Children & Youth
The lingering recession left one out of 10 kids with at least one unemployed parent in 2011, according to the KIDS COUNT Data Center. The rate of children with unemployed parents ranged from 15 percent in Nevada to 4 percent in North Dakota. KIDS COUNT does the numbers and adds perspective in 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book.
Pre-kindergarten programs struggle to serve more children with less money, making it difficult to ensure program quality, says The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) in its latest State of Preschool Yearbook. Investment in pre-kindergarten fell in 2011; over the last 10 years, enrollment is up and funding is down.
Connecting businesses and nonprofits with low-income and disconnected youth is the goal of the new Department of Labor Summer Jobs Plus database. Young people can share their summer job stories and sign up now to be notified when the database goes live.
Follow four “SAFE” practices for afterschool academic and social success for students , says an upcoming compendium. SAFE alludes to evidence-based steps for staff training, active learning, skill development, and specific expectations. (SparkAction / Forum for Youth Investment)
Advocates need more tools and data to combat drop-out trends and make the case for greater investments in youth, according to CLASP, whose Keeping Youth Connected series provides community-level information, a guidebook and background on the issues.
Intergenerational
Affordable housing ranks as one of the greatest concerns for “grandfamilies,” who frequently take on their caregiving responsibilities with no warning, explains the National Low Income Housing Coalition in its new guide for advocates. The guide includes a chapter on LEGACY, the nation's first affordable housing law specifically for grandparents and other relatives raising children.
If your organization or affiliates are planning or developing “grandfamily” housing, Generations United would like to hear from you for a survey it is conducting. Email Que Spencer at qspencer@gu.org.
“Are we prepared?” as more and more older poor households face severe housing cost burdens, asks the Center for Housing Policy in “Housing an Aging Population.”
Many seniors face significant vulnerability in economic and health security, which is issue number one in the Kaiser Family Foundation’s recent review of 10 critical issues facing seniors today.
Social Security often falls under attack for causing U.S. fiscal problems, but the program’s annual trustees report in fact reveals a large and growing surplus, says Generations United (GU). The report, says GU, shows Social Security trending toward an accumulated surplus of $2.7 trillion by year’s end.
Poverty & Community
NHSA-member public benefits enrollment in the workplace program--Bridging the Gap--is profiled in The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s look at how nonprofits are helping employees meet financial needs without sacrificing a focus on mission. The Chronicle interviewed NHSA's Irv Katz and Karen Key on the unique initiative funded by the Ford Foundation.
Though benefits are modest, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, especially for children and adults living with them, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). CBPP calls SNAP an efficient, effective and responsive public-private partnership serving approximately 46 million people.
USDA says that 49 million people in the United States are living in food insecure households; 16 million are children. Through its Map the Meal Gap project, Feeding America estimates food insecurity at the county and congressional district level and explains how food banks are developing targeted solutions.
Crime declined throughout Chicago and Atlanta as the two cities undertook the nation's largest public housing transformations, says a recent Urban Institute-Emory University study with findings relevant to the use of housing vouchers. Many move-in neighborhoods experienced no adverse effect on neighborhood crime, demonstrating a much smaller impact of public housing transformation than popular accounts imply.
In 2010, young adults lived in their parents' homes, doubled up with other families, or stayed with roommates at rates far higher than in 2000, according to a report on demographic trends, challenges and opportunities prepared for the Bipartisan Policy Center. Other key trends: By 2010, all working-age adults reduced their rates of homeownership; and blacks and Hispanics saw especially acute declines in homeownership during the housing bust.
Nonprofit Sector
Rising service demand is overwhelming nonprofits even as they face a shaky economy and ongoing funding cuts, suggests the Nonprofit Finance Fund. Its State of the Sector Survey issues a wake-up call about nonprofits' continuing financial struggles, management strategies needed to cope with changes, and the critical role of board members.
Nonprofit executives may “staff out” some communications functions but always need to stay on top of strategic direction, says the latest issue of NTEN:Change, a journal for nonprofit leaders, in puncturing some commonly held beliefs about marketing and communications management.
A complaint lodged with the IRS may help illuminate the lines between advocacy and lobbying by nonprofits. In its filing, Common Cause asked IRS to investigate the American Legislative Exchange Council, saying the organization’s “primary purpose” is to pass legislation favored by its members, a violation of the IRS rules.
The American Red Cross engages in a major restructuring designed to help raise more money and minimize duplication, as well as give affiliates more time and a bigger voice to do work in their communities. (The Chronicle of Philanthropy online - requires subscription)
Public/Private Ventures, a nearly 35-year-old Philadelphia-based national nonprofit and creator of groundbreaking research, will halt operations this summer. PPV’s board determined that the organization was unsustainable, given current economic conditions and funding trends.
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