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Family Strengthening News is a monthly e-newsletter produced by the Family Strengthening Policy Center, an initiative of the National Human Services Assembly funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Family Economic Success Child Poverty Impacted by Economic Recession A new report from First Focus finds that children who experience poverty during a recession will fare far worse throughout their lifetime than children who did not fall into poverty during an economic downturn. The report finds that children who fall into poverty during an economic downturn will achieve lower levels of education and earn less as adults. Click here. Paid Sick Leave Legislation Benefits Low-income Workers On May 19, Representative Rosa DeLauro introduced the "Healthy Families Act" (H.R. 2460), legislation that would require most employers to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave for workers. Almost half of private sector workers have no paid sick time, the majority of which are low-income workers. Currently, many workers have to choose between losing a day's pay to care for themselves or a sick child, or going to work sick and exposing their co-workers to illness. Click here. Make sure to check out Paid Leave in the States: A Critical Support for Low-wage Workers and Their Families as well.Unemployment Insurance Reform to Benefit Rural Families A new brief from The Carsey Institute shows that modernizing federal-state unemployment insurance programs to include part-time workers will significantly aid rural workers and their families. The brief examines how states can take advantage of stimulus package provisions to make significant reforms to their UI programs. Click here. Supported Employment Benefits the Mentally Disabled The majority of people with serious long-term mental illnesses have consistently expressed their aspirations to work as part of recovery, this brief describes the current situation for people with psychiatric disabilities; proposes providing supported employment, mental health services, and health insurance to current and potential social security beneficiaries. (RWJF). Click here. Workplace Supports National Assembly Offers Recommendations to the U.S. Senate Workplace Flexibility Study Group The core of flexibility, according to the Families and Work Institute, is “policies and practices that give employees greater control over their work schedules, their work locations, and their ability to take time off to meet personal or family needs.” The Assembly offered recommendations to the Study Group on workplace flexibility which included models for telecommuting, employment & service options and scheduling choices. To read more Click here. Also check out the Caring Workplaces catalog for a more detailed list of practices to support paid and volunteer staff. Last month Blue Avocado featured an article about the challenge of providing adequate compensation to low-wage employees during a financial crisis. The article highlighted a number of helpful options, provided by the Assembly, without torpedoing the budget. Examples include making staff aware of Employee Assistance Program benefits such as mental health counseling, and referrals to substance abuse treatment programs. Click here to access the article. Supporting Entry-Level, Hourly Employees The Families and Work Institute looks at what workplace flexibility is available to entry-level, hourly employees in this brief. It addresses the workforce challenges that employers face in recruiting, engaging, developing, and retaining entry-level and hourly employees, particularly those from low income households. Special attention is given to identifying characteristics of jobs and workplaces that help employers meet their goals of stabilizing their workforce while also promoting the well-being of low-wage and low-income employees and their families. Click here. What Companies are Doing to Help Their Employees The Families and Work Institute has also put together examples of what businesses around the country are doing to support their employees during these difficult economic times. Click here. Online Resource about Key Low-Income Benefit Programs Family Support Systems Racial Disparities Found in Substance Abuse Treatment Minorities in the United States generally receive inferior health care and have worse health outcomes than Caucasians. This brief from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation looks at how racial and ethnic minorities differ in the need for substance abuse treatment and how different groups obtain (or fail to obtain) treatment for their substance abuse problems is critical to achieving greater equality in health care and health outcomes. Click here. Increasing the Medicaid Program's Efficiency and Effectiveness Managing the Medicaid program well ensures that beneficiaries get the health and long-term care services they need, providers offer high quality care in a system that operates efficiently, and public resources are spent effectively. This paper proposes four strategies to improve and streamline management of different elements of the Medicaid program to help achieve key program goals. (Center for Children and Families). Click here.States Make Progress to Improve Child Care for Babies CLASP has profiled state examples of specific policy initiatives states are undertaking to improve child care for infants and toddlers. State examples include child care licensing, child care subsidy, and quality enhancement policies. Click here. Strengthening Mentoring Opportunities for At-Risk Youth Mentoring youth is critical to the future health and prosperity of our nation. Yet, millions of young people are currently growing up without the guidance and support from parents or others that is needed to prepare them to become well-adjusted and contributing members of society. This brief summarizes the latest research on youth mentoring. Several new directions for programs and policies aimed at connecting young people with caring adults are outlined that build on current knowledge. (NWREL). Click here. Thriving and Nurturing Communities Afterschool Programs Strengthen Communities Schools exist in a vacuum, having little or no association with the surrounding neighborhood, and many neighborhoods lack safe places for youth to gather and socialize. Afterschool programs are uniquely suited to fill this void and become America's new neighborhood -- a safe space for both kids and parents to gather to learn, play and connect. By giving schools, community based organizations and communities an investment in one another, afterschool programs have the power to reduce crime, increase safety, bring neighbors together, and foster community pride and ownership. (AfterSchool Alliance). Click here to read more. Neighborhood-Based Child Welfare Services Target High Risk Children The popularity of neighborhood-based child welfare services has been built on studies showing that certain neighborhood demographic characteristics are linked to child maltreatment. In response to this data, child welfare system reform efforts seek to target services to neighborhoods at high risk for child welfare involvement. This study examines whether or not those neighborhood attributes are related to the risk of entering foster care. (Children and Youth Services Review). Click here. Neighborhood Factors Influence Physical Activity of U.S. Youth Although much attention has been paid to individual factors that may contribute to physical inactivity among US youth, the roles that family and neighborhood influences may play have been largely unexplored. Child Trends analyzed data to identify family, neighborhood, and individual factors that may have a bearing on adolescent inactivity. Among their findings was that living in a non-supportive neighborhood – one lacking close ties between neighbors as well as overall safety – was associated with whether teens participated in sports but not whether they engaged in exercise. Click here. Announcements & Additional Resources Community Employment Pathways Guidebook This guidebook is designed to aid communities seeking to help people who are homeless obtain and maintain employment. It provides information from the perspectives of both the homeless assistance and workforce development systems and highlights successful program examples. It offers guidance on systems-level aspects of promoting and maintaining employment for people experiencing homelessness. Click here. Afterschool and the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act The Afterschool Alliance has launched a special project to help programs and advocates pursue opportunities available to support afterschool initiatives through ARRA funding. Click here.
Substance Abuse Policy Resource The Substance Abuse Policy Research Program’s "Knowledge Assets" web site gives policy makers, journalists and researchers accurate, current, and peer-reviewed insights on policy research related to alcohol, tobacco and drug use. Click here. Community Interventions for Child and Domestic Abuse The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges has released a resource guide for communities to provide practical ideas for communities seeking to improve their response to child abuse and domestic violence. This publication identifies new ways for child welfare agencies, domestic violence advocates, and dependency courts to collaborate. Click here. Conferences & Events Social Media for Social Good Seminar Thursday July 23 Learn how to best utilize the Internet and new technologies and take your organization to the next level. Workshops will cover Facebook, blogging, online fundraising, and more. Co-sponsored by the Capital Area Food Bank, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of DC, and the National Human Services Assembly. Click here to learn more.
June 24 – 26, 2009 Omni Hotel at CNN Center Atlanta, GA Diversity and Aging in the 21st Century: The Power of Inclusion June 8-10, 2009 Chicago, Illinois for more information contact diversity@aarp.org or call Carmelita Tursi at 202/434-2803
For other conferences and events, click here.
Family Strengthening Policy Center BriefsIn addition to producing this newsletter, the Family Strengthening Policy Center has produced analyses of the following promising practices and policies that advance place-based family strengthening. We do the research and analysis so you don't have to! Please check them out, and please feel free to reference those you find helpful. Click the titles below to view the briefs in PDF format. We particularly commend to you the most recent and over-arching policy brief: Family Strengthening Writ Large: On Becoming a Nation That Promotes Strong Families and Successful Youth Integrated Materials:
***************************************************************************************************************** Got News? Please e-mail newsletters@nassembly.org with your news, events, and suggestions for Family Strengthening News. To subscribe to Family Strengthening News, click here and complete the E-Newsletter form on the left side of the page. For more resources from the National Assembly, please visit our other sites: National Human Services Assembly |
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Family Strengthening News: June 2009