Rural workers would benefit from unemployment insurance modernization

Rural workers stand to benefit from the modernization of unemployment insurance (UI) to cover part-time workers, which is an opportunity for states under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Plan (ARRA). Rural workers are more likely to work part-time, and many states that do not provide UI benefits to part-time workers have higher than average proportions of rural residents

Navigating the teen years: promise and peril for northern New Hampshire youth

This report provides a snapshot of how youth are doing in Carroll, Coos, and Grafton counties and describes some of the difficulties they and their communities face as they negotiate the transition to adulthood. The study is based on data from several agencies that collect county- and community-level information about youth, as well as from interviews with individuals working with youth in each of the three counties

Older Americans working more, retiring less

This Carsey brief finds that the percentage of Americans age 65 and older remaining in the labor force continues to grow steadily in urban, suburban, and rural areas. In 2009, 22 percent of older men and 13 percent of older women were still working compared to 17 percent of men and 9 percent of women in 1995. Moreover, increasing percentages of older workers hold full-time, full-year jobs

Federal child nutrition programs are important to rural households

This brief, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, examines how rural families use four of the major federal child nutrition programs. It finds that 29 percent of rural families with children participate but that there are barriers to these nutrition programs, such as the lack of public transportation and high operating costs for rural schools and child care programs

A Woman\u27s Work is Never Done? Earlier Life Child, Marital, and Work History and Older Women\u27s Relationship to the Paid Labor Force

In the past 40 years, women in the U.S. have experienced higher rates of labor force participation and higher rates of divorce and single motherhood. How these changes will affect women when they reach old age is not yet understood. Using a pooled sample from the Health and Retirement Study of 4,350 women born between 1931 and 1943, this dissertation assesses patterns of women’s work/retirement circumstances at age 66-68 and evaluates the relationship between those patterns and women’s earlier life marital, work, and childrearing history. Latent class analysis revealed four distinct classes of older women: the retired well (57.6% of the sample) were not working for pay but were in good or excellent health and had household wealth in the top 75%. Retired unwell women (14% of the sample) were also not working but were in fair/poor physical health and had very low household wealth. The working advantaged (17.1% of the sample) were healthy women still working, primarily in professional/managerial occupations, earning above median wages, and having the highest median levels of household wealth of the four groups. The “working average class (11.7% of the sample) were women still in the labor force, overwhelmingly in sales/labor/service jobs and making below median wages. This group had a 1 in 5 chance of being in fair/poor health and a 1 in 3 chance of being in the bottom wealth quartile. Multivariate latent class analysis including covariates revealed several significant relationships between women’s earlier life history and latent class at age 66-68. Women who had spent any time as a single mother or who had ever been divorced had higher odds of being retired unwell or working advantaged than retired well. Women with strong attachment to the labor force across their lives were less likely to be retired unwell and more likely to be either working advantaged or working average at age 66-68. Although single motherhood, work history, and marital history had independent effects on women’s late life status, race/ethnicity, education, and current marital status had stronger effects. Implications for future cohorts of older women are discussed

Updated Trends in Child Maltreatment, 2010.

Even in the midst of continuing difficult economic times, 2010 national statistics showed no increase in child maltreatment. Overall substantiated child maltreatment actually declined 1% from 2009 to 2010, including a 3% decline in sexual abuse and a 2% decline in physical abuse. Child maltreatment fatalities also declined 8%, but some known administrative changes af‐ fected the rates

Updated Trends in Child Maltreatment, 2008.

Recently released national child maltreatment data for 2008 show a generally encouraging situation during the first year of the serious recession that began in late 2007. Overall substantiated child maltreatment declined 3% from the previous year, including a 6% decline in sexual abuse. Child maltreatment fatalities stayed stable

Job characteristics and the psychological well-being of older workers

Changes in public and private pensions as well as demographic and economic changes will likely lead to higher labor force participation rates for older adults in the future. Little research has examined the impact of work on the well-being of older adults beyond simply comparing those who work with those who do not. Using data from the 2002 and 2004 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, this thesis examined whether specific job characteristics---namely job flexibility, job stress, and the workplace climate\u27s friendliness to older workers---were associated with depressive symptoms among a group of workers aged 62 to 73. Cross-sectional analyses indicated that job stress and workplace climate were associated with depressive symptoms. Longitudinal analysis revealed that workers whose employers would permit older workers to move to less demanding jobs showed decreases in depressive symptoms across survey waves compared with those who could not make such a move

Updated trends in Child Maltreatment, 2012.

National statistics from 2012 showed increases in some forms of child maltreatment for the first time in many years. While overall substantiated child maltreatment was flat from 2011 to 2012, there was a 2% rise in sexual abuse and a 5% rise in physical abuse. Neglect declined 3%, but child maltreatment fatalities rose 4% from 1557 to 1620

National Autism Indicators Report: Vocational Rehabilitation 2016

Employment is about more than simply earning a paycheck - it influences quality of life, independence, and wellness. Historically, employment outcomes for adults with autism are poor. The U.S. Vocational Rehabilitation system (VR) is designed to provide support to states for implementation of services to assist people with disabilities to prepare for, find, and keep employment. VR data allow us to examine some outcomes for those with autism compared to their peers.To make a difference, research must reach those who need it. The National Autism Indicators Report series presents our research findings in a clearly communicated, open-access, online format to speed the delivery of information to decision-makers while maintaining very high standards of scientific credibility