Hunger in America 2014: National Report

Feeding America, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief organization, has conducted the most comprehensive study of hunger in America every four years since 1993. Like the prior studies, Hunger in America 2014 (HIA 2014), the latest iteration, documents the critical role that the charitable food assistance network plays in supporting struggling families in the United States. Study results are based on surveys of food programs in the charitable food assistance network supported by Feeding America, and clients that access services through that network in 2012-2013. In addition to this report on the Feeding America national network, this study has resulted in 42 state reports and 196 food bank reports detailing network activities on local levels.The current assessment occurs in a period with historically high demand for food assistance. Unemployment and poverty rates have remained high since the Great Recession of 2008, and the number of households receiving nutrition assistance from the federal government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has increased by approximately 50 percent between 2009 and 2013.Demand for charitable food assistance has also expanded. HIA 2014 finds an increased number of individuals relying on charitable assistance to access nutritious foods for themselves and their families

The Effect of an 8-Week Tai Chi Exercise Program on Physical Functional Performance in Middle-Aged Women

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an 8-week Tai Chi Chih exercise program on physical functional performance (PFP) among women aged 45 to 65 years. A quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent comparison group was used. Forty-one healthy inactive women were assigned to either an intervention group (n = 19) or a comparison group (n = 19). A 60-min Tai Chi Chih exercise class was conducted twice a week for 8 weeks. PFP was measured at baseline and postintervention using the Continuous Scale Physical Functional Performance–10 (CS-PFP 10). Between-group differences were analyzed using one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). After participating in the 8-week program, intervention group participants showed greater improvement in the CS-PFP measures (p .06). However, the comparison group had little changes. The findings from this study suggest that participation in an 8-week Tai Chi Chih exercise program can improve PFP in healthy, community-dwelling middle-aged women.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Employer Health Insurance Mandates and the Risk of Unemployment

Employer health insurance mandates form the basis of many health care reform proposals. Proponents make the case that they will increase insurance, while opponents raise the concern that low-wage workers will see offsetting reductions in their wages and that in the presence of minimum wage laws some of the lowest wage workers will become unemployed. We construct an estimate of the number of workers whose wages are so close to the minimum wage that they cannot be lowered to absorb the cost of health insurance, using detailed data on wages, health insurance, and demographics from the Current Population Survey (CPS). We find that 33 percent of uninsured workers earn within $3 of the minimum wage, putting them at risk of unemployment if their employers were required to offer insurance. Assuming an elasticity of employment with respect to minimum wage increase of -0.10, we estimate that 0.2 percent of all full-time workers and 1.4 percent of uninsured full-time workers would lose their jobs because of a health insurance mandate. Workers who would lose their jobs are disproportionately likely to be high school dropouts, minority, and female. This risk of unemployment should be a crucial component in the evaluation of both the effectiveness and distributional implications of these policies relative to alternatives such as tax credits, Medicaid expansions, and individual mandates, and their broader effects on the well-being of low-wage workers.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73099/1/j.1540-6296.2008.00133.x.pd

Facilitating the Welfare-to- Work Transition for Women with a Mental Health Work Barrier

Since the 1996 PRWORA welfare reform act requiring workforce participation in order to receive services, evidence has emerged that many welfare recipients experience mental health work barriers. Yet, little is known about effective approaches for assisting women with a mental health work barrier in the welfare-to-work transition. This paper addresses this gap by first surveying the empirical research on mental health work barriers among welfare recipients. Second, I propose a comprehensive service provision model to identify and assist welfare recipients with a mental health barrier. Third, I review outcome data from several promising intervention strategies.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106181/1/2005-Lee-MHWorkBarrier2.pd