Canadian Social Research Newsletter
April 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 1875 subscribers.

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

Canadian content

1. New poverty articles from the Toronto Star:
--- Determining a deprivation index - April 19
--- Defining poverty - April 19
--- Definition of poverty stalls federal committee - April 16
--- Getting together to fight poverty - April 15
2. From the April 2008 issue of Policy Options from the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP):
--- Guaranteed annual income: why Milton Friedman and Bob Stanfield were right (Hugh Segal)
--- This just in : surpluses across the board (Tom Courchene)
3. What's New from Statistics Canada:
--- Consumer Price Index, March 2008 - April 17
--- Current economic conditions - April 17
--- New releases from Census 2006 - April 16
--- The Canadian Immigrant Labour Market in 2006: Analysis by Region or Country of Birth - released April 16 (analysis is dated February 2008)
--- Study: Community vulnerability to population and employment decline, 1981 to 2001 - April 14
4. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (Toronto) - April 18

International content

5. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs (Institute for Research on Poverty - University of Wisconsin-Madison)
6. Seizing the Moment: State Governments and the New Commitment to Reduce Poverty in America (Center for Law and Social Policy) - April 2008
7. Selected U.S. resources on poverty measurement and poverty reduction
8. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - selected recent content:
--- Growing community enterprise: an evaluation of the Community Enterprise Development Initiative - Posted 17-04-2008
--- Blueprint for early childhood development and school reform - Posted 14-04-2008
9. CRINMAIL 974, 975 (April 2008) - (Child Rights Information Network - CRIN)

From The Toronto Star:

Determining a deprivation index
Daily Bread Food Bank using survey to develop 'economic strain' guide for poverty in Ontario
April 19, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten

Defining poverty
April 19, 2008
As the province grapples with that question, the Star asked dozens of local experts. Here are their answers.

Definition of poverty stalls federal committee
April 16, 2008
By Joanna Smith
OTTAWA–The federal government should hurry up and define poverty so it can move on to doing something about it, said witnesses at a parliamentary committee laying the foundation for a national poverty strategy yesterday.

Getting together to fight poverty
April 15, 2008
A disparate coalition of more than 100 individuals and anti-poverty groups has done what many thought was impossible by agreeing on the broad strokes of a poverty reduction strategy for Ontario.

Source:
War on Poverty: Special Coverage
[ The Toronto Star ]

- Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm

What's new from the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP):

Policy options - April 2008 issue (free online magazine)
"Policy Options is Canada's premier public policy magazine. Its goal is to encourage an informed debate on the important public policy issues of today, and of tomorrow. In each edition, short articles on the immediate issues that dominate the headlines are combined with in-depth analyses of longer-term issues that are certain to emerge on the policy horizon. Policy Options is published ten times per year."

Below, you'll find links to just two of the dozen-plus articles from this month's issue of Policy Options. Other articles in the April 2008 issue cover topics including the 2008 federal budget, NAFTA, the Castonguay Report on health care in Quebec, Canada's Afghan mission and much more. Click the April issue link above to access all articles in this issue.

Guaranteed annual income:
why Milton Friedman and Bob Stanfield were right (PDF - 172K, 6 pages)
By Hugh Segal
April 2008
[Abstract] In this article, former IRPP president Hugh Segal considers the merits of a guaranteed annual income or a negative income tax, an idea whose time may never come, but which always generates a good debate. It?s a concept where thinkers on the left and right have found some common ground, from conservative economists such as Milton Friedman in the United States, to Red Tories such as Robert Stanfield in Canada. "If it is done right," Segal argues, "instituting a basic floor income could diminish federal-provincial and labour-management tensions" and could even, "over time, reduce the net burden of state spending while increasing aid to, and the privacy and dignity, of those who fall behind."

"This just in: surpluses across the board" (PDF - 163K, 3 pages)
By Thomas J. Courchene
April 2008
[Abstract] The achievement of budgetary surpluses in Ottawa and in all provinces and territories simultaneously was 60 years in the making. This brief commentary on budgetary federalism adapts the informative charts in Budget 2008 and traces the fiscal/budgetary fortunes of the two levels of government over the past two decades. The near collapse of provincial finances in the wake of the 1995 budget has now been offset by a huge influx of federal cash transfers (Canada Health Transfer, Canada Social Transfer and equalization) and by resource revenues. When combined with federal tax cuts, the result is that the excess of provincial over federal revenues has never been larger.

Links to earlier issues of Policy options:
- this is the link to the April '08 issue of the magazine;
the links to the earlier issues appear in the right-hand margin of that page.

Links to all IRPP publications

- Go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm
- Go to the Guaranteed Annual Income Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/gai.htm
- Go to the Social Research Organizations (II) in Canada page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/research2.htm

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

April 17, 2008
Consumer Price Index, March 2008
Consumer prices rose 1.4% on average in the 12 months to March 2008, the fourth consecutive month in which the rate of growth has decelerated. This was the slowest rate of growth since January 2007.

April 17, 2008
Current economic conditions
Output in January rebounded smartly from a sharp drop in December, reflecting a widespread increase in demand. This was consistent with employment, which picked up steadily through the first quarter.

April 16, 2008
What's new from the
Census of Canada:

Ethnic origin and visible minorities:
* Thematic maps
* Profile release components for lower levels of geography

(April 8, 2008)
Additional topic-based tabulations for:
* Immigration and citizenship
* Language
* Mobility and migration
AND:
Reference guides

(April 2, 2008 )
* Ethnic origin and visible minorities
* Place of work and commuting to work
* additional topic-based tabulations for Aboriginal peoples

(March 28, 2008 )
Official launch of
2006 Census data search tool

More Census 2006 links from Statistics Canada

Also released on April 16:

The Canadian Immigrant Labour Market in 2006:
Analysis by Region or Country of Birth
February 2008
This study is the second in a series of analytical articles on immigrants in the labour force based on data from the Labour Force Survey. It sheds light on the relationship between the region or country of birth for immigrants to Canada, when they landed in Canada, and their labour market outcomes (i.e., unemployment, employment and participation rates) in 2006.
* Executive summary (HTML)
* Complete report (232K, 42 pages)

April 14, 2008
Study: Community vulnerability to population and employment decline, 1981 to 2001
Over the last two decades, one of the most important factors of change for Canadian communities has been the process of global economic integration. Globalization has opened new economic opportunities for various sectors, such as the primary resource sector. However, the economy of certain regions relying on these sectors has become more vulnerable to declines in population and employment in the wake of foreign competition. The study, "An index of community vulnerability: Conceptual framework and application to population and employment changes," is among the first to create a conceptual framework suitable for gauging how vulnerable rural and urban communities in Canada are to population and employment declines, using demographic and economic characteristics.

Complete report:

An Index of Community Vulnerability:
Conceptual Framework and Application to Population and Employment Changes (PDF - 1.5MB, 56 pages)
By Alessandro Alasia and Ray D. Bollman (Agriculture Division, Statistics Canada), John Parkins (University of Alberta), and Bill Reimer (Concordia University)

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

April 18, 2008

Foreign investment in child care sector: Canada’s international trade obligations
18 Apr 08
- Legal opinion prepared for CUPE assessing the potential impact of Canada’s international trade obligations on provincial policy and law related to child care services.

Disparities in California’s child care subsidy system: A look at teacher education, stability and diversity
18 Apr 08
- Report from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment comparing staff characteristics of voucher vs subsidy systems in California.

Next steps for federal child care policy (U.S.)
18 Apr 08
- Report from The Future of Children discussing current federal policies and reformations to increase the accessibility of quality child care for low-income families in the US.

Ladders of learning: Fighting fade-out by advancing PK-3 alignment
18 Apr 08
- Report from the New America Foundation discussing the importance of having strong well aligned programs beginning in pre-k extending through grade 3.

Child care statistics 2007
18 Apr 08
- Revised version of report, as of April 18, 2008, is now available online.

more WHAT'S NEW ONLINE »

child care in the news

· Plant the seeds: Education youngsters could become literate, learn second language at junior kindergarten [CA-NB]
18 Apr 08

· PM’s 2020 pledge for every child [AU]
16 Apr 08

· One of these states is not like the others… [US]
15 Apr 08

· Luring immigrants not enough [CA-NB]
14 Apr 08

· Women paying to go to work [AU] 13 Apr 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.

April 17, 2008
* Report: People Living in Poverty - Illinois
* Child Welfare Programs - Oklahoma, Colorado, New Jersey
* States and Federal Medicaid Rule Changes
* State Medicaid Funding - Florida, Mississippi
* Report: State Homeless Populations - Arkansas
* Home Foreclosures and Renters
* States and Home Foreclosure Solutions
* States' Earned Income Tax Credits
* Low-wage Workers and Retirement Savings
* Column: TANF Work Requirements and Community Service
* Opinion: TANF Mothers and Health
* The Working Poor - Lawrence, MA
* State Budget and Prison Costs - Michigan
* High School Graduates and Preparation for College - Massachusetts
* Study: Subprime Lending and Race - Colorado
* Payday Lending Legislation - Ohio, Virginia
* Study: Marriage Promotion as Policy

April 14, 2008
* Child Welfare System - Colorado
* Low-income Children and Access to Dental Care - Florida, Missouri
* Report: The Working Poor in Washington, D.C.
* Joblessness and Unemployment Benefits
* Home Foreclosures and Renters - Detroit, MI
* Single-parent Families - Pennsylvania
* Children and Families of Prisoners - Rhode Island
* Poverty and Women in Retirement
* Food Costs and Food Assistance
* Energy Costs and Heating Assistance
* State Minimum Wages - Maine, Delaware
* Welfare Reform and Politics
* Payday Lending Legislation - South Carolina
* Calculating High School Graduation Rates - Tennessee
* Insure Missouri Health Plan
* State Budget Cuts and Health Spending - Florida

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.
Anyone 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

Seizing the Moment: State Governments
and the New Commitment to Reduce Poverty in America
April 2008
By Jodie Levin-Epstein and Kristen Michelle Gorzelany

The three leading presidential candidates are now on record with a public commitment to address poverty and opportunity in the United States. This is in concert with growing state efforts and signals a dramatic turnaround in tackling poverty. In just the last two years, one of every five states has taken action to put poverty on the political agenda. This joint report from CLASP and Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity outlines those efforts and provides charts detailing action by policy area.

* Complete report (PDF - 540K, 53 pages)

* Overview (PDF - 138K, 14 pages)

* State-by-State Narratives (PDF - 447K, 31 pages)

* Charts Tracking State Initiatives (PDF - 131K, 11 pages)

Sources:
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) - CLASP is a nonprofit public policy and advocacy organization. We conduct research, policy analysis, technical assistance, and advocacy on issues related to economic security and family stability for low-income parents, children, and youth.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity - "...to make sure that 2008 sets the stage for concerted action on poverty and opportunity in 2009 and beyond."

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

The Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives publishes transcripts of the hearings it holds on issues in its areas of responsibility.
For a complete list of these hearings, see
<http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp>.

Some of the hearings in 2007 and 2008 have focused on topics relating to (U.S.) poverty and social welfare policy, as you can see in the list below.
To see the complete list of hearings and to view any transcript, click the link above.
Selected hearings:
(4-15-2008) Hearing on the Instability of Health Coverage in America Health
(4-10-2008) Hearing on Extending Unemployment Insurance Income Security and Family Support
(2-28-2008) Hearing on Medicare Advantage Health
(1-16-2008) Hearing on Social Security Benefits for Economically Vulnerable Beneficiaries Social Security
(11-14-2007) Hearing on Impact of Gaps in Health Coverage on Income Security Income Security and Family Support
(9-19-2007) Hearing on Modernizing Unemployment Insurance to Reduce Barriers for Jobless Workers
(9-6-2007) Hearing on Fair and Equitable Tax Policy for America’s Working Families.
(8-1-2007) Hearing on Measuring Poverty in America
(4-26-2007) Hearing on Proposals for Reducing Poverty
More...[link to the list of hearings]

Source:
Committee on Ways and Means
[ U.S. House of Representatives ]

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Revised links and new content on the U.S. Census Bureau website:

Census Bureau Poverty Page
- includes links to : * Poverty Home * Overview *What's new * Publications * Definitions * Poverty Thresholds * Poverty Data Sources * Current Poverty Data * Microdata Access * Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates * History of the Poverty Measure * Poverty Measurement Studies and Alternative Measures * Related Sites * FAQ

Poverty Measurement Studies and Alternative Measures
- includes links to the 1976 Measure of Poverty report, the 1985 Williamsburg Conference and Technical Papers 51-58, the 1995 National Academy of Sciences report and related reports and papers, and the 2005 American Enterprise Institute seminar series.

Poverty Measurement Working Papers
- incl. links to papers and reports organized under the following themes:
* Measuring Poverty - Background and Overview * Who are the Poor? Using Different Measures * Poverty Thresholds * Medical Care * Housing Costs * Work-related Expenses and Child Care * Taxes and Unit of Analysis * Other Approaches to Measuring Economic Well-being

* Exploring the Use of the Views of the Public to Set
Income Poverty Thresholds and Adjust Them Over Time (PDF - 387K, 77 pages)
By Denton R. Vaughan
February 2004 (updated from June 1993)
Beginning in 1946 (more than two decades before Dutch economists began developing “subjective” poverty measures), the Gallup Poll in the U.S. repeatedly asked the following question: “What is the smallest amount of money a family of four (husband, wife, and two children) needs each week to get along in this community?” (Similar questions have been asked in Gallup Polls in Canada and Australia.) This paper by Vaughan is the most up-to-date and thorough analysis of the results of this “get-along” question. The paper uses the U.S. Gallup “get-along” responses for the period 1947-1989 plus the response to a 1989 Gallup “poverty line” question to construct a “Gallup-based” poverty line series for a four-person family for the 1947-1989 period.

* Personal Assessments of Minimum Income and Expenses:
What Do They Tell Us about ‘Minimum Living’ Thresholds and Equivalence Scales? (PDF - 1.1MB, 69 pages)
By Thesia I. Garner and Kathleen S. Short
July 2002
This and similar papers by Garner and Short are probably the most up-to-date work on “subjective” poverty measures now being done in the United States.

Poverty Thresholds (1973-2007 and selected earlier years back to 1959)

History of the Poverty Measure
- links to the following papers:
* The Development of the Orshansky Thresholds and Their Subsequent History as the Official U.S. Poverty Measure, by Gordon M. Fisher (1992)
* "Changes in the Definition of Poverty", from Characteristics of the Population Below the Poverty Level: 1980
* Office of Management and Budget Statistical Policy Directive 14 (1978) - establishing the official poverty measure for federal agencies to use in their statistical work.
* The Measure of Poverty (1976) A series of technical papers about poverty measurement performed for the Poverty Studies Task Force of the Federal Interagency Committee on Education.
* Family Food Plans and Food Costs (1962)

Links to Related Sites
Find other agencies or organizations which provide Poverty Measurement Research

Related Link:

Census Bureau Income Page - incl. links to : * What's New * Income Main * Overview * Reports * Definitions * Guidance about the Sources * How Income Data is Collected * Micro Data Access * Related Topics * FAQ * Current and historical income data

- Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.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) - home page
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 TOP FIVE 10 for 16 April 2008:
[click the link to the APO home page link above to access the links for these items]

1. Australia 2020 Summit background papers
2. Homelessness: A roof over every head
3. How long is a piece of red tape? The paperwork reporting cost of government grants
4. Six social policy myths
5. Key national indicators of children's health, development and wellbeing: indicator framework of 'A picture of Australia's children 2009'

Selected content from the most recent APO Weekly Briefing:

Growing community enterprise:
an evaluation of the Community Enterprise Development Initiative
Posted 17-04-2008
Sharon Bond / Brotherhood of St Laurence
This is the final evaluation report from the Community Enterprise Development Initiative which, after a pilot in 12 locations in 2005, expanded to 15 more sites in 2006-07.

Blueprint for early childhood development and school reform
Posted 14-04-2008
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The Victorian Government's establishment of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will integrate early childhood services and schools across Victoria. Three discussion papers are available to provide an overview of this process, to examine early childhood development and school reform.

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 April 2008 - CRINMAIL 975
* OPT: Child prisoners - lawyers say 'no more deals' [publication]
* CRC: Review of the Concluding Observations: Non Discrimination, Disability and Ethnic Rights [publication]
* YEMEN: Eight-year-old escapes husband and gets divorce [news]
* FRANCE: Anorexia in media targeted [news]
* EMERGENCIES: Child Protection in Emergencies, Priorities, Principles and Practices [publication]
* EMPLOYMENT - Save the Children Sweden/Norway
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
**QUIZ**

15 April 2008 - CRINMAIL 974
* CHINA: Denied Status, Denied Education, Children of North Korean Women in China [publication]
* FOOD: World Bank echoes food cost alarm [news]
* SIERRA LEONE: Country at a Crossroads: Challenges Facing Young People in Sierra Leone Six Years after the War [publication]
* OPT: Tough justice for West Bank children in Israeli military courts [news]
* RUSSIA: Duma adopts law on protection of orphans [news]
* EMPLOYMENT - Save the Children Sweden
**FROM THE FRONTLINE** David Maidment [interview]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

Earlier issues of CRINMAIL
- links to 300+ 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

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.

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Thanks, CUPE!

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

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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...

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Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

Bread Kills.