Canadian Social Research Newsletter
January 20, 2008

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 1850 subscribers.

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

Canadian Content

1. A Tale of Two Pension Plans: The Differing Fortunes of the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans (Caledon Institute of Social Policy) - January 2008
2. Bridging Toronto's Divides (The Toronto Star) - January 20
3. Québec : Benefit amounts under the Social Assistance Program and the Social Solidarity Program (Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale) - January 1
4. Soutien aux enfants : Statistiques de l'année 2006 [Fr. only] (Régie des rentes du Québec) - juillet 2007
5. A rose by any other name : Welfare departments in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan change names.
6. A Bigger and Better Child Benefit: A $5,000 Canada Child Tax Benefit (Caledon Institute of Social Policy) - January 16
7. 2008 Quality of Life report: Trends and Issues in Affordable Housing and Homelessness (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) - January 16
8. Put poverty on the agenda (The Toronto Star) - January 16
9. What's new from the Centre for the Study of Living Standards:
--- The Measurement of Output and Productivity in the Health Care Sector in Canada: An Overview (December 27, 2007)
--- Three Policies to Improve Productivity Growth in Canada (December 10, 2007)
--- The Potential Contribution of Aboriginal Canadians to Labour Force, Employment, Productivity and Output Growth in Canada, 2001-2017 (November 26, 2007)
--- Indicators of Labour Market Conditions in Canada (November 16, 2007)
--- The Impact of Interprovincial Migration on Aggregate Output and Labour Productivity in Canada, 1987-2006 - (December 10, 2007)
10. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- National Income and Expenditure Accounts, Quarterly Estimates, Third quarter 2007 - January 18
--- Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Métis and First Nations, 2006 Census - January 15
--- A Comparison of Rural and Urban Workers Living in Low-Income - January 14
--- Deaths, 2005 - January 14
11. Dryden puts muscle behind poverty-reduction targets (Liberal Party of Canada) - January 15
12. Maple Leaf Web - Recent site additions:
--- Federalism in Canada: Basic Framework and Operation
--- Fiscal Imbalance Debate: Origins and Perspectives
--- Canada's Electoral System: Introduction to Federal and Provincial Elections
--- Local Government in Canada: Organization & Basic Institutions
13. How Resilient is the Federal Budget to an Economic Downturn? (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) - January 14
14. 'Wellness' atlas looks into what makes a healthy life in B.C. [University of Victoria] (Vancouver Sun) - January 10
15. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (Toronto) - January 18

International Content

16. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
17. Selected content from the latest Government Social Research Bulletin: (United Kingdom)
--- Combating child poverty in Wales: are effective education strategies in place? (December 2007)
--- Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 2007 (December 2007)
18. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing : Selected recent content:
--- Community housing in Australia 2005-06: findings from the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement data - Posted: 15-01-2008
--- When "sorry" is not enough (human rights) - Posted: 11-01-2008
--- Honey, I calculated the kids... it's $537,000: Australian child costs in 2007 - Posted: 02-01-2008
19. CRINMAIL 948, 949 - January 2008 (Child Rights Information Network - CRIN)

A Tale of Two Pension Plans: The Differing Fortunes of the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans (PDF file - 192K, 46 pages)
Ed Tamagno January 2008

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) are headed towards an historical crossroads. The most recent actuarial valuation of the CPP shows that the federal scheme is sound in its financing and should remain financially sound for the foreseeable future, without the need for any increase in its contribution rate over the next 75 years. Not entirely so, however, for the QPP. Although the Quebec plan is in no imminent financial difficulty, its most recent actuarial valuation indicates that changes to the QPP’s financing or benefits must be made well before 2050 or the scheme will be unable to meet its commitments fully after that year. This paper examines the reasons for the divergence in the financial projections of the Canada and the Quebec Pension Plans and proposes ways in which the parallelism of the two schemes, which has been a mainstay of federal and provincial policy for over four decades, can be maintained.

Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy

- Go to the Human Resources and Social Development Canada Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/hrsdc.htm
- Go to the Seniors (Social Research) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/seniors.htm
- Go to the Social Research Organizations (I) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research.htm

Bridging Toronto's divides
Only a socially inclusive strategy can overcome the twin `paradoxes of globalization'
January 20, 2008
In the past few months, two major reports have delivered a disturbing message to everyone concerned about Toronto's future. In November, the United Way's Losing Ground documented growing income inequality across the city with more than 30 per cent of families living in poverty, rising to more than 50 per cent for single-parent families. Still digesting the implications of that report, Torontonians' holiday spirits were dampened by the University of Toronto study, The Three Cities within Toronto. It mapped the new geography of the economic gap. Since 1970, Toronto's renowned mixed-income neighbourhoods have become harder to find, squeezed between an opulent inner city and deteriorating suburbs. The overall conclusion: Toronto is Canada's richest city, but also becoming its poorest and most divided.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Related links:

Losing Ground: The persistent growth
of family poverty in Canada's largest city
November 2007
Source:
United Way of Greater Toronto

The Three Cities within Toronto:
Income polarization among Toronto’s neighbourhoods, 1970–2000 (PDF file - 880K, 12 pages)
December 2007
by J. David Hulchanski
[ Related Table, maps and figures ]
Source:
Centre for Urban and Community Studies (University of Toronto)

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (A-C) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk2.htm

Québec

January 1st, 2008
Benefit amounts under the Social Assistance Program
and the Social Solidarity Program starting January 1, 2008 (PDF file - 151K, 6 pages)
On January 1, 2008, benefits granted to persons in the Social Solidarity Program will be increased by 1,21%. The benefits of independent adults housed or required to live in an establishment for the purpose of their re-entry into the community and the benefits of minor adults housed with their dependent child in a rehabilitation centre or a hospital centre are also increased by 1,21%. Benefits granted to persons in the Social Assistance Program who do not have a limited capacity for employment or who have a temporarily limited capacity for employment are increased by 0,61 %.

Source:
Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (English Home Page)
(Employment and Social Solidarity)

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

1er janvier 2008
Montants des prestations du Programme d’aide sociale et du Programme de solidarité sociale (fichier PDF - 124Ko, 6 pages)
À partir du 1er janvier 2008, les prestations accordées aux personnes admises au Programme de solidarité sociale sont augmentées de 1,21 %. Les prestations des adultes seuls hébergés ou tenus de loger dans un établissement en vue de leur réinsertion sociale et les prestations des adultes mineures hébergées avec leur enfant à charge dans un centre de réadaptation ou un centre hospitalier sont également augmentées de 1,21 %. Les prestations accordées aux personnes admises au Programme d’aide sociale qui n’ont pas de contraintes ou qui ont des contraintes temporaires sont augmentées de 0,61 %.
Source:
Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale

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

- Go to the Québec Links (English) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qce.htm
- Rendez-vous à la page de liens de recherche sociale au Québec: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qcbkmrk.htm

Soutien aux enfants : Statistiques de l'année 2006 (PDF - 708K, 53 pages)
[2006 statistics on child assistance]
July 2007
This document paints a detailed picture of Québec families in receipt of child assistance in 2006.
(Available in French only)
The report contains four sections. The first section is a ten-page overview of the evolution of Québec programs for families with children from 1961 to date (highly recommended!). The next two sections provide historical statistics for the program, and the last section provides regional information.
Source:
Régie des rentes du Québec (English home page)

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

Soutien aux enfants : Statistiques de l'année 2006 (PDF - 708K, 53 pages)
Juillet 2007
"La publication se divise en quatre parties. La première trace l'évolution des programmes d'aide aux familles depuis l'implantation du premier programme en 1961 jusqu'au Soutien aux enfants [programme actuel]. Les deux suivantes dressent respectivement le portrait des bénéficiaires du paiement de Soutien aux enfants et du Supplément pour enfant handicapé. La quatrième est un complément d'information régionale qui répond aux questions souvent posées."
Source:
Régie des rentes

- Go to the Québec Links (English) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qce.htm
- Rendez-vous à la page de liens de recherche sociale au Québec: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qcbkmrk.htm

Whoopee-ding.
The provinces of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have changed
the name of the department responsible for welfare in their respective jurisdictions.

In Saskatchewan:
Social Services replaced Community Resources as of November 2007, when the Saskatchewan Party won the provincial election.

In New Brunswick:
The Department Social Development replaced the Department of Family and Community Services in December 2007, for no apparent reason.

<Begin first rant of 2008.>
What *is* the reason for such name changes, anyhoo? ("Old wine in new bottles?") I think someone needs to do a cost-benefit analysis of the total cost of changing the name of a government department, including website changes, letterhead changes, pay and benefits admin changes for staff, etc. ---- Versus ---- keeping the name intact and allocating the funds thus saved to improving supports for people in disadvantaged situations.
</End first rant of 2008.>

- Go to the Key Provincial/Territorial Welfare Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/welfare.htm

A Bigger and Better Child Benefit:
A $5,000 Canada Child Tax Benefit (PDF file - 324K, 63 pages)
Ken Battle, January 2008
The federal child benefits system has undergone far-reaching changes over the past two years, with the addition of the Universal Child Care Benefit and non-refundable child tax credit to the existing Canada Child Tax Benefit. While these two so-called "new" programs (they are actually worn retreads from the past) have infused substantial new monies into the child benefits system, they also have made it complex, inequitable and virtually incomprehensible to Canadian families.

NOTE: includes a detailed section entitled "Evolution of child benefits 1918-2007."

A $5,000 Canada Child Tax Benefit:
Questions and Answers (PDF file - 56K, 11 pages)
by
Ken Battle
January 2008

Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy

- Go to the Children, Families and Youth Links (NGO) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnngo.htmCaledon Institute of Social Policy

Federation of Canadian Municipalities report says
affordable housing still scarce in Canada's cities
OTTAWA, Jan. 16 – Despite increased levels of homeownership, finding an affordable place to live is still a challenge for the most vulnerable in Canada’s big cities.
This was one of the principal findings of the fourth theme report in FCM’s Quality of Life series, Trends & Issues in Affordable Housing &Homelessness, released today in Ottawa. The report, looks at affordable housing and homelessness between 2001 and 2006 in the 22 large and medium-sized municipalities and urban regions that make up the Quality of Life Reporting System.

2008 Quality of Life (QOL) Report:
Trends & Issues in Affordable Housing & Homelessness (PDF file - 3.6MB, 40 pages)
January 2008
[NOTE: this file is S-L-O-W to open (on Jan. 16), likely because many people are trying to download the report at the same time...]
This publication, the fourth theme report published by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities as part of the Quality of Life Reporting System (QOLRS), focuses on trends related to housing and homelessness in 22 large and medium-sized municipalities and urban regions in Canada. The report's focus is the period 2000-2006, with some reference to trends dating back to 1991.
Source:
FCM Quality of Life Reports
[ Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)]

- Go to the Homelessness and Housing Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/homeless.htm
- Go to the Municipalities Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/municipal.htm
- Go to the Social Statistics Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/stats.htm

Put poverty on the agenda
Editorial
January 16, 2008
When Parliament resumes on Jan. 28, politicians from all parties need to turn their attention to the appalling state of poverty in this country and the need to find solutions. With fears of a recession growing across the country, particularly in Ontario, poverty is not apt to be at the top of the list of political concerns. But there are many reasons why it should be. An astonishing one in 10 Canadians, or 3.4 million people, already live in poverty, and a recession will only make the situation worse...
Source:
The Toronto Star

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

The Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), a national, independent, not-for-profit, economic research organization, released four new research reports in the last two months of 2007. It also revised a report previously released in July 2007.

Recent releases from the CSLS:

The Measurement of Output and Productivity in the Health Care Sector in Canada: An Overview (released Dec. 27/07)
The report finds that official output and productivity figures may seriously underestimate the true contribution of the health care sector to real output, and more importantly to the economic well-being of Canadians.

Three Policies to Improve Productivity Growth in Canada (released Dec. 10/07) is an unabridged version of a paper published earlier this year in an IRPP book. The report puts forward three specific policies to improve Canada’s productivity performance: foster the diffusion of best-practice technologies; remove the provincial sales tax on purchases of machinery and equipment; and promote interprovincial movement of workers.

The Potential Contribution of Aboriginal Canadians to Labour Force, Employment, Productivity and Output Growth in Canada, 2001-2017” (released Nov. 26/07). The report establishes that a more educated Aboriginal population would produce additional value for Canada’s economy that could be counted in the tens of billions of dollars.

Indicators of Labour Market Conditions in Canada” (released Nov. 16/07). The objective of this report is to identify and assess the relevant measures and indicators of labour market conditions, as concern unemployment, in the context of current and future labour market and economic trends.

On December 19, 2007, the CSLS released the Fall issue of the International Productivity Monitor, which contained an abridged version of the research report The Impact of Interprovincial Migration on Aggregate Output and Labour Productivity in Canada, 1987-2006 which was itself revised in November 2007.

All CSLS research reports

Source:
Centre for the Study of Living Standards

- Go to the Social Research Organizations (I) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research.htm

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

January 18, 2008
(New products)
National Income and Expenditure Accounts,
Quarterly Estimates, Third quarter 2007
This publication presents quarterly information on Canada's National Income and Expenditure Accounts (NIEA). It contains data on gross domestic product (GDP) by income and by expenditure, saving and investment, borrowing and lending of each of four broad sectors of the economy: (i) persons and unincorporated businesses, (ii) corporate and government business enterprises, (iii) governments and (iv) non-residents. Information is also provided for selected subsectors.
Highlights
Complete report (PDF file - 2.5MB, 148 pages)
Other issues in this series

January 15, 2008
Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Métis and First Nations, 2006 Census
Statistics Canada today releases the first analysis of data on Aboriginal peoples from the 2006 Census.

Complete report:

Aboriginal Peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Métis and First Nations, 2006 Census

January 14, 2008
Study: Rural and urban workers living in low income
Roughly the same proportion of Canadian workers lived in low-income households in 2003, whether they inhabited a rural or an urban area, according to a new study. Furthermore, the study found that the rural working poor were in no more dire circumstances than their urban counterparts, given that their "depth" of low income was similar. For either group, the family income was about 30% below the low-income threshold.

Complete study:

A Comparison of Rural and Urban Workers Living in Low-Income
January 2008
NOTE: click the link above to access a highlights page and links (in the left-hand margin) to data and definitions, findings, figures, references, more info, other issues in this series, and more; click the link below to open the PDF file with the complete report
Complete report in PDF format (160K, 18 pages)

[ Other issues in this series ]
[ Analytical studies ]

January 14, 2008
Deaths, 2005
The number of deaths registered in Canada took its biggest jump in three years in 2005, continuing a long-term trend in the wake of a growing and aging population.

Complete report:

Deaths, 2005
January 2008
1. Introduction 2. Highlights 3. Analysis 4. Tables 5. Charts 6. Data quality, concepts and methodology 7. Appendices 8. User information 9. Related products
10. PDF version (547K, 89 pages)

- 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

Dryden puts muscle behind poverty-reduction targets
Visits Sun Youth headquarters. Initiative calls for increased work benefits, higher payments to impoverished seniors
January 15, 2008
Liberal stars were out in Montreal yesterday to promote the federal party's anti-poverty initiative that aims to cut poverty in Canada by 30 per cent across the board and child poverty by half over a five-year period if the party is elected to form a national government. Spearheading the initiative is Ken Dryden, the Canadiens great turned politician who is on a 15-city national tour to spread the party's anti-poverty message.
Source:
The Montreal Gazette

From the website of the Liberal Party of Canada:

It Takes a Country:
Ken Dryden Embarks on Cross-country National Anti-Poverty Tour
January 10, 2008
OTTAWA - Ken Dryden, Chair of the Liberal Caucus Social Development Committee and Member of Parliament for York Centre, is traveling across Canada to engage Canadians with "It Takes a Country", a national call to action to address the unacceptable levels of poverty that affect Canadians of all ages and all walks of life.
- incl. links (in the left-hand margin of the page) to several related stories and a video about the Liberal 30-50 Plan to Reduce Poverty.

- Go to the 2008 Federal Election and General Political Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/politics_2008_fed_election.htm

Mapleleafweb
Maple Leaf Web is a non-profit, non-partisan Canadian political education web-site that aims to provide educators, students and the attentive public with a credible source for political education and information.

Recent site additions:
[NOTE - each of the features below includes links to further detailed resources]

* Federalism in Canada: Basic Framework and Operation

* Fiscal Imbalance Debate: Origins and Perspectives

* Canada's Electoral System: Introduction to Federal and Provincial Elections

* Local Government in Canada: Organization & Basic Institutions

- Go to the General Federal Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fed2.htm
- Go to the Municipalities Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/municipal.htm

Feds to post first deficit in a decade if economy slows: study
Press Release
January 14, 2008
OTTAWA—A decade of federal budget surpluses could come to an end if an economic slowdown materializes in 2008, says a technical paper for the Alternative Federal Budget, published today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. According to the study, the federal government’s Economic and Fiscal Update, which calls for surpluses as far as the eye can see, does not fully consider the very real possibility of an economic downturn. The study stress-tests the government’s numbers and finds it would not take much of a drop in economic growth before the budget returned to deficit.

Complete study:

How Resilient is the Federal Budget to an Economic Downturn? - PDF File, 159K, 8 pages
January 2008

Other Publications from the Alternative Federal Budget Research Desk

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

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

'Wellness' atlas looks into what makes a healthy life in B.C.
By Craig McInnes
January 10, 2008
(...) Now geographers at the University of Victoria have published an atlas of the province that looks at more than 100 indicators they relate to wellness. The British Columbia Atlas of Wellness by Leslie Foster, a former senior public servant with the provincial government and an adjunct professor at UVic, Peter Keller, the dean of social sciences, and a baker's dozen of other contributors includes obvious topics such as smoking, healthy eating and exercise. But it also includes dozens of other factors that speak to a more sophisticated definition of what goes into supporting a healthy life. They look at family structure, employment rates, the availability of emotional support, graduation rates and whether students feel safe at school.They look at access to playing fields, whether babies are breast fed, weight, the ephemeral question of whether people are satisfied with their lives and even hours of sunshine..."
Source:
Vancouver Sun

The British Columbia Atlas of Wellness
The BC Atlas of Wellness "springs from the ActNow BC initiative, which was introduced in early 2005 to encourage British Columbians to make healthy lifestyle choices to improve their quality of life, reduce the incidence of preventable chronic disease, and reduce the burden on the health care system.

Source:
UVic (University of Victoria) Geography

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

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

January 18

What's new online

UNESCO 2007 Global Monitoring Report regional profiles
18 Jan 08
- Regional profiles from UNESCO prepared for the 2007 Global Monitoring Report.

Policy review report: Early childhood care and education in Brazil
18 Jan 08
- Policy brief by the Division for the Promotion of Basic Education, UNESCO Education Sector highlights critical issues regarding Brazil's early childhood policy.

Common vision, different paths: Five states' journeys toward comprehensive prenatal-to-five systems
18 Jan 08
- Report from Zero to Three and Pre-K Now focuses on how five US states are building comprehensive, coordinated systems for children, prenatal to age five.

more WHAT'S NEW ONLINE »

Child care in the news

Native care centres beneficial to culture [CA-ON] 17 Jan 08

Something to talk about [CA-PE] 17 Jan 08

ABC Learning trumped on US buy [AU] 16 Jan 08

Unhappy nursery tales [UK] 15 Jan 08

Toddlers not expelled here - but they could be: experts [CA-MB] 14 Jan 08

more CC IN THE NEWS »

Related Links:

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 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

Source:
Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)

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

January 17, 2008
[NOTE: this link was broken when I checked on Jan. 20;
if this is still the case, go to the Poverty Dispatch home page and try clicking from there.]
* Job Loss and Unemployment in the Midwest
* Foster Care and Sibling Visitation - Indiana
* Unemployment Insurance System - Minnesota
* Medicaid Coverage Expansion - Ohio
* State Children's Health Insurance Program
* Kids Count Report - Nebraska
* Homelessness and Housing - Hawaii, Washington, DC
* Report: The Working Poor in Alabama
* Commentary: Poverty Measurement
* Earned Income Tax Credit
* Home Foreclosures and Women - Baltimore, MD
* Food Stamp Program and the Farm Bill
* No Child Left Behind and State Testing

January 14, 2008
* Census Small-Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE)
* State Health Care Plans - Massachusetts, California, Illinois
* Kids Count Report - Mississippi
* Applications for Assistance and Agency Workload - Milwaukee County, WI
* Medicaid System and ID numbers - Wisconsin
* County and State Funding for Social Services - Indiana
* Child Support Nonpayment Penalties - Ohio
* Housing Assistance Programs - New York City
* Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program
* Home Foreclosures and Lending Practices - Iowa, Ohio
* Payday Lending Alternatives - Virginia
* Low-income Students and the Achievement Gap - Duluth, MN
* No Child Left Behind Reauthorization
* Car Loan Program for the Working Poor - Wisconsin
* Healthy Marriage Initiative - Kansas City
* Voter Identification Laws

Search Poverty Dispatches
IRP compiles and distributes Poverty Dispatches, links to Web-based news items dealing with poverty, welfare reform, and related topics twice a week. Each Dispatch lists links to current news in popular print media. Persons wishing to receive Poverty Dispatches by e-mail should send a request to rsnell@ssc.wisc.edu.

Past Poverty Dispatches - back to June 2006

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

Government Social Research Bulletin (United Kingdom)
The GSR News Bulletin contains the latest GSR news, updates on continuing professional development, forthcoming research, research methods and research funding, GSR research outputs and other research outputs, and a website of the month feature.
- incl. links to the latest issue of the Bulletin and the bulletin archive (back to 2002), along with a link if you wish to subscribe to receive an alert by email whenever the bulletin is updated

Selected content from the latest Government Social Research Bulletin:

Combating child poverty in Wales: are effective education strategies in place? (December 2007)
- argues that innovative education policies in Wales aim to combat the effects of child poverty on educational achievement but need to do more to overcome this relationship

Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 2007 (December 2007)
- the annual report on the state of poverty and social exclusion in the United Kingdom covers low income, work, education, health, housing, disadvantaged children and exclusion from services. Provides a comprehensive analysis of trends and differences between groups; examines the progress being made on reducing poverty and social exclusion, in light of the Government's ambitious target to halve child poverty by 2010.
Complete report (PDF file - 480K, 140 pages)
Key Points (Selected findings):
* Half of children in poverty are still in working families.
* Overall poverty levels in 2006 were the same as in 2002.
* Child poverty in 2006 was still 500,000 higher than the target set for 2005.
* Overall earnings inequalities are widening.
* Disability rather than lone parenthood is the factor most likely to lead to worklessness

[ The source for both of the reports above is
the Joseph Roundtree Foundation ]
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is one of the largest social policy research and development charities in the UK. We spend over £10 million a year on our research and development programme. For over one hundred years we have been searching out the causes of social problems, investigating solutions and seeking to influence those who can make changes.

News items, for all with an interest in Government Social Research, will continue to be added to
the homepage at http://www.gsr.gov.uk/ and to the Research news page at
http://www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/index.asp

Subscribe to the Bulletin alert:
http://www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/email_updates.asp

Current Research News - continuously updated
[archive - back to 2004]

Source:
U.K. Government Social Research
[ HM Treasury website ]

- Go to the Government Social Research Links in Other Countries page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internat.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 60+ events (mostly conferences) of interest to social researchers...
Source:
Australian Policy Online (APO)
With nearly 120 member centres and institutes, Australian Policy Online offers easy access to much of the best Australian social, economic, cultural and political research available online.
NOTE: the APO home page includes links to the five most popular reports on the APO website, and this list is updated each week.

Selected content from the latest APO Weekly Briefing:

Community housing in Australia 2005-06: findings from the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement data
Posted: 15-01-2008
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
This AIHW bulletin is a summary of findings from the 2005-06 community housing trial collection of unit record level organisation and dwelling administrative data.

When "sorry" is not enough
Posted:11-01-2008
Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, University of New South Wales
Serious breaches of human rights demand redress

Honey, I calculated the kids... it's $537,000: Australian child costs in 2007
Posted 02-01-2008
Richard Percival, Alicia Payne, Ann Harding and Annie Abello
National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) - University of Canberra
The 18th AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report finds that a typical Australian family spends $537,000 on raising two children from birth to 21 years. This is 23 per cent of household income, the same percentage as a broadly comparable family in 2002.

Related link:

For the cost of raising a child in Canada, see:

The Cost of Raising a Child: 2004
July 2004
Source:
Home Economics [ Manitoba Agriculture ]
NOTE: this report is no longer updated by Manitoba Agriculture, nor is it still on their website.
The link above takes you to an archived version of this report, available from The Wayback Machine - www.archive.org

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

- 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)

17 January 2008 - CRINMAIL 949
* KENYA: Genital mutilation used as a weapon of war [news]
* VIOLENCE: Prohibiting corporal punishment of children: A guide to legal reform and other measures [publication]
* EUROPE: A fifth of European children live in poverty, says a new report [publication]
* JUVENILE JUSTICE: Diverting child offenders from judicial proceedings [publication]
* EMPLOYMENT - Edem's Children Foundation [volunteer opportunity]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
**QUIZ**

15 January 2008 - CRINMAIL 948
* PETITION: Campaign for a complaints procedure under the Convention on the Rights of the Child
* COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: State Reports and Alternative Reports [publication]
* ITALY: Separate school buses for traveller children proposed [news]
* RIGHT TO INFORMATION: Twins' marriage sparks debate over rights of adoptees [news]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

Earlier issues of CRINMAIL
- links to 200+ earlier 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 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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

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

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There are some that I don't agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...

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Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

In closing...

Don't startle me --- I may have Jumping Frenchman Disorder:
http://www.oddee.com/item_84847.asp