National Center for Children in Poverty
December 14, 2006 Update
As 2006 draws to a close, many are predicting that the economy in 2007 will be shaky at best.
Unfortunately, Who Are America's Poor Children? The Official Story reveals that nearly 13 million children already live in families with income below the official poverty measure. Worse, it is widely agreed that the poverty measure understates the true extent of economic hardship.

WHO ARE AMERICA'S POOR CHILDREN? THE OFFICIAL STORY

NCCP's new fact sheet finds that 18% of children live in families that are officially considered poor.
Who Are America's Poor Children? The Official Story
- describes the characteristics of children who are officially poor and identifies public policy strategies for improving the well-being of children and families.

Key findings include:
* Across the states, child poverty rates range from 7% in New Hampshire to 27% in Mississippi.
* Poverty is especially prevalent among black, Latino, and American Indian children.
* Official poverty rates are highest for young children.

Read the fact sheet

Subscribe to NCCP Update
- provides subscribers with periodic mailings (once or twice a month) on our new publications, research activities, and online tools.
To see our past mailings, check out the archive (14 previous issues as at Dec. 17/06).

Source:
National Center for Children in Poverty

What's New from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP):

Child Care and Early Education State-by-State Data - U.S.
November 16, 2006
This set of state-by-state data includes new analysis of 2005 child care spending from Child Care Development Block Grant and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds and of 2005 Head Start Program Information Report data, along with data (published in March 2006) on states’ use of community-based child care to provide pre-kindergarten.

Child Care Assistance in 2005: State Cuts Continue (PDF file - 78K, 9 pages)
November 1, 2006
State spending on child care assistance declined in 2005 for the second consecutive year. Twenty-two states made cuts to their child care programs, as the number of children living in low-income families that received help from these programs continued to decline. Many families turn to child care assistance programs to get help paying for the child care they need in order to work and to succeed. This policy brief provides an overview of national expenditure data for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds directed towards child care. 9 pages.

Investing in Children: Public Commitment
in Twenty-one Industrialized Countries, 1980-2001
(PDF file - 635K, 25 pages)(PDF file - 635K, 25 pages)
By Shirley Gatenio Gabel and Sheila B. Kamerman
[includes Canada]
Using time series and survey data, this article explores public commitment to children and their families from 1980 through 2001 in 21 industrialized countries. Despite the shrinking child population in all countries and the slowed growth of the welfare state in most, the authors find that spending on children and families has increased in most countries. The authors conclude that the instruments and goals of the family benefit and service package have changed over time and that future public spending on children is increasingly likely to go toward helping families balance their responsibilities as workers and parents and toward enhancing the development of young children.
Source:
Institute for Child and Family Policy (ICFP) at Columbia University (New York)
[Found in: Social Service Review (June 2006), The University of Chicago.]

What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)

Strong foundations: Early childhood care and education
27 Oct 06
- UNESCO's 2007 Education for All Global Monitoring Report.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=92590

Spending on childcare ranked low [AU]
25 Oct 06
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=92626

The building blocks of a global empire [AU]
20 Oct 06
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=92625

More from CRRU - keep scrolling down this page for more CRRU anayses and links

Adolescent Birth Rate Falls to Record Low, Kids' Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Drops
Infant Mortality Rate Falls to Former Level, But Birth Rate for Unmarried Women Rises - U.S.
July 14, 2006
News Release
The federal government's yearly statistical report on the well-being of our Nation's children shows that the adolescent birth rate fell to the lowest level ever recorded. The infant mortality rate also declined to its former, lowest ever, level after having increased in the previous year. The proportion of children exposed to secondhand smoke declined, as did the proportion of high school seniors who reported smoking cigarettes daily in the last 30 days. Compared to the previous year's statistics, the average mathematics score increased for 4th and 8th graders and the average reading score for 4th graders also increased. At the same time, the birth rate for unmarried women and the proportion of infants with low birthweight increased from the previous year. These findings are described in America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2006, the U.S. government's annual monitoring report on the well-being of the Nation's children and youth.

America's Children in Brief:
Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2006
Published: July 2006
The Forum’s signature report, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, is an annual indicators report that details the status of children and families in the United States. All data are updated annually on the Forum’s website (http://childstats.gov). A more detailed report alternates every other year with a condensed version that highlights selected indicators. This year, the Forum is publishing the Brief and will return to the detailed report in July 2007.

America's Children 2005

Source:
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
"The Forum, is a working group of Federal agencies that collect, analyze, and report data on issues related to children and families. The Forum has partners from 20 Federal agencies as well as partners in private research organizations."
Forum Agencies - includes a list of links to all 20 agencies that make up the Interagency Forum.

Ending child poverty
"On 6 July 2006, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) published a report (What will it take to end child poverty? Firing on all cylinders) (PDF file - 1MB, 72 pages) which explores the changes needed for the government to achieve its ambitious target of ending child poverty by 2020. It reviews the character of child poverty in Britain today, and shows that not ending child poverty has high costs for our society, both moral and material. It reviews a wide range of measures for cutting child poverty. Taking into consideration the effect and costs of existing policies, as well as new measures which might be needed to meet targets, a modelling exercise tests the contribution that certain of the measures reviewed can make to reducing child poverty.

This publication draws together the findings of a programme of research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation focusing on child poverty in the UK. The aim of the programme was to produce costed policy options for ending UK child poverty by 2020. A team of researchers from universities and other research organisations examined issues which impact on child poverty - from the tax and benefit system, through to childcare and mental health - as well as the lessons to be learned from other countries.

Working papers and reports on the diverse issues affecting child poverty were published online during June 2006.
Details of the programme are at www.jrf.org.uk/child-poverty

Complete report:

What will it take to end child poverty? Firing on all cylinders) (PDF file - 1MB, 72 pages)

Source:
Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF)

Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)

Each week, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit disseminates its "e-mail news notifier", an e-mail message with a dozen or so links to new reports, studies and child care in the news (media articles) by the CRRU or another organization in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). What you see below is selected recent content from the notifier.

16-Jun-06

ABC LEARNING CENTRES: A CASE STUDY OF AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST CHILD CARE CORPORATION
by Rush, Emma & Downie, Christian
Report from The Australia Institute investigates quality issues at ABC Learning Centres, as reported through surveys and interviews with ABC staff.

>> It's the mother of all myths [GB]
by Sarler, Carol / London Times, 15 Jun 06

>> Preschool empire flawed by its carers [AU]
by Horin, Adele / Sydney Morning Herald, 12 Jun 06

>> Wild goose chase turns child care into a game of hide and seek [AU]
by Alexander, Harriet / Sydney Morning Herald, 8 Jun 06

More CRRU content (further down on the page you're now reading)

First-of-its-Kind Report Examines Child Well-Being in Canada, United States and Mexico:
Economic and Social Integration Have Profound Effect On 120 Million Children in North America (PDF file - 36K, 2 pages)
Press Release - May 2, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report that examines the state of child well-being in North America – Growing Up in North America: Child Well-Being in Canada, the United States & Mexico – reveals that gains in human development across the continent have not kept pace with the last decade’s dramatic advances in technology, trade, and investment. In this first-of-its-kind report issued today, the three project partners – the Canadian Council on Social Development, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México – call for attention to child well-being against a backdrop of economic and social change in North America.

Growing Up in North America:
Child Well-being in Canada, the United States and Mexico
May 2006
- includes links to:
* Complete report (PDF file - 1MB, 50 pages)
* Executive Summary (PDF file - 92K, 2 pages)
* Fact Sheet (PDF file - 35K, 2 pages)
* Press Release: Economic and Social Integration Have Profound Effect On 120 Million Children in North America (see above)
* From canada.com (May 1): Well-being of children may be overlooked as Canada, U.S., Mexico grow closer
* CCSD Op Ed [March 2006]: Message to Harper, Bush and Fox: Shortsighted to ignore 120 million kids
* Grandir en Amérique du Nord [French] (PDF file - 1.2MB., 56 pages)
* Creciendo en América del Norte [Spanish] (PDF)
* Children in North America Project website

Source:
Canadian Council on Social Development

Project partners:

Annie E. Casey Foundation
Since 1948, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) has worked to build better futures for disadvantaged children and their families in the United States. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families.

Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México (site available only in Spanish

World Forum 2006 - Future Directions in Child Care
November 19 – 22, 2006 in Vancouver, BC
This international conference will explore and share knowledge, information, data and on promising practices and innovative approaches to prevention and response to child abuse and neglect.

Call For Papers
February 20 to April 15

What's New from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP): (U.S.)

Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems that Spend Smarter: Maximizing Resources to Serve Vulnerable Children
Project THRIVE Issue Briefs
February 2006
States planning early childhood comprehensive care systems will use this first Issue Brief from NCCP's Project THRIVE to identify ways to use federal and state fiscal resources more effectively to promote the social and emotional health and well-being of the most vulnerable young children.
Abstract - HTML
Complete report - PDF (276K, 24 pages)

Low-Income Children in the United States:
National and State Trend Data, 1994-2004
January 2006
After nearly a decade of decline, the number of children living in low-income families has been steadily increasing, a pattern that began in 2000. NCCP's new data book brings together national and 50-state trend data on the characteristics of low-income children over the past decade.
Abstract - HTML
Complete report - PDF (429K, 56 pages)

Basic Facts about Low-Income Children: Birth to Age 18
January 2006
Millions of children with low-income parents find themselves without the basics, even though the majority of low-income parents work. Young children continue to be disproportionately low income. NCCP's series, Basic Facts About Low-Income Children, 2006 edition, tracks children in the United States who live in low-income families by age: birth to age 18; birth to age 6; and birth to age 3.
HTML version - includes links to separate reports, one dealing with children birth to age 6 and the other from birth to age 3
PDF version (196K, 4 pages)

What's New in International child care - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)

Each week, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit disseminates its "e-mail news notifier", an e-mail message with a dozen or so links to new reports, studies and child care in the news (media articles) by the CRRU or another organization in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). What you see below is international content from a recent issue of the notifier; you can find Canadian content from CRRU on the Children, Families and Youth Links (NGO) page of this site : http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnngo.htm

Care for every child
Jen Ross/Toronto Star, 27 May 06

"If things are going so well in our country,
we ought to be able to offer our children more opportunities" (PDF file - 83K, 3 pages)
Government of Chile press release, 19 Apr 06

Early childhood policies in the Bachelet administration (PDF file - 47K, 1 page)
Government of Chile, 30 Mar 06

Breaking the piggy bank: Parents and the high price of child care
Report from the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (US) “finds that parents across the United States are struggling to meet the high cost of child care.”

Family-friendly Finland
by Korpela, Salla
Story from Virtual Finland introduces the Tuurala family from Helsinki and illustrates how they benefit from the Finnish government’s full system of support for families with children.

>> Reconstructing teacher education to prepare qualified preschool teachers: Lessons from New Jersey
by Lobman, Carrie; Ryan, Sharon & McLaughlin, Jill
Article from Early Childhood Research and Practice (US) reports on New Jersey’s efforts to improve their system of preschool teacher certification.

>> Germany embraces the family: Calls for free child care and tax breaks for parents [DE]
National Post, 21 Jan 06

>> Chile’s new leader to stay the course [CL]
Globe and Mail, 17 Jan 06

>> New Liberia leader hails children [LR]
BBC News, 18 Jan 06

>> Child care ‘shambles’ under the spotlight [AU]
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 16 Jan 06

Also from CRRU:

What's New? - Links to Canadian, U.S. and international resources from Jan 2000 to the present.
Child Care in the News - media articles from January 2000 to the present
ISSUE files - links to theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info
Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere
CRRU Publications - links to briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications

More CRRU content (this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading)

From the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre:

Alternative Tax-benefit strategies to support children in the European Union.
Recent Reforms in Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom (PDF file - 382K, 43 pages)
August 2005
Series: Innocenti Working Papers, 2005-07
Author: Christine, Lietz ; Holly, Sutherland ; Horacio, Levy
Category: Child poverty
"This paper presents a further analysis of tax and transfer systems in support of child poverty reduction carried out in the context of the UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 6 on Child Poverty in Rich Countries 2005 [see Related Link, below]. The research reported here was funded in part by the Nuffield Foundation and supported by activities within the MICRESA (Micro-level Analysis of the European Social Agenda) project, financed by the Improving Human Potential programme of the European Commission."

Related Link:

Child Poverty Rising in Richest Countries : Study Urges OECD Governments to Establish
Credible Monitoring Systems and Timeframes for the Progressive Reduction of Child Poverty (PDF file - 65K, 2 pages)
Media Release
March 1, 2005
"FLORENCE– The proportion of children living in poverty since the early 1990s has risen in 17 out of 24 rich countries, a new report from UNICEF’s research centre said today. Although it is widely assumed that child poverty in rich countries is on a steady downward track, the report finds that in only four countries – Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States – has there been a significant decrease since the early 1990s."

Complete report:

Child Poverty in Rich Countries 2005 (PDF file - 218K, 40 pages)
March 1, 2005
Summary of the report (PDF file - 114K, 4 pages)
Background papers
- A Portrait of Child Poverty in Germany
- Child Poverty and Changes in Child Poverty in Rich Countries Since 1990
- Principles and practicalities for measuring child poverty in the rich countries
- The Impact of Tax and Transfer Systems on Children in the European Union
Other Press material
Brief guide to best practices in defining and monitoring child poverty
Key findings

Source:
Innocenti Report Card no. 6
(this page includes links to Spanish, French and Italian versions of the all of the files above)

The State of the World’s Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible
December 2005
- incl. links to the full report and stats, plus : Executive summary * Customized statistical tables * Audio interviews with UNICEF experts * Additional real life stories * Photo essay: Excluded and Invisible * The State of the World's Children movie * Press Release * Key Arguments * Fast Facts * Video News Package * State of the World's Children for young people * Lucy and the World of Invisible Children * Understanding the Millennium Development Goals

Complete report (PDF file - 3.1MB, 156 pages)

2005 State of the World's Children report (further down on the page you're now reading)

Child Care Assistance in 2004: States Have Fewer Funds for Child Care (PDF file - 39K, 3 pages)
December 1, 2005
by Hannah Matthews and Danielle Ewen
"State spending on child care assistance declined in 2004 for the first time since the passage of welfare reform in 1996. Child care assistance helps low-income families find and retain the jobs they need to support their families. This policy brief, which examines national expenditure data for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), finds that 30 states made cuts to their child care programs and fewer families received the child care help they needed to work and succeed."

Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
The Center for Law and Social Policy is a national, nonprofit public policy organization founded in 1968 that conducts research, policy analysis, technical assistance, and advocacy on issues related to economic security for low-income families with children.

News From the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) - New York
[periodic updates on the research and activities of the NCCP]

Subscribe to receive NCCP Updates
I subscribe to this service and I recommend it.
What follows below is the most recent update they sent out, copied and pasted from my e-mail Inbox.
If you subscribe to the update service, this is a sample of what you'll receive from time to time.
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November 17, 2005

Welcome to the listserv of the National Center for Children in Poverty. This mailing provides subscribers with periodic updates on the
research and activities of NCCP. We hope you find this information useful in your work to improve the lives of low-income children and families.

If your colleagues would also like to receive this e-mail from NCCP, please pass this along and ask them to subscribe by following the
directions at the end of this message.

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Here's What's New From NCCP...
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1. NCCP RELEASES NEW STATE FAMILY ECONOMIC SECURITY PROFILES

NCCP's 50-state profiles now provide more information! For data about what your state is doing to assist low-wage workers and their families,
see these new Family Economic Security Profiles.

View state profiles:
http://nccp.org/sps/go.cgi?c=kC9mJciVzc9KQiOIe4Cm

2. NEW BRIEF ARGUES STATE POLICYMAKERS NEED TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO LOW-WAGE WORK

These are challenging economic times for American families, especially those headed by low-wage workers. But state policy can play an important
role in helping those who work hard achieve financial security. This brief provides an introduction to NCCP's new State Family Economic Security Profiles.

Read the brief:
http://nccp.org/sps/go.cgi?c=YLwzfBp7WHTIBxUH299S

3. TEXAS FAMILY RESOURCE SIMULATOR NOW AVAILABLE

You can now use NCCP's Family Resource Simulator to see how much parents need to earn to cover basic expenses in 7 major Texas cities, and to
illustrate how well Texas policies reward employment. NCCP thanks the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources and the Center for
Public Policy Priorities for their assistance. Simulators for 9 other states are also available.

Try the Family Resource Simulator:
http://nccp.org/sps/go.cgi?c=UwTmR6FWoXtTFgMMfaJ5

4. NEW FACT SHEET REVEALS CHILDREN IN URBAN AREAS ARE INCREASINGLY LOW INCOME

More than half the children living in urban areas are low income—and the proportion is rising—even though most have at least one parent who is
employed.

Read the fact sheet:
http://nccp.org/pub_cua05.html

5. UPDATED FACT SHEET ON PARENTS' EDUCATION SHOWS LOW EDUCATION LEADS TO LOW INCOME DESPITE EMPLOYMENT

Parents without some college education continue to lose economic ground, despite full-time employment. Nearly two-thirds of children in low-income
families have parents with only a high school degree or less.

Read the fact sheet:
http://nccp.org/sps/go.cgi?c=KBvzO9h5KPSYSr6riMB8

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To subscribe to this mailing, please visit
http://www.nccp.org/sps/visitor.cgi

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Symposium on Early Child Development - A Priority For Sustained Economic Growth & Equity
September 27-30, 2005
World Bank – Washington, DC
"The Symposium brought together 150 participants from about 30 countries from the Latin and Central America and the Caribbean, East Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern and Central Asia, and Sub Saharan Africa, with the largest representation coming from LAC. (...) The symposium objectives were to: (i) Continue to build awareness of ECD as an important investment that nations can make to inform policymakers about the returns on ECD; (2) Highlight progress in the implementation of policy and program responses; (3) Identify and explore alternative mechanisms to finance effective early child development interventions that reach the beneficiaries, and (4) Learn from existing evaluations so that in the future, better-designed evaluations will respond to questions posed by policy makers and project managers to continue funding ECD."
- includes a detailed agenda and links to other symposium materials (audio/video presentations, speeches, etc.)

The three links below are to Canadian presentations made at the symposium.
Clicking a link downloads a video file and a Powerpoint presentation in each case.
If the video doesn't work, it's likely because you're trying to access the file from behind an office or university network that has a high level of security, or else the network admin just doesn't like people watching videos on company time. Try watching the video from home if that's the case...

Science of ECD: Biological Embeddings of ECD
Video and Powerpoint presentation, approx. 46 min.
by Fraser Mustard (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research)

Measuring ECD Longitudinal Research in Canada
Video and Powerpoint presentation, approx. 19 min
by Jane Bertrand (Council for Early Child Development and Parenting, Canada)
- incl. info about the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth

Investment in Early Childhood Development : The Economic Argument
Video and Powerpoint presentation, approx. 19 min
by Charles Coffey (Executive VP, Royal Bank of Canada)
[ Text version of this presentation - from the RBC Financial Group website]

Source:
Early Child Development (ECD)
"This site is a knowledge source designed to assist policy makers, program managers, and practitioners in their efforts to promote the healthy growth and integral development of young children."
[ The World Bank ]

Child Care and Early Education Research Connections
"A new database Child Care and Early Education Research Connections (http://www.childcareresearch.org/ ) has been launched. It is is a web-based, interactive database of research documents and public use data sets for conducting secondary analyses on topics related to early care and education. Research Connections highlights current research; develops and disseminates materials designed to improve child care policy research; provides technical assistance to researchers and policy makers; synthesizes findings into policy research briefs; and facilitates collaboration in the field."

"Child Care and Early Education Research Connections promotes high quality research in child care and early education and the use of that research in policy making. Our vision is that children are well cared for and have rich learning experiences, and their families are supported and able to work. Through this Web site, we offer research and data resources for researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and others. Research Connections is a partnership among the National Center for Children in Poverty at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University; the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the Institute for Social Research, the University of Michigan; and the Child Care Bureau, Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services."
Source:
About this Site

Related Links:

National Center for Children in Poverty - NCCP (Washington)
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the Institute for Social Research (University of Michigan)
The Child Care Bureau (U.S. Administration for Children and Families)

Federal Policies Restrict Immigrant Children's Access to Key Public Benefits
October 2005
Despite high levels of employment, immigrant families are more likely to be low income and experience other hardships than families with native-born parents. Federal policies that limit immigrant families’ ability to participate in food stamps, public health insurance, and other key income and work support programs threaten the economic security of millions of America’s children.
Abstract - HTML
Complete report (PDF - 221.11K)

State Policies Can Promote Immigrant Children's Economic Security
October 2005
While federal policies exclude many legal immigrants from key public benefits, some states have stepped in to fill the gap. States can offer critical assistance to children in low-income immigrant families by using their own funds to provide them with the supports available to native-born families.
Abstract - HTML
Complete report (PDF - 692.42K)

Efforts to Promote Children’s Economic Security Must Address Needs of Hard-Working Immigrant Families
October 2005
Virtually all immigrant families are headed by working parents, but low wages and a lack of employer benefits mean that their children are disproportionately likely to be low income and experience other hardships. Efforts to promote the economic security of America’s children must include the children of immigrants—most of whom are U.S. citizens who will remain here for life.
Complete report - HTML
Complete report (PDF - 269.59K)

Marriage Not Enough to Guarantee Economic Security
September 2005
"More than one in four children with married parents is low income. The majority of low-income children in rural and suburban areas live with parents who are married, and most single parents were formerly married as well. The majority of married low-income parents are employed, and 41 percent of their children have two employed parents. Illness and disability are common reasons for unemployment. Low wages, lack of employee benefits, frequent moves, and low levels of education are common among these parents, and their need for public health insurance and food stamps is rising."
Abstract - HTML
Complete report (PDF - 310K)

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Basic Facts about Low-Income Children: Birth to Age 18
July 2005
"After a decade of decline, the proportion of low-income families is rising again and millions of children of low-income parents find themselves without the basics, despite a majority of them living in households with working parents. More than one-third of children in the United States live in low-income families and 17 percent live in poor families. Young children are disproportionally affected."
Abstract
Complete report (PDF file - 140K, 4 pages)

Source:
NCCP Economic Security Papers - links to 10 papers (see also Policies and Publication Series down the right-hand side of the page)

Highlights of the report

America's Children Reports - incl. links to this year's report

Source:
Childstats.gov
"This web site offers easy access to statistics and reports on children and families, including: population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education."

What's New in International child care - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)

Each week, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit disseminates its "e-mail news notifier", an e-mail message with a dozen or so links to new reports, studies and child care in the news (media articles) by the CRRU or another organization in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). What you see below is international content from recent issues of the notifier.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NEW POSTINGS AVAILABLE ON THE
CHILDCARE RESOURCE AND RESEARCH UNIT’S WEBSITE
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

19-Aug-05

>> In our own backyards: Local and state strategies to improve the quality of family child care
by Katie Hamm, Barbara Gault & Avis Jones-De Weever
Report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (US) proposes policy changes to combat low earnings and lack of training opportunities among family child care providers.

>> In focus: Work-life balance
by various authors
Current issue of the Ivey Business Journal (U.S.) features nine articles dedicated to work and family issues, including an article on the changing role of fathers.

29-July-05

>> Research debunks myth of self-reliant nuclear family [US]
EurekAlert! 28 Jul 05
Despite the long-cherished belief that the nuclear family is independent and self-sustaining, most families with working parents depend on a network of care to manage work and family demands, according to research by Brandeis University sociologist Karen Hansen.

>> U.S. steers its own course on family leave [US]
Associated Press, 27 Jul 05
With little public debate, the United States has chosen a radically different approach to maternity leave than the rest of the developed world. The United States is one of the only industrialized countries that doesn’t provide paid leave for new mothers nationally.

22-July-05

>> Take back the language: Appreciating the culture of early childhood education
by McKinlay, Linda; Leone, Linday & MacDonald, Margaret
Position paper endorsed by more than 35 training programs in early childhood education in British Columbia discusses how to bridge the divide between education and care.

>> The social economy: Finding a way between the market and the state
by Neamtam, Nancy
Article by Nancy Neamtam for Policy Options describes the social economy as “a manifestation of positive and active citizenship that governments need to recognize and support”.

>> Head Start impact study: First year findings
by Puma, Michael; Bell, Stephen; Cook, Ronna; Heid, Camilla & Lopez, Michael
Study by the U.S government tracks the influence of Head Start on 3- and 4-year old children across cognitive, social-emotional, and health domains.

>> Mothers encouraged to stay out of work [AU]
Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Jul 05
Australian mothers have one of the lowest employment rates in the developed world, encouraged to stay at home through welfare payments and community expectations, says an international expert.

>> Fathers to have child care leave [KR]
Korea Times, 22 Jun 05
Working fathers in Korea will soon be allowed to have paid leave to care their young one as part of government efforts to help turn around the declining birthrate.

Also from CRRU:

What's New? - Links to Canadian, U.S. and international resources from Jan 2000 to the present.
Child Care in the News - media articles from January 2000 to the present
ISSUE files - links to theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info
Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere
CRRU Publications - links to briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications

Earlier Issues of CRRU's notifier - this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading

From the Children's Defense Fund:

New CDF Report: More Than 13 Million Children Face Food Insecurity -- U.S.
Press Release
June 2, 2005
"According to the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 13.3 million American children were food insecure in 2003; of these, 420,000 lived in households where someone had to go hungry. Overall, 36.3 million Americans experienced food insecurity in 2003, 1.4 million more than in 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

Complete report:

Food Insecurity 2005 (PDF file - 122K, 6 pages)

Also from CDF:

New CDF Report: Millions of Children Would Benefit From an Increase in the Minimum Wage - U.S.
Press Release
May 18, 2005
"In the report, titled Increasing the Minimum Wage: An Issue of Children's Well-Being , the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) shows that, in 2004, 9.7 million children lived in a household with at least one worker earning between $5.15 and $7.25 per hour. A parent supporting two children and w orking full time at the current minimum wage of $5.15 would end up with an annual salary $4,500 below the poverty line . The pernicious sting of poverty puts these children at greater risk of poor health due to lack of affordable health care, increases their likelihood of falling behind in school and leaves families unable to pay for adequate housing, nutritious food or quality child care."

Complete report:

Increasing the Minimum Wage: An Issue of Children's Well-Being (PDF file - 124K, 5 pages)

New CDF Report: Millions of Children Would Benefit From an Increase in the Minimum Wage
Press Release
May 18 2005
"In the report, titled Increasing the Minimum Wage: An Issue of Children's Well-Being , the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) shows that, in 2004, 9.7 million children lived in a household with at least one worker earning between $5.15 and $7.25 per hour. A parent supporting two children and w orking full time at the current minimum wage of $5.15 would end up with an annual salary $4,500 below the poverty line . The pernicious sting of poverty puts these children at greater risk of poor health due to lack of affordable health care, increases their likelihood of falling behind in school and leaves families unable to pay for adequate housing, nutritious food or quality child care."

Complete report:

Increasing the Minimum Wage: An Issue of Children's Well-Being (PDF file - 124K, 5 pages)

Source:
Children's Defense Fund

Launch of World Development Indicators 2005 Report
World Bank Report Urges Faster Progress In Reducing Child Deaths, Primary School Enrollments – Particularly Among Girls
Press Release
April 17, 2005
"WASHINGTON—Five years after the Millennium Declaration, many countries have made progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but many more lag behind. Faster progress is needed in reducing maternal and child deaths, boosting primary school enrolments, and removing obstacles to greater numbers of girls going to school, according to the World Bank’s latest World Development Indicators (WDI) 2005."