Canadian Social Research Newsletter
June 17, 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 1796 subscribers.
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Content

1. Seventh National Child Benefit Progress Report Released (Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services) - May 30
2. Ontario Child Benefit - Website launched June 4 (Ministry of Children and Youth Services)
3. Federal Finance Minister's letter to CCSD on the Canada Social Transfer (Canadian Council on Social Development) - May 15 (posted June 14)
4. S.O.S. Medicare 2: Looking Forward - Conference (Canadian Health Coalition) - May 3-4
5. The Spoils of the Boom: Incomes, profits and poverty in Alberta (Parkland Institute) - June 13
6. Prime Minister Harper announces major reforms to address the backlog of Aboriginal treaty claims - June 12
7. Budget Implementation Bill Is Passed in the House of Commons (Department of Finance Canada) - June 12
8. Commission Launches Consultation on Human Rights in Rental Housing (Ontario Human Rights Commission) - May 9
9. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Study: Labour force projections in Canada, 2006 to 2031 - June 15
--- Study: Persistence of low income among working-aged unattached individuals, 1993 to 2004 - June 15
--- Government finance: Revenue, expenditure and surplus, 2007 - June 14
--- Foreign control in the Canadian economy, 2005 - June 14
--- General Social Survey: Navigating family transitions, 2006 - June 13
--- Labour productivity, hourly compensation and unit labour cost, first quarter 2007 - June 12
--- Study: Rising education of women and the gender earnings gap, 1981 to 2001 - June 12
10. Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services Annual Reports for 2002-2003 and 2003-2004
11. 2006 Annual Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario - December 5, 2006
12. What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (University of Toronto) - June 15

International Content

13. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
14. Improving Access to Education and Training for TANF Participants (U.S.) Center for Law and Social Policy - CLASP) - May 18
15. The Money Issue: The Poverty Platform (U.S. Election 2008 coverage - New York Times) - June 10
16. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - recent content (various sources) - June 15
--- Government benefits, taxes and household income, Australia, 2003-04
--- Federal politics: web scrubbing
--- Life risks, life course and social policy
--- What women want
--- Pensions at a glance 2007
17. What's new from CERC (Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion [CERC, Paris])?
--- "Means-tested benefits website" updated June 14
--- CERC Bulletin #129 sample content (various authors and dates) - June 11
------ The challenge of inequality
------ Does vulnerability create poverty traps?
------ Is the "real" US unemployment rate 13 percent?
------ The European welfare state : Golden achievements, silver prospects
------ Families with children in Britain : Findings from the 2005 families and children study
18. CRINMAIL 889 - 14 June 2007 (Child Rights Information Network) - June 14 issue

Have a great week!

Ministers Responsible for Social Services
release the seventh National Child Benefit Progress Report
News Release
May 30, 2007
Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services are pleased to release to Canadians the seventh report on the progress of the National Child Benefit (NCB)1. The National Child Benefit Progress Report: 2005 shows that the NCB is improving the economic well-being of low-income families with children. “The National Child Benefit initiative is a major tool in our collective fight against child poverty,” said the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development and federal co-chair of Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services. “Canada’s New Government believes that Canadians should have choices and opportunities to participate in the work force. The National Child Benefit helps low-income families with children in a number of ways, including by reducing barriers to employment.”

The NCB Progress Report: 2005
HTML version
PDF version (4MB, 110 pages)
Pamphlet (PDF file - 349K, 1 page)
Executive Summary (HTML)
Table of contents of the report:
Chapter 1: What is the National Child Benefit Initiative?
Chapter 2: The National Child Benefit Supplement
Chapter 3: Components of the National Child Benefit Initiative
Chapter 4: First Nations and the National Child Benefit Initiative
Chapter 5: Monitoring Progress - Societal Level Indicators
Chapter 6: Assessing the Direct Impact of the National Child Benefit Initiative
Chapter 7: The Way Ahead
Appendices:
1: Glossary
2: Provincial, Territorial and First Nations National Child Benefit Reinvestments and Investments (by province/territory)
3: Results of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) Analysis
4: Additional Statistical Information

NOTE: in Appendix 2, you'll find, for each province and territory, a detailed account of the new and enhanced initiatives made possible by the National Child Benefit.

Earlier reports in this series
- annual reports going back to the first full year (1999) of operation of the NCB; also includes links to historical and contextual information.

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

Speaking of initiatives under the National Child Benefit...

Ontario Child Benefit (OCB)
(website launched June 4/07)
The Ontario government has created the Ontario Child Benefit to help Ontario families with low incomes provide for their children, whether the parents are able to work or not. The program delivers a non-taxable, one-time payment for 2007 of up to $250 per dependent child under age 18. Beginning in July 2008, OCB benefits will start to flow monthly, providing approximately 465,000 families with payments of up to $600 per child annually. By 2011, the benefit will be up to $1,100 per child per year, benefiting more than 600,000 low-income families.

Ontario Child Benefit Calculator - from the Ontario Ministry of Finance
New Ontario Child Benefit - from the 2007 Ontario Budget (March 22/07)
OCB Backgrounder - from the 2007 Ontario Budget

Source:
Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS)

Related links from the Government of Ontario:

Children's Information Portal
This site brings together information about all the children and youth programs and services provided by the Government of Ontario. Whether you’re a young person, a parent, a caregiver, a professional, or a researcher, this site is for you. We’ve organized the content to give you a choice in how you access information. You can look by age group, activity, special need, or by going right to the search function.

- includes links to:
Ages and Stages : * Newborns [up to 1 yr.] * Toddlers [1- 3 yrs.] * Children [4-11 yrs.] * Youth [12-18 yrs.]
Topics : * Parenting, Child Care & Adoption * Education, Learning & Training * Health & Safety * Travel & Recreation * Financial Services & Benefits * Laws, Rights & Responsibilities * Youth Issues & Opportunities
Special Needs : * Special Education * Special Medical Needs * Children & Families at Risk * Financial Assistance * Specialized Services
Professionals
Just for kids
Service Ontario Links
Online forms
More...

Also includes a link to YouthConnect.ca – A youth-oriented website that profiles individual success stories, programs and services and provides important information on education, health, work, coming of age and recreation.

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

Letter from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (PDF file - 30K, 3 pages)
May, 2007

Letter to the Prime Minister
April 3, 2007

NOTE: On the Policy Initiatives page of the CCSD website, you'll find related content, including:
* The Honourable Roy Romanow on the importance of the CST (October, 2004)
* Federation of Canadian Municipalities adopts a resolution on the CST (January 2005)
* What Kind of Canada? A Call for a National Debate on the Canada Social Transfer (April, 2004)
The New Social Architecture Series:
* The World We Have: Towards a New Social Architecture, by Katherine Scott, CCSD
* Postponed Adulthood: Dealing with the New Economic Inequality
* more...

Source:
Canadian Council on Social Development

- Go to the Canada Assistance Plan / Canada Health and Social Transfer / Canada Social Transfer Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/cap.htm

From the Canadian Health Coalition:

S.O.S. Medicare 2: Looking Forward
Building on Tommy Douglas’ Vision of Medicare
Conference
Regina, Saskatchewan
May 3-4, 2007

Official Conference Program (PDF file - 8MB)

Watch the conference online:
- Session #1: Tommy Douglas’ Vision and the Future of Medicare
- Session #2: International perspective
- Session #3: Financing to Achieve Greater Equity
- Session #4: Health Care Reforms: Pharmacare, Home Care & Primary Care
- Session #5: Social Determinants of Health
- Stephen Lewis Luncheon Speech
- Session #6: Getting There From Here

Related links:

Completing Tommy’s Vision: Next Steps
to Expand and Improve Canada’s Medicare System (PDF file - 45K, 2 pages)
Post Conference Statement
May 4, 2007

Health care storm clouds on horizon: Experts (PDF file - 61K, 3 pages)
Conference Media Release
May 3, 2007

MEDIA COVERAGE

Assault on Medicare
Regina Leader-Post (May 19, 2007)

Save Medicare Conference Held
Health Edition (May 11, 2007)

Media Coverage
Regina Leader-Post (May 3-5, 2007)

CBC Saskatchewan Television News (AUDIO FORMAT)
CBC Saskatchewan (May 3, 2007)

1979 Audio clip of Tommy Douglas (AUDIO FORMAT) welcoming delegates to S.O.S. Medicare.
This five-minute speech was replayed to kick-off S.O.S. Medicare 2: Looking Forward.

- Go to the Medicare Debate Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/medicare.htm

The Spoils of the Boom: Incomes, profits and poverty in Alberta
by Diana Gibson
June 13, 200

Media Release
June 13, 2007
New Report Says Most Albertans Not Seeing the Benefits of the Boom
EDMONTON – Middle class Albertans are no better off as a result of the current boom, and Alberta’s poor are actually worse off than before says a new report from the Parkland Institute at the University of Alberta.

Executive Summary (PDF file - 70K, 2 pages)

Complete report (PDF file - 1.6MB, 32 pages)

Source:
Parkland Institute
The Parkland Institute is an Alberta research network situated within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta. It operates within the established and distinctive tradition of Canadian political economy and is non-partisan.

- Go to the Alberta Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/abkmrk.htm

Prime Minister Harper announces major reforms to address the backlog of Aboriginal treaty claims
News Release
June 12, 2007
Ottawa -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced plans for a decisive new approach that will fundamentally change the way specific claims are handled in Canada. The Specific Claims Action Plan addresses the huge backlog of unresolved treaty claims that has been the source of division and conflict in communities across the country. “Instead of letting disputes over land and compensation drag on forever, fuelling frustration and uncertainty, they will be solved once and for all by impartial judges on a new Specific Claims Tribunal,” Prime Minister Harper said.
Source:
Government of Canada News Centre

Related links:

Backgrounder - Specific Claims in Canada
- from the website of Canada's New Prime Minister

Specific Claims Action Plan
"...outlines the actions Canada's New Government plans to take to accelerate the resolution of specific claims in order to provide justice for First Nation claimants and certainty for government, industry and all Canadians. The Specific Claims Action Plan will ensure impartiality and fairness, greater transparency, faster processing and better access to mediation. It is a critical first step in bringing the specific claims program into the 21st century to deal with the existing backlog once and for all."
Source:
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

National Chief Phil Fontaine Applauds today’s Announcement by Prime Minister to Resolve Backlog of Specific Land Claims
News Release
June 12, 2007
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine said today's announcement by the Prime Minister is a positive response to what our people have advocated for decades, and it is a testament to the perseverance and dedication of our people.
Source:
Assembly of First Nations

Related articles in the news media (Google.ca search results)

- Go to the First Nations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/1stbkmrk.htm
- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm

June 12, 2007
Budget Implementation Bill Is Passed in the House of Commons
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, is pleased that key measures proposed in Budget 2007 were passed today by the House of Commons.
- incl. a summary of Budget 2007 measures
Source:
Department of Finance Canada

- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Agriculture to Finance) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk.htm

Commission Launches Consultation on Human Rights in Rental Housing
News Release
May 9, 2007
Toronto - Today the Ontario Human Rights Commission released a background document and consultation paper on human rights in rental housing. Public meetings begin this June in Sudbury, Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto to hear people’s stories and bring much needed attention and action to this fundamental issue.
* Background Paper
* Consultation Paper
* Invitation Letter
* Public Meetings
[ Aussi disponible en français ]

The Commission's public meetings will take place as follows:
June 13: Sudbury
June 14 : Toronto
June 25 : Ottawa
June 27 : Kitchener-Waterloo
June 28 : Toronto

Source:
Ontario Human Rights Commission

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

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

June 15, 2007
Study: Labour force projections in Canada, 2006 to 2031
Canada's labour force will continue growing, but the overall participation rate will fall sharply, during the next quarter century in the wake of the nation's low fertility and the retirement of millions of baby boomers, according to a new study.

Complete study:

Labour Force Projections for Canada, 2006-2031 (PDF file - 738K, 13 pages)

June 15, 2007
Study: Persistence of low income among working-aged unattached individuals, 1993 to 2004

Complete study:

Persistence of Low Income Among Non-elderly Unattached Individuals (PDF file - 222K, 32 pages)
This report examines the transitions into and out of low income and the persistence of low income among Canadians. It also examines the incidence of low wage among full-time workers and the extent to which low wage workers live in low income families.
Source:
Income Research Paper Series - incl. links to earlier reports

June 14, 2007
Government finance: Revenue, expenditure and surplus, 2007
All Canadian governments, including the Canada and Quebec pension plans, recorded a consolidated surplus in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007.

June 14, 2007
Foreign control in the Canadian economy, 2005
The share of foreign control in the Canadian economy remained relatively stable in 2005. However, Canadian-controlled corporations had a better year financially than their foreign-controlled counterparts, according to a new report.

Related link:

Corporations Returns Act, 2005

June 13, 2007
General Social Survey: Navigating family transitions, 2006
A growing proportion of fathers have taken leave from work for the birth or adoption of a child since 2001, although they have been returning to work sooner than mothers, according to a new report that analyzes the supports and services families use during key transitions in their life.

Related link:

Navigating Family Transitions: Evidence from the General Social Survey
HTML version
PDF version - 379K, 28 pages
Data presented in this study are taken from the General Social Survey ( GSS ). From June to October 2006, 23,608 people aged 15 or older and living in a private household in one of Canada 's 10 provinces were interviewed. Respondents contacted by the GSS were interviewed by telephone and mainly chosen by a random digit dialing sampling method. The survey collected detailed data on various aspects of the family, namely the transitions experienced by respondents: leaving the parental home, marrying or entering into a common-law union, having children, moving or buying a home, and separating or getting divorced. The survey also addressed important topics about the family, such as assistance and care provided to relatives, as well as work-family balance. The response rate was 68%.

Findings
Section 1: Navigating the birth or the adoption of a child
Section 2: Navigating couple dissolution

Tables and Charts - 17 in all

Family Structure by Region
HTML version
PDF version - 251K, 12 pages

June 12, 2007
Labour productivity, hourly compensation and unit labour cost, first quarter 2007
Labour productivity in Canadian businesses jumped 0.7% in the first quarter, more than three times the pace in the previous three months and its best performance in more than a year. At the same time, unit labour costs, a key measure of inflationary pressures on wages, slowed substantially.

June 12, 2007
Study: Rising education of women and the gender earnings gap, 1981 to 2001
The earnings gap between young women and men only declined moderately during the 1990s, despite a dramatic increase in the proportion of young women holding a university degree, according to a new study. From 1991 to 2001, the proportion of 25- to 29-year-old women holding a university degree went from 21% to 34%. In contrast, the proportion of 25- to 29-year-old men holding a university degree only rose moderately over the period, from 16% in 1991 to 21% in 2001.Despite the sharp increase in the proportion of young women with a university degree and the fact that university degree-holders generally earn more than other workers, the gender earnings gap only declined slightly over the period.

Related link:

Has Higher Education among Young Women Substantially
Reduced the Gender Gap in Employment and Earnings?
Executive Summary (HTML)
Complete report (PDF file - 286K, 26 pages)
Source:
Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series

- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Fisheries and Oceans to Veterans Affairs) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk2.htm
- Go to the Canadian Government Sites about Women's Social Issues page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/women.htm

Ministry of Community and Social Services
(Combined) Annual Reports for 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 (PDF file - 305K, 8 pages)
September 2006
Source:
Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS)

Comment: This eight-page annual report covers not just one but *two* fiscal years...
- includes only two short tables showing total Ministry expenditures in each fiscal year (split into capital and operating expenses) and total Ministry staff at the end of each year.
See the next entry below* from the Auditor General of Ontario.

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

2006 Annual Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario
- includes chapters on Children's Aid Societies, the Child Welfare Services Program, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP - see below), Community-based Services and much more...

Ontario Disability Support Program (PDF file - 154K, 6 pages)
(Section 4.03 of the 2006 report)
Here's an excerpt (with bolding added by me) from section 4.03:
"To help enable the Ministry to efficiently and effectively administer the Ontario Disability Support Program, the Ministry should:
• develop and produce accurate and useful performance and operational reports;
• provide recipients with more complete information; and
• correct known system deficiencies on a more timely basis."
[*Comment re. the MCSS annual reports: I hardly think that an eight-page report covering two years is either accurate, useful or complete...]

NOTE: The ODSP section of the 2006 report is a followup to The ODSP section of the 2004 Annual Report (PDF file - 187K)

Also from the 2004 report:

Ontario Works Program: Follow-up (PDF file - 70K, 9 pages)
NOTE : the Ontario Works section of the 2004 is a followup to the Ontario Works section of the 2002 Auditor's report (PDF file - 196K)

Links to all Ontario Auditor General reports - all on one page, reports back to 1997

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

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

The Childcare Resource and Research Unit offers a free weekly "e-mail news notifier" service.

15-Jun-07

---------------------------------------------------
What's New
---------------------------------------------------

PROMOTING SOCIAL INCLUSION AND RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY IN THE EARLY YEARS
Latest issue of Bernard van Leer’s Early Childhood Matters focuses on issues of diversity; includes article by Martha Friendly on the contribution of ECEC to social inclusion in diverse societies.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=104412

NAVIGATING FAMILY TRANSITIONS: EVIDENCE FROM THE GENERAL SOCIAL SURVEY 2006
New research from Statistics Canada shows that a growing proportion of fathers are taking parental leave, although they return to work sooner than mothers when they do.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=104411

NATIONAL CHILD BENEFIT PROGRESS REPORT: 2005
Report from the Federal/ Provincial/ Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services examines how the National Child Benefit is addressing the needs of low-income families in Canada.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=104410

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PARENTS AND CARERS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
Briefing note from the Australian Institute of Family Studies outlines several strategies that professionals may employ to support and strengthen parent/carer partnerships.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=103992

--------------------------------------------------
Child care in the news
--------------------------------------------------

Decent child care vital to province [CA-ON]
Toronto Star, 15 Jun 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=104414

Childcare in crisis [AU]
Sydney Daily Telegraph, 14 Jun 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=104403

More dads staying home with baby [CA]
Edmonton Journal, 14 Jun 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=104408

Illegal daycare stays open [CA-ON]
Toronto Star, 11 Jun 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=104406

$97M infusion for daycare [CA-ON]
Toronto Star, 9 Jun 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=104409

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This message was forwarded through the Childcare Resource
and Research Unit e-mail news notifier. For information on the
CRRU e-mail notifier, including instructions for (un)subscribing,
see http://www.childcarecanada.org

The Childcare Resource and Research Unit
University of Toronto, Canada
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Related links:

What's New Online
Links to child care sites in 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

Link to the CRRU home page:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) - University of Toronto

- 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 each week
- links to news items from the American press about poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.

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

June 14, 2007 issue
* Family Incomes and Economic Security - Ohio
* Children's Health Insurance Program - Indiana, Florida, Pennsylvania
* Report: State Health Care Quality - Wisconsin
* Editorials: Medicaid Costs - Michigan, New Jersey
* Editorial: Affordable Housing - Baltimore, MD
* Editorial: Food Stamp Program
* Unemployment Rate - Minnesota
* Gender Pay Gap - Louisiana
* Home Healthcare Workers, Wages and Overtime
* Poor Neighborhoods and Lottery Ticket Sales - Texas
* High School Graduation Rates - Midwest States

June 11, 2007 issue
* Hunger and the Food Stamp Program - Montana
* Medicaid and Birth Costs - Arizona
* Editorial: Medicaid ID Requirement - Virginia
* States and Mandatory Health Insurance Coverage
* Federal Minimum Wage - North Carolina, Virginia
* Reforming Foster Care Programs - Mississippi, Texas
* Opinion: Paid Family Leave - New Jersey
* Prisoner Re-entry Programs - California
* Affordable Housing and Assistance Programs
* Lending Practices and the Working Poor
* Working Poor and Self-sufficiency through College Education - Missouri
* Editorial: Low-income Students and Access to College
* Report: Trends in Family Incomes
* Income Inequality

Past Poverty Dispatches
- links to two dispatches a week back to June 1/06

Poverty Dispatch Digest Archive - weekly digest of dispatches from August 2005 to May 2006
For a few years prior to the creation of this new web page for the Dispatch, I was compiling a weekly digest of the e-mails and redistributing the digest to my mailing list with IRP's permission.
This is my own archive of weekly issues of the digest back to August 2005, and most of them have 50+ links per issue. I'll be deleting this archive from my site gradually, as the links to older articles expire.

- 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

Welfare - U.S.

Improving Access to Education and Training for TANF Participants (PDF file - 31K, 2 pages)
May 18, 2007
By Elizabeth Lower-Basch
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant is one of the major sources of funding for services designed to help low-income parents succeed in the workplace. The TANF law limits the degree to which states can count TANF families engaged in education and training activities toward federal work participation rate requirements—an unfortunate limitation, given the strong link between educational attainment and earnings. In this two-pager, CLASP recommends that Congress remove these arbitrary limits on education and training.
"(...)policies limiting access to education and training are highly counterproductive, as there is strong evidence that education leading to a credential—whether a training certificate or a postsecondary degree—is an effective pathway to higher earnings. (...) welfare to work programs that have succeeded in helping participants find higher paying jobs typically have made substantial use of education and training, including access to postsecondary programs."

Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

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

U.S. Election 2008

June 10, 2007
The Money Issue: The Poverty Platform
By MATT BAI
John Edwards says Americans should care more about economic injustice. Can he turn the plight of the poor into a winning campaign issue?
NOTE: this article is nine pages long - click "NEXT PAGE" at the bottom of each page. The article focuses on John Edwards and the politics of poverty, and it contains some good historical poverty info along with a number of hyperlinks to related articles. (Some of the linked articles require a [free] registration, but there's a lot of free content...)

Source:
New York Times

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

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 50+ events 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 - June 15 issue:

Government benefits, taxes and household income, Australia, 2003-04
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australia's low income households received more cash benefits from the government than higher income households, while indirect benefits (provided in kind) were more evenly distributed, according to this ABS study. Posted 14-06-2007

What women want
National Foundation for Australian Women
Under the WorkChoices industrial relations system, women's pay compared with men has deteroriated since WorkChoices was introduced, regardless of their occupation or education status, and includes professional and managerial women as well as those in lower paid, less skilled work.
Posted 08-06-2007

Pensions at a glance 2007
OECD
People in OECD countries will have to save more for their retirement as a result of the major pensions reforms carried out in recent years, according to this report. The average pension promise in 16 OECD countries studied was cut by 22 per cent. For women, the reduction was 25 per cent.
Posted 08-06-2007

Amnesty International Report 2007: the state of the world's human rights
Amnesty International
In Amnesty International's 2007 report on the state of the world's human rights the Australian government is one of the countries singled out for criticism for adopting 'the politics of fear' in relation to asylum seekers. Additionally Australia's refugee policies, violence against women and the counter-terrorism measures were areas highlighted as concerns. Posted 07-06-2007

Federal politics: web scrubbing
By Kellie Tranter, New Matilda
Posted: 12-06-2007
Governments around the world are using their websites to rewrite history - or 'webscrubbing' writes Kellie Tranter. Whilst the internet has allowed instant access to a vast amount of information, it also allows governments (and companies) retrospectively to edit embarrassing information from their websites and out of public view.
"Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record. All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary." (1984, George Orwell)
Source:
New Matilda
New Matilda is an independent website of news, opinion and analysis. New Matilda offers a vibrant mix of views and voices. We actively seek out new and in-depth perspectives to broaden the political debate.

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

Related links:

Google.ca Web search result : Web scrubbing"

NOTE: I've ranted about web scrubbing on many occasions in my site and in my newsletter. I've played out the following scene at least a few hundred times: I find a valuable online resource, perhaps an historical welfare stats collection or some other useful info, so I link to it in my site and include it in my newsletter. A few months later, the government department or NGO is re-launched with a "fresh new look" and fresh new content --- and no more historical info because the new web team didn't see any use for the old info...
Argh.
Luckily, there *is* a recourse: the Internet Archive - where you'll find (in a small box near the top of the page) the Wayback Machine. Enter a URL of the vanished or altered site and, in most instances, you'll have access to snapshots of earlier versions of the entire website (including most, but sadly not all, files). You can spend a lot of time exploring the Internet Archive collections, but the Wayback Machine alone is worth the visit.

Addendum /Tangent Alert:
After posting the above info to my site, I came across a recent made-in-Canada example of Web scrubbing. I clicked on the link below

Ministry of Community and Social Services:
Supporting Ontario's communities since 1930
The year 2005 was the 75th anniversary of the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services. To mark the occasion, the Ministry posted to its website a collection of six historical factoids and vignettes about welfare as it existed in the first quarter of the 20th century and even before. When I checked on June 16/07, not only had this page disappeared from the MCSS website --- in fact, the above URL now takes the cyber-visitor to "Thriving Communities", the ministry's framework for a contemporary approach to supporting Ontarians. That's all well and good, but six historical accounts of welfare in Ontario were simply discarded like yesterday's trash, without so much as a "does-anybody-even-care-about-history-out-there" warning.

Solution:
I went to Archive.org and copied the URL of the Ministry into the Wayback Machine (the text box near the top of the page). Then, on the Archive.org results page, I selected the link to the October 2004 site snapshot. Then, on the archived MCSS home page that appeared, I simply clicked on the 75th anniversary button and found the "missing" page and all its secondary links, all live.

Here's the URL of the archived copy of this page from Archive.org:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050518172022/www.mcss.gov.on.ca/CFCS/en/Celebrating75Years/default.htm
TIP : scroll down to "Stories from our Past" for links to the following six short historical bits about welfare and social services in Ontario in the last century:
* Origins of the welfare department (1930) * Breaking 650 lbs. of rocks to qualify for welfare in 1915 * houses of refuge * the Mothers' Allowance Act (1920) * the first foray into the field of day care in the mid-40s * the Soldier's Aid Commission (est. 1915).

TIP: you can use this same technique to retrieve many (but sadly, not all) "404" pages that have disappeared from the Web.

For more info on the Archive.org and the Wayback Machine, go to
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/reference.htm

- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm
- Go to the Seniors (Social Research) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/seniors.htm
- Go to the Links to International Sites about Women's Social Issues page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/womeninternat.htm

From the Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion - Paris
Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale - CERC [version française]

CERC "Means-tested benefits website" updated - June 14, 2007
The topic “Means-tested benefits” has been restructured.
- new headings have been added
- an introduction to the main means-tested benefits (France, European countries, United States, Canada)
- a statistical portal
- updated recommended websites
(Approximately 600 documents are online.)

CERC Bulletin - links to all CERC semi-monthly bulletins
Subscribe - To be informed of CERC activities and to receive the bulletin

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

* Selected content * from CERC Bulletin #129 - June 11, 2007:
(Click the link in the line above to access the entire bulletin and links to all reports.)

The challenge of inequality (PDF file - 803K, 28 pages), multiple authors, UN International Poverty Centre, Brasilia, Poverty in Focus,
June 2007
Geographical area : International data (incl. Canada)

Does vulnerability create poverty traps? (PDF file - 325K, 22 pages), A. Barrientos, Chronic Poverty Research Centre, Manchester, CPRC working paper, n° 76,
May 2007
Summary : The paper discusses whether vulnerability generates poverty traps. It contains a review of models of poverty traps and a discussion of whether these can accommodate vulnerability; it also includes a discussion of the empirical evidence available in support of these models and a discussion of their policy implications. The conclusions of this study delineate an important area of research, to which the CPRC is in a position to make a significant contribution. A clearer perspective on how to approach the linkages between vulnerability and persistent poverty, and a stronger, and comparative, body of evidence are needed to make the case that risk and vulnerability are significant factors behind poverty traps. The research planned under the Insecurity, Risk and Vulnerability theme of the CPRC will aim to develop a conceptual framework for examining the links between insecurity and vulnerability on the one hand and chronic poverty on the other. Special attention will be given to developing research in two areas: household dynamics and informality. The effectiveness of policy options will be assessed.
Geographical area : None

Is the "real" US unemployment rate 13 percent? (PDF file - K, 7 pages), J. Schmitt, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington, Issue brief
June 2007
(Apples and oranges - it's all how you define it...)
Geographical area : United States, Sweden

The European welfare state : Golden achievements, silver prospects (PDF file - 463K, 26 pages), M. Ferrera, URGE (Research Unit on European Governance), Moncalieri, URGE working paper n° 4, 2007 (posted June 6 2007)
Geographical area : Europe

Families with children in Britain : Findings from the 2005 families and children study (FACS), (PDF file - 1.2MB, 492 pages), L. Hoxhallari, A. Conolly and N. Lyon, Department for Work and Pensions, London, Research report, n° 424
May 2007
Summary : The 2005 Families and Children Study (FACS) is the seventh in a series of annual surveys, which investigate the circumstances of British families with dependent children. This report presents descriptive findings, and is divided into a number of chapters, each of which looks at distinct features of family life. The first part of the report focuses on the circumstances, lives and conditions of families, and topics covered include: family characteristics, health, education, work, income, benefits and tax credits, social capital and material deprivation. The second part of the report focuses on the circumstances, conditions and lives of children, and topics covered include: child characteristics, health, schooling, children’s activities, and childcare.

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

CERC Online Information Service
Information and online resources organized under five themes: Poverty * Social minima * In-work benefits * Minimum wage * Unemployment and return to work .
- includes links and resources for Canada...
HINT: click on the links in the right-hand margin of each theme page for more content

CERC Bulletins/Reports/Studies/Working papers
- Click on the links in the left margin of the CERC website home page for access to a large collection of online resources

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

CRINMAIL 889 - 14 June 2007
Table of contents of this issue:
- SERBIA: Study shows poor and Roma children excluded [news]
- THE RIGHT TO FOOD: Report of the Special Rapporteur (HRC Session 5) [publication]
- GREECE: Uphold the rights of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation [publication]
- USA: Trafficking in Persons Report 2007 [publication]
- EUROPEAN UNION: Fundraising and Project Management Seminar [event]
- EMPLOYMENT - War Child - ECPAT NZ - Children in Scotland [job postings]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
**QUIZ**

Source:
CRINMAIL(incl. subscription info and recent issues)
[ 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