Child Trends fact sheet can help health professionals and youth workers to begin to combat this issue.  Get the facts here.

Trying to Increase Your Membership? Then Read This
Ellis Robinson, author of The Nonprofit Membership Toolkit, warns of the eight most common pitfalls when trying to grow a nonprofit membership base.  Read her advice here.

Straight Talk on Health Reform
The National Council on Aging has put together an easy-to-understand fact sheet on how health reform affects seniors. Download and share the two-page sheet here.

EVENTS

Thursdays at Three – NHSA Webinar Series
Hear from the nation’s top experts on topics ranging from operational to organizational to programmatic knowledge.  Next up is:

• “Swimming in a Fishbowl: Holding Your Agency Accountable for its Work” – Thursday, April 29, 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
  
  Register Now Here!

Feeling the Financial Crisis? Join for NCNE’s New Webinar Series
Across the board nonprofits have been hit by the crisis, that’s why the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise is sponsoring a three-part webinar series on rebuilding and strengthening nonprofits in the current climate.

• “Building your nonprofit’s sustainability in the new normal” – Thursday, April 15; Thursday, April 22; and Thursday, April 29, 1:00- 2:30 p.m. ET.
  
  Register here.
  
  Also check out NCNE’s ongoing training series and financial health Forums co-sponsored with the Helen Bader Institute here.

There’s Been  A lot of Buzz About the Supplemental Poverty Measure – Learn Why
Join policy experts for a co-sponsored webinar on the hows and whys of adopting the measure along with information on state and local efforts to adopt more accurate measures of poverty.

• “Behind the Scenes: Adopting a Supplemental Poverty Measure” – Wednesday, April 21, 2:00-3:00 p.m. (ET)
  
  Register here.

Global Service Youth Day is Just Around the Corner – Don’t Miss Out
Over 1000 youth-oriented events are planned for April 23-25th, the 22nd annual Global Service Youth Day, which mobilizes millions of children and youth involved in community service around the world.  Register your event or learn more here.

In DC? – Come kick off the celebration with Youth Service America and hear from six expert speakers on every aspect of youth engagement. 

• “TEDxCapital - Change the Equation!” – Thursday, April 22, 1:00-5:00 p.m.
  
  Space is limited – register here.

GRANTS & AWARDS

Teen Advocates Take Note
$75 million in grants for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs is now available from HHS.  The OAH is also giving an additional $25 million towards these programs.

Deadline:  June 1 (HHS) and May 10 (Letter of Intent OAH)
Learn more here.

Funding Opportunities for Health Service Organizations
The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration is making $8 million available for about 27 grants to help prevent the spread of HIV.

Deadline: May 15
Learn more here.