Recently in Human Services Category

Source: Libby Perl, Congressional Research Service, RL30442, January 15, 2009

This report describes existing federal programs that provide targeted assistance to homeless individuals and families (other federal programs may provide assistance to homeless individuals but are not specifically designed to assist homeless persons). These include those programs listed above, as well as others that Congress has created since the enactment of McKinney-Vento. In addition, this report summarizes homelessness legislation enacted in the 110th Congress and discusses current issues related to homelessness, including the recent economic downturn, chronic homelessness, and potential reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants. Finally, Table 1 at the end of this report shows funding levels for each of the ED, DHS, HHS, HUD, DOL, and Department of Justice (DOJ) programs that assist homeless individuals. Table 2 shows funding levels for VA programs.

Source: Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones, Vol. 34 no. 1, January/February, 2009

Plunging welfare rolls were big news in the wake of Bill Clinton's 1996 welfare reform, which limited benefits and required recipients to engage in "work related" activities. Those declines coincided with record numbers of poor single mothers heading into the workplace and a significant drop in child poverty--proof, supporters said, that the new policy was a success. But the reform took effect at a time when unemployment was at a historic low--there were actually jobs for welfare moms to go to. In recent years, by contrast, tanf caseloads have been falling even as unemployment has soared and other poverty programs have experienced explosive growth. (Nearly 11 million more people received food stamps last year than did in 2000.) With the economy settling into a prolonged slump, this trend could be devastating.

Women turned away from tanf lose more than a check. tanf is a gateway to education, drug rehab or mental health care, child care, even transportation and disability benefits--tools for upward mobility.

Source: United States Government Accountability Office, GAO-09-26, February 2009

Providing health care services for foster children, who often have significant health care needs, can be challenging. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) oversees foster care, but state child welfare agencies are responsible for ensuring that these children receive health care services, which are often financed by Medicaid. In light of concerns about the health care needs of foster children, GAO was asked to study states' efforts to improve foster children's receipt of health services. This report has four objectives. It describes specific actions that some states have taken to (1) identify health care needs, (2) ensure delivery of appropriate health services, and (3) document and monitor the health care of children in foster care. It also describes the related technical assistance ACF offers to states.

Source: Amy Butler, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 27, 2009

The National Compensation Survey now publishes wage data on full-time workers in private nonprofit establishments. This is the third in a series of three articles comparing the average hourly earnings of full-time workers in private nonprofits, private industry as a whole, State governments, and local governments.

In 2007, there were more than 1.64 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. Nonprofits include, but are not limited to, hospitals, churches, educational institutions, social welfare organizations, and charitable organizations. Health professionals, educators, other professionals, health technicians, administrative support workers, and service occupations account for the majority of paid workers in the nonprofit sector.

Source: Will Fischer, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 2, 2009

The economic downturn has sharply reduced the effectiveness of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the nation's primary subsidy for development of affordable rental housing.  Faced with lower profits and reduced access to capital, fewer corporations are willing to invest in affordable housing in exchange for the credits.  As result, the LIHTC is supporting far less construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing and creating far fewer jobs than it has in the past.  This is occurring at a time when the number of homeless families is rising and the already extensive need for affordable rental housing is likely to grow.

Source: Annie Salsich, Paragini Amin, Ben Estep, Vera Institute of Justice, December 2008

In February 2007, the Vera Institute of Justice and the New York State Task Force on Juvenile Justice Indicators, a committee of key juvenile justice stakeholders chaired by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), published the state's first-ever set of statewide juvenile justice statistical indicators--data that offer insight into an organization's work or the environment in which it operates. Using 2004 data collected from four state agencies, Widening the Lens: A Panoramic View of Juvenile Justice in New York State, summarized indicators within five key areas of the system: arrest, referral to court, detention, court processing, and disposition (sentencing). The report allowed practitioners, policymakers, and officials to view the juvenile justice system in its entirety for the first time, making it possible to begin pinpointing system needs and designing and implementing data-driven reforms.

This new publication, which relies on data from 2004 to 2006, is the first sequel to the 2007 report. It sets forth analytical observations from the most recent juvenile justice figures and identifies state and local trends, an important development since the first report. With a snapshot of how county and state juvenile justice systems have been operating from 2004 to 2006, stakeholders will be able to begin to identify promising trends and isolate areas that are ripe for reform. The observations and trends provided in the report are intended as examples only; local stakeholders are encouraged to examine the full set of indicators with an eye toward their own particular needs and concerns.

Source: Deborah Povich, Brandon Roberts, Tom Waldron, Working Poor Families Project, 2008

As the national economy evolves, a greater premium is placed on workers with strong literacy and workplace skills. But across the country, a significant number of adults lack these skills, leaving them ill-prepared to succeed in the labor market and to achieve economic security.
For example, more than 25 millions adults do not have a high school degree, which seriously limits their chances to advance.

At the same time, there is a structural problem with the economy that falls hardest on low-wage workers. Nearly 20 percent of all jobs in America are in occupations where the median pay is less than a poverty wage for a family of four. This threatens the economic security of working families and limits their opportunities to save and move into the middle class.

States have the power and responsibility to address these interrelated issues. The Working Poor Families Project and other initiatives seek to strengthen key state policies and programs in education and skills training, economic development, and in policies affecting conditions of employment, such as the minimum wage and unemployment insurance.

Source: Urban Institute, December 22, 2008

Six new briefs from the nonpartisan Urban Institute show how Americans have fared during and after downturns since the 1970s, what might be ahead, and how government programs aid those in distress.

No. 1 in the series, Unemployment and Income in a Recession
This brief assesses how unemployment and household income changes as the economy moves through a recession and into recovery.

No. 2 in the series, Unemployment Insurance during a Recession
This brief examines how the Unemployment Insurance program responds during a recession and how that response may differ in the current recession from its response in the past.

No. 3 in the series, The Role of Welfare during a Recession
This brief examines how the TANF program (formerly AFDC) responds during a recession and how that response may differ in the current recession from its response in the past.

No. 4 in the series, SNAP and the Recession
This brief examines how the SNAP program (formerly food stamps) responds during a recession and how that response may differ in the current recession from its response in the past.

No. 5 in the series, The Recession and the Earned Income Tax Credit
This brief assesses the extent to which the Earned Income Tax Credit can help families hit by job losses and falling incomes during a recession.

No. 6 in the series, Health Coverage in a Recession
This brief examines how the Medicaid and SCHIP programs respond during a recession and how that response may differ in the current recession from their responses in the past. It also assesses the extent to which health insurance coverage may decline as unemployment rises.

Source: United States Conference of Mayors, December 2008

Among the report's major findings are the following:
- Twenty cities (95 percent) reported an increase in the demand for emergency food assistance over the past year, one city reported that demand stayed the same and four cities were not able to answer this question.
- All 21 cities with available data cited an increase in the number of persons requesting food assistance for the first-time. The increase was particularly notable among working families.
- Cities reported an 18 percent average increase in the demand for emergency food assistance and a 5 percent average increase in the quantity of food distributed. The increase in demand for food assistance exceeded the increase in the amount of food distributed in eighty percent of the cities surveyed.
- Nine cities reported making significant changes to the types of food they purchased over the last year because of increases in food prices. Thirteen cities reported that food pantries had to turn people away, and sixteen cities reported that food pantries were reducing the amount of food clients could receive at each visit.
- When asked to anticipate their biggest challenges for 2009, nearly every city cited an expected increase in demand resulting from the weak economy coupled with high prices for food and fuel.
- Nineteen cities (83 percent) reported an increase in homelessness over the past year. On average, cities reported a 12 percent increase.
- Twelve cities (63 percent) reported an increase in homelessness because of the foreclosure crisis. However, most cities did not have enough data to quantify the extent of the increase. The tenants of rental units in buildings where the landlord faced foreclosure were the most vulnerable to becoming homeless.
- All but one of the cities surveyed had developed or was developing a ten-year plan to end homelessness. Three quarters of these plans (75 percent) focused not just on ending homelessness for chronically homeless disabled adults but also on preventing family homelessness.

Source: Janice L. Cooper, Yumiko Aratani, Jane Knitzer, Ayana Douglas-Hall, Rachel Masi, Patti Banghart, and Sarah Dababnah, National Center for Children in Poverty, November 2008

This report documents and assesses the effectiveness of mental health services for children and youth with mental health problems, those at risk, and their families. Our data demonstrate that states are still struggling to deliver adequate care, while federal leadership is lacking. Based on these findings, we propose key policy changes necessary to improving service delivery.
See also:
- Press release
- Executive summary