Canadian Social Research Newsletter

Canadian Social Research Newsletter
April 10, 2005

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 1348 subscribers.

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

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Content

1. National Child Benefit Progress Report 2003 (Government of Canada, Provinces and Territories and First Nations) - April 6
2. Ontario Premier McGuinty Defends Clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement (Toronto Star, April 6)
3. 2005 Prince Edward Island Provincial Budget - April 7, 2005
4. CUexpo2005 - Community-University Research Partnerships - Conference (Winnipeg, Sept, 15-18)
5. British Columbia investing in people with disabilities, moms, babies, young children and low-income families! (BC Election May 17)
6. Report of the Auditor General of Canada tabled - April 5
7. Two new reports from the (Toronto) Daily Bread Food Bank:
--- another take on the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement - March 15
--- highly skilled immigrants forced to use the food bank - March 26
8. Child and Family Services Statistics, 1998-99 to 2000-2001 (Working Group on Child and Family Services) - January 2005
9. British Columbia Advocacy and Activism : The Anti-Poverty Committee + End Legislated Poverty
10. Working to be Poor : week-long CBC Ottawa Radio series + website (incl. a good overview of Canadian poverty measures)
11. Report on Health Care Wait Times Released (Wait Time Alliance of Canada) - April 3
12. What's New from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit ( University of Toronto) - April 5

International Content

13. Poverty Dispatch Weekly Digest : U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs --- April 7, 2005
14. U.S. Welfare Reform Myths (Child Welfare Research Institute)
15. Welfare Reform and Beyond (Brookings Institution) - spring 2002
16. The Saver's Credit (U.S) - (Retirement Security Project) - March 2005
17. Social Policy and Research Bulletin (Government of New Zealand) - March 2005
18. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (The World Bank) - March 22

Have a gilly-dilly of a week!

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

E-mail:
gilseg@rogers.com

1. National Child Benefit Progress Report 2003 - April 6
(Government of Canada, Provinces and Territories and First Nations)

Report finds government supports increasing for low income families
News Release
April 6, 2005
"OTTAWA—The National Child Benefit (NCB) Progress Report: 2003 released today by Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services1 confirms that government investments for low-income families with children continue to increase. Federal support to low-income families in 2002-2003 had risen from $5.6 billion in 2001-2002 to $5.7 billion in 2002-2003. It is projected to reach $6.4 billion in 2004-2005. The report further shows that provincial and territorial governments and First Nations have increased their expenditures for low-income children and families through the National Child Benefit initiative to $764.2 million in 2002-2003. This funding supports programs and services, including child benefits and earned income supplements, child/day care initiatives, early childhood services and children-at-risk services, youth initiatives, and supplementary health benefits."

The National Child Benefit Progress Report: 2003 (PDF file - 3.3MB, 86 pages)
March 2005

HTML version - not yet available as at April 10 --- this is where the link should appear sometime during the next few days...

Source:
National Child Benefit website

- Go to the Children, Families and Youth Links (Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnbkmrk.htm

2. Ontario Premier McGuinty Defends Clawback of the
National Child Benefit Supplement (Toronto Star, April 6)

McGuinty defends bonus clawback
Families on social assistance take baby bonus demands to Queen's Park
April 6, 2005
"Families on social assistance seeking baby bonus relief left the provincial legislature empty-handed today after the Ontario government defended its clawback of the federal child benefit. Premier Dalton McGuinty held firm on denying those parents the National Child Benefit Supplement while a handful of them looked on from the public galleries. (...) Under the federal plan, families with incomes less than $22,600 receive approximately $125 per child each month. In Ontario, families living on social assistance or disability benefits see that money taken back by the province. (...) Although the federal government allows the baby bonus clawback, New Brunswick and Manitoba no longer withhold the supplementary benefits."
Source:
The Toronto Star

- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm

3. 2005 Prince Edward Island Provincial Budget - April 7, 2005

2005 Prince Edward Island Provincial Budget
April 7, 2005
- incl. links to : Budget Address - Supporting Documents - Highlights - Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure - Departmental Backgrounders (Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Community and Cultural Affairs, Development and Technology, Education, Environment, Energy and Forestry, Health and Social Services [see below], Office of the Attorney General, Tourism, Transportation and Public Works, Workforce Renewal Program)

Backgrounder: Health and Social Services
(specific measures in the 2005 budget concerning health and social services)
- includes : Program Highlights 2004-2005 - Budget 2005 Highlights
NOTE: The Dept. of Social Services and Health is splitting in two : Dept. of Health and Dept. of Social Services and Seniors

PEI Government Home Page

Google.ca News Search Results : "Prince Edward Island Budget 2005"
Google.ca Web Search Results : "Prince Edward Island Budget 2005"
Source:
Google.ca

- Go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm
- Go to the Prince Edward Island Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/pebkmrk.htm

4. CUexpo2005 - Community-University Research Partnerships - Conference
(Winnipeg, Sept, 15-18)

CUexpo2005 - Community-University Research Partnerships:
Leaders in Urban Change
International Conference, September 15 - 18, 2005
Winnipeg, Manitoba
"Participants of CUexpo2005 will share research findings on urban/inner city issues, and explore ways of developing effective research partnerships. The conference will strengthen the understanding of, and support for, the unique and diverse nature of research involving collaboration of university and community partners.
Deadline for Conference Session Applications: April 29, 2005
Early Registration begins April 1, 2005
- incl. links to: online registration, fieldtrip info, entertainment, panel sessions, keynote speakers, volunteer opportunities

For more information : cuexpo@uwinnipeg.ca

Source:
Winnipeg Inner-City Research Alliance
Institute of Urban Studies (University of Winnipeg)

- Go to the Conferences and Events Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/confer.htm

5. British Columbia investing in people with disabilities, moms, babies, young children and low-income families!
(BC Election May 17)

Latest News from the BC Ministry of Human Resources:

March 23, 2005
Increased supports for people most in need
"VICTORIA – The Province will invest another $1.25 million to boost supports to two existing programs for British Columbians who are most in need – including persons with persistent multiple barriers and persons with disabilities."

March 21, 2005
Province promotes health for moms and babies
"VICTORIA – The province will spend close to $400,000 this year for expectant mothers in need and their babies, Minister of Human Resources Susan Brice announced."

March 14, 2005
Enhanced dental program benefits British Columbians
"VICTORIA – Government is investing over $47 million over three years to improve access to dental treatment for young children and low-income families, Health Services Minister Shirley Bond and Human Resources Minister Susan Brice announced."

More Important CRRU Links

What's New? - Links to 100+ Canadian, U.S. and international resources from Jan 2000 to the present.
Child Care in the News - 200+ media articles from January 2000 to the present
ISSUE files - links to 20+ 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 ~60 briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications

Also from CRRU:

Current developments in Early Childhood Education and Care: Provinces and territories
Regularly updated
"This resource is a collection of useful online readings about current early childhood education and care policy and program delivery issues in each province and territory. Within each jurisdiction, information is organized into three sections: news articles, online documents and useful websites."

- Go to the Non-Governmental Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm

13. Poverty Dispatch Digest :
U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs --- April 7, 2005

POVERTY DISPATCH Digest (Institute for Research on Poverty - U. of Wisconsin)
This digest offers dozens of new links each week to full-text articles in the U.S. media (mostly daily newspapers) on poverty, poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, and much more...
The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a free e-mail service that consists of an e-mail message sent to subscribers each Monday and Thursday, containing a dozen or so links to articles dealing with the areas mentioned above. The weekly Canadian Social Research Links Poverty Dispatch Digest is a compilation, available online, of the two dispatch e-mails for that week --- with the kind permission of IRP.

Here's a one-day sample of the subjects covered in the Poverty Dispatch Digest:

April 7, 2005
Compiled by the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and distributed Mondays and Thursdays

Today's subjects include: No Child Left Behind Act // 'Equality Gap' Between Blacks and Whites // Affordable Housing - Opinion // Medicaid and Minorities - Opinion // Poor Women, Motherhood and Marriage // Food Stamps and Obesity Study // Former Foster Children and Poverty // Working Poor and Sick Time // Library Use by Homeless // World Poverty - Commentary // Welfare to Work - Minnesota // Working Poor - Iowa // Child Poverty - Detroit, MI // Poverty Simulation Exercise - Indiana // Medicaid - Wisconsin, Iowa, Alabama, Florida, Missouri // Social Service Computer Problems - Colorado // Minimum Wage - Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arkansas, New Hampshire, Maryland, Montana // School Vouchers - Indiana // Poverty in Schools - Ohio // Charter Schools - Cincinnati, OH // High-Poverty Schools - Philadelphia, PA // Homelessness - DeKalb, IL //

Each of the weekly digests below offers doezns of links or more to media articles that are time-sensitive.
The older the link, the more likely it is to either be dead or have moved to an archive - and some archives [but not all] are pay-as-you-go.
[For the current week's digest, click on the POVERTY DISPATCH link above]

The Poverty Dispatch weekly digest is a good tool for monitoring what's happening in the U.S.; it's a guide to best practices and lessons learned in America.

Subscribe to the Poverty Dispatch!
Send an e-mail message to John Wolf < jwolf@ssc.wisc.edu > to receive a plain text message twice a week with one to two dozen links to media articles with a focus on poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, health, Medicaid from across the U.S.
And it's free...

Source:
Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP)
[ University of Wisconsin-Madison ]

POVERTY DISPATCH description/archive - weekly issues back to July 2004 , avg. 100+ links per issue before December 2004!
NOTE: this archive is part of the Canadian Social Research Links American Non-Governmental Social Research page.

For the current week's digest, click on the POVERTY DISPATCH link at the top of this section.
Recently-archived POVERTY DISPATCH weekly digests:

- March 31, 2005
- March 24
- March 17 - oops, accidentally deleted. Sorry
- March 10
- March 3

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm

14. U.S. Welfare Reform Myths
(Child Welfare Research Institute)

U.S. Welfare Reform Myths
Duncan Lindsey - UCLA
- Welfare Reform led to a Reduction in Child Poverty: False
Welfare reform allowed states to reduce and, in several states, essentially dismantle income assistance for poor children. This can be seen by the declining ratio of children receiving welfare to children living in poverty:
- Welfare Reform Reduced Children Born Out-of-Wedlock: False
State charts show the percentage of children born to unmarried mothers from 1993 to 2002 has continued to increase in almost every state
- Welfare Reform Impacts All Children Equally: False
The largest proportion of children receiving welfare are Black. The reduction of income assistance to poor children has a disproportionate impact on Black children. This can be seen by the disproportionate number of Black children who receive welfare.
- Welfare Reform will Lead to an End to Child Poverty: False
The charts displayed in “Programs for Children” indicate that post welfare reform, more children qualify for subsidized free lunch, WIC, and Head Start. In many states the child poverty rate is approaching and even exceeding pre welfare reform levels, except that these states have not restored welfare to the children living in poverty. It is unlikely that the welfare benefits will be restored. For most of the poor and disadvantaged children affected by welfare reform the essential consequence has been to make a bleak life only bleaker. Ending child poverty will require more than welfare reform.
Source:
Child Welfare Research Institute

- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm

15. Welfare Reform and Beyond - spring 2002
(Brookings Institution)

Welfare Reform & Beyond (PowerPoint Presentation- 714K, 101 slides)
Spring 2002
Source:
The Brookings Institution
Excellent information on the history of welfare in the U.S. ---- highly recommended - if you can put up with the cryptic language of PowerPoint slides...
(this isn't a criticism of the Brookings Institution --- PowerPoint slides are often difficult to grasp without more detailed notes...)

- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm

16. The Saver's Credit (U.S) - March 2005
(Retirement Security Project)

The Saver's Credit:
Expanding Retirement Savings for Middle- and Lower-Income Americans - U.S.
March 2005
"Enacted in 2001, the Saver's Credit ... provides a government matching contribution, in the form of a nonrefundable tax credit, for voluntary individual contributions to 401(k)-type plans, IRAs, and similar retirement savings arrangements. Like traditional retirement savings plan subsidies, the Saver's Credit currently provides no benefit for households that owe no federal income tax. However, for households that owe income tax, the effective match rate in the Saver's Credit is higher for those with lower income, the opposite of the incentive structure created by traditional pension tax preferences."

Complete report:

The Saver’s Credit:
Expanding Retirement Savings for Middle and Lower-Income Americans (PDF file - 188K, 24 pages)

Source:
Retirement Security Project
"The Retirement Security Project is dedicated to promoting common sense solutions to improve the retirement income prospects of millions of American workers. It is supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, in partnership with Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute and the Brookings Institution."

Google.ca Web Search Results: "Saver's Credit"
Google.ca News Search Results: "Saver's Credit"
Source:
Google.ca

17. Social Policy and Research Bulletin - March 2005
(Government of New Zealand)

SPEaR Bulletin - March 2005 Issue
The SPEaR Bulletin is a newsletter for all those involved in social policy evaluation and research and is published quarterly by the SPEaR secretariat.
This issue focuses on ethnic diversity and collaborative evaluation, along with general news and opportunities in the sector.
Table of Contents:
- Advancing refugee research
- Chair’s comment
- Trialling best practice guiding principles
- Understanding refugee life
- Participatory study of Somali
- Responding to ethnic perspectives
- A strategic approach to R&E
- Canadian takes up senior MSD position
- Demography experts in NZ
- Evaluation in Inland Revenue
- Social Investment Research Programme
- Ensuring the wellbeing of Pasifika children
- People in R&E
- Opportunity for All
- Apply now for SPEaR Linkages awards
- Diary notes

Source:
Social Policy Evaluation and Research Committee (SPEaR) (New Zealand)
"The Social Policy Evaluation and Research committee or SPEaR, was set up to oversee the Government’s purchase of social policy research to ensure the spending is aligned with the Government’s social policy priorities. SPEaR provides a focal point for social policy researchers and acts as a vehicle for communicating with the social research sector. (...)SPEaR reports to joint ministers (Social Services and Employment; Statistics; and Research, Science and Technology) through the chief executive of MSD."

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

18. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time - March 22
(The World Bank)

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, by Jeffrey Sachs
"On March 22, 2005 Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), delivered an address to World Bank staff at World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC. The event, sponsored by the World Bank’s Public Information Center, the InfoShop, served to promote the release of Sachs’s new book, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time."

Watch the Video of Mr. Sachs' presentation (1:21:00 minutes)
- if your computer isn't behind a corporate firewall and if you have speakers and a sound card, you can listen to the address online.
- click the link above, select your connection speed (high-speed vs dial-up), then sit back and listen...
"In his address, Sachs emphasized that if the MDGs are to be met, not only must official development assistance from the world’s wealthiest countries be increased, but more broadly the international donor community must adjust its approach to development aid. A key strategy of this change is for rich countries to partner with poor countries. Sachs commended the World Bank for its work and outgoing President James Wolfensohn for his exceptional leadership over the past decade moving the institution toward the goal of poverty reduction and away from structural adjustment lending.
- includes a question and answer period following the presentation.