This brief summarizes key findings from the first annual Needs Assessment Survey created and administered by the Houston Independent School District (HISD). In the fall 2019, HISD's Wraparound Services Department designed and administered the Needs Assessment Survey to all students, parents, and teachers on the 146 campuses that offered wraparound…

The Wraparound Services Department connects students and their families with non-academic community resources that support the students' ability to learn in school. The district currently partners with over 200 community organizations to offer wraparound services across 210 campuses. Wraparound Services Specialists in these campuses work with…

States, systems, and colleges in the Great Lakes region have made important investments in basic needs, but more progress is needed. Addressing basic needs--which includes income, food, housing, health, mental health and well-being, child care, transportation, and technology--helps support college access and completion. The Urban Institute…

Studies document inequitable tobacco retailer density by neighborhood sociodemographics, but these findings may not be robust to different density measures. Policies to reduce density may be less equitable depending on how the presence of store types differs by neighborhood characteristics. We built a 2018 list of probable tobacco retailers in the…

The Wraparound Services Department connects students and their families with non-academic community resources that support the students' ability to learn in school. The district currently partners with over 200 community organizations to offer wraparound services across 210 campuses. Wraparound Services Specialists in these campuses work with…

This article presents results from an innovative social work field education program, which prepares BSW and MSW students to work in interdisciplinary teams with congregational nurses as they serve persons age 55+ or older. The Congregational Social Work Education Initiative is a field education project based on an applied interdisciplinary model,…

The Boone Hope Foundation has given away over $130,000 in gift cards, rent checks, and eyeglasses--all targeted to help students with emergency needs related to food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare in its rural Iowa community. This is the story of teachers from a typical Midwestern school--relatively small and certainly not affluent--who have…

Interviewed 381 older adults participating in Area Agency on Aging meal programs in Florida. Found that only 10 percent were aware of dangers of accidental hypothermia. Many low-income elderly are vulnerable to cold because of poorly insulated homes, inadequate heating, and lack of warm clothing. States need initiatives to increase comfort levels…

This document contains the report of an Illinois task force formed to examine issues that make it different to grow older as a woman than as a man and to develop a set of recommendations to help meet the needs of women in Illinois. The focus is on housing, health care, and economic security of older women. It is noted that over 1,300 older women…

Reviews animal contributions to fulfilling human need worldwide, including food, shelter, protection, labor, and many others. Identifies inputs into the animal husbandry process. (CH)

The texts of three Senate hearings on the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act of 1965 are provided in this document. The first hearing examines changing needs of the elderly. Needs of minority elders for services under the Act are discussed in the second hearing. The final hearing examines the functioning of current programs to determine…

The status of the refugees in Africa and the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is charted on a country by country basis in this report. The size of the refugee population and their needs are described along with various assistance efforts directed at improving their situation. Sums of money spent by UNHCR office are…

Discusses the problems of economically disadvantaged Black elderly women, focusing on such problem areas as age, racial and sexual employment discrimination; health; housing; nutrition; and public policy. Advocates new governmental programs, investigations of the problems of the elderly, and support of militant groups supporting the aged. (JM)

About one-third of Black Americans live in poverty. The inability to achieve economic independence renders them hostage to numerous problems that may include occasional or chronic hunger, homelessness, and lack of adequate health care. Blacks must pursue vigorous political representation, among other strategies, to attain economic…

Discusses the economic implications of the recommendations of "Health Care for the Homeless," the controversial supplementary statement to the Institute of Medicine's report, "Homelessness, Health and Human Needs." Concludes that the original report presents a more politically realistic approach to the problems of the homeless…