This book marks the first time a human development approach to measuring well-being has
been applied to an industrialized nation. Published by the Social Science Research
Council and Columbia University Press, it ranks states and congressional districts
according to the "American Human Development Index"—which goes beyond economic
output to include three aspects of well-being: health and longevity, access to
knowledge (educational attainment and enrollment), and standards of living (median
earnings). Hard copy: $16.47 or access findings for free on the Web site.

Take The Measure of America Quiz - How sensitive are you to the factors that shape the
quality of life for average Americans? Find out online, and then learn about the Social
Science Research Council and Columbia University report on the American Human
Development Index, The Measure of America.

Mayor Bloomberg has a new plan and it's the first time any local government has put in
place an alternative to the country's 40-year- old standard for measuring poverty, the
National Academies reports.

This report from First Focus is a road map for the Children's
Budget Bill in Congress (as of July 2008). Only one penny of every new, non-defense
dollar spent by the federal government has gone to children and children's programs.
Since the 1960s, the share of spending on kids has dropped 23 percent.
Kids' Share 2008. From the Urban Institute and the New America Foundation, this report
looks at trends in federal spending and tax expenditures on children and finds that
kids have historically not been a budget priority. In 2007, children's spending did not
keep pace with GDP growth and will continue to be squeezed in the next decade unless
policies change.

When it comes to the federal budget, not much is a simple. But a bill in Congress has
potential. The "Children's Budget" legislation -- introduced in Congress in July 2008
by Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and several co-sponsors -- would require future Presidents
to add up all the different sources of funding for children's programs in the federal
budget plans they submit each year, much the way they currently tally spending on
homeland security. It carries no cost and is an easy way to paint a clear picture of
overall spending on children's programs.

Run to Vote combines the sport of track and field with your pledge to vote in 2008. A nonpartisan voting drive led by students and teachers from Granville Central High School in Stem, North Carolina, the Run to Vote team is traveling through 48 states to register people to vote, and collecting pledges to participate in the election this November. For every person that registers to vote or pledges to vote, one of the teachers, or volunteers from the team, will run the equivalent lap on a quarter mile track. Through July 5, 2008, the team has run 814 laps, registered 153 people in 18 states and collected more than a thousand citizen pledges to vote.

Voters feel Congress is out of touch when it comes to funding education—that's according to a new national poll from the National School Boards Association (NSBA). Of 1,200 respondents, 74 percent said Congress does not do a good job of setting priorities for the federal budget and spending—and needs to change these priorities. A majority (59 percent) said they'd be less likely to vote for a member of Congress who voted against funding No Child Left Behind and Special Education programs to their "authorized and promised levels." Voters aligned with both parties supported restoring this funding.

In March 2006, the Coalition on Human Needs released a helpful guide to the 2007 budget plans—a much easier read than the hundreds of pages of the actual budgets!

What does a state's revenue have to do with kids? Everything. From funds for classrooms and after-school programs to public health coverage and housing assistance, state revenues matter. This Rockefeller Institute of Government policy brief has some useful information for anyone concerned about families and community programs. According to the report, 2005 marked the second year of revenue growth for states—their general fund tax revenue grew 10.7 percent from fiscal year 2004 to fiscal year 2005. Still, federal budget cuts will continue to challenge state resources.

Did our elected officials live up to their campaign promises in 2005? Check out the latest Congressional Scorecard from the Children's Defense Fund to see how your members of Congress voted on key legislation affecting children and families.

The 2006 federal budget, passed in February 2006, includes net cuts to Medicaid of $4.8 billion over the next five years and $26.1 billion over the next ten years. This six-page Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured brief looks at what areas of Medicaid will be cut and how families and states may be affected—including the introduction of co-payments and cost-sharing for low-wage families.