Canadian Social Research Newsletter
February 21, 2010

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

The e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 2,225 subscribers.

Haiti Earthquake
(Canadian Red Cross)

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

Source:
Canadian Red Cross

Canadian content

1. File a tax return, raise your income (Toronto Star) - February 2
2. The Cost of Poverty and the Value of Investment (National Council of Welfare) - February 2010
3. [British Columbia] Homes, not Games! Pro-social housing actions sweep Vancouver's streets (rabble.ca blogs) - February 17
4. Olympic Games: Stark Contrast to Poverty and Violence (Union of BC Indian Chiefs and B.C. CEDAW Group) - February 16
5. The top five Canadian sources for connected social policy wonks (Social Policy Cafe) - January 20
6. Social Policy in Ontario (Laurentian University)
7. [Ontario] Pre-Budget Consultations - January/February 2010
8. New Brunswick’s “Overcoming Poverty Together” Earns Praise and Creates Hope (Caledon Institute of Social Policy) - February 2010
9. Guaranteed annual income conference (Montreal) (Basic Income Earth Network Canada) - April 15-16
10. What's New in The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
--- Leading indicators, January 2010 - February 19
--- Employment Insurance, December 2009 - February 19
--- Consumer Price Index, January 2010 - February 18
--- New Immigrants' Assessments of Their Life in Canada - February 18
11. What's new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (Toronto) - February 20

International content

12. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs (Institute for Research on Poverty - U. of Wisconsin-Madison)
13. [United States] Asset Poverty and Debt Among Families with Children (National Center for Children in Poverty) - February 2010
14. From the United Nations Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs:
--- United Nations Statistical Yearbook (52nd Issue) - February 2010
--- World Population Ageing 2009 - February 2010
--- Rethinking Poverty : Report on the World Social Situation 2010 - January 2010
15. Australian Policy Online - recent content
16. CRINMAIL (children's rights newsletter)

Have a great week!
Gilles

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

Ontario:
(but also applies to other jurisdictions)

File a tax return, raise your income
February 20, 2010
A single mother earning $15,000 a year could get about $8,000 extra income from tax, child and other benefits. She would then have about $23,100 to spend. Single mothers earning much more could also qualify to raise their income. (...) John Stapleton, a consultant who works with the Metcalf Foundation and a volunteer tax preparer, recalls a study conducted before he retired from the Ontario government. One hundred welfare recipients who were not collecting child benefits included 95 who had never applied for those benefits, or had not completed a tax return. Only five were not eligible for benefit. (...) There are many reasons for missing out on benefits: Lack of awareness, lack of reading or mathematical skills, bad experiences in other countries, fear of abusive spouses who demand the benefits. (...) Most Canadians are proud we have social benefits for low-income earners, young parents and the elderly. If you have good reading skills and know someone who could be missing out, you could do some homework. Consider visiting the websites of the Canada Revenue Agency, Service Canada, Ontario Ministry of Revenue and Service Ontario.
Source:
The Toronto Star

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

The Cost of Poverty and the Value of Investment
Can we afford to solve poverty?
Can we afford not to?
Canadians want an end to poverty, but even those most committed to the solutions can still wonder if we can afford to. We know there is a correlation between poverty and other areas of spending like health, education and justice, but just how much is poverty costing us? (...) The National Council of Welfare is seeing a growing number of reports and articles addressing the costs associated with poverty and we’ve set out to find what has been done and what it tells us.
- includes more info about the Council's new (February 2010) initiative and links to the complete report or individual sections in PDF format.
Click the link immediately below for the complete report in one file.

Comprehensive Bibliography (PDF - 280K, 34 pages)
February 2010
- 300+ links divided into three main sections: Canadian studies, American studies and International studies
- six categories: General, Policies and Programs; Housing; Early Education programs; Education; and Health.
- incl. (at the end of the bibliography) a chronology of newspaper articles on the subject that will be updated regularly with new and relevant articles.
[Required reading for ALL social researchers!]
Well done, National Council of Welfare - this is an excellent resource!

Top Ten Picks (PDF - 67K, 3 pages)
If you think that 300+ links all at once is daunting, the nice folks at the Council have bundled their top picks from the collection for you.
Start there.

Source:
National Council of Welfare
The National Council of Welfare (NCW) is an arm's length advisory body to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development on matters of concern to low-income Canadians.

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

Homes, not Games! Pro-social housing actions sweep Vancouver's streets
By Mara Kardas-Nelson
February 17, 2010
Coordinated actions concerning housing and homelessness are sweeping the streets of Vancouver at the height of the 2010 Olympic Games, with hundreds of activists and handfuls of organizations campaigning for greater access to social housing. The Games are being used as a platform to garner greater media and public attention about the homelessness crisis in Canada.
Source:
rabble blogs
rabble blogs are the personal pages of some of Canada's most insightful and opinionated progressive activists and commentators.
[ rabble.ca - "news for the rest of us" ]

More Olympics coverage from rabble.ca (most of which you won't see in mainstream media)

Related links:

Red Tent 2010 - Housing is a Right
Red Tent is national campaign that invites the participation of all persons and organizations wishing to end homelessness in Canada. Our goal is to persuade the federal government to enact a funded National Housing Strategy that will end homelessness and ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for all persons living in Canada.

---

2010 Olympics Oppressometer
The “2010 Oppressometer” is an online tool developed to monitor civil liberties during the Olympic period. The site is a tongue-in-cheek take on the US Homeland Security threat levels, documenting civil liberty concerns in the months leading up to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The Oppressometer is a project of COPE, the Coalition of Progressive Electors. For forty years, COPE has been a democratic, community-based coalition of individuals and organizations.
Source:
Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE)

---

2010 Poverty Olympics - "World Class Province, World Class Poverty"
The Vancouver Poverty Olympics are brought to you by a group of concerned citizens and community groups who oppose the 2010 Winter Games because public dollars could be more justly spent on ending poverty and homelessness.
* see Poverty Olympics Social Index

Poverty Olympics partners:

* Raise the Rates is a coalition working towards a five-point poverty reduction strategy in BC. Raise the Rates is lead organizer of the 2010 Poverty Olympics and the Provincial Poverty Olympics Torch Relay.

*Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House

* The Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) is a project of the board of the Carnegie Community Centre Association. CCAP works mostly on housing, income, and land use issues in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver so the DTES can remain a low income friendly community.

* The British Columbia Persons With AIDS Society exists to enable persons living with AIDS and HIV disease to empower themselves through mutual support and collective action.

* Streams of Justice
Streams of Justice is a christian social justice movement that has as its fundamental concern the realization of human communities marked by liberating justice and life-giving love.

* Vancouver Area Network of Drugs Users (VANDU)
VANDU is a group of users and former users who work to improve the lives of people who use illicit drugs through user-based peer support and education.

---

2010 Winter Olympics: Progressive Analysis and Commentary
Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - BC Office

---

Poverty and protest: the media focus on the Vancouver Olympics
February 9, 2010
From PovNet

________________________

NOT your mainstream media:

* 2010 Olympic coverage
Source:
The Tyee

* 2010 Olympic coverage
Source:
The Georgia Strait

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

Feb 16, 2010
Olympic Games: Stark Contrast to Poverty and Violence
Open Letter to Prime Minister Harper and Premier Campbell
Dear Sirs,
400,000 visitors will come to British Columbia from around the world for the 2010 Olympics. We can show them beautiful mountains, new sports venues, and a new subway line. We can show them the extraordinary talents of Canadian athletes and artists. Tragically, the splendour and expense of the Olympic Games stand in stark contrast to the poverty and violence experienced by the most marginalized women in this rich country.
On February 2, 2010, the BC CEDAW Group, with the endorsement of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and many other organizations, filed a report with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on these issues. [see the link below]
Source:
Union of BC Indian Chiefs
and
B.C. CEDAW Group
[CEDAW=United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women]
The B.C. CEDAW GROUP is a coalition of women’s non-governmental and non-profit
British Columbia organizations that are committed to advancing the equality interests of
women and girls.

The report:

nothing to report (PDF - 83K, 15 pages)
Submission of the B.C. CEDAW Group
To the United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
A Report on Progress in Implementing Priority Recommendations made by
the Committee in its 2008 Concluding Observations on Canada
JANUARY 2010
(...) The Government of British Columbia has failed to act on either of these central issues:
• women’s poverty and the lack of adequate social assistance, and
• police and government failure to prevent or effectively investigate violence against Aboriginal women and girls.
The Government of British Columbia stands in violation of its obligations under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

9 February 2010
Information provided by the Government of the
Canada under the follow-up procedure to the
concluding observations of the Committee (PDF - 121K, 39 pages)
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Interim Report in follow-up to the review of Canada’s Sixth and Seventh Reports
February 2010
On October 22, 2008, Canada appeared before the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the Committee) for the review of its Sixth and Seventh Reports on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In its concluding observations following the review, the Committee asked Canada to submit, within one year, information with respect to two of its recommendations (paragraphs 14 and 32).
Additional information can be found in
Canada’s Sixth and Seventh Reports on CEDAW

- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (A-C) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk2.htm
- Go to the Links to International Sites about Women's Social Issues page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/womeninternat.htm

The top five Canadian sources for connected social policy wonks
By Havi Echenberg
January 20, 2010
"These start with the basics for anyone who’s been at this a while, but someone had to tell us about them, right? And these are focussed pretty narrowly on Canada; another entry will get us beyond our own borders. So, here goes."
[NOTE: click the above link for Havi's blog entry with more information on each of these sources.]

* Canadian Social Research Links and weekly newsletter*
* The Daily - from Statistics Canada
* The Caledon Institute of Social Policy
* The Institute for Research on Public Policy
* Two more think tanks - one left-leaning and one right-leaning:
--- The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
--- The Fraser Institute
"All of these will put information in your RSS feed-reader or in your email inbox. All with provide you with timely information and analysis. I’m sure others have their own top five. If I’ve missed your favourites, please add them in the comments!"

Source:
Social Policy Cafe
Havi Echenberg's blog
["I am social policy analyst, currently employed by the Library of Parliament. I have had the privilege to work in social policy for 30 years, at the municipal and federal level, with governments and non-government (civil society) organizations. My interests within that sphere are broad, and I am most interested in passing on what I read, hear, and know, so that others can share and challenge my observations."]
---
* Thanks for including my work in your list and for your kind words, Havi - and welcome back online!
Havi was Director of the National Antipoverty Organization (NAPO) when we first met "a few" years ago.
She's now with the Parliamentary Library, and still as strong a supporter of social justice as ever...

- Go to the Non-Governmental Organizations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ngobkmrk.htm

Feb. 20, 2010
NOTE: this isn't a new site, but I just visited the home page for the first time in awhile after finding a link to it on Havi Echenberg's blog, and I was quite impressed by the scope, content, timeliness and presentation of this site. Check it out - it's well worth the visit!

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

Social Policy in Ontario (SPON)
This site is designed as a tool for public reporting about social programs in Ontario. Initiated with the help of SSHRC funding, and support from the Ontario Social Development Council, the Online Guide to Social Policy in Ontario combines the resources of faculty and students at Laurentian University to generate a 'macro' view of the human service system. It is intended to facilitate access to information and analysis, and to encourage debate about the adequacy of social programs in Ontario.

- incl. links to resources in the following areas:
* Child & Family * Education * Employment * Equality * Governance * Health * Inclusion * Social Security
- includes links to Provincial Social Planning Councils and Organizations in Ontario and to other social planning and research links (national/international).

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

Ontario Pre-Budget Consultations

Committee Transcripts of the
Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
This link gives you access to all transcripts of this Committee right back to 2007, including (but not limited to) pre-budget consultations that preceded the Ontario Budgets from 2007 to the upcoming 2010 budget expected late in March. The top seven links in the right-hand column are all 2010 pre-budget consultation transcripts.
Source:
Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs

RESEARCH TIP:
I highly recommend government pre-budget consultation websites as a rich source of information on Canadian social programs in an economic and fiscal context.
I'm using Ontario as an example here, but every jurisdiction in Canada has a pre-budget process in place for organizations and people to make their pitch about the best way to allocate budget dollars. There's usually a link to the pre-budget process on the main budget page for each province/territory.

If you click the Ontario "Committee Transcripts" link above, you'll note (on the next page, at the top of the right-hand column) links to seven transcripts of submissions made to the Committee by interested organizations and individuals. You'll have to click on the link for each transcript to see a list of the groups and people whose presentations are included in that day's transcript. The seven transcripts cover the Committee hearings from January 25 to February 3 (2010), and they include presentations from a wide range of intervenors, from the National Citizens' Coalition and social advocacy groups, to municipal councils and labour unions. If you've read this far, I think you'll want to check all seven daily transcripts for compelling presentations (and a wealth of program information) by the ODSP Action Coalition, the Ottawa Poverty Reduction Network, the Wellesley Institute, the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction, Ontario Campaign 2000, Social Planning Toronto, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, the Income Security Advocacy Centre, and many more...

RESEARCH TIP WITHIN
A RESEARCH TIP:
The Committee transcripts are just that - a written record of what was presented at Committee hearings. But hearings are time-limited, so the accepted practice is for groups to submit a brief in support of their oral presentation. It's sometimes a challenge to find those submissions on the government consultation website, but if you go to the website of any organization whose presentation is included in any Committee transcript, I'll bet you dimes to doughnuts that you'll find a link to that group's official pre-budget submission, as in the illustration below:

In the February 3 Committee transcript, let's say you read Social Planning Toronto's presentation to the Committee by John Campey.
Do a Google search for "Social Planning Toronto", then visit the SPT website, where you'll find:

Promoting Economic Recovery, Advancing Poverty Reduction:
Pre-Budget Submission to Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (PDF - 51K, 8 pages)
Submitted by: Social Planning Toronto
February 3, 2010
In this submission, we focus on initiatives that will promote economic recovery and advance the provincial government’s commitment on poverty reduction.

Source:
Social Planning Toronto
Social Planning Toronto (SPT; formerly the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto) is a nonprofit community organization engaged in research, policy analysis, community development and civic engagement aimed at improving the quality of life of Toronto residents. SPT’s work focuses on poverty reduction with an emphasis on income security, good jobs, affordable housing and strong public education.

[ Use the same technique to find pre-budget submissions for any jurisdiction by any organization that has a presence on the Internet. It's a slow and cumbersome process, but it offers insights into our social programs and our social policies that you often can't find elsewhere...]

__________________________________________

Another submission to the
Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs:

Stepping up for Ontarians:
Staying the course on poverty reduction commitments (PDF - 168K, 7 pages)
Submission to Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs
February 1, 2010
(...) What we know from this past recession is that we are all vulnerable. Every child is vulnerable, every middle class job is vulnerable, every household is vulnerable, and every community is vulnerable. But strategic solutions are at hand. Some solutions require immediate investments to
protect the vulnerable and stimulate the economy by keeping and creating good jobs; others require simple rule changes to ensure the Premier meets his government's priority of providing the best public services for Ontario's vulnerable.
Source:
25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty. (...) We are asking our government for a plan to reduce Ontario poverty levels by 25% in 5 years and by 50% before 2018.

- Go to the 2010 Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets_2010.htm
- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm

New Brunswick’s “Overcoming Poverty Together” Earns Praise and Creates Hope (PDF - 42K, 9 pages)
[ version française :
Le plan « Ensemble pour vaincre la pauvreté » du Nouveau-Brunswick récolte des éloges et sème de l’espoir (PDF - 42Ko, 9 pages) ]
February 2010
By Anne Makhoul
Between October 2008 and November 2009, the New Brunswick government embarked on a three-stage public engagement process in order to design an economic and social inclusion plan. Its goal was to ensure that all sectors of New Brunswick society, including business, community nonprofit organizations and citizens, would share responsibility with the government for creating new opportunities for residents. Together they will implement action in three areas: Being (meeting basic needs), Becoming (life-long learning and skills acquisition) and Belonging (community participation).
Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy
The Caledon Institute of Social Policy does rigorous, high-quality research and analysis; seeks to inform and influence public opinion and to foster public discussion on poverty and social policy; and develops and promotes concrete, practicable proposals for the reform of social programs at all levels of government and of social benefits provided by employers and the voluntary sector.

- Go to the Provincial and Territorial Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm
- Go to the New Brunswick Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nbkmrk.htm

Basic Income at a Time of
Economic Upheaval: A Path to Justice and Stability?
Conference
Montreal, 15 - 16 April 2010
[* "Basic income" = guaranteed annual income]

Conference program (HTML)

Times of economic turmoil raise difficult questions but also offer radical new opportunities to rethink and perhaps even rebuild the economic fabric of our society. The current global economic recession is no exception. In recent months a growing number of activists and scholars have promoted the idea of a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) as a feasible and desirable policy instrument to help us out of the current economic crisis.

The prospects and challenges of a BIG policy at a time of economic upheaval is the topic of a 2 day conference held on 15-16 April 2010 at the University of Montréal, hosted by the Centre de Recherche en Éthique de l’Université de Montréal (CRÉUM), BIEN Canada and the US Basic Income Guarantee network (USBIG).

This first collaboration between the US and Canadian chapters of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) includes keynote addresses from Dr. Louise Haagh (University of York), Prof. Guy Standing (University of Bath), and Senator Eduardo Suplicy (São Paulo, Brasil), as well as a Political Forum on “The Politics of the Basic Income Guarantee” featuring Senators Art Eggleton and Hugh Segal, Tony Martin MP, Amélie Châteauneuf (spokesperson of FCPASQ), Rob Rainer (Executive Director of Canada Without Poverty), Al Sheahen (Executive Committee Member of USBIG), and Sheila Regehr (Director of National Council of Welfare).

In addition there will be 5 panels with more than a dozen papers from scholars and practitioners discussing a variety of issues related to the prospects and challenges of introducing a BIG in Canada or the US.

Everyone is welcome to attend and participation is free.

To register for the conference please email Jurgen De Wispelaere
at bigmontreal2010@gmail.com with your name and institutional affiliation.

Organized by
CREUM, Universite de Montreal
in cooperation with
Basic Income Earth Network Canada
and
United States Basic Income Guarantee Network

Related link:

Basic Income Earth Network

- Go to the Guaranteed Annual Income Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/gai.htm

Selected content from
The Daily [Statistics Canada]:

February 19, 2010
Leading indicators, January 2010
The composite leading index rose 0.9% in January, about equal to its average increase over the previous eight months but less than the 1.5% gain in December. Overall, 8 of the 10 components rose, while the 2 that declined were related to manufacturing.

Related subjects:
* Economic accounts
* Leading indicators

---

February 19, 2010
Employment Insurance, December 2009
The number of regular Employment Insurance beneficiaries fell for the third consecutive month, down 40,100 in December to 744,000. There were fewer beneficiaries in all provinces in December, with the most notable decreases observed in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.
- incl. the following tables (at the bottom of the page):
* Employment Insurance: Statistics by province and territory
* Beneficiaries receiving regular benefits by age group, sex, province and territory
* Beneficiaries receiving regular benefits by census metropolitan areas
See also:
* Tables by subject: Employment insurance, social assistance and other transfers
* Employment Insurance Statistics Maps

Related subjects
o Labour
o Employment insurance, social assistance and other transfers
o Non-wage benefits

_______________
Related link:

Employment Insurance Runs Out
February 19, 2010
The number of Canadians receiving Employment Insurance (EI) benefits plummeted in December. The drop of 40,100 was the largest monthly decrease in years. One would anticipate some decline in the number of EI recipients as the job market begins to recover. But the magnitude of December’s decline suggests that, in addition to those former recipients who found work, many more simply ran out of benefits. The Labour Force Survey indicates that employment decreased by 2,600 in December. Therefore, it seems unlikely that 40,100 EI recipients found jobs during that month. (...) Fewer than half (47.8 %) of unemployed Canadians received EI benefits in December.
Source:
Blog : Relentlessly Progressive Economics
[ Progressive Economics Forum ]
The Progressive Economics Forum aims to promote the development of a progressive economics community in Canada. The PEF brings together over 125 progressive economists, working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations.
_______________

February 18, 2010
Consumer Price Index, January 2010
Consumer prices rose 1.9% in the 12 months to January, following a 1.3% increase in December 2009. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, prices rose 0.4% from December to January.
- includes the following three tables at the bottom of the page:
* Consumer Price Index and major components, Canada
* Consumer Price Index by province, and for Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit
* Consumer Price Index and major components
[ Related report: The Consumer Price Index, January 2010 ]
[ earlier editions of this report ]

Related subjects:
* Prices and price indexes
* Consumer price indexes

---

February 18, 2010
New Immigrants' Assessments of Their Life in Canada
Pubished February 2010
By René Houle and Grant Schellenberg
In this paper, the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) is used to examine how immigrants in the 2000-2001 landing cohort subjectively assess their life in Canada. The paper provides a useful complement to other studies of immigrant outcomes that often focus on employment, income or health.
Source:
Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series (links to 100+ studies)

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

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

Source:
The Daily
[Statistics Canada]

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

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

February 20, 2010

What's new online

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

Happy birthday UCCB: What can we show for the past 4 years?
17 Feb 10
- Open letter to the leaders of Canada's political parties from the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada and Campaign 2000.

The current state of Canadian family finances: 2009 report
17 Feb 10
- Report from the Vanier Institute of the Family finds that "while the recession may 'technically' be over, it will be a long and challenging recovery for Canadian families."

Alternative federal budget consultation
17 Feb 10
- Online survey from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives asks what your priorities would be for the federal budget.

Children of the 21st century (Volume 2): The first five years
17 Feb 10
- Second book from the UK Millennium Cohort Study tracks the first five years of almost 19,000 babies born in 2000 and 2001; discusses development and implications for family policy.

Math and science in preschool: Policies and practice
17 Feb 10
- Brief from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) discusses the development of mathematics and science understanding in preschool children.

more WHAT'S NEW ONLINE »

child care in the news

· Ofsted to privatise nursery inspections
[GB] 17 Feb 10

· Children can fall behind as early as nine months
[GB] 17 Feb 10

· Child-care facts are flawed
[CA] 16 Feb 10

· Universal child care Ignatieff's flawed and expensive plan
[CA] 10 Feb 10

· Gender equality and child development: Re-thinking family policy 5 Feb 10

more CC IN THE NEWS »

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

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

Links to child care
sitesin Canada and elsewhere

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

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

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

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

Latest issues of Poverty Dispatch:

February 19:
Poor Women and Eviction
States and Medicaid Enrollment
State Cuts to Programs for the Poor - Virginia, California, Minnesota
US Annual Homeless Survey
Honolulu Star Bulletin Series on Homelessness

February 18:
Medicaid and Managed Care - Kentucky, Florida
Economic Stimulus and Job Creation
Poverty Rate - Germany

February 17:
State Budget and Programs for the Poor - Minnesota
Report: Health Rankings by County
Farmers Markets and SNAP - California

February 16:
Earned Income Tax Credit - Michigan
Kids Count Report - Texas
Poor Children and School Readiness - United Kingdom
Tobacco Addiction Treatment and the Low-income - Massachusetts

February 15:
Earned Income Tax Credit - Oregon
Poverty Rate - Toledo, OH
Medicaid and Dental Care - Illinois
Medicaid and Prenatal Coverage - Nebraska
Perception of the Poor in the US

---

Past Poverty Dispatches
- links to dispatches back to June 2006

Search Poverty Dispatches

---

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

---

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

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm
- Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm

United States:

Asset Poverty and Debt Among Families with Children
By Yumiko Aratani and Michelle Chau
February 2010
HTML version
PDF version (783K, 12 pages)
Increasingly the significance of asset ownership among low-income families is being recognized. Assets such as savings and homeownership are vital components of a family’s economic security, along with income and human and social capital. In this report, we use the term “assets” to refer to financial and economic resources, not including human capital. Unlike labor market earnings, income generated from assets provides a cushion for families in case of job loss, illness, death of a parent, or even natural disaster. This cushion may be especially important for the working poor, whose economic lives can be severely impacted by even short periods of unemployment. Asset ownership can also have long-term consequences for children...

Summary of Main Findings:

* More than half of American families with children are asset poor based on their financial assets, and in particular, more than two-thirds of African-American families and female-headed families are asset poor.
* The percent of families with debt is increasing.
* Approximately a half or more poor families with children (under 100 percent of FPL) are experiencing debt hardship.
* Less than half of poor families with children (income under 100 percent of FPL) own a bank account.

Source:
National Center for Children in Poverty
The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is the nation’s leading public policy center dedicated to promoting the economic security, health, and well-being of America’s low-income families and children.

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

United Nations Statistical Yearbook - Fifty-second Issue
February 2010
This is an annual compilation of a wide range of international economic, social and environmental statistics for over 200 countries and areas of the world, compiled from sources including United Nations agencies and other international, national and specialized organizations. The fifty-second issue contains data available to the Statistics Division as of June 2008 and presents them in 68 tables on topics such as: agriculture; balance of payments; communication; development assistance; education; energy; environment; finance; gender; industrial production; international merchandise trade; international tourism; labour force; manufacturing; national accounts; nutrition; population; prices; research and development; and wages. The number of years of data shown in the tables varies from one to ten, with the ten-year tables covering 1996 to 2005 or 1997 to 2006. Accompanying the tables are technical notes providing brief descriptions of major statistical concepts, definitions and classifications.

Table of contents (PDF - 124K, 4 pages)
NOTE: The complete report (the link below) is a large file and a slow download even for someone with a broadband connection.
Check the table of contents first by clicking the link above, then (if you wish to continue), click the link below.

Complete Yearbook (PDF - 9.6MB, 848 pages)

[ Purchase the print version of the yearbook ]
[ Statistical Yearbook - two previous years online ]

Source:
United Nations Department
of Economic and Social Affairs - DESA
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs provides support services to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the principal body coordinating the economic and social work of the United Nations and its operational arms.

[ UN Economic and Social Council - ECOSOC
ECOSOC was established under the United Nations Charter as the principal organ to coordinate economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions.]

Also from DESA:

* World Population Ageing 2009 (PDF - 894K, 82 pages) - February 2010
This report provides a description of global trends in population ageing and includes a series of indicators of the ageing process by development regions, major areas, regions and countries. This new edition includes new features on ageing in rural and urban areas, the coverage of pension systems and the impact of the 2007-2008 financial crisis on pension systems. The report is intended to provide a solid demographic foundation for the follow-up activities of the Second World Assembly on Ageing.

* Rethinking Poverty : Report on the World Social Situation 2010 - January 2010
Fifteen years ago, in Copenhagen, global leaders at the World Summit for Social Development described poverty eradication as an ethical, political and economic imperative, and identified it as one of the three pillars of social development. Poverty eradication has since become the overarching objective of development, as reflected in the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, which set the target of halving global extreme poverty by 2015. Rethinking Poverty, the 2010 issue of the Report on the World Social Situation seeks to contribute to rethinking poverty and its eradication.

Complete report (PDF - 8MB, 203 pages)

=====> Executive summary (PDF - 196K, 8 pages)
=====> Table of contents (HTML) +links to individual chapters, including:
* Poverty: the official numbers * The poverty of poverty measurement * Deprivation, vulnerability and exclusion * Macroeconomic policies and poverty reduction * Economic liberalization and poverty reduction * Labour-market and social policies and poverty reduction * Poverty reduction programmes * Rethinking poverty reduction interventions

- Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm
- Go to the Seniors (Social Research) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/seniors.htm
- Go to the United Nations Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/un.htm

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

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

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

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

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)

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

18 February 2010 - CRINMAIL 1149
* UN: Cluster bomb treaty to enter into force [news]
* ISRAEL: Children as young as 12 arrested in night raids in Silwan, East Jerusalem [news]
* EUROPE: The European Court of Human Rights - a body under pressure [news]
* GAMBIA: State expels UNICEF envoy [news]
* GERMANY: Noisy children no longer verboten in Berlin [news]
* IRAN: Rejection of UN human rights recommendations is contemptuous [news]
* CRIN NOTICEBOARD
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

16 February 2010 - CRINMAIL 1148
COMMUNICATIONS PROCEDURE: Campaign Update [news]
DISCRIMINATION: Children detained for status offences in Panama and Tanzania [news]
CRC: Session reports for 53rd session now available [publications]
AFRICA: The 3rd Civil Society Forum on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child [event]
UNESCO: Education Under Attack 2010 [publication]
INDONESIA: Guarantee Domestic Workers’ Rights in 2010 [news]
CALL FOR PAPERS: Child Sexual Abuse in sub-Saharan Africa
**NEWS IN BRIEF**

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

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

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

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

I am solely accountable for the choice of links presented therein and for the occasional editorial comment - it's my time, my home computer, my experience, my biases, my Rogers Internet account and my web hosting service.

I administer the mailing list and distribute the weekly newsletter using software on the web server of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Thanks, CUPE!

If you wish to subscribe to the e-mail version of newsletter, go to the Canadian Social Research Newsletter Online Subscription page:
http://lists.cupe.ca/mailman/listinfo/csrl-news
...or send me an email message.
You can unsubscribe by going to the same page or by sending me an e-mail message [ gilseg@rogers.com ]

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

The e-mail version of this newsletter is available only in plain text (no graphics, no hyperlinks, no fancy bolding or italics, etc.) to avoid security problems with government departments, universities and other networks with firewalls. The text-only version is also friendlier for people using older or lower-end technology.

Privacy Policy:
The Canadian Social Research Newsletter mailing list is not used for any purpose except to distribute each weekly issue.
I promise not share any information on this list, nor to send you any junk mail.

Links presented in the Canadian Social Research Newsletter point to different views about social policy and social programs.
There are some that I don't agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...

To access earlier online HTML issues of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter, go to the Newsletter page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/news.htm

Please feel free to distribute this newsletter as widely as you wish, but please remember to mention Canadian Social Research Links when you do.

Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

Neologisms

And, in closing...

Glary Utilities v. 2.20.0.831 - FREE for home use!
If you're looking for a way to keep things clean on your computer, this latest version of Glary Utilities is a good program to consider. The application contains a registry cleaner, a government standard file-shredder to effectively delete data, and a tool management program. This version is compatible with computers running Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7.
Reviewed by:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2010.
...and highly recommended by Gilles!
(I've used this free software for almost two years now - excellent!)

***