Canadian Social Research Newsletter
January 17, 2010

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 2,199 subscribers.

Haiti Earthquake
(Canadian Red Cross)

Powerful earthquake hits Haiti – Urgent help needed

On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by several powerful aftershocks, struck off the western coast of Haiti, causing buildings to collapse in Port au Prince and chaos as people fled the damage. Hundreds of thousands of people are dead or homeless. Haiti needs our help.

The Canadian Red Cross is accepting donations to support Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.
Please give what you can.
* Donate online (secure site)
* Call toll-free 1-800-418-1111
* Visit a Red Cross office near you to donate in person.
* Other ways to donate (regular mail, planned legacy)

Source:
Canadian Red Cross

Canadian content

1. [Ontario] Council Appointed To Shape Review Of Social Assistance (Government of Ontario) - January 11
2. 2010 Winter Olympics: Progressive Analysis and Commentary (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - BC Office)
3. [Child Poverty in British Columbia] Twenty Years Later - A Second Look (First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition) - January 11
4. The City of Ottawa's Ottawa's Poverty Reduction Strategy - January 17
5. The Treatment of Welfare Fraud by the Ontario Government: 1995-2003 (honeybadgerpress.ca)
6. Pension reform issue poses threat (Ottawa Citizen) - January 11
7. CARP E-VOICE: One Très Cool Advocacy Tool! (Email addresses of all federal and provincial elected officials)
8. Straight Goods Useful URLs - 900+ links to resources
9. What's New in The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
--- Study: The changing cyclical behaviour of labour productivity - January 14
--- Canadian Health Measures Survey, 2007 to 2009 - January 13
--- Health Reports:
----- Fitness of Canadian children and youth: Results from the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey - January 2010
----- Fitness of Canadian children and youth: Results from the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey - January 2010
--- Differences in Canadian and US Income Levels, 1961 to 2008 - January 12
--- Healthy people, healthy places - January 11
10. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (Toronto) - January 9

International content

11. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs (Institute for Research on Poverty - U. of Wisconsin-Madison)
12. [U.S.] The Past, Present, and Future of Minimum Wage (Shrinkage is Good - Blog) - December 31
13. [U.S.] Recent releases from The Urban Institute:
--- Work Ability and the Social Insurance Safety Net in the Years Prior to Retirement
--- Social Security Retirement Benefit Awards Hit All-Time High in 2009
--- Public Expenditures on Children through 2008
--- Kids' Share: An Analysis of Federal Expenditures on Children through 2008
--- Data Appendix to Kids' Share: An Analysis of Federal Expenditures on Children through 2008
--- Work and Income Security from 1970 to 2005
--- How Well Have Middle Class American Families Accumulated Wealth?
--- Unemployment Statistics on Older Americans
--- Retirement Account Balances
--- A New Safety Net for Low-Income Families
14.  [U.S.] Top 10 Urban Institute Papers of 2009:
--- President-Elect Obama's Tax and Stimulus Plans
--- Unemployment Insurance in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (HR1)
--- Reducing Obesity: Policy Strategies from the Tobacco Wars
--- Is the Public Plan Option a Necessary Part of Health Reform?
--- Children of Immigrants: National and State Characteristics
--- Preventing and Ending Homelessness-Next Steps
--- Tax Proposals in the 2010 Budget
--- Transitioning In and Out of Poverty
--- Getting to a Public Option that Contains Costs: Negotiations, Opt-Outs and Triggers
--- Vulnerable Youth and the Transition to Adulthood
15.  [U.S.] One in Eight Americans Receives Food Stamps (CNBC.com) - January 13
16.  Australian Policy Online - recent content
17.  CRINMAIL (children's rights newsletter)

Have a great week!
Gilles

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

From the Ontario Ministry responsible for social assistance
(Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services):

Social Assistance Review Advisory Council
On January 11, 2010, the government announced the selection of a group of highly experienced and committed community leaders to:
* submit recommendations to the Minister of Community and Social Services regarding the scope and terms of reference for a review of Ontario's social assistance system.
* advise the Minister of Community and Social Services regarding possible short-term changes to social assistance rules.

Your input is welcome!
Send the Social Assistance Review Advisory Council your comments.

Social Assistance Review Advisory Council Member Biographies
The members of the Council are:
* Gail Nyberg, Daily Bread Food Bank- CHAIR
* Colette Murphy, Metcalf Foundation
* Grace-Edward Galabuzi, Ryerson University
* John Stapleton, St. Christopher House and Metcalf Foundation Fellow
* Kira Heineck, Ontario Municipal Social Services Association
* Mary Marrone, Income Security Advocacy Centre
* Michael Mendelson, Caledon Institute
* Michael Oliphant, Daily Bread Food Bank
* Pat Capponi, Voices from the Street
* Pedro Barata, Atkinson Foundation

Source:
Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services

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

Related link:

Council Appointed To Shape Review Of Social Assistance
McGuinty Government Seeking Input To Remove Barriers And Increase Opportunity
January 11, 2010
Ontario has selected a group of highly experienced and committed community leaders to help shape a review of the social assistance system and suggest ways to better support vulnerable Ontarians transition to greater independence. The Social Assistance Review Advisory Council, chaired by Gail Nyberg, Executive Director of the Daily Bread Food Bank, will advise the Minister of Community and Social Services on possible short-term changes to social assistance rules and provide the government with a recommended scope for a review of Ontario's social assistance system.

Learn more about progress made
on Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy - this link takes you to the home page of the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy, where you'll find links to the 2009 annual report, strategy papers, success stories, current programs for families, and much more

Source:
Government of Ontario Newsroom

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

2010 Winter Olympics: Progressive Analysis and Commentary
The CCPA has been publishing studies and commentary about the 2010 Olympics since 2003.
Check out these links to find out more about the economic and social impact of the upcoming Winter Games.
- incl. links to:

Blog posts, e.g.:
First the party, then the hangover, by Marc Lee, January 12, 2010

Editorials, e.g.:
The Olympics, Housing and Homelessness in Vancouver, by David Eby, February 2008

Studies, e.g.:
Olympic Costs & Benefits: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the
Proposed Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games
by Marvin Shaffer, Alan Greer, Celine Mauboules, February 2003

News Releases, e.g.:
Olympics won't bring employment boom
February 21, 2003

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - BC Office

Non-CCPA Resources:

BC Civil Liberties Association: news releases on Olympics and civil liberties

Vancouver Poverty Olympics: pointing out that Olympic money could be better spent on ending poverty and homelessness

Clearing the Hurdles: how major sportswear brands rate on workers' rights

The Tyee's Olympics coverage

Vancouver Observer's Olympics coverage

- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (A-C) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk2.htm

Twenty Years Later - A Second Look (PDF - 15K, 2 pages)
January 11, 2010
This is the first in a series of monthly reports by First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition on child poverty in British Columbia. The series is a continuing call to the BC government to start getting serious about fighting child and family poverty. The provincial government has spent the last several years trying to explain away the poverty statistics.
The latest shots came on November 24 on the government web site:
[ http://www.gov.bc.ca/fortherecord/childpoverty/cp_poverty.html ]
None of the figures were incorrect, but they gave the misleading impression that BC is a leader in fighting poverty.
The technique is what statisticians call “cherry picking,” using selected figures that seem to reinforce the argument you’re trying to make...
Source:
First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition
First Call is a cross-sectoral, non-partisan coalition of provincial and regional organizations, engaged communities and individuals whose aim is to raise public awareness and mobilize communities around the importance of public policy and social investments that support the well-being of children, youth and families. First Call grew out of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. When Canada ratified that Convention in 1991, its advocates gathered in a National Conference and agreed that it is time to give children a first call on our resources and on our advocacy efforts. The BC representatives were drawn from a variety of sectors: education, health, justice, social services, and others.

Related links:

British Columbia Report Card on Child and Family Poverty (PDF - 886K, 23 pages)
November 2009
- includes nine fact sheets that analyze various aspects of child poverty in BC. and Measures of Poverty (Appendix)
Source:
First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition

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Campaign 2000
Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Campaign 2000 began in 1991 out of concern about the lack of government progress in addressing child poverty. Campaign 2000 is non-partisan in urging all Canadian elected officials to keep their promise to Canada's children.

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Sign the petition for a
BC Poverty Reduction Plan
Source:
BC Poverty Reduction
We are a coalition that includes community and non-profit groups, faith groups, health organizations, First Nations and Aboriginal organizations, businesses, labour organizations, and social policy groups. We have come together around a campaign aimed at seeing the introduction of a bold and comprehensive poverty reduction plan from the government of British Columbia that would include legislated targets and timelines to significantly reduce poverty and homelessness.

- Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk3.htm

The City of Ottawa's
Poverty Reduction Strategy

Poverty Affects Us All:
A Community Approach to Poverty Reduction (PDF - 1.9MB, 83 pages)
Undated (PDF file date: December 11, 2009)
Ottawa's initiative builds on the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy and expands the target group to include individuals, families and children living on low income. The focus of Ottawa's Strategy is to implement local initiatives that reduce poverty, promote awareness and complement existing activities in the community.The report presents 3 Strategic Priorities and 16 Recommendations, including concrete, local actions that can be achieved and measured within a two-year timeframe. Beginning in 2010, Phase II of the Strategy will implement the recommendations and monitor progress by developing measures and tracking outcomes.
Source:
Poverty Affects Us All : A Community Approach to Poverty Reduction
Note : Report to be presented to Community and Protective Services Committee and Council
21 January 2010
By Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager (City Operations)
[ version française :
La pauvreté, c'est l'affaire de tous : une approche communautaire pour réduire la pauvreté ]

Related links:
…….. something left over at the end of the month (PDF - 167K, 48 pages)
Report from the Community Poverty Reduction Strategy Forum
held on June 25, 2008
at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa.
Prepared by the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network
for the Ontario Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction
chaired by the Hon. Deb Matthews.

City of Ottawa Proposes Poverty Reduction Strategy
September 28, 2009
Source:
Citizens for public Justice

Ottawa Poverty Network
The Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network is a group of community organizations and anti-poverty advocates that
came together in early 2008 to support the participation of low income individuals in the development of
Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa

Ontario Campaign 2000

National Campaign 2000

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

The Treatment of Welfare Fraud
by the Ontario Government: 1995-2003 (11 pages)
2004
By Morgan Duchesney
Everything you wanted to know about Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution, and more.
[The author is a Canadian writer and martial arts instructor with an interest in social justice and international affairs.]
Source:
honeybadgerpress.ca
The Honeybadgerpress challenges the tired thinking common
in the mainstream corporate media concerning politics, economics and war.

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

Pension reform issue poses threat
Concrete plan needed to avoid hard lobbying: reform advocates
By Norma Greenaway
January 11, 2010
Federal and provincial governments will pay a political price if they fail to turn a vague commitment made in December to pursue pension reform into a concrete plan to bolster Canadians' retirement savings, reform advocates are warning. The Canadian Labour Congress and the leading advocacy group for seniors, known as CARP, vow no-holds-barred campaigns to persuade the Harper government to commit to pension reform in its March throne speech and to keep provincial governments on the case.
Source:
The Ottawa Citizen

Related links:

Next budget must stress good jobs
- Georgetti says unemployment, low wages hurting younger workers
January 8, 2010
OTTAWA – When the federal government introduces a new budget in March, it must make the creation of good jobs a priority, says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.
Source:
Canadian Labour Congress
The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils.

---

No Excuses - CARP Poll gives specific Advice
December 17, 2009
TORONTO - Over 1,700 CARP members responding overnight to CARP’s Pension Reform Poll want real action and give specific advice as well as their reaction to recent federal proposals.

CARP
CARP is committed to enhancing the quality of life for all Canadians as we age by advocating for social change that will bring financial security, equitable and timely access to health care and freedom from discrimination.
CARP was originally known as the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, and is now called Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus. (According to this Wikipedia article)

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From the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:

Retirement Lost (seven-part series - October 16-24, 2009)
Source:
The Globe and Mail

- Go to the Seniors (Social Research) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/seniors.htm

CARP E-VOICE:
One Très Cool Advocacy Tool!

Want to send an email message to your federal or provincial elected officials?
Click the link above to access the complete list of federal Members of Parliament by name, by province/territory or by riding.
Click "Switch to Provincial Representatives (MPP's)" near the bottom of that page for the complete list of provincial/territorial elected officials.
Clicking on the name of an MP or an MPP opens a new page with a form that's pre-addressed from you to that individual and a text box where you can record your message.
Then hit the SEND button and your email is on its way.
Simple.
Powerful.
NOTE: the blurb on the CARP E-VOICE page suggests that you can use CARP E-VOICE to support CARP initiatives, but I'm sure the nice folks at CARP wouldn't mind if Canadian social justice groups used this excellent tool for communicating with their elected officials...
Source:
CARP

- Go to the Seniors (Social Research) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/seniors.htm

Straight Goods Useful URLs
Over 900 links to sites organized by category, e.g., Aboriginal/Indigenous/First Nations, Environment, Gender issues, Health, Journalism resources, Labour issues, Media, Politics, Research and analysis, Social action, Unions and more. Recommended resource!

Source:
Straight Goods - Canada's consumer and news watchdog
"Straight Goods is a watchdog working for Canadian consumers and citizens. The purpose of Straight Goods is to help you save money, protect your rights and untangle spin with investigative reports, features, forums, archives, and links to many others who share our values."

---------------------------
Straight Goods is a subscription-based online magazine with a decidedly left slant on current events and social issues. Current site content is free, but you must be a subscriber to access most of the older material. If you can afford the $30/yr. subscription fee ($10/yr. for low-income subscribers), this is an excellent resource with an enormous archive of information.

- Go to the Media Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/mediabkmrk.htm

Selected content from
The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

January 14, 2010
Study: The changing cyclical behaviour of labour productivity
As the economy slumped in 2008 and 2009, labour productivity in Canada fell slightly as the combined reductions in employment and the average workweek did not match the drop in output. This marks a departure from recent recessions in Canada and the United States, when labour productivity increased during recessions. This release compares the behaviour of labour productivity during the recent downturn to the previous three cycles in Canada and to the United States.
[ Related article: The changing cyclical behaviour of labour productivity ]
Source: Canadian Economic Observer - January 2010

Related subjects:
o Economic accounts
o Productivity accounts
o Labour

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January 13, 2010
Canadian Health Measures Survey, 2007 to 2009
Between 1981 and 2009, fitness levels of Canadian children and youth, as well as those of adults, declined significantly, according to the first findings from the Canadian Health Measures Survey. This is the most comprehensive national survey ever conducted in Canada to determine fitness levels.

January 13, 2010
Health Reports
A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research
The two articles on fitness below are from the January 2010 issue of Health Reports.

Fitness of Canadian children and youth: Results from the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey
By Mark S. Tremblay, Margot Shields, Manon Laviolette, Cora L. Craig, Ian Janssen and Sarah Connor Gorber
January 2010
Childhood obesity and inactivity have been at the forefront of child health concerns in Canada in recent years, with compelling evidence that childhood obesity is rising and inactivity levels are high. These trends are particularly important given the strength of the evidence demonstrating the health consequences of childhood obesity and the benefits of physical activity to childhood health and wellness.

* Summary of key findings
* Go to full text of article in HTML
* Download PDF of article (131K, 8 pages)
* News release in The Daily

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Fitness of Canadian adults:
Results from the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey
By Margot Shields, Mark S. Tremblay, Manon Laviolette, Cora L. Craig, Ian Janssen and Sarah Connor Gorber
January 2010
The health benefits of being physically fit are widely acknowledged. Physical fitness comprises several components including morphological fitness (for example, body mass index, waist circumference, percent body fat, body fat distribution), muscular fitness (for example, strength, muscular endurance, flexibility), motor fitness (for example, speed, agility), cardiorespiratory fitness (for example, aerobic fitness, resting blood pressure, resting heart rate), and metabolic fitness (for example, blood lipid profile, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity). The new Canadian Health Measures Survey was designed to collect data about most of these elements of fitness from a representative sample of Canadians aged 6 to 79 years.

* Summary of key findings
* Go to full text of article in HTML
* Download PDF of article (394K, 16 pages)
* News release in The Daily

[ more StatCan resources
on the subject of health]

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January 12, 2010
Differences in Canadian and US Income Levels, 1961 to 2008
By Ryan Macdonald and John Baldwin
January 2010
Using new Purchasing Power Parities (PPP) rates, incomes per capita in Canada were 92% of the US level in 2008. This is higher than the 85% using conventional PPPs and below the 96% when converting with the exchange rate.
Abstract
1. Main article
2. Tables
3. Charts
4. User information
5. PDF version (160K, 11 pages)

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January 11, 2010
Healthy people, healthy places
This report examines the health of the Canadian population using a selection of Health Indicators that focus on demography, health status, health behaviours, and the environment. First, demographic changes that have resulted in the aging of the population provide a context for the remaining report. Second, measures of health status are presented that reflect physical, mental and social well-being. This is followed by indicators of positive and negative health behaviours that are known to influence health status. Finally, indicators of the social and physical environments in which we live and work are presented. Taken together, these Health Indicators highlight the health of Canadians at a national and provincial/territorial level. They provide benchmarks for comparisons over time and place, from regional to international levels.
NOTE: Use the links in the left-hand margin to select sections of this report.

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

The Daily Archives
- select a month and click on a date for that day's Daily

Source:
The Daily
[Statistics Canada]

- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm
- Go to the Employment Insurance Links page : http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ei.htm
- Go to the Social Statistics Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/stats.htm

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

January 17, 2010

What's new online

This section archives documents that have been featured on the CRRU
homepage. Items are in chronological order by posting date from the most
recent to the least recent. Follow the title link for details.

Tackling women's and children's poverty- Early learning and care services are part of the solution
13 Jan 10
- Submission prepared by Susan Prentice discussing the relationship between children's and women's poverty and the need for a national ELCC program.

What do we know about the impact of publicly funded preschool education on the supply and quality of infant/toddler care?
13 Jan 10
- Working paper from NIEER discussing the impact of state funded preschool education on the supply and quality of infant and toddler care in the US.

Childcare businesses as social enterprises
13 Jan 10
- Presentations from an ICMEC's seminar exploring the childcare business from two separate angles by two childcare entrepreneurs.

Increasing Canada's productivity through early childhood development
13 Jan 10
- Resolution passed by The Canadian Chamber of Commerce on a universal early childhood development program.

Effective early childhood programmes
Publication date: 1 Oct 09 --- Posting date: 6 Jan 10
Periodical from the Bernard van Leer Foundation looking at policy issues for effective early childhood education and care programmes.

Writing an inclusion policy: A guide for child care centres and homes
Healthy Child Manitoba, Government of Manitoba
Publication date: 1 Aug 09 --- Posting date: 6 Jan 10
Guide from the Government of Manitoba created to assist child care centres and family child care homes in the development of inclusion policies.

Preventing obesity in the child care setting
Publication date: 9 Dec 09 --- Posting date: 6 Jan 10
Report from Duke University School of Medicine examining US state regulations for preventing obesity in child care settings.

more WHAT'S NEW ONLINE »

child care in the news

· Full-day kindergarten may become all-year affair
[CA-ON] 13 Jan 10

· Full-day kindergarten about education: activist
[CA-ON] 13 Jan 10

· Boards prep for kindergarten rush
[CA-ON] 13 Jan 10

· Ontario announces $1.5-billion all-day learning for four and five-year-olds
[CA-ON] 12 Jan 10

· Childcare group in liquidation
[NZ] 12 Jan 10

· Better plan required for early childhood
[IE] 12 Jan 10

more CC IN THE NEWS »

Subscribe to the CRRU email announcements list
Sign up to receive email notices of updates and new postings on the CRRU website which will inform you of policy developments in early childhood care and education, new research and resources for policy, newly released CRRU publications, and upcoming events of interest to the child care and broader community.

Links to child care
sitesin Canada and elsewhere

CRRU Publications - briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications
ISSUE files - theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info

Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)
The Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) is a policy and research oriented facility that focuses on early childhood education and child care (ECEC) and family policy in Canada and internationally.

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

Poverty Dispatch (U.S.)
- the content of this link changes several times a week
- scan of U.S. web-based news items dealing with topics such as poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.

Latest issues of Poverty Dispatch:

January 15:
Minority Unemployment Rates
Collection of Unemployment Benefits in 2009
Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program
The Poor and Predatory Lending
State Cuts to Social Services - California, Maine
Health Care Reform and State Medicaid Programs
Welfare-to-Work Program - West Virginia

January 14:
Haiti Earthquake
State Children’s Health Insurance Program - Alaska

January 13:
Kids Count Report - Nebraska
Food Stamp Application Process - Texas
Child Care Subsidies - Massachusetts
Laptop Program for Low-income Students - United Kingdom

January 12:
Kids Count Report - Michigan
Prisoner Re-entry Program - Michigan
States and High School Exit Exams
High School Graduation Rates - West Virginia, Indiana

January 11:
Food Stamp Program Enrollment
Homeless Children and Families
Editorial: Integration of Human Services - Michigan
State Minimum Wage Increase - Alaska

Past Poverty Dispatches
- links to dispatches back to June 2006

Search Poverty Dispatches

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To subscribe to this email list, send an email to:
povdispatch-request@ssc.wisc.edu?subject=subscribe

---

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

- 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
- Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm

United States:

The Past, Present, and Future of Minimum Wage
By Stan Raybern
December 31, 2009
The U.S.federal minimum wage was established at $.25 per hour in 1938 and has increased over the years, in theory, to keep up with inflation, cost of living, and many other factors. Although the federal minimum wage is currently set at $7.25, each individual state ultimately has the ability to set their own minimum wage. Residents of Kansas are keenly aware of this fact, where the state minimum wage is set at an astonishing $2.65. Check out where your state stands against the rest of the country, as well as other thought provoking facts as we take a look at the past, present, and future of minimum wage across America
Source:
Shrinkage is Good (Blog)

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

A selection of recent releases
from The Urban Institute:

NOTE: each of the the links below will take you to the abstract of a particular report or study.
On the abstract page, you'll find a link to the full report in PDF format and links to related publications
of the Urban Institute and to other publications by each of the authors.

Work Ability and the Social Insurance Safety Net in the Years Prior to Retirement (Research Report)
By Richard W. Johnson, Melissa Favreault, Corina Mommaerts
January 2010
Questions persist about how well Social Security Disability Insurance, workers' compensation, Supplemental Security Income, and veterans' benefits protect people who are unable to work. This study examines disability benefit receipt, income, and poverty status for a sample of Americans as they age. The results underscore the precarious financial state of most people approaching traditional retirement age with disabilities. Fewer than half of people who meet our disability criteria ever receive disability benefits in their fifties or early sixties. Poverty rates for those who do are more than three times as high after benefit receipt than before disability onset.

Social Security Retirement Benefit Awards Hit All-Time High in 2009 (Fact Sheet / Data at a Glance)
By Richard W. Johnson, Corina Mommaerts
January 2010
Record numbers of older men and women began collecting Social Security benefits in 2009. New awards surged last year partly because the age-62 population grew rapidly. More importantly, older Americans were much more likely to claim Social Security in 2009 than recent previous years, probably because many seniors were unable to find work. Social Security benefits provide an important safety net for unemployed older adults, but early claimants receive permanently reduced benefits, threatening their future economic well-being.

Public Expenditures on Children through 2008 (Fact Sheet / Data at a Glance)
By Jennifer Ehrle Macomber, Julia Isaacs, Adam Kent, Tracy Vericker
January 2010
Key facts are highlighted from several Urban Institute and Brookings Institution reports on public expenditures on children through 2008. Findings reveal that spending on children increased under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and other stimulus spending, but not proportionately to other federal spending. As ARRA expires, spending on children is projected to decline, assuming no change in current policies. Results also show that states and localities spent more money than the federal government did on children in 2004, except when it came to the youngest children, and that overall public investment (local, state, and federal) increases as children get older.

Kids' Share: An Analysis of Federal Expenditures on Children through 2008 (Research Report)
By Julia Isaacs, Tracy Vericker, Jennifer Ehrle Macomber, Adam Kent
December 09, 2009
The third annual report looks comprehensively at trends in federal spending and tax expenditures on children. Key findings suggest that historically children have not been a budget priority. In 2008, this trend continued, as children's spending accounted for less than one-tenth of federal outlays. Absent a policy change, children's spending will continue to be squeezed in the next decade.

Data Appendix to
Kids' Share: An Analysis
of Federal Expenditures on Children through 2008 (Research Report)
December 29, 2009
By Adam Kent, Tracy Vericker, Julia Isaacs, Jennifer Ehrle Macomber
Kids' Share: An Analysis of Federal Expenditures on Children through 2008, a third annual report, looks comprehensively at trends in federal spending and tax expenditures on children. This appendix details our data sources, the programs we include, and the methodology used to estimate the percentage of all expenditures that went to children.

Work and Income Security from 1970 to 2005 (Discussion Papers/Low Income Working Families)
By Gregory Acs, Seth Zimmerman
December 01, 2009
This paper uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to assess how the economic security and mobility of nonelderly adults in families with children has evolved from 1970 through 2005. We find that that for individuals in low-income families with a full-time, full-year worker, both economic security and upward mobility increased over time. Our findings underscore the importance of work for the long-term security and mobility of low-income families. The high and rising unemployment rates of 2009 clearly imperil the progress made during the last three decades of the 20th century.

How Well Have Middle Class American Families Accumulated Wealth? (Article/Opportunity and Ownership Facts)
By Robert I. Lerman
November 30, 2009
Many commentators have worried about the low savings rates and high debt levels of American families. Does this picture of unbridled consumption and low asset accumulation fit the American family? Did declines in 2008-2009 house prices, stocks, and bonds reinforce stagnating wealth or offset previous growth in wealth? Using data from the 1989, 1998, and 2007 Surveys of Consumer Finances (SCF) to replicate family experiences over the life cycle by following age cohorts, this fact sheet shows that from 1989 to 2007 American families were accumulating wealth at a healthy rate as individuals and families moved through their life cycle.

Unemployment Statistics on Older Americans - Updated January 2010 (Statistics)
By Richard W. Johnson, Corina Mommaerts
The recession has increased joblessness among older Americans. These graphs and tables report unemployment rates and how they have varied by age, sex, race, and education since 2007.

Retirement Account Balances - Updated January 2010 (Fact Sheet / Data at a Glance)
Barbara Butrica, Philip Issa
The retirement savings of American households took a big hit when the stock market crashed in 2008. Recently, however, a good portion of these losses has been reversed. This fact sheet follows trends in retirement account balances since the beginning of 2005.

Also from The Urban Institute:

A New Safety Net for Low-Income Families
July 2008
America’s low-income working families are struggling to get by, too often forced to make impossible choices among food, housing, and health care.. Government safety nets were reformed in the mid-1990s with the promise that work would pay. But that promise remains unfulfilled for many families. These essays explore the challenges these vulnerable households face and suggest ways to protect them and help them thrive—urgent goals with far-reaching benefits for our children, our families, and our economic future.
[Click the link above to read abstracts of any of the essays below, then click the PDF link to access each essay.]
* A New Safety Net for Low-Income Families
* Making Work Pay Enough: A Decent Standard of Living for Working Families
* Making Work Pay II: Comprehensive Health Insurance for Low-Income Working Families
* Family Security: Supporting Parents' Employment and Children's Development
* Helping Poor Working Parents Get Ahead: Federal Funds for New State Strategies and Systems
* Supporting Work for Low-Income People with Significant Challenges
* Weathering Job Loss: Unemployment Insurance
* Enabling Families to Weather Emergencies and Develop: The Role of Assets (New Safety Net Paper 7) by Signe-Mary McKernan and Caroline Ratcliffe

Source:
Low-Income Working Families
...a project of:
The Urban Institute
The Urban Institute gathers data, conducts research, evaluates programs, offers technical assistance overseas, and educates Americans on social and economic issues — to foster sound public policy and effective government.

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

Top 10 Urban Institute Papers of 2009
The top 10 most-read Urban Institute papers published in 2009 reflect our national attention on the recession, health care reform, and President Obama's first year in office.
[ Each of the links below takes you to an HTML abstract of the paper.
If you wish to read the paper itself, click the link to the PDF file that appears under its title on that page.

1. President-Elect Obama's Tax and Stimulus Plans
2. Unemployment Insurance in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (HR1)
3. Reducing Obesity: Policy Strategies from the Tobacco Wars
4. Is the Public Plan Option a Necessary Part of Health Reform?
5. Children of Immigrants: National and State Characteristics
6. Preventing and Ending Homelessness-Next Steps
7. Tax Proposals in the 2010 Budget
8. Transitioning In and Out of Poverty
9. Getting to a Public Option that Contains Costs: Negotiations, Opt-Outs and Triggers
10. Vulnerable Youth and the Transition to Adulthood
Source:
The Urban Institute
In the mid-1960s, President Johnson saw the need for independent nonpartisan analysis of the problems facing America's cities and their residents. The President created a blue-ribbon commission of civic leaders who recommended chartering a center to do that work. In 1968, the Urban Institute became that center. Today, we analyze policies, evaluate programs, and inform community development to improve social, civic, and economic well-being.

Also from The Urban Institute:

Do Assets Help Families Cope with Adverse Events?
By Signe-Mary McKernan et al
December 01, 2009
Abstract (HTML)
Complete brief (PDF - 197K, 12 pages)
Family events, such as a job loss, the onset of health limitations, and a change in family structure, can adversely affect family well-being. The impact of these events may be mitigated if the family holds assets that can be used to maintain consumption. Using the SIPP, this study examines the role of assets in families' economic stability. We find that families in all parts of the income distribution experience material hardship after a negative event. Further, in the aftermath of a negative event, asset-poor families experience more hardship than non-asset-poor families, with assets helping most for low- and middle-income families.

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

One in Eight Americans Receives Food Stamps
January 13, 2010
Some 37.9 million people -- one in eight Americans -- received food stamps to help buy food at latest count, the government said on Tuesday as enrollment set a record for the ninth month in a row.
Food stamps are the primary federal anti-hunger program. It helps poor people buy groceries. The economic stimulus package boosted benefits by $80 a month for a family of four. Participation has surged since the financial-market turmoil more than a year ago and has set a record each month since December 2008. The Agriculture Department said enrollment reached 37.9 million in October, the latest month for which figures are available, up 746,000 from the previous month.The average monthly benefit was $133.60 per person in October.
Source:
CNBC.com

Related links:

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
(historically and commonly known as the Food Stamp Program)
*** A Short History of SNAP ***
Source:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service

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Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
FRAC is the leading national nonprofit organization working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States. FRAC works with hundreds of national, state and local nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and corporations to address hunger and its root cause, poverty.

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

Australian Policy Online (APO)
APO is a news service and library specialising in Australian public policy reports and articles from academic research centres, think tanks, government and non-government organisations. The site features opinion and commentary pieces, video, audio and web resources focussed on the policy issues facing Australia. [ About APO ]
NOTE : includes links to the latest APO research; the five most popular downloads of the week
appear in a dark box in the top right-hand corner of each page, and the downloads vary depending on the topic you select.

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New Research : Social Policy | Poverty
- topics include:
* Community * Cultural diversity * Families & households * Gender & sexuality * Immigration & refugees * Population * Poverty * Religion & faith * Social problems * Welfare * Youth

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

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)

Latest issue of CRINMAIL (children's rights newsletter):

14 January 2010 - CRINMAIL 1139
Earthquake in HAITI: Read the situation report on Haiti here.
For further information on Haiti visit our country page.
This page will be updated with the most current news.
* RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Children’s Ombudsman Fired After 4 Months [news]
* GEORGIA: Georgia plans military training in schools [news]
* UNITED KINGDOM: Release of secret child punishment manual ordered [news]
* CZECH REPUBLIC: Czechs Still Segregating Roma Children [news]
* SPAIN: Sixteen-year-old becomes Spain's youngest transsexual [news]
* AZERBAIJAN: Abortions of females on the increase [news]
**NEWS IN BRIEF*

12 January 2010 - CRINMAIL 1138
* CAMPAIGN: Appointment process for new UNICEF chief [news]
* CRC: 53rd session opens [news]
* HAITI: Lost Childhoods in Haiti - Quantifying child trafficking, restavèks and victims of violence [publication]
* UNITED STATES: One in ten children in juvenile facilities report sexual abuse by staff [news]
* THE RIGHT TO VOTE: Intergenerational Justice Review [publication]
* ITALY: European Seminar on early childhood education and care (ECEC) services and promotion of social inclusion [event]
* EMPLOYMENT: ECPAT UK and SOS-Kinderdorf International
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

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Links to Issues of CRINMAIL
- links to 200+ weekly issues, many of which are special editions focusing on special themes, such as the 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the launch of the EURONET Website.

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

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

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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

The Best of DubyaSpeak

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A Story with a Moral

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day.
A small rabbit saw the crow,and asked him:
"Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?"
The crow answered: "Sure, why not."

So the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.
All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

The moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing,
you must be sitting very, very high up.

And, in closing...