Canadian Social Research Newsletter
November 20, 2005

Welcome to the weekly Canadian Social Research Newsletter, a listing of the new links added to the Canadian Social Research Links website in the past week.

The e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 1536 subscribers.

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

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IN THIS ISSUE:

National Child Day 2005 - November 20
- incl. links to : Message from Senator Pearson - National Child Day Activities - More about National Child Day - Partners and Links - Fun Zone

Partners and Links - incl. Government Partners - Non-Governmental Organization Partners - Other Interesting Links

Source:
Division Childhood and Adolescence
[ Public Health Agency of Canada ]

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From the Canadian Child Care Federation:

November 20 : National Child Day - "I Have the Right to Play!"
National Child Day is a day when people across the country take time to celebrate Canada's most precious resource — our children. This year, join us in celebrating the occasion by building awareness of Canada’s commitment to a child’s right to play.
- incl. links to the news release (see below), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a speech and a letter from Senator Landon Pearson, and other resources...

Canadian Child Care Federation Launches Children’s Rights Learning Kit on National Child Day
News Release
November 18, 2005
"In celebration of National Child Day (November 20), the Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF) today announced the launch of its Children’s Rights in Practice Learning Kit. This innovative tool has been developed to help early learning and child care practitioners understand the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and how it affects the children in their care"

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From the Canadian Children's Rights Council:

Canada's National Child Day
"National Child Day's purpose is to promote awareness in Canada of the Convention. It is also a day to support Canadian children's rights by voicing your concerns about Canadian children's rights violations to the politicians of Canada and to educate our children about their rights and responsibilities."

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From the United Nations Association in Canada

Universal Children's Day
"After the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989, the UN General Assembly recommended that all countries choose a day to promote children's welfare. Although observance of the day varies from country to country, the Government of Canada designated November 20th as National Child Day, to commemorate the day on which both the Declaration on the Rights of the Child (1959) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) were adopted."

- Canadian Connections: Canada and Children's Rights
- Suggested Activities for Universal Children's Day
- Links

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Google Web search Results : "child day, November 20"
Google News Search Results : "child day, November 20"
Source:
Google.ca

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

Who's in Charge Here? Effective Implementation of Canada's
International Obligations with Respect to the Rights of Children
Interim Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights
Nineteenth Report
Chair: The Honourable Raynell Andreychuk
Deputy Chair: The Honourable Landon Pearson
November 2005
"On November 3, 2004, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights (“the Committee”) was authorized by the Senate to examine and report upon Canada’s international obligations with respect to the rights and freedoms of children. In particular, the Committee was authorized to “examine our obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; and whether Canada’s legislation as it applies to children meets our obligations under this Convention.”" [Excerpt from p. 8 of the Introduction ]
HTML version
PDF version (789K, 218 pages)
NOTE: I'd recommend the PDF version, because the HTML version is in several chunks that you can access only via the table of contents or by clicking the "Next" button in the corner of each page.

Source:
Reports of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights (38th Parliament, 1st Session)
[Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Human Rights ]
[ Parliament of Canada Web Site ]

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

Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood (MS Word file - 197K, 23 pages)
November 1, 2005
"This General Comment arises out of the Committee's experiences of reviewing States parties' reports. In many cases, very little information has been offered about early childhood, with comments limited mainly to child mortality, birth registration and health care. The Committee felt the need for a discussion on the broader implications of the Convention on the Rights of the Child for young children. Accordingly, in 2004, the Committee devoted its Day of General Discussion to the theme of Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood. This resulted in a set of recommendations (see CRC/C/143) as well as the decision to prepare a General Comment on this important topic."
Source:
Committee on the Rights of the Child
[ Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ]

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

Guide to the Canadian House of Commons
HTML version
PDF version (407K, 16 pages)
Revised August 2005
Table of Contents:
* Introduction * The Canadian Parliament * Who’s Who in the House * A Working Day in the Commons Chamber * Notices of Motion for the Production of Papers * Parliamentary Highlights * Making Canada’s Laws * The Role of a Member of Parliament * Being Part of Parliament * Finding Out More
Source:
Parliament of Canada Web Site

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

PovNet website November update

Here's a sampling of what you'll find currently on the PovNet home page:
(Click the link above to go to the PovNet home page with the live links to the items below)

* Payday Loan Industry
In response to “Stakeholder Consultation Document on a Proposed Consumer Protection Framework for the Alternative Consumer Credit Market, a submission prepared on behalf of the Together Against Poverty Society in Victoria BC and the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC) is calling for more regulation of the payday loan industry in Canada. See the press release and read the submission.

* Study: Canadian poverty rising despite economic boom
An international study says inequality and homelessness are rising in Canada - despite a sustained economic boom and repeated federal promises to cut poverty. Poverty is rising among children and new immigrants, the middle class is finding it increasingly difficult to afford education and housing, and there are 250,000 Canadians living on the streets, says the study by Social Watch, a coalition of 400 non-government organizations from 50 countries. Read the CBC story on the report, download the Canadian section, or the entire report

* Budgets are About Choices
A submission to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) offers the BC Liberal Government some suggestions on choices for the next provincial budget. "An anti-poverty strategy must be broad-based to cover social assistance rates and eligibility, minimum wages, social housing, child care, training and education, and transportation allowances " is one thoughtful suggestion. Read the 15 page submission. (in PDF format)

* Welfare, Overpayments and Fraud posted
The BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BC PIAC) has published a fact sheet for anyone who has been told by the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance (MEIA) that they owe them money.

* Reducing Poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador: Working Towards a Solution
"This document is a call for partners to come forward to help work out the best way to reduce poverty in our province. As is discussed in the paper, a comprehensive approach with a mix of policy options is required to have a significant impact on poverty. The development of a comprehensive strategy requires input from all orders of government, community-based groups, business, labour, and individuals about the best approaches and policy mix to reduce poverty in the province." Read the 44 page report (in PDF format or the Plain Language Summary.

* Welfare-to-Jobs Program a Bust, Reveals Delayed Report
The online news site The Tyee reports "an 11-month-old report prepared for the provincial government, quietly added to the province's website this week, shows that people in the programs do only marginally better in their job hunts than people who aren't in the programs. The government won't start saving money because of the programs for six or seven years, if ever." Read The Tyee story on the report, read the entire 91 page Evaluation of the Job Placement Program and the Training for Jobs Program report (in PDF format), a summary of the report, the technical appendix to the report or the update to the summary.

* Across the Country
- 'Hard Night Out' teaches lessons about homelessness - Manitoba
- Clinic full, people with mental problems jailed - Ontario
- Legal aid financial eligibility levels relaxed - British Columbia
- Energy Cost Benefit - National

* Divided and Distracted: Regionalism as Obstacle to Reducing Poverty and Inequality
Divided and Distracted, a Social Watch report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives documents how recent federal reinvestments in social programs failed to relieve deep poverty in Canada because there was no national unity of purpose about how to use that money. Download the 15 page report (in PDF format) from the CCPA site or read an article that details the reports highlights.

* On Our Streets and In Our Shelters
Region-wide, the number of street homeless increased 235% between 2002 and 2005, from 330 people to 1105 people. The Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC) has completed the annual Greater Vancouver Homeless Count 2005. The complete report (53 pages, PDF) is available at the Greater Vancouver Regional District website as is as a four page (in PDF format) summary of the report

* Civic and Political Rights
19 Canadian NGOs attended the 5th review of Canada's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Geneva by the United Nations Human Rights Committee and made submissions regarding Canada's human rights performance. The Concluding Observations of the Committee can be found at Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) and the Poverty and Human Rights Centre each submitted a report to provide the United Nations Human Rights Committee with the information needed to make a complete assessment of Canada’s, and British Columbia's, compliance with their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Both documents are in PDF format.

* Status of Women Consultations
The concept of gender equality recognizes that treating women and men identically will not ensure equality because they experience different social relations and living conditions. This concept also recognizes that women and girls can be disadvantaged by a combination of gender and other factors, such as age, race, Aboriginal origin, disability, sexual orientation and immigrant status. Status of Women Canada is undertaking consultations on Gender Equality and would like to hear about personal experiences and opinions. Visit the Status of Women Canada website to participate.

* Women and Poverty 2005
"A newborn child, just because she happens to be born female, is more likely to grow up to be poor as an adult. Women form the majority of the poor in Canada. One in seven (2.4 million ) Canadian women is living in poverty today." Filled with facts and statistics, the Canadian Research Institute on the Advancement of Women (CRIAW) has the 2005, 12 page, Women and Poverty Fact Sheet available in PDF format.

More...

Source:
PovNet

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

Welfare Fraud: The Constitution of Social Assistance as Crime (PDF file - 475K, 137 pages)
By: Professor Janet Mosher, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
and Professor Joe Hermer, Division of Social Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough
March 2005
[This paper was prepared for the Law Commission of Canada]
"The number of convictions for 2001-02 (393 convictions) is roughly equivalent to 0.1 percent of the combined social assistance caseload and one percent of the total number of allegations."[p. 34]
NOTE: this paper offers some excellent information on welfare reforms in Ontario in the mid-1990s, and it covers a number of contentious issues, including the Mike Harris welfare snitch phone hotline, the Spouse-in-the-House rule, "enhanced verification" and "consolidated verification procedures", fraud vs. client error, welfare fraud vs fraud in the areas of income taxes and employment standards, the Kimberly Rogers case, and more...

Where I found this link:
Social Assistance Law Resources - includes Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program, how to apply for benefits, appeals, and workfare.
[ part of Resources and Tools ]
[ part of CLEONet - see the next links below]

- Go to the Welfare Fraud Links section of this site: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bookmrk.htm#Fraud
- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (A-C) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk2.htm

CLEONet goes online
News Release
November 14, 2005
"Now, for the first time, Ontario’s community organizations and legal clinics have one central online place they can visit to find community legal education resources, news, and events. On November 14, 2005, Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) and over 100 guests from legal clinics and community organizations across the province gathered to celebrate the launch of CLEONet."

CLEONet
"CLEONet is an online clearinghouse for community legal education in Ontario. If you produce, use, or need community legal education materials, CLEONet will help you find resources, share information, and work together online. Today, you'll find more than 500 Resources on CLEONet — and this is just the beginning of our collection. (...) CLEONet is a web site but its also much more than that. It has an easily searchable collection of hundreds of resources and news items on a wide range of legal topics, in a number of languages, that are produced by legal clinics and community organizations across Ontario. And, it's also developing into a network of people who share their resources and take part in online discussions where they ask questions and work together on projects."
- incl. links to : home | about cleonet | resources & tools | get involved | in the news | feedback + discussion forum + e-mail bulletin

- Search for resources & tools by keyword or browse by category or legal issue.

Categories (# of resources in parentheses):
* Campaigns and Law Reform (40) * Consumer Law (29) * Criminal Law (128) * Education Law (12) * Family Law (76) * First Nations and Aboriginal Law (15) * Health and Disability Law (152) * Housing Law (76) * Immigration and Refugee Law (62) * Justice System Education (27) * Legal Help (41) * Pensions and Benefits (21) * Social Assistance Law (50) * Tools for Community Legal Education (22) * Wills and Trusts (16) * Work and Employment Law (78)

Legal Issues (# of resources in parentheses):
* Children and Youth (59) * GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered) (9) * Seniors (35) * Women and Families (109)

Related Links:

Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
"CLEO is a community legal clinic that produces clear language material for people with low incomes. Main topics include social assistance, landlord and tenant law, refugee and immigration law, workers' compensation, women's issues, family law, employment insurance and human rights."

CLEO Publications Online
- incl. links to dozens of short pamphlets, all recent and all in PDF format, on a variety of issues organized under the following subjects:
* Consumer * Criminal * Family * Health & Disability * Immigration & Refugee * Landlord & Tenant * Legal Services * Seniors * Social Assistance * Work & Employment Insurance * Workers' Compensation * Youth Justice * Other

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

Prospoverty: on Being Without in the Land of Plenty (PDF file - 476K, 12 pages)
Perspectives (Newsletter)- Fall 2005 Issue
Perspectives is a publication of The City of Calgary, Community Strategies and is published four times per year.
Table of contents of this issue:
Poverty: An Issue of Social Inclusion - Economic Well-being and Healthy Futures - Women and a Fair Income: Photovoice - The Calgary Low Income Coalition - The Children’s Reserve Fund - Moving Ahead: The Universal
Low Income Transit Pass - Recreation Fee Assistance: Lowing the Bar for Low-income Individuals - Help Make Poverty History - Community Kitchen Program of Calgary: A Recipe for Success to Feed the Hungry - Student Poverty: No Laughing Matter. - The Starving Student.
Source:
Community Strategies - "Calgary's Window on Social Issues"
[City of Calgary]

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

Fact Sheets
Canada’s Most Important Resource: People
November 2005
o Investing in People
o Investing in Post-Secondary Students
o Investing in Post-Secondary Education
o Investing in Canada's Workforce

Source:
Human Resources Skills and Development Canada

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

New from the Institut de la statistique du Québec (English Home Page):

New publication groups together poverty indicators
Press Release
November 10, 2005
"The Institut de la statistique du Québec presents, in collaboration with the ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, the Inventaire des indicateurs de pauvreté et d'exclusion sociale. This publication inventories the various indicators that define and measure poverty. (...) Over 67 indicators and indices have been listed in three chapters: 32 of them are poverty and social exclusion indicators, 29 are related to poverty and social exclusion, and 6 are social development indices. The inventory has two objectives: first, to cover all aspects of poverty and the various angles from which it can be examined. It also aims at opening new avenues by presenting not only the indicators that have already been calculated for Québec, but also those that are used elsewhere (elsewhere in Canada, Europe, the United States and Australia) and which could be used in future compilations with a view to broadening the range of statistics available. Among the poverty and social exclusion indicators are various measures of poverty defined as insufficiency of income and its consequences."

NOTE: the complete report is available only in French,
but you can use the Google Language Tool to translate words, paragraphs or even entire pages of text. Try it!!

Table of Contents (my translation):
Chapter 1 - Indicators of poverty and social exclusion: Measures (covering 14 different indicators) - Depth of poverty - Persistence of poverty - Links with governmental transfers - Inequality - Living conditions
Chapter 2 - Indicators related to poverty and social exclusion: Family wealth and income - Household expenses - Employment - Food security - Housing - Health - Education
Chapter 3 - Social development indices
- includes eight tables showing various low income thresholds for Quebec, Canada and the U.S.

Complete report /Document complet:

Inventaire des indicateurs de pauvreté et d'exclusion sociale (464K, 95 pages)
10 novembre 2005
Table des matières:
Chapitre 1 - Indicateurs de pauvreté et d'exclusion sociale : Mesures et incidence (14 mesures)- Gravité - Persistance - Liés aux transferts gouvernementaux - Inégalité - Conditions de vie
Chapitre 2 - Indicateurs reliés : Dimensions (Patrimoine, Dépense, Travail, Alimentation, Logement, Santé, Éducation)
Chapitre 3 - Indices de développement social

Une nouvelle publication regroupe des indicateurs sur la pauvreté
Communiqué de presse
Le 10 novembre 2005
« L’Institut de la statistique du Québec présente, en collaboration avec le ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, l’Inventaire des indicateurs de pauvreté et d’exclusion sociale. Cette publication inventorie les divers indicateurs permettant de définir et de mesurer la pauvreté. (...) Plus de 67 indicateurs et indices sont recensés dans trois chapitres : 32 d’entre eux sont des indicateurs de pauvreté et d’exclusion sociale, 29 autres sont liés à la pauvreté et à l’exclusion sociale et 6 sont des indices de développement social. L’inventaire comporte deux objectifs : d’abord, couvrir tous les aspects de la pauvreté et les différents angles sous lesquels on peut l’aborder. Il vise également à ouvrir de nouvelles pistes en présentant non seulement les indicateurs déjà calculés au Québec, mais aussi ceux qu’on utilise autre part (ailleurs au Canada, en Europe, aux États-Unis et en Australie) et qui pourraient faire l’objet de compilations éventuelles, en vue d’élargir l’éventail des statistiques disponibles. Parmi les indicateurs de pauvreté et d’exclusion sociale apparaissent les différentes mesures de la pauvreté, définie comme une insuffisance de revenus et son incidence. »

Source:
Institut de la statistique du Québec

- Go to the Poverty Measures Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm
- 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

Quality by Design Project - Early Learning and Child Care
"The Quality by Design project is intended to facilitate dialogue, debate and knowledge development regarding conceptions of and approaches to high quality early learning and child care (ELCC) programs that both enhance children’s development and support families. Quality by Design is a project of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, University of Toronto and is funded by Social Development Canada. It has a duration of three years (2004-2007). The project leaders are Martha Friendly and Jane Beach.(...) The Quality by Design Project is intended to contribute to quality as Canada's new national ELCC program - framed by the "QUAD" principles of Quality, Universality, Accessibility and Developmental [ness] - develops."
- incl. * An ELCC system * Ideas * Governance * Infrastructure * Planning and policy development * Financing * Human resources * Physical environment * Data, research and evaluation

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

From the Department of Finance Canada:

The Economic and Fiscal Update
November 14, 2005
Everything you wanted to know about the Economic and Fiscal Update, including:

Economic and Fiscal Update: Strong Growth, Healthy Finances and a New Plan to Promote Long-Term Prosperity
News Release

Flash presentation of Update 2005
- includes 2005 Tax Savings Calculator (Flash v.8 plugin required)

Overview
HTML version
PDF version (157K, 10 pages)

Speech
HTML version
PDF version (89K, 16 pages)

Complete report:

Table of Contents
- select individual chapters or annexes to read in HTML format:
1. Overview
2. Economic Developments and Prospects
3. Canada’s Fiscal Progress
4. Private Sector Five-Year Economic and Fiscal Projections
5. A Plan for Growth and Prosperity
Annexes
1. Risks and Uncertainties in Fiscal Projections
2. Perspective: Long-Term Track Record of Fiscal Forecasting
2.b Details on Differences by Fiscal Year
3. National Accounts–Public Accounts Reconciliation
4. Detailed Descriptions of Tax Measures

Google Web Search Results : "Economic and Fiscal Update, Canada"
Google News search Results : "Economic and Fiscal Update, Canada"
Source:
Google.ca

Also from Finance Canada:

Minister of Finance Tables Notice of Ways and Means Motion for Remaining Budget 2005 Income Tax Measures
November 17, 2005
- Includes a Backgrounder and Notice of Ways and Means Motion to Implement Certain Provisions of the Budget Tabled in Parliament on February 23, 2005.

Minister of Finance Proposes Amendments Concerning the Income Tax Treatment of Certain Expenditures
November 17, 2005
- Includes Backgrounder and Notice of Ways and Means Motion to Amend the Income Tax Act

Proposed GST/HST Amendments Relating to the Financial Services Sector
November 17, 2005
- Includes Legislative Proposals, Draft Regulations and Explanatory Notes Relating to the Excise Tax Act

Treasury Evaluation Program Framework
Describes the objectives and process of the Treasury Evaluation Program (TEP) of the Department of Finance.

Immediate Income Tax Relief: Notice of Ways and Means Motion Tabled to Implement Update 2005 Measures
November 14, 2005
- Includes Notice of Ways and Means Motion and Explanatory Notes

Economic and Fiscal Update: Strong Growth, Healthy Finances and a New Plan to Promote Long-Term Prosperity
November 14, 2005
- includes The Economic and Fiscal Update 2005

Fiscal Monitor 2005 : Financial Results for September 2005
Posted November 14, 2005

- Go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm
- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Agriculture to Finance) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk.htm
- Go to the General Federal Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fed2.htm

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

Each week, the Childcare Resource and Research Unit disseminates its "e-mail news notifier", an e-mail message with a dozen or so links to new reports, studies and child care in the news (media articles) by the CRRU or another organization in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). What you see below is content from the most recent issue of the notifier.

18-Nov-05

---------------------------------------------------
WHAT’S NEW
---------------------------------------------------

>> Lessons from down under
Speaking notes from Lynne Wannan’s cross-country tour explain how Australia’s experience with for-profit child care provides a cautionary tale for Canada.

>> Low-fee ($5/day/child) regulated child care policy and the labor supply of mothers with young children: A natural experiment from Canada
by Pierre LeFebvre and Phillip Merrigan
Paper from Centre Interuniversitaire sur le Risque, les Politiques Économiques et l'Emploi (CIRPÉE) examines the impact of Quebec's child care policy; finds that it "had a large and statistically significant impact" on the labour force participation of mothers.

>> Connecting the science of child development to public policy
by Aletha C. Huston
Paper from the Social Policy Report (US) suggests "some ways in which child development researchers can make their work more useful to policymakers".

>> Content and construct validity of the early childhood physical environment rating scale (ECPERS)
by Takemi Sugiyama & Gary Moore
Paper from the University of Sydney examines ECPERS, a tool designed to assess the quality of physical environments; finds that ECPERS has a "high degree of cross-expert support".

---------------------------------------------------
CHILD CARE IN THE NEWS
---------------------------------------------------

>> Day cares demand federal dollars [CA-NB]
CBC News, 16 Nov 05
Day care workers in New Brunswick are urging the Lord government to take advantage of millions of federal dollars that have been set aside for child care in the province.

>> ABC moves into US child care market [AU]
The Age, 16 Nov 05
ABC Learning Centres Ltd has become one of the world's largest listed child care service providers after its $US159.1 million acquisition of the US-based Learning Care Group Inc. ABC said the acquisition provided a scaleable base for expansion into the US and Canada.

>> Child care plan for the autistic [AU]
The Australian, 15 Nov 05
An Australian chain of child care centres for the autistic could be integrated into ABC Learning Centres under a new proposal.

>> Voters not preoccupied by scandals. Social questions ranked biggest issue in next election: Poll [CA]
Toronto Star, 14 Nov 05
According an EKOS poll, conducted for the Toronto Star and La Presse, 50 per cent of voters rank social questions as the most important issue of the next election.

>> Northern territories looking for extra child care funding [CA]
CBC News, 5 Nov 05
The Nunavut government says the three northern territories won't be able to meet national standards if Ottawa sticks to its guns on a funding formula for its new child care strategy.

---------------------------------------------------
EVENTS
---------------------------------------------------

>> Rural Child Care Strategy Sessions
Shediac & Woodstock, New Brunswick, 5 Dec 05 to 6 Dec 05

>> Making Space: Architecture and Design for Young Children
Edinburgh, Scotland, 8 Dec 05 to 9 Dec 05

>> Best Start Resource Centre Annual Conference
Scarborough, Ontario, 16 Jan 06 to 18 Jan 06

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

Related Links:

What's New? - Canadian, U.S. and international resources from Jan 2000 to the present.
Child Care in the News - media articles from January 2000 to the present
ISSUE files - theme pages, each filled with contextual information and links to further info
Links to child care sites in Canada and elsewhere
CRRU Publications - briefing notes, factsheets, occasional papers and other publications

Also from CRRU:

Towards a national system of early learning and child care
Regularly updated
"(...) On April 29, 2005 the governments of Canada and Manitoba struck an historic Agreement-in-Principle on early learning and child care. This was followed by a similar agreement between the federal government and the province of Saskatchewan. These agreements are the beginning of what is hoped to be a series of strong bilateral agreements between the federal government and the provinces/territories. These historic agreements build on a meeting of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services in November 2004 and a subsequent meeting in February 2005. They (with the exception of Quebec) agreed to shared principles to guide the development of a new national system of early learning and child care."
NOTE: this is a large (and growing) collection that includes government and non-governmental reports, press releases, news articles and other documents dealing with the new federal-provincial-territorial arrangements for early learning and child care in Canada.

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

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

Here's the complete collection of U.S. media articles in this week's Poverty Dispatch Digest:
(click the link above to read all of these articles)

November 17, 2005

Today's subjects include: State-Funded Preschool // Medicaid Cuts - Opinion // Poverty Statistics - Indiana // Medicaid Cuts - Minnesota // Health Care Program - Tennessee // Child Health Insurance Plan - Illinois // Low-Income Heating Assistance - North Carolina, Connecticut, New Hampshire // Population Health Study - Wisconsin // Post-Hurricane Poverty - Florida Glades // Child Poverty - Rochester, NY // Preschool Funding - Idaho // City-Sponsored College Scholarships - Kalamazoo, MI // Homelessness - Duluth, MN

November 14, 2005

Today's subjects include: Philanthropy and Poverty // Looming Federal Budget Cuts and the Poor // Legacy of Inequality - Opinion // Education, Minorities, and Income // Student Achievement Gap - Opinion // Benefits of Preschool - Editorial // French versus American Poverty - Editorial // Welfare Reform and Child Care - Ohio // Welfare Reform and Sanctions - Washington // Welfare Reform and Disabilities - Massachusetts // Poverty Numbers and College Students - Alachua County, FL // Student Achievement Gap - Washington, Utah // Child Well-Being - Montana // Concern over Food Stamps - Michigan // Job Training for Hmong Immigrants - Wisconsin // Payday Lending - Utah // Homelessness - San Francisco Suburbs

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

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

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

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

POVERTY DISPATCH description/archive - weekly issues back to January 2005, 50+ links per issue
NOTE: this archive is part of the Canadian Social Research Links American Non-Governmental Social Research page.

- 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

Indicators of Welfare Dependence
Health and Human Services Annual Report to Congress, 2005
July 2005
"The Welfare Indicators Act of 1994 requires the Department of Health and Human Services to prepare annual reports to Congress on indicators and predictors of welfare dependence. The 2004 Indicators of Welfare Dependence, the seventh annual report, provides welfare dependence indicators through 2001, reflecting changes that have taken place since enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in August 1996. As directed by the Welfare Indicators Act, the report focuses on benefits under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, now the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program; the Food Stamp Program; and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program."
Executive Summary
Selected highlights from the report include the following:
* In 2002, 3.2 percent of the total population was dependent in that they received more than half of their total family income from TANF, food stamps, and/or SSI (see Indicator 1). While marginally higher than the 3.1 percent dependency rate measured in 2001, the 2002 rate is much lower than the 5.2 percent rate measured in 1996. Overall, 4.7 million fewer Americans were dependent on welfare in 2002 compared with 1996.
* Although data are not yet available to show a clear trend in dependency rates through 2003, available data suggest that the rate may increase slightly to 3.3 percent in 2003.
* Trends in dependency are similar to the more well-known changes in TANF and food stamp caseloads. For example, the percentage of individuals receiving AFDC/TANF cash assistance fell from 4.6 percent to 1.9 percent between 1996 and 2003 (see Indicator 3). Food stamp recipiency rates fell from 9.5 percent in 1996 to 6.1 percent in 2000 and 2001. Since then, the food stamp recipiency rate has increased to 7.3 percent in 2003. This increase in food stamp recipiency may explain the modest increase in overall dependency since 2000.
* In an average month in 2002, more than half (60 percent) of TANF recipients lived in families with at least one family member in the labor force. Comparable figures for food stamp and SSI recipients were 58 and 39 percent, respectively (see Indicator 2). Labor force participation, particularly full-time employment, increased considerably among TANF families during the last decade.
* Spells of TANF receipt in the early 2000s were much shorter than spells of AFDC receipt in the early 1990s. Half (50 percent) of TANF spells for individuals entering the program between 2001 and 2003 lasted 4 months or less, compared to 30 percent of AFDC spells beginning between 1992 and 1994 (See Indicator 8).
* Longer-term welfare receipt was much less common during the 1990s compared to earlier decades. Less than 4 percent of those with some AFDC/TANF assistance between 1991 and 2000 received assistance in nine or ten years of the period, compared to 12 percent and 13 percent of AFDC recipients in the earlier two time periods

Complete Report:

Indicators of Welfare Dependence
Health and Human Services Annual Report to Congress, 2005
- Indicators of Dependence include : Degree of Dependence - Receipt of Means-Tested Assistance and Labor Force Attachment - Rates of Receipt of Means-Tested Assistance - Rates of Participation in Means-Tested Assistance Programs - Multiple Program Receipt - Dependence Transitions - Dependence Spell Duration - Program Spell Duration - Long-Term Receipt - Events Associated with the Beginning and Ending of Program Spells
HTML version
PDF version (14.1MB, 178 pages)

NOTE: this is a blockbuster annual statistical report.
It includes longitudinal and current caseload and expenditure data for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Food Stamp Program and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In addition, you'll find dozens of tables and charts showing predictors and risk factors associated with welfare receipt, such as : Poverty Rates - Deep Poverty Rates - Experimental Poverty Measures - Poverty Spells - Child Support - Food Insecurity - Lack of Health Insurance - Labor Force Attachment - Earnings of Low-Skilled Workers - Educational Attainment - High School Dropout Rates - Adult Alcohol and Substance Abuse - Adult and Child Disability Births to Unmarried Women/Teens - more...

Earlier annual reports - back to 1997

Source:
Human Services Policy (HSP)
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

- Go to the Poverty Measures Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm
- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm

Symposium on Early Child Development - A Priority For Sustained Economic Growth & Equity
September 27-30, 2005
World Bank – Washington, DC
"The Symposium brought together 150 participants from about 30 countries from the Latin and Central America and the Caribbean, East Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern and Central Asia, and Sub Saharan Africa, with the largest representation coming from LAC. (...) The symposium objectives were to: (i) Continue to build awareness of ECD as an important investment that nations can make to inform policymakers about the returns on ECD; (2) Highlight progress in the implementation of policy and program responses; (3) Identify and explore alternative mechanisms to finance effective early child development interventions that reach the beneficiaries, and (4) Learn from existing evaluations so that in the future, better-designed evaluations will respond to questions posed by policy makers and project managers to continue funding ECD."
- includes a detailed agenda and links to other symposium materials (audio/video presentations, speeches, etc.)

The three links below are to Canadian presentations made at the symposium.
Clicking a link downloads a video file and a Powerpoint presentation in each case.
If the video doesn't work, it's likely because you're trying to access the file from behind an office or university network that has a high level of security, or else the network admin just doesn't like people watching videos on company time. Try watching the video from home if that's the case...

Science of ECD: Biological Embeddings of ECD
Video and Powerpoint presentation, approx. 46 min.
by Fraser Mustard (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research)

Measuring ECD Longitudinal Research in Canada
Video and Powerpoint presentation, approx. 19 min
by Jane Bertrand (Council for Early Child Development and Parenting, Canada)
- incl. info about the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth

Investment in Early Childhood Development : The Economic Argument
Video and Powerpoint presentation, approx. 19 min
by Charles Coffey (Executive VP, Royal Bank of Canada)
[ Text version of this presentation - from the RBC Financial Group website]

Source:
Early Child Development (ECD)
"This site is a knowledge source designed to assist policy makers, program managers, and practitioners in their efforts to promote the healthy growth and integral development of young children."
[ The World Bank ]

- Go to the Children, Families and Youth Links (NGO) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnngo.htm
- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm
- Go to the Non-Governmental Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm

News From the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) - New York
[periodic updates on the research and activities of the NCCP]

Subscribe to receive NCCP Updates
I subscribe to this service and I recommend it.
What follows below is the most recent update they sent out, copied and pasted from my e-mail Inbox.
If you subscribe to the update service, this is a sample of what you'll receive from time to time.
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November 17, 2005

Welcome to the listserv of the National Center for Children in Poverty. This mailing provides subscribers with periodic updates on the
research and activities of NCCP. We hope you find this information useful in your work to improve the lives of low-income children and families.

If your colleagues would also like to receive this e-mail from NCCP, please pass this along and ask them to subscribe by following the
directions at the end of this message.

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Here's What's New From NCCP...
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1. NCCP RELEASES NEW STATE FAMILY ECONOMIC SECURITY PROFILES

NCCP's 50-state profiles now provide more information! For data about what your state is doing to assist low-wage workers and their families,
see these new Family Economic Security Profiles.

View state profiles:
http://nccp.org/sps/go.cgi?c=kC9mJciVzc9KQiOIe4Cm

2. NEW BRIEF ARGUES STATE POLICYMAKERS NEED TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO LOW-WAGE WORK

These are challenging economic times for American families, especially those headed by low-wage workers. But state policy can play an important
role in helping those who work hard achieve financial security. This brief provides an introduction to NCCP's new State Family Economic Security Profiles.

Read the brief:
http://nccp.org/sps/go.cgi?c=YLwzfBp7WHTIBxUH299S

3. TEXAS FAMILY RESOURCE SIMULATOR NOW AVAILABLE

You can now use NCCP's Family Resource Simulator to see how much parents need to earn to cover basic expenses in 7 major Texas cities, and to
illustrate how well Texas policies reward employment. NCCP thanks the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources and the Center for
Public Policy Priorities for their assistance. Simulators for 9 other states are also available.

Try the Family Resource Simulator:
http://nccp.org/sps/go.cgi?c=UwTmR6FWoXtTFgMMfaJ5

4. NEW FACT SHEET REVEALS CHILDREN IN URBAN AREAS ARE INCREASINGLY LOW INCOME

More than half the children living in urban areas are low income—and the proportion is rising—even though most have at least one parent who is
employed.

Read the fact sheet:
http://nccp.org/pub_cua05.html

5. UPDATED FACT SHEET ON PARENTS' EDUCATION SHOWS LOW EDUCATION LEADS TO LOW INCOME DESPITE EMPLOYMENT

Parents without some college education continue to lose economic ground, despite full-time employment. Nearly two-thirds of children in low-income
families have parents with only a high school degree or less.

Read the fact sheet:
http://nccp.org/sps/go.cgi?c=KBvzO9h5KPSYSr6riMB8

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To subscribe to this mailing, please visit
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- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.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 and submit your coordinates:
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 include a link back to the home page of Canadian Social Research Links.

Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

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Ten More Little-Known Animal Facts
(Found somewhere on the Net...)

1. The slightest touch on a cat's whiskers will make its eyes blink. 

2. By feeding hens certain dyes they can be made to lay eggs with varicolored yolks. 

3. There are more insects in one square mile of rural land than there are human beings on the entire earth. 

4. The theobromine in chocolate that stimulates the cardiac and nervous systems is too much for dogs, especially smaller pups. 
A chocolate bar is poisonous to dogs and can even be lethal. 

5. When the Black Death swept across England one theory was that cats caused the plague. 
Thousands were slaughtered. Ironically, those that kept their cats were less affected, 
because they kept their houses clear of the real culprits, rats. 

6. Dogs do not sweat by salivating - they sweat through the pads of their feet. 

7. The heart of a blue whale is the size of a small car.

8. Sharks apparently are the only animals that never get sick. 
As far as is known, they are immune to every known disease including cancer. 

9. French poodles did not originate in France. Poodles were originally used as hunting dogs in Europe. 
The dogs thick coats were a hindrance in water and thick brush, so hunters sheared the hindquarters, 
with cuffs left around the ankles and hips to protect against rheumatism. 
Each hunter marked his dogs' heads with a ribbon of his own color, 
allowing groups of hunters to tell their dogs apart. 

10. The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.