Canadian Social Research Newsletter

Canadian Social Research Newsletter
July 8, 2007

Welcome to the weekly Canadian Social Research Newsletter,
a listing of the new links added to the Canadian Social Research Links website in the past week.

The e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 1766 subscribers.

Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Content

1. $142.5M funding boost for child care in Ontario (Ontario Government) - July 5
2. What's new from the Income Security Advocacy Centre (Toronto):
--- Ontario Election 2007
--- The Hands Off! Campaign has ended
--- but ISAC's NCBS Clawback legal challenge continues
--- Ontario Child Benefit
--- 2% increase to social assistance rates
3. Women still paying for Paul Martin’s policies (The Telegram, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador) - July 8
4. Canadian Labour Online - July 6 issue (Canadian Labour Congress - CLC)
5. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Labour Force Survey, June 2007 - July 6
--- Employment, Earnings and Hours, April 2007 - July 5
--- Gaining and Losing Literacy Skills Over the Lifecourse - July 6
6. What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto) - July 6

International Content

7. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
8. U.S. --- Release of Interim Final Regulation Implementing The Next Phase Of Welfare Reform (Department of Health and Human Services) - June 28
9. U.S. --- What's new from The Urban Institute:
--- How Have Asset Policies for Cash Welfare and Food Stamps Changed since the 1990s? - Posted June 28
--- Some Thoughts About New and Old Asset-Promotion Policies - June 14
-- The Changing Role of Welfare in the Lives of Low-Income Families with Children - Posted: August 30/06
10. U.S. --- State Early Childhood Policies (National Center for Children in Poverty) - May 16
11. Luxembourg Income Study : Summer reading list
12. OECD and international organisations to develop new approach to measuring progress of societies (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD) - July 2
13. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - recent content (various sources)
--- The contradictions of 'reform'
--- No vagrancy: an examination of the impact of the criminal justice system on people living in poverty in Queensland
--- No home and criminal justice: therein lies the rub
--- Becoming a mother
--- OECD family database
--- Second thoughts on globalisation
14. CRINMAIL #895 (Child Rights Information Network) - July 5

Have a great week!

Gilles Séguin
Canadian Social Research Links
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net

E-mail:
gilseg@rogers.com

1. $142.5M funding boost for child care in Ontario - July 5
(Ontario Government)

McGuinty Government Strengthens Ontario’s Child Care System:
$142.5 Million Funding Boost And New Regulatory College Means Better Care For Ontario's Children
July 5, 2007
The McGuinty government is strengthening Ontario’s child care system with $142.5 million in funding to sustain 7,000 new licensed spaces and create a first-of-its-kind in Canada regulatory College of Early Childhood Educators to maintain professional standards of practice among child care practitioners, Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers announced today.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services

But...

Child Care Still a Patchwork of Underfunded Programs
5 July 07
The Ontario government today accounted for how it is spending $142.5 million in previously announced child care funds. The allocations mean that existing child care programs will have the funding to keep current spaces open for Ontario children and families, but does not expand the child care system.
Source:
Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm

2. What's new from the Income Security Advocacy Centre (Toronto):
--- Ontario Election 2007
--- The Hands Off! Campaign has ended
--- but ISAC's NCBS Clawback legal challenge continues
--- Ontario Child Benefit
--- 2% increase to social assistance rates

What's new from the
Income Security Advocacy Centre (Toronto):

--- Ontario Election 2007
Join ISAC in pressuring candidates in the upcoming Ontario election on October 10th, 2007. Use ISAC's election kit to lobby candidates in your community to reduce poverty and improve the lives of low-income people in Ontario.
ISAC Election Demands [ version française ]
ISAC Election Materials [version française ]

Other Election Campaign Materials:
- Ontario Needs a Raise Campaign
- $10 Minimum Wage NOW! Campaign
- Workers Need a Fair Deal Campaign
- Respect Campaign

Referendum on Electoral Reform
Ontario is holding a referendum on electoral reform on election day on October 10th, 2007. Voters will be asked to vote "for" or "against" a new way of holding elections that has been recommended by a citizen's assembly.

--- The Hands Off! Campaign has ended [ version française ]
ISAC's Hands off! Campaign against the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) from families on social assistance has ended, although the struggle will continue in other ways. ISAC will focus on getting increases to social assistance rates for everyone on OW and ODSP and getting improvements to the new Ontario Child Benefit.
ISAC evaluation of the Hands off! Campaign and our current focus - May 2007 - PDF file - 82K, 10 pages
[version française ]
"(...) The Hands off! Campaign made a difference. The provincial government was pressured to: 1) allow all new increases to the NCBS to flow through to families on social assistance; 2) let families keep the new Universal Child Care Benefit that was announced by the federal government in July 2006; and 3) ensure families on OW and ODSP will benefit from the new Ontario Child Benefit that will be implemented in July 2008.
- More information about the Hands Off Campaign

...but ISAC's NCBS Clawback legal challenge continues
The implementation of the Ontario Child Benefit, and the resulting restructuring of social assistance that will happen in July, 2008, reduces the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) but doesn't end it. So ISAC's NCBS clawback legal challenge against the provincial and federal governments continues. For more information:

--- Ontario Child Benefit [ version française ]
The Ontario Child Benefit was announced in March 2007 and will go to all low-income families with children between the ages of 0 - 18, whether they are working or receiving Ontario Works (OW) or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). In July 2007, all eligible families will receive a one-time only cheque of up to $250 per child. Families will begin receiving monthly cheques in July 2008. The amount will grow gradually from $50 to $92/month/child by 2011.

Ontario Child Benefit Q & A (PDF file - 47K, 6 pages) [ version française ]
Ontario Child Benefit Election Backgrounder (PDF file - 22K, 1 page) [ version française ]

--- 2% increase to social assistance rates (PDF file - 39K, 1 page)
The 2% increase to OW and ODSP rates will appear on November 2007 cheques. The new rates have been released by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Read ISAC's new social assistance rates sheet to compare the current rates to the new rates for several categories.

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm

3. Women still paying for Paul Martin’s policies - July 8
(The Telegram, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador)

Women still paying for Paul Martin’s policies
July 8
Lana Payne
The women of Canada are still paying a deep financial price for the economic policies of Paul Martin. It’s been a dozen years since the former finance minister for the country gutted health, education and welfare spending, slashing billions from transfers to provinces. But women, especially, are still feeling the impact where it hurts the most: in their pocketbooks.
Source:
The Telegram, St. John's (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Related link:

June 12, 2007
Study: Rising education of women and the gender earnings gap, 1981 to 2001
- includes links to the complete study and the executive summary
Source:
Statistics Canada

- Go to the Canadian Government Sites about Women's Social Issues page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/women.htm

4. Canadian Labour Online - July 6 issue
(Canadian Labour Congress - CLC)

Canadian Labour Online is your electronic newsletter on what's new at the Canadian Labour Congress.
Contents of the latest issue (July 6/07):
* Bank of Canada to make the next key interest rate announcement on July 10
* First Nations' Action Plan
* Historical moment for Iranian trade union
* Review of Michael Moore’s SiCKO by Teresa Healy, Canadian Labour Congress
* New on the CLC Web : * An Update on Canada’s Two Economies – Implications for Workers and for Monetary Policy * Finally! Wage Protection Law moves closer to reality * Statement for June 21st, 2007 – National Aboriginal Day and the call for a National Day of Action on June 29th * Supreme Court says Collective Bargaining Right Protected by Charter * Submission to the Standing Committee on the Economy, Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly on TILMA's Supposed Economic Benefits * Letter to Dodge to not to increase interest rates on July 10th * Military Intervention in Iraq Oil Strike
NOTE: scroll to the bottom of the current issue for links to earlier issues back to October 2006

Source:
Canadian Labour Congress

- Go to the Union Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/unionbkmrk.htm

5. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Labour Force Survey, June 2007 - July 6
--- Employment, Earnings and Hours, April 2007 - July 5
--- Gaining and Losing Literacy Skills Over the Lifecourse - July 6

What's New from The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

July 6, 2007
Labour Force Survey, June 2007
Employment growth resumed in June, up an estimated 35,000, following little change in April and May. Despite this gain, the national unemployment rate remained at 6.1% for the fifth consecutive month, as more people entered the labour force in June in search of work.

Related link:

Some Thoughts About New and Old Asset-Promotion Policies
(Opportunity and Ownership Project)
By Robert I. Lerman
Posted: June 14, 2007
Despite a plethora of proposals for helping people build assets, policy researchers have provided little methodological guidance about how best to view and evaluate these policies. This paper is an initial attempt to move in this direction, drawing on methods for assessing income-tested and social insurance programs and on analyses of public policies dealing with savings, investments, and risks. It examines whether and in what ways the traditional criteria of incentives, progressivity, and equity apply to an assessment of asset-building policies. Further, it discusses how to design an asset policy to deal with the potential social dislocations arising from gentrification.

Opportunity & Ownership Project - A Research Focus of the Urban Institute
"Given the chance, many low-income families can acquire assets and become more financially secure..."
- incl. linsk to : * About the Research * What's New * Recent Findings * Events * Asset-Related Research * The Research Team

-------------------------------------------------------------

The Changing Role of Welfare in the
Lives of Low-Income Families with Children (Occasional Paper)
By Pamela J. Loprest, Sheila R. Zedlewski
Posted: August 30, 2006
This study uses data from the National Survey of America's Families 1997, 1999, and 2002, to summarize what we have learned about families potentially affected by welfare reforms passed in 1996. We describe outcomes for low-income families currently on welfare, families that recently left welfare, and those that have never received welfare. Changes in welfare policy, the economy and broader societal trends potentially affected all three groups. Our results show important differences in the relative well-being of these three groups over time, including changes in employment, poverty, and the share of families disconnected from either cash government assistance or work.
Executive Summary - HTML
Complete report (PDF file - 927K, 31 pages)

Source:
The Urban Institute

- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm

10. U.S. --- State Early Childhood Policies - May 16
(National Center for Children in Poverty)

State policies Ignore Research on Healthy Child Development:
Leading National Organization Releases Report on Policies for Young Children (PDF file - 45K, 2 pages)
News Release
May 16, 2007
NEW YORK– In advance of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s summit on early childhood development, the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), has released a new report, State Early Childhood Polices: Improving the Odds. The study finds unevenness and deficiencies across the 50 states in policies that affect the well-being and development of young children.

State Early Childhood Policies
Helene Stebbins and Jane Knitzer
June 2007
Executive Summary - HTML
Complete report (PDF file - 852K, 27 pages)
National Profile (PDF file - 418K, 6 pages)
Full Set of State Profiles (PDF file - 852K, 27 pages)
State Early Childhood Policy Profiles - HTML

Source:
National Center for Children in Poverty

- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm

11. Luxembourg Income Study : Summer reading list

Summer Reading List:

Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Working Papers series
- links to 461 working papers from the Luxembourg Income Study, dating from July 1985 to May 2007
HINT: click the link above and then, on the next page, click the "Send" button in the bottom left corner of the page if you want to see all 461 studies, or narrow your search down to a specific author, year of publication, keyword and/or country and then click "Send".

Here's a subset of the above:

LIS Working Papers including Canada
- links to 237 working papers that include or mention Canada

---

Luxembourg Wealth Study Working Papers
- links to four papers released from August to November 2006

The Luxembourg Income Study
NEWSLETTER
Volume 17 Number 1 Winter 2007 (PDF file - 225K, 12 pages)
February 2007
Table of contents:
Director’s Column * New Staff * 2006/2007 LIS Summer Workshops * Belgian Workshop Summary * 2006 Visiting Scholars * Update on the Luxembourg Wealth Study * 2006 Staff Presentations & Meetings * Upcoming Local Workshops * Local Advisory Board Meeting Update * Grants for Visiting Scholars * Call for Papers * New Working Papers * In the Press/ Where They’ve Turned Up * Staff Directory
[ Earlier issues of the newsletter - links to 13 issues back to December 1998]

Source:
Luxembourg Income Study

- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm

12. OECD and international organisations to develop new approach to measuring progress of societies - July 2
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD)

OECD and international organisations to develop
new approach to measuring progress of societies
02-Jul-2007
The OECD is to work with other international organisations and partners to develop a new approach to measuring how societies are changing by using high quality, reliable statistics to assess progress in a range of areas affecting citizens’ quality of life.

Related link:

Second OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy
Istanbul, 27-30 June 2007
The second OECD World Forum debated a wide variety of issues, from ageing populations to new technology and from climate change to immigration.
"...a unique opportunity for in-depth discussions about the measurement of progress, as well as some of the most important concerns facing the world, such as climate change, health and economic globalisation."

Draft Agenda (PDF file - 334K, 8 pages)
NOTE: this agenda includes links to almost 100 papers and Powerpoint presentations from this forum
- highly recommended reading --- something for everyone!

Source:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Related link:

Measuring what counts to society
July 05, 2007
Roy Romanow
Around the world, a consensus is growing about the need for a more holistic way to measure societal progress – one that accounts for more than just economic indicators such as the Gross Domestic Product and takes into account the full range of social, environmental and economic concerns of citizens.
Source:
The Toronto Star

- Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm
- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm

13. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - recent content (various sources)
--- The contradictions of 'reform'
--- No vagrancy: an examination of the impact of the criminal justice system on people living in poverty in Queensland
--- No home and criminal justice: therein lies the rub
--- Becoming a mother
--- OECD family database
--- Second thoughts on globalisation

APO Weekly Briefing ===> the content of this link changes each week
The content of this page changes each week, and it includes links to a few book/report reviews, about two dozen new reports, a few job ads and 60+ events (mostly conferences) of interest to social researchers...
Source:
Australian Policy Online (APO)
With nearly 120 member centres and institutes, Australian Policy Online offers easy access to much of the best Australian social, economic, cultural and political research available online.
NOTE: the APO home page includes links to the five most popular reports on the APO website, and this list is updated each week.

APO Archive
The APO archive is grouped into 23 subject areas, with entries appearing in reverse chronological order.
* Ageing *Asia and the pacific * Citizenship and the law * Disability * Economics and trade * Education * Employment and workplace relations * The environment * Foreign policy and defence * Gender and sexuality * Health * Housing * Families and households * Immigration and refugees * Income, poverty and wealth * Indigenous * Media, communications and cultural policy * Politics and government * Population, multiculturalism and ethnicity * Religion and faith * Rural and regional * Science and technology * Social policy * Urban and regional planning * Youth

--------------------------------------

Sample APO content from the latest issue:

The contradictions of 'reform'
Posted 03-07-2007
Martin Leet / Brisbane Line
Policy proposals, nowadays, are unlikely to survive for long unless wrapped up in the rubric of 'reform'. Martin Leet explores why reform has become such an obsession in public policy and considers whether its days might be numbered.

No vagrancy: an examination of the impact of the criminal justice system on people living in poverty in Queensland
Posted 03-07-2007
Tamara Walsh / University of Queenland
This report investigates the extent to which people living in poverty interact with, and are affected by, the workings of the criminal justice system in Queensland.

No home and criminal justice: therein lies the rub
Posted 03-07-2007
Greg Mackay / Brisbane Line
In well-developed, democratic countries such as our own, we have long won the battle of establishing formal political and legal equality for all. However, as Greg Mackay points out, the struggle of making this equality an everyday reality for many people in our society is far from over.

Becoming a mother
Posted 03-07-2007
Key Centre for Women's Health in Society
The Becoming a Mother project investigated how becoming a mother impacted on young women’s experience of homelessness.

OECD family database
Posted 02-07-2007
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has developed this online database on family outcomes and family policies with indicators for all OECD countries. The first batch of indicators was released by the end of 2006, but work is ongoing on the preparation of new indicators for release throughout 2007.

Second thoughts on globalisation
Posted 29-06-2007
Mark Thirlwell / Lowy Institute
For more than two decades, policymakers in much of the world have pursued pro-globalisation polices. The result has been a wealthier and more dynamic global economy. Yet today, significant parts of the developed world are having second thoughts about the benefits of globalisation.

- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm

14. CRINMAIL #895 - July 5
(Child Rights Information Network)

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)

5 July 2007 - CRINMAIL 895
Table of contents of this issue:
- COLOMBIA: Young people displaced by conflict demand their rights in the Constitutional Court [news]
- POVERTY AND HEALTH: The Minimum Cost of a Healthy Diet [publication]
- NIGERIA: Groups press for passage of child rights bill [news]
- UN SPECIAL SESSION ON CHILDREN: Commemorative event planned for December [event]
- INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION: 128th Session [event]
- EMPLOYMENT [job postings]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
**QUIZ**

Earlier issues of CRINMAIL

Source:
CRINMAIL(incl. subscription info)
[ Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) ]

- Go to the Children's Rights Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnrights.htm

Disclaimer/Privacy Statement

Both Canadian Social Research Links (the site) and this Canadian Social Research Newsletter belong solely to me, Gilles Séguin.

I am solely accountable for the choice of links presented therein and for the occasional editorial comment - it's my time, my home computer, my experience, my biases, my Rogers Internet account and my web hosting service.

I administer the mailing list and distribute the weekly newsletter using software on the web server of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Thanks, CUPE!

If you wish to subscribe to the e-mail version of newsletter, go to the Canadian Social Research Newsletter Online Subscription page:
http://lists.cupe.ca/mailman/listinfo/csrl-news

You can unsubscribe by going to the same page or by sending me an e-mail message [ gilseg@rogers.com ]

------------------------

The e-mail version of this newsletter is available only in plain text (no graphics, no hyperlinks, no fancy bolding or italics, etc.) to avoid security problems with government departments, universities and other networks with firewalls. The text-only version is also friendlier for people using older or lower-end technology.

Privacy Policy:
The Canadian Social Research Newsletter mailing list is not used for any purpose except to distribute each weekly issue.
I promise not share any information on this list, nor to send you any junk mail.

Links presented in the Canadian Social Research Newsletter point to different views about social policy and social programs.
There are some that I don't agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...

To access earlier online HTML issues of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter, go to the Newsletter page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/news.htm

Please feel free to distribute this newsletter as widely as you wish, but please remember to mention Canadian Social Research Links when you do.

Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

**************************************

Kid Quotes

    * "TNT." -- Given as an answer for a written spelling bee, when the teacher called the word "dynamite."

    * "I'm glad I'm finally eight. This is the oldest I've ever been in my entire life!" -- 8 year old son.

    * "I had to read and write six book reports." -- Girl, in an email to her friend, attempting to explain what she had to do over the summer. She later tried sending a correction, which read, "I had to read and write six books."

    * "Oh, well Mom said all I had to use was the sponge and dish detergent." -- 12 year old daughter, when her father told her he used elbow grease to get the dishes clean

    * "Do they look after the Pokemon?" -- City kid, when asked what a gamekeeper does.

    * "Why don't you get some expensive money?" -- 3 year old daughter, when told by her mother that she could get a small toy but that the ones asked for were too expensive

    * "I have a rock in my nose." -- 2 year old son, greeting his mother after preschool, a full hour after recess was over.

    * "There's no one in there." -- 6 year old son, in response to seeing his father hanging pictures and tapping on the walls to find the support beams.

     * "If I was a raccoon I would eat the farmer's corpse." -- A kindergartener, writing a story about what we would do if he were a raccoon

    * "Well, sometimes I say something mean to my brother, but I feel really good inside. Does that mean I'm a hypocrite?" -- 7 year old girl, after a Sunday School teacher explained that a hypocrite was someone who says one thing but feels something else.

    * "Daddy, did your hair slip?" -- 3 year old son, to his bald but long bearded father

    * "Daddy picked them up and looked underneath. I think it's printed on the bottom." -- 3 year old son, when his mother asked how his father knew the genders of four new baby kittens

    * "How will that help?" -- Kindergarten student, when the class was instructed to hold up two fingers if any of them had to go to the bathroom

    * "They didn't see it -- it was all cut off!" -- 2 year old son, when his mother was asked how his grandparents liked his new haircut

    * "Tell me when you're asleep, ok?" -- 7 year old son, overheard talking to his 5 year old brother.

    * "I had a fraction in my neck and had to go to the hospital for a long time." -- Fifth grader, to his class.

    * "Well you're old, and you're not dead." -- "3 year old son, to his father. The comment followed an explanation of why the father's grandparents weren't around anymore.

Source:
Found somewhere online...

--------------------------------------------

And in closing...

Strange Statues from around the world:
http://www.haha.nu/funny/strange-statues-around-the-world

The New Seven Wonders of the World:
http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2010,00.html