Reports

IntroductionAlthough the majority of Americans with health insurance obtain their coverage through group health plans offered through their employers, many individuals obtain their coverage through the nongroup (or individual) insurance market.

In this report, the authors present the results of an assessment that involved review of the literature on emergency preparedness risk communication and public health messaging strategies; the compilation of educational and outreach materials for emergency preparedness communication with vulnerable populations; and site visits in three states and the Washington, DC, area to identify gaps in the

This Research Brief examines the relief and recovery services provided by faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) in the Gulf Coast region after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.  The study included a telephone survey of 202 FBCOs that provided services and case studies of eight organizations.В  This brief summarizes the findings from the full report

Several proposals to increase health coverage for the currently uninsured rely on encouragements to utilize and potentially expand the individual insurance market. In broadening health insurance coverage, it is important to understand the regulatory environment under which these proposals would be implemented.

Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is a target rate of growth in spending for physicians’ services. Payments for physicians’ services are supposed to automatically adjust in response to actual spending falling either above or below the target.

By: Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin, Steven Zuckerman, Robert Berenson, Anant Patel, Teryl Nuckols RAND Health / Urban Institute

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

In the late 1990s the State of Oklahoma, recognizing the economic and social consequences of its high rates of divorce and non-marital childbearing, undertook an innovative strategy to strengthen families.В  At the direction of the Governor, the state initiated an effort to reduce divorce and decrease non-marital childbearing.В  This pioneering effort became the Oklahoma Marriage

  Poor Finances:  Assets and Low-Income Households The Effects of Holding Assets on Social and Economic Outcomes of Families: A Review of Theory and Evidence November 2008 By: Robert Lerman and Signe-Mary McKernan The Urban Institute

  Poor Finances:  Assets and Low-Income Households Asset Building over the Life Course Final Report By: Mark R. Rank Center for Social Development Washington University in Saint Louis November 2008

This report provides a conceptual framework that describes how asset accumulation unfolds over an individual's lifetime and how the effects of such accumulation can best be understood within the context of the life course.

This report provides a conceptual framework on the effects of asset holding and reviews the empirical literature based on this framework. The report distills the main findings on how assets influence economic, social, psychological, and child well-being and provides empirical support for the benefits of asset building. [39 PDF pages]

Federal Financial Participation in State Assistance Expenditures; Federal Matching Shares for Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and Aid to Needy Aged, Blind, or Disabled Persons for October 1, 2009 Through September 30, 2010 Federal Register: November 26, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 229) [Page 72051-72053]

The Federal Medical Assistance Percentages and Enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentages are calculated pursuant to the Social Security Act (the Act). These percentages will be effective from October 1 through September 30 of the indicated year.

Refugee Economic Self-Sufficiency: An Exploratory Study of Approaches Used in Office of Refugee Resettlement Programs Prepared for:U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

The purpose of this exploratory study was to learn what factors and approaches utilized by Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) programs contribute to refugee economic self-sufficiency. The issue of whether these approaches were applicable to mainstream welfare-to-work programs was also addressed.

  Marital Quality and Parent-Adolescent Relationships: Effects on Sexual Activity Among Adolescents and Young Adults November 2008 Prepared for:Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The link between growing up outside of an intact family, and the likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors as an adolescent has been explored extensively.

Prepared by: Adil Moiduddin Jonathan Moore

This PDF was submitted as an attachment to a Public Comment sent to the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services and/or the National Alzheimer's Project Act website.

This literature review explores the relevant literature on several key questions regarding boarding of psychiatric patients in the emergency department (ED). Is psychiatric boarding a problem? What are the reasons for boarding psychiatric patients? What kind of care is received while patients are boarded?

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

  ASPE RESEARCH BRIEF American Community Survey: New Survey Questions Enable Measurement of Marital Transitions October 2008 This Research Brief is available on the Internet at:http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/09/MarriageDivorceStats/ACSBrief/rb.shtml

  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

This report analyzes new data from an experimental module to the 2006 Health and Retirement Study on assistive home features for near-elderly and older adults. In 2006, two-thirds of the population born in 1953 or earlier (ages 52 and older) had one or more assistive home features, about one-third added at least one of these features, and 40% used at least one feature in the last 30 days.

This research brief presents information on adopted children with special health care needs,1 using data from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN).

Prepared By: Robert G. Wood, Sarah Avellar, Brian Goesling Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR)Project Director:  Robert G. Wood

This report examines potential precursors of the changes in adult marriage patterns in recent decades. It draws on data from four large national surveys to examine the experiences and attitudes of teenagers to gain a better understanding of factors that influence their views of marriage and their relationship choices in adulthood.

The study provides public programs, employers and private insurers with effective best practices used in Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and the private insurance market to improve participation in health insurance coverage.

BEST PRACTICES TO IMPROVE TAKE-UP RATES IN HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAMS Final Report Laura Summer and Jennifer Thompson Georgetown University Health Policy Institute

Original Research

Marriage patterns in the United States have changed substantially in recent decades. People are marrying later in life than they did 40 years ago and young adults today are spending more time unmarried than earlier generations did (Schoen and Standish 2001; Fields 2004).

Application of Adult-Based Dietary Guidelines to Children: Evidence, Knowledge Gaps and Policy Implications Prepared by: Ronette R. Briefel, Allison Hedley Dodd, Charlotte Cabili and Carol West Suitor

This resource document provides an overview of the extant literature on the effect of incarceration on the incarcerated individual, his partner, children and the family unit as a whole. It examines existing programs and lays out promising practice approaches.

The number of individuals involved in the criminal justice system is at a historic high. There are almost 2.3 million individuals in U.S. jails and prisons and more than 798,000 people on parole.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

High nursing assistant turnover is disruptive to quality of care and is costly. Findings from the first national probability survey of nursing assistants in nursing homes document the magnitude of potential turnover.

Peter Kemper, Diane Brannon, Brigitt Heier, Jungyoon Kim, Candy Warner, Joe Vasey and Amy Stott Pennsylvania State University, Center for Health Care and Policy Research September 9, 2008 PDF Version: http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/2008/FSSrpt.pdf (69 PDF pages)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Nick and Alex became fast friends after sitting next to each other in algebra class on the first day of ninth grade. Since then, they have eaten lunch together every day, chatting about their classes, sports, and their favorite video games.

Even though Anthony lives in a neighborhood with a lot of crime and gang violence, he usually manages to stay out of trouble.  He plays football on his high school team and with the guidance and support of his coach, has kept his grades up and his eye on the future.  But then an argument at p