Child Care Subsidies and Employment Behavior Among Very‐Low‐Income Populations in Three States

Using merged administrative data from welfare reform evaluations in three states, we estimate the effects of child care subsidy use on the length of time it takes for a welfare applicant to move into substantial employment. Findings show that the use of a child care subsidy during an unemployed or marginally employed spell of welfare receipt is associated with between a 0.6 and 1.7 quarter (or 11% to 34%) reduction in the time to substantial employment in two of the three state samples. The positive influence of subsidy use on transitions to substantial employment is strongest for those welfare applicants with the lowest earnings who are mixing welfare and work prior to subsidy receipt.     

对我国发展循环经济的思考

从20世纪80年代开始,我国用短短的20多年走完了发达国家上百年的历程。发展规模之大、速度之快世所罕见。但是,我们在发展中走的仍是传统发展之路,能源、资源消耗大,经济、社会效益低,特别是生态环境破坏严重、代价高昂。有关专家提出,靠传统的发展模式解决不了经济发展中面临的资源生产率问题,必须树立科学发展观,坚定地实施可持续发展战略,走循环经济发展之路。本文着力探讨解决经济增长与资源和生态环境之间的矛盾的出路———发展循环经济,并提出了相应的对策措施。     

公益诉讼制度初探

近年来,随着公民法律意识与权利意识地加强,各地不断爆出不计个人得失为公共利益而提起诉讼的普通公民,但他们的起诉无一例外都是被驳回。这是因为我国现行的诉讼制度在确定诉讼当事人时,对原告采用的是“适格说”,即原告必须是与本案有直接利害关系的公民、法人和其他组织,也就是说,原告必须是为了维护自身的合法权利提起诉讼。对于为了维护国家和社会公共利益而提起诉讼,它的主体在我国只能是人民检察院,即由检察院代表国家提起,而目前,检察院只有权对刑事案件提起公诉,对民事、行政案件只有检察监督权而无起诉权。这说明我国的诉讼制度还有待完善,而完善的途径之一就是引入公益诉讼制度。     

Assessment of competency for execution? A guide for mental health professionals

Assessment of competency for execution presents two compelling ethical questions for mental health professionals: whether clinicians can ethically provide such assessment, and if so, how it should be done in order to maximize quality and minimize ethical conflict. In this article we address the issue of whether to participate and, if so, how. The question of whether to participate is discussed by summarizing the arguments for and against participation and offering guidelines for making a decision. The question of how to proceed is discussed in two contexts: preadjudication (before a formal decision about competency) and postadjudication (following a determination of "incompetent" and transfer of the offender to another facility for treatment and further assessment). Finally, recommendations are made regarding research that would improve the quality of execution competency assessments.     

The Medicare secondary payor provisions: possible rewards and pitfalls

A 1990 report prepared by the Office of Inspector General estimated that as much as $1 billion is lost to the Medicare program annually because (i) secondary payor situations are not detected and (ii) insurance companies often do not pay when they are required to be the primary payors. Office of Inspector General, No. A-09-98-00151, April 1990, Medicare and Medicaid Guide (CCH) [symbol: see text] 39,112, at 25,649. In order to better enforce the MSP provisions, suggestions have been made at the Congressional level to impose sanctions against providers who demonstrate a pattern of inappropriate billing practices such as double billing, repeated failures to screen beneficiaries for other insurance coverage, and the repeated submission to Medicare of bills that should be submitted to another payor. (See the Subcommittee Report on erroneous payments under the MSP program, supra.) Although authority for such sanctions has yet to be adopted, given the fiscal problems currently plaguing the federal government, providers can expect increased enforcement of the MSP provisions as a means of reducing Medicare costs, and should review their screening and billing practices accordingly.     

Family types and communication with parents: A comparison of youth at different identity levels

Recent theory views adolescent behavior as nested in an ongoing system of family relationships. In keeping with this focus, differences in family functioning of high vs. low identity achievement youth were examined and variables to account for differing identity levels were explored. However, the hypothesized relationship (Circumplex Model) between family type and communication was also examined. Subjects were 411 male students, 18–24 years of age, belonging to intact nuclear middle-class homes, who resided with parents in urban areas. Measures used were the Identity Achievement Scale, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, and the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale. Results supported an association between balanced family type and effective communication (p.001). Significant differences in the family types were found (p.001), with high identity subjects belonging to balanced families, experiencing more openness (p.01) and less problems (p.01) in communicating with parents. Openness with father, mother, and problems with father emerged as significant discriminants. There are important implications for counselling and therapy with youth, placing family at the center of the psychosocial milieu influencing their development.Received Ph.D. from H.P. University. Research interests: adolescent psychosocial development, youth, identity, and family influences.Received M.A.; Ph.D. from Boston University; Panjab University. Research interests: family interiors, women studies, life stress, self image (DAP), sexuality, myths, holistic healing, and tribal women.