Helping State Policymakers Understand and Utilize Research

The Council of State Governments has produced the State Policy Guide: Using Research in Public Health Policymaking for state legislators and their staffs. By providing key public health research terminology, qualifiying "strong research,” and advising how to use research in drafting legislation, the guide outlines the benefits of utilizing research results to make policy in public health and human services.

More information on research-informed policymaking.

Webcast: Who Moves, Who Stays,The Resilience of Low-Income Communities

A forthcoming examination of evidence from the Making Connections initiative, a decade-long effort sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to improve neighborhoods in 10 cities, will be the starting point for a debate about the intersection of poverty, neighborhood quality, and economic advancement. A webcast by the Urban Institute is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2009, at Noon–1:30 p.m. ET To Register

Panelists will discuss whether low-income families move because of financial and other problems or to find better homes or communities; whether mobility supports or undermines neighborhood stability; how federal neighborhood revitalization initiatives should respond to high rates of family mobility; and what role cities and nonprofits should play in serving families that move and those that stay.

Panelists: Raphael Bostic, assistant secretary for policy development and research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Claudia Coulton, professor of urban social research and codirector, Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change, Case Western Reserve University; Brett Theodos, research associate, Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center, Urban Institute; Bill Traynor, executive director, Lawrence (Mass.) Community Works; and Margery Austin Turner, vice president for research, Urban Institute (moderator)

Two Federal Agencies and a Foundation Come Together to Expand a Successful Juvenile Services Model

New federal funding has been awarded to expand the Reclaiming Futures model into three more juvenile drug courts across the country over the next four years. Funding is being provided by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is awarding a grant for the treatment; OJJDP is awarding funding for the operation of the court; and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is providing approximately $1 million in technical assistance to implement the Reclaiming Futures’ model. The goal of the Juvenile Drug Court Reclaiming Futures Program is to serve substance-abusing juvenile offenders by developing and establishing juvenile drug courts with the Reclaiming Futures model, and including best practices for adolescent treatment to reduce substance abuse among participating youth.

RWJF launched Reclaiming Futures in 2002 to address these urgent needs by reinventing how juvenile courts work. The initiative brings together judges, probation officers, treatment providers, families and community members to improve drug and alcohol treatment for young people in trouble with the law.

Researchers at Columbia University, for example, found that four out of five teens in the juvenile justice system are under the influence of alcohol or drugs while committing their crimes. And in spite of research that shows treatment helps reduce recidivism, most juvenile courts aren’t set up to detect and treat substance abuse or to provide mental health and other important services. “Most juveniles admitted to treatment are referred from the criminal justice system,” said Eric Broderick, acting administrator for SAMHSA. “These grants will use practices proven to help young people get off drugs and back on track toward building fulfilling lives.” (Excerpted from the press release) For policies to reduce juvenile detention.

The High Costs of High School Drop Outs

For many years criminal justice studies have repeated the grim statistics about the incarceration of African American men. But now an excellent new report by the Center for Labor Market Studies looks at this crisis from a different perspective. The "Consequences of Dropping Out of High School - Joblessness and Jailing for High School Dropouts and the High Cost for Taxpayers" starts with a jaw dropping number- the 22% daily jailing rate for young black men who drop out of high school- and then proceeds to detail stark facts about the labor force participation by high school drop outs. Another dose of harsh reality- young female drop outs were six times as likely to have given birth as their peers who were college students or four year college graduates, and in 2007 8% of all girls aged 16-24 were unmarried mothers. One more statistic to bring the point home- young high school drop outs, male and female, were 63% more likely to end up in a jail, prison or juvenile detention facility than their peers with a college degree.

Why should policymakers care? In addition to the societal costs in this generation and the next as these high school drop outs raise their children in poverty, the fiscal costs are staggering: " The average high school dropout will cost taxpayers over $292,000 in lower tax revenues, higher cash and in-kind transfer costs, and imposed incarceration costs relative to an average high school graduate."

Announcing a Senior Policy Position

The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) announces a new Senior Policy position. CSSP developed policyforresults.org as part of its efforts to influence policies and practices that emphasize accountability for results. Our mission is to develop public policies and practices that strengthen families and communities to produce equal opportunities and a better future for all children. CSSP seeks a candidate with extensive policy experience and education, and shares our commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families. To view the details of this announcement.

New Report Shows Families Less Likely to Notice Mental Health Needs in Young Children with Special Needs

A new issue brief shows that families are less likely to notice mental health needs in younger children with special needs and more likely to overemphasize the mental health needs of older youth with special needs. Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) comprise 13.9 percent of all children in the United States. Nearly 22 percent of households with children include at least one child with a special health care need. Low income and minority CSHCN have higher rates of mental health problems yet are less likely than their counterparts to receive mental health services.

Tax Credits for Working Families, Information About Impacts and Tools

The Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit (CTC), Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), and the dependent exemption all provide important benefits; a single parent with two children can receive up to $7,500 — depending a variety of factors. Too few families take advantage due to confusing eligiblity rules. A fact sheet by the Urban Institute outlines the value of the tax credits, and a new tool by the Children's Defense Fund helps families identify which benefits they should pursue. The Bridge to Benefits is a multi-state project to improve the well-being of families and individuals by linking them to public work support programs and tax credits. To date only four states have participated in the project, leaving families across the country without access to a useful tool. EITC, and other tax credits, are considered one of the most successful policies for lifting children out of poverty. For state policies to expand tax relief for working families.

New Data Comparison Tool from CLASP

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has released a new research tool, the CLASP DataFinder, that allows users to create and download tables comparing select administrative and demographic data on programs affecting children and families at the national, state, and community levels. Users can currently find several years of data on child care assistance spending and participation, Head Start and Early Head Start participation, TANF expenditures, young child demographics, and poverty; community-level data are also available for education, demographics, and youth violence. A useful tool for advocates and policymakers looking to examine and synthesize data!

A State Policymaker's Guide to Stimulating the Economy through a Two-Generation Approach

New guide from CSSP: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Families and Young Children, A State Policymaker’s Guide to Stimulating the Economy through a Two-Generation Approach. This guide offers ideas and strategies for state governments to maximize... the impact of ARRA for low-skilled parents and to ensure the healthy development of their children. It provides an analysis of the ARRA funding allocations that will create entry-level jobs and ensure access to quality early care and education. For state policies and guidance on using the stimulus funding.

Child Maltreatment Prevention Strategies

Recently released, the Fall 2009 issue of The Future of Children, a collaboration between The Brookings Institution and Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, focuses on policies and practices for the prevention of child maltreatment. Its articles address prevention measures such as:

· Using risk factors to create accurate risk assessments;
· Investing in proven community-wide interventions;
· Integrating home-visiting programs into prevention efforts;
· Rethinking the approach to families with drug or alcohol abuse; and
· Expanding programs to prevent sexual abuse.

Policies for building strong and stable families. Enter your email at http://www.policyforresults.org/ to receive updates about our forthcoming child abuse and neglect prevention policies and strategies!