Psychotropic Use in Child Welfare: The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections and the National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health are conducting a webinar series on psychotropic medication use among children and youth in foster care. Click here to view the most recent webinar which focused primarily on the role of child welfare staff in working with prescribers of medications, foster parents, birth parents, and children/youth in care. To learn about and register for the upcoming April 24 and June 5 webinars, click here.
No Savings Are Found From Welfare Drug Tests: This recent New York Times article notes that the recent Florida law requiring drug tests for TANF applicants resulted in no direct savings, snared few drug users and had no effect on the number of applications, according to recently released state data.
Foreclosures and Kids: First Focus recently released a new paper, The Ongoing Impact of Foreclosure on Children, and a set of accompanying policy recommendations. The report provides a comprehensive look at the impact of the mortgage foreclosure crisis on America's children, finding that 1 in 10 children (8 million total) has been or is at risk to be affected by foreclosures. That rate approaches 1 in 5 children in some states. It contains state-by-state numbers on the impact from foreclosures on both owner-occupied homes and rental properties. (11 pp.)
Reintegrating Ex-Offenders: As a part of its commitment to ensuring that all children grow up in safe, supportive and economically successful families, the Center for the Study of Social Policy has written a report that focuses specifically on promoting workforce strategies for reintegrating ex-offenders.
Esquire Magazine Article - The War Against Youth: According to a recent provocative Esquire Magazine article, "the recession didn't gut the prospects of American young people. The Baby Boomers took care of that. Twenty-five years ago young Americans had a chance." In 1984, American breadwinners who were sixty-five and over made ten times as much as those under thirty-five. The year Obama took office, older Americans made almost forty-seven times as much as the younger generation. Click here to read the story and accompanying graphics.
The Faces of Poverty: CBS Evening News recently aired a segment on photographer Steve Liss, founder of AmericanPoverty.org, who has been documenting the more than 46 million Americans who live in poverty. AmericanPoverty.org is an alliance of photojournalists who use visual storytelling to raise awareness about poverty in America and encourage action to alleviate the problem.
