Children’s Medication: Time to Go Metric?

A study recently published in Pediatrics found that parents made fewer liquid medication dosing errors when using milliliter units than when they used teaspoon and tablespoon measurements.

Although parents may feel more comfortable with teaspoons and tablespoons, the researchers observed that parents mix up the terms and their abbreviations (tsp. and tbsp.). Also, according to the study, “teaspoon and tablespoon units may inadvertently endorse the use of kitchen spoons, which vary widely in size and shape, making it difficult for parents to measure their intended dose.” In fact, the researchers found that parents were (1) 30 times more likely to use a kitchen spoon to measure doses in teaspoons or tablespoons than they were to measure ones in milliliters and (2) twice as likely to make mistakes measuring doses in teaspoon or tablespoon units than they were measuring milliliter dosages.

Additionally, the researchers found that prescriptions that were written in milliliter units were often converted to teaspoon or tablespoon units by the dispensing pharmacy.  Specifically, out of over 100 prescriptions written in milliliters only, 50% of the associated prescription labels used teaspoons only and 8.3% used milliliters and teaspoons. The researchers suggested that this discrepancy may be due to perceptions that parents do not understand how to measure milliliter dosages.

Moving Inland in Search of Affordable Housing

The New York Times recently reported that the nation’s fastest growing cities are those in which housing is more affordable than average (e.g., Raleigh-Durham, NC and Austin, TX).  Ten years ago, the opposite was true: the fastest growing cities were those where housing was more expensive than average (e.g., Cape Coral, FL and Riverside, CA).  The graphic below shows the fastest growing cities: the larger the circle, the faster their growth and the darker the color, the more affordable their housing.

As the graphic shows, many of the fastest growing cities are in the middle of the country.  According to the Times, rising rents and tight mortgage standards are pushing buyers inland, where the cost of living is much lower.  

Source: Redfin via NYT

Increases in Life Expectancy Slowing Among American Seniors

A recent study by Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health found that Americans’ life expectancy is increasing at a slower rate than other parts of the world. The authors attribute the slower increase primarily to the “obesity epidemic” and its associated health conditions.

Researchers studied the medical records of approximately 1.4 million Medicare beneficiaries over age 67 with 21 defined chronic health conditions. Approximately 60% of study subjects had three or more chronic diseases.

The study authors found that both the number and type of chronic health conditions a person has significantly impacts his or her life expectancy. For example, they note that a 75-year-old American female with no chronic health conditions, on average, lives to age 92. But, if that same woman has five chronic health conditions, she will only live to age 87, and only to age 80 if she has 10 or more chronic health conditions.

Researchers suggest that medical advances that prolong life may not keep pace with the complexities of chronic disease and acknowledge that the U.S. health care system is not designed to care for people with several chronic illnesses.

Hot Report: Georgia Works and Similar State Programs that Allow Unemployed Individuals to Train with Employers While Receiving Benefits

OLR Report 2014-R-0208 describes the Georgia Works program and similar programs in other states and then answers the questions: Are these programs working? Have they raised any issues or concerns?

Launched in 2003 and scaled back in 2011, the Georgia Works program, which is no longer in service, allowed unemployed individuals to train with an employer for up to eight weeks, at no cost to the employer, while receiving unemployment compensation (UC) and a weekly stipend. This program, and similar ones modeled after it, is different from a wage subsidy program that reimburses employers for a certain percentage of wages paid to new hires (e.g., Connecticut’s Subsidized Training and Employment Program (STEP)). Under Georgia Works, participants train with a company while receiving UC, but are not hired nor paid by participating employers during the course of their training.

When it launched the program, the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) said it would be a “win-win” for employers and job seekers by reducing the risk and cost of hiring and helping job seekers gain new skills. The program was initially open only to UC recipients, but was later expanded to anyone who was unemployed (including those who had exhausted their unemployment benefits and continued to look for work and those who had been out of the workforce and were looking to reenter it). This expansion led to fiscal troubles for the program, and it was scaled back and eventually eliminated.

GDOL initially claimed the program was successful, stating that between 2003 and 2010 it put 63% of its participants back to work in 90 days, saved employers almost $15 million, and saved Georgia $6 million. However, several organizations and individuals raised concerns about the program. Labor organizations claimed it violated federal labor laws and displaced current workers. Think tank economists contended that the program was not effective in training job seekers for high paying jobs. Finally, Georgia’s current labor commissioner believes the program lacked the oversight necessary to provide a meaningful experience for trainees.

Several states, including New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Wisconsin have created programs based on the Georgia Works model. North Carolina’s and Wisconsin’s programs, like Georgia Works, appear to be defunct. However, New Hampshire’s program is still in service and appears to have addressed Georgia Works’ oversight-related shortcomings by requiring participating employers to, among other things, develop a training program and have it approved by program staff.

The Obama Administration used Georgia Works as a model for the “Bridge to Work” program included in the 2011 American Jobs Act, which among other things would have allowed long-term unemployed workers (typically those receiving emergency unemployment compensation) to work temporarily with an employer while continuing to receive unemployment benefits (“Bridge to Work” program). The American Jobs Act did not pass, but the Georgia Works model resurfaced in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. This act, which became law in 2013, authorizes the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) to approve demonstration projects in 10 states to test and evaluate measures designed to expedite reemployment of UC recipients. States can use administrative funds to implement demonstration projects or apply for a waiver to use Unemployment Insurance Trust Funds for that purpose. According to USDOL, it has not approved any demonstration projects to date.
For more information, read the full report.

U.S. DOE Announces Program to Reduce Methane Emissions

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced a series of steps it will take to help modernize the nation’s natural gas transmission and distribution systems and reduce methane leaks and emissions.  The main component of natural gas, methane is considered a potent greenhouse gas.
 

According to the announcement, DOE will:

1. establish energy efficiency standards for new natural gas compressor units,
2. evaluate and establish a high-impact manufacturing research and development initiative to improve natural gas system efficiency and reduce leaks,
3. examine ways to provide greater cost recovery for new investments in modernizing natural gas transmission infrastructure, and
4. provide grants and technical assistance to the National Association of State Regulatory Utility Commissioners to encourage infrastructure modernization and repairs to natural gas distribution networks.

I Love My Robot, But I Don’t Want it to Take My Job!

Will robots and totally awesome computer apps lead to a new era of job creation and prosperity or will they steal jobs away from average humans leaving them addled, unemployable, and adding to our society’s income inequality?

The folks at the PewResearch Internet Project wanted to explore this question so they conducted a canvass of technology experts asking the following question (researchers called it a canvass because it was not a random survey):

Self-driving cars, intelligent digital agents that can act for you, and robots are advancing rapidly. Will networked, automated, artificial intelligence (AI) applications and robotic devices have replaced more jobs than they have created by 2025?

It turns out that even people who spend most of their time thinking about technology can’t agree on the answer. The PewResearch Internet Project published the canvass results and reports that 48% of the 1,896 respondents envision a future in which these technological advances have displaced significant numbers of employees, both blue- and white-collar, thus leading to masses of people who are essentially unemployable. But, the other half, 52% to be exact, think that technology will not displace more jobs than it creates. Although this group, the report notes:

“anticipates that many jobs that currently rely on humans to perform them will be largely taken over by robots or digital agents by 2025. But they have faith that human ingenuity will create new jobs, industries, and ways to make a living, just as it has been doing since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.”

TicketNetwork Settles Complaint

According to the New York Times, Connecticut-based TicketNetwork and two of its affiliates have agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle state and federal complaints. As part of the settlement, the company agreed to pay $750,000 to a Connecticut fund for consumer education and enforcement. 
The complaints stated TicketNetwork used deceptive marketing tactics when reselling entertainment tickets around the country.  The company used websites that resembled the official websites of major performance venues (e.g., Radio City Music Hall).

TicketNetwork is the third-largest ticket resaler, behind StubHub and Ticketmaster.

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection has the state's complaint and consent order on their website.

Federal Judge Rules Against NCAA in Antitrust Case

In a 99-page decision, a federal judge ruled that the NCAA violated federal antitrust law by unreasonably restricting certain college football and basketball players from being compensated for using their images and likenesses. The judge enjoined the NCAA from enforcing rules that prohibit Football Bowl Subdivision and Division I basketball players from receiving a limited share of the revenues generated from using these images and likenesses. However, the injunction allows the NCAA to cap the revenue an athlete can earn at $5,000 per year, to be placed in a trust until the athlete leaves school or exhausts playing eligibility.

The decision came after a three-week trial in federal district court in Oakland. The judge, after finding that markets existed for the athletes’ images and likenesses, rejected the NCAA’s arguments that the restraints were necessary to preserve amateurism, maintain competitive balance, promote the integration of academics and athletics, and increase its total output.

The NCAA announced that it will appeal the decision.

Hot Report: Ballot Question and Explanatory Text for Proposed Constitutional Amendment

OLR Report 2014-R-0221 explains how the law requires the Office of Legislative Research to prepare a concise explanatory text describing the content and purpose of a proposed constitutional amendment that will be voted on by electors at a general election. The text is subject to approval by the Government Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee—the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance over constitutional amendments. Once approved, the secretary of the state must print and send the explanatory text, together with the language of the proposed amendment, to town clerks and registrar of voters in each town in sufficient supply for public distribution. The secretary must also print the text on posters, of a size she determines, and mail each town enough so that registrars can display at least three in each polling place (CGS § 2-30a).

During the 2013 legislative session, the General Assembly passed HJ 36 (Resolution Approving an Amendment to the State Constitution to Grant Increased Authority to the General Assembly Regarding Election Administration), requiring it to be placed on the ballot for the November 4, 2014 general election.

For more information, including the text that will appear on the ballot, read the full report.

Increasing Attention On ALS

As has been widely reported in by both traditional and social media, the “Ice Bucket Challenge” launched this summer has raised a considerable amount of money for research on Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). 

So what is ALS?  It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting the motor neurons involved in voluntary muscle movement.  Early symptoms may include muscle weakness or difficulty performing routine physical activities. As the disease progresses, these difficulties increase, eventually leading to paralysis.  People with ALS also develop difficulties with speech and breathing; this often leads to losing the ability to speak or breath on their own. 

ALS is almost always fatal. According to the ALS Association, the average life expectancy for ALS patients is about two to five years from diagnosis; five percent of patients will survive for 20 years after diagnosis. The association notes that there is no cure or treatment to reverse the disease’s progression; one FDA-approved drug may “modestly” slow its progression. 

A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are approximately 3.9 cases of ALS per 100,000 people in the U.S. general population.  Among other things, the CDC report found that prevalence is (1) higher among males than females and (2) highest among older white males.

For more information about the disease and current research efforts, see the ALS Association’s website and the CDC's website.

Federal Study to Identify Marijuana-Impaired Drivers

A three-year long experiment designed and administered by the federal government to identify the level of marijuana that impairs drivers, concluded this past spring.  According to a USA Today article, scientists are now studying the 250 variables checked by the experiment. This federal research is expected to lead to specific guidelines on impaired driving based on marijuana levels.

Per the article, the test involved having 19 volunteers consume specific combinations of marijuana and alcohol, or a placebo before “driving” for approximately 40 minutes in a driving simulator. According to the article, the simulator “can mimic the look and feel of everything from urban parking lots to darkened gravel roads. Deer jump out unexpectedly. Passing cars swerve.”
The article specifies that the study is similar to those conducted to develop the blood alcohol levels for drunken driving.

The initial data from the experiment is expected to be available by October of this year and should help regulators determine legally acceptable limits.  In the meantime, the article indicates that states like Colorado, which has legalized recreational and medical marijuana, and their neighbor, Wyoming, are taking measures such as increasing the number of street police officers who are experts in drug recognition.

Solar Panels That Let the Light In

Researchers at Michigan State University are developing a new type of solar panel – one that is transparent so it lets light shine through, according to Science Daily.  The “transparent luminescent solar concentrator module” can be placed on a building over a window or on any device with a flat, clear surface, like a cell phone or e-reader. Until now, luminescent solar materials were colored. The research team is instead using small organic modules to absorb nonvisible sunlight wavelengths that create an infrared light that is converted to electricity by photovoltaic solar cells. The new technology is at its early stages of development, but has the potential for commercial use at an affordable price. The researchers’ goal is to make “solar harvesting surfaces that you do not even know are there.”

photo: Sciencedaily.com, “Solar Energy that Doesn’t Block the View”

More States Strengthen Oversight of Charter Schools

A new report from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) finds a growing number of states have enacted laws addressing the oversight and performance of charter schools.

While 42 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws, recently more states are concentrating specifically on the bodies that authorize new charter schools and the role they play, according to the report. For example, 15 states and the District of Columbia have established standards for authorizers, and 11 states and D.C. have set explicit performance thresholds that determine if a particular school’s doors remain open. In Connecticut, where the law allows local and state charters, both must receive State Board of Education approval (CGS § 10-66bb).

The report reviews laws in all 50 states and an accompanying database outlines findings in policy areas including accountability, autonomy, teachers, and finance.

Income Inequality Stunts the Economy’s Growth…

…claim Standard and Poor’s economists (How Increasing Income Inequality is Dampening U.S. Economic Growth, and Possible Ways to Change the Tide). That may not be news to many academic economists who pour over income and demographic figures looking for patterns and trends on how income is distributed throughout society and what it means for the economy.

photo: http://www.dealermarketing.net/files/
economic-recession-or-recovery.jpg

But business economists, like S&P’s, are a different matter. As the New York Times’ Neil Irwin put it:

…the new S&P report is a sign of how worries that income inequality is a factor behind subpar economic growth over the last five years (and really the last 15 years) is going from an idiosyncratic argument made mainly by left-of-center economists to something that even the tribe of business forecasters needs to wrestle with.

After all, business forecasters are paid to advise business officials about what’s around the next bend, including potential changes in people’s spending habits (which also affect tax revenue flows). Those habits figure into S&P’s take on why the economy isn’t kicking into high gear. In summing up S&P’s findings, Irwin wrote:

Because the affluent tend to save more of what they earn rather than spend it, as more and more of the nation’s income goes to people at the top income brackets, there isn’t enough demand for goods and services to maintain strong growth, and attempts to bridge the gap with debt feed a boom-bust cycle of crisis….

photo: Time

Marriner Eccles, a tycoon and former Federal Reserve governor, made a similar case in 1950 when he looked back over his days making money in the 1920s and regulating the nation’s money supply in the 1930s and 1940s. Eccles “understood the economy from the ground up,” wrote Berkeley public policy professor and former Clinton administration labor secretary Robert B. Reich, in Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future (2010). “He saw how average people responded to economic downturns, and how his customers reacted to the deep crisis at hand. He merely connected the dots.” During the Great Depression, Eccles didn’t see how lower prices and interest rates would spur new investment if people didn’t have the money to buy things. According to Reich, Eccles wrote that “[s]uch investments take place in a climate of high prosperity, when the purchasing power of the masses increases their demands more than their bare wants.”

Spotlight on Medicaid Exclusions

With more than half of states expanding their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid is growing in many ways. In contrast, recent articles highlight two places where Medicaid can’t reach: (1) juvenile justice residential facilities and (2) residential addiction treatment in community-based facilities with more than 16 beds.

An issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation explains that federal law prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds to provide services to inmates in public institutions, with certain exceptions, a provision known as the inmate exclusion. The law allows youth already enrolled in Medicaid and entering juvenile justice residential facilities to remain enrolled, but Medicaid generally will not cover the cost of their care while they reside in the facility. The inmate exclusion also applies to adults in correctional facilities.

Federal law also generally prohibits Medicaid from covering care in adult residential mental health treatment facilities with more than 16 beds. This provision is known as the institutions for mental disease exclusion. According to this New York Times article, the law “was intended to prevent Medicaid funds from covering treatment in state psychiatric hospitals, which were far more common when it was written in 1965.” Today, as Medicaid expands to cover more people, this exclusion affects patient intake at larger facilities.

Hot Report: DCF Therapeutic Group Home Clousures

OLR Report 2014-R-0215 answers the question:

On what factors did the Department of Children and Families (DCF) base its decision to close five therapeutic group homes? How many children will be affected? How were the families of those children notified? Where will the children go when the homes close?

In keeping with the department’s goal of reducing reliance on congregate care placement, DCF is in the process of closing five therapeutic group homes and one short term assessment and respite (STAR) home. The department based its decision to close the group homes on several criteria, including geographic need and occupancy rate (see below). The homes have a total licensed bed capacity of 33, but as of August 4, 2014, only 19 of the beds were filled. The homes may remain open until August 31, 2014. The affected children’s families were notified of the closures by the children’s DCF case workers. 

According to DCF, “individual transition plans have been developed by the DCF workers responsible for the 19 children that were placed in these homes. Some of the youth will move to other group homes, some may transition to adult services in [the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services] or [the Department of Developmental Services] and others may return home with community services.”

According to DCF, the (1) closures will save $4.6 million next fiscal year and $5.5 million the year after that and (2) reductions are part of the budget adjustments enacted by the General Assembly during the 2014 session. DCF also notes that the programs are grant funded, which means that they receive funding regardless of census.
For more information, read the full report.

Number of Uninsured in Connecticut Drops

The national Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index shows Connecticut is among the 10 states with the largest reductions in the uninsured rate among adult residents since the federal Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement to have health insurance took effect. The 10 states with the largest reduction in the percentage of uninsured are Arkansas, Kentucky, Delaware, Washington, Colorado, West Virginia, Oregon, California, New Mexico, and Connecticut. According to the Gallup findings, Connecticut’s rate of uninsured residents has dropped by 4.9% from 2013 to midyear 2014. Gallup reports that each of the 10 states both expanded Medicaid and established either a state-based marketplace or state-federal partnership marketplace under the ACA.

Access Health CT, Connecticut’s state health insurance marketplace, similarly announced a significant drop in the number of uninsured residents since the roll out of the ACA, according to the CT Mirror. Kevin Counihan, CEO of Access Health CT, said the state marketplace has enrolled 256,666 residents, of which 138,834 (54%) were previously uninsured.

Regulating Digital Currency

Digital currency, also known as virtual currency, allows people to make purchases and other transfers over the Internet.  Bitcoins are the most widely used form of digital currency.  No state or federal laws specifically govern digital currencies and they are not considered legal tender in any country. A recent article from the Pew Charitable Trusts discusses state and federal attempts to regulate digital currencies.

Following is a list of some of the actions that the article highlights:

1. New York has proposed regulation for digital currencies that would (a) require compliance with anti-money laundering laws and (b) establish licensure and bonding requirements.
2. California recently passed legislation allowing the use of alternative currencies, including digital currencies.
3. The Texas and Kansas banking departments have recently announced that they do not consider digital currencies to be money.
4. The federal Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has stated that digital currencies are subject to money laundering rules and exchanges must register with FinCEN.
5. The federal Internal Revenue Service announced that, for tax purposes, bitcoins are property not currency.
6. The federal Government Accountability Office recommended that the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau participate in inter-agency working groups on virtual currencies.

Applying The "Demand-Based" Pricing Model To Campus Parking

Inside Higher Ed traces campus parking angst back to the 1980s, when UCLA surveyed its students and found that most of them worried more about finding parking than about their academic skills or course workloads.  Colleges and universities are still wrestling with how to quell that anguish.  Since it costs about $18,000 to build a space in the average concrete parking garage, schools are experimenting with more affordable options.

Typically, common campus parking permits are sold for a flat fee.  Permit holders may use them to find open spots located throughout campus.  Several schools are now considering switching to a “demand-based” pricing model, increasing permit prices for high-demand lots and decreasing them for low-demand ones.  

The University of Pennsylvania has adopted this pricing model.  Beginning in 2012, it increased the price of permits by 5% for “prime” garages and by 1 to 3% for distant lots.   As a result, one garage’s wait list disappeared and the other two decreased.  Some people decided that keeping their distant spot and longer walks was worth it compared to a bigger parking bill.

Oregon State University plans to implement demand-based parking prices this fall, and Stanford University will soon attempt the change as well.

Source: publicsafety.tufts.edu

Report: Children with Mental Health Needs Spending More Time in Hospital Emergency Departments

Children with mental health problems are spending more and more time in emergency departments at both the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) and Yale-New Haven Hospital, according to a Connecticut Health Investigative Team (C-HIT) article.

A CCMC report obtained by C-HIT found that over 250 children spent multiple nights in CCMC’s emergency department between January and July of this year, and expects that number to reach 500 by year’s end. If this trend continues,  the report projects that children will spend 3,085 nights in that hospital’s emergency department this year, more than three times the amount of time spent by children in 2010. Yale-New Haven Hospital said it has seen a 10% to 15% increase in such emergency department visits this year, the article stated.

Hospital administrators attributed the increase to a shortage of placements for children who need intensive residential care, as the Department of Children and Families (DCF) emphasizes keeping children with their families, according to the article. Children often end up in the hospital when their parents are unable to cope, hospital administrators said.

A DCF spokeswoman said the sharp rise in emergency department stays is unrelated to the closing of group homes or a shortage of treatment programs, but “mirrors a national trend driven by myriad factors,” including “a national move away from institutional care to family settings.” DCF is looking into the recent increase and considering how children can receive proper services, she stated.

Hot Report: Article V Conventions

OLR Report 2014-R-0192 answers the questions: By what methods do states (including Connecticut) call for an Article V convention? Are there any issues for which an Article V convention is close to being triggered?

Article V of the U.S. Constitution establishes two amendment procedures. The first is for both houses of Congress to pass a proposed amendment by a two-thirds vote. The second is for Congress to call a constitutional convention (i.e., an Article V convention) upon the application of legislatures in two-thirds of the states (a total of 34), during which amendments may be proposed and approved. In both cases, an approved amendment must subsequently be ratified by three-quarters of the states (a total of 38). State ratification is by either the legislature or a state convention; Congress determines the ratification method.

States typically call for an Article V convention through a joint or concurrent resolution passed by both chambers. In Connecticut, the legislature’s joint rules do not specifically address Article V conventions, but the state’s previous Article V applications were by joint resolutions.

With the exception of a federal balanced budget requirement, it appears that there are not any current issues that are close to triggering an Article V convention. Advocates for holding such a convention argue that the balanced budget requirement has met the threshold for triggering a convention, but to date, Congress has not taken any steps toward convening one. During the 20th Century, other issues that came close to triggering an Article V convention included (1) direct election of U.S. senators and (2) state legislative apportionment.

Several questions exist about how an Article V convention would be triggered and operate, partly because (1) the U.S. has never held an Article V convention and (2) the Constitution does not specify a process for holding one. These questions include whether (1) state applications for an Article V convention are valid indefinitely or only for a specified period, (2) a state can rescind its application, (3) the call of the convention would cover the entire Constitution or be limited to a specific issue, and (4) a convention called for a limited purpose could consider issues outside its mandate (i.e., become a “runaway” convention).
For more information, read the full report.

Connecticut Third Best State for Working Women

According to a study reported in the latest issue of The Connecticut Economy, Connecticut is the third best state for working women, behind only Vermont and New York.  The study compared the states based on several variables, including gender pay gap, maternity leave provisions, childcare costs, percentage of women with at least a bachelor’s degree, sexual assault rate, teen birth rate, and proportion of state legislative seats held by women.   Connecticut received particularly high scores for its maternity leave provisions, low teen birth rate, and education levels.  It scored relatively lower when it came to affordable childcare (due to the state’s high cost of living) and legislative representation (Connecticut had a “surprisingly middling” number of female state legislators).

According to the study, the worst three states for working women are Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Price to Emit a Ton of Carbon Peaks at $5.02

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative’s (RGGI) most recent quarterly carbon allowance auction set a record high price at $5.02 per allowance, up from $4.00 per allowance in the last auction, according to a New Hampshire Public Radio article.

RGGI is an interstate “cap and trade” program that regulates and reduces CO2 emissions from electric power generators. The nine participating northeast states, which include Connecticut, impose a regional cap on CO2 emissions and then sell emission allowances, each equal to one ton of CO2 emissions, to regulated power plants at RGGI auctions. Plants purchase allowances to demonstrate compliance with each state’s CO2 budget trading program.

According to the article, the price increase may be due to speculation that other states will join RGGI in the wake of proposed new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules that would regulate greenhouse gas emissions from future and existing power plants. States may see participation in a cap and trade program like RGGI as a way to comply with those rules. The National Conference of State Legislatures has more on the rules.

The next RGGI auction is September 3, 2014. For more information on Connecticut’s participation in RGGI, see OLR Report 2013-R-0307 on climate change issues and OLR Report 2013-R-0346 on proposed amendments to RGGI regulations.

“One Stop Shop” for Recall Notices

The federal government maintains an interagency website to inform consumers about product recalls, provide safety information, and enable the public to report dangerous products.

It specifically allows consumers to search for recall information from the following agencies with “vastly different jurisdictions:” Consumer Product Safety Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The website also allows consumers to sign up for e-mail alerts from most of these agencies notifying them directly about new recalls and safety information.

The State of Connecticut and the Pequot Tribe Execute Police Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)

The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), the Chief State’s Attorney, and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe have executed a MOA under PA 13-170 authorizing tribal police to exercise police powers, including enforcing Connecticut and federal laws within its boundaries.

In announcing the MOA, DESPP Commissioner Schriro states that it, "combined with the agreement with the Mohegan Tribal Nation, will enhance safety and security on both reservations and in eastern Connecticut. The addition of POST-certified tribal police officers in the region contributes to the complement of state and local police forces in eastern Connecticut, increasing the presence of sworn personnel in the area, at the ready to respond to any emergency, as needed."

Hot Report: Gift Tax

OLR Report 2014-R-0211 answers the following questions about the gift tax:

1. For calendar years 2008-2012, (a) how much revenue did the gift tax generate and (b) how many gift tax returns were filed?
2. Is Connecticut the only state that imposes a gift tax?
3. Have any states recently repealed their gift taxes? 

As Table 1 shows, taxpayers filed over 1,900 gift tax returns in calendar years 2008-2012, generating over $354 million.

Table 1: Connecticut Gift Tax, Calendar Years 2008-2012

Calendar Year	Revenue Generated ($-millions)	Number of Returns Filed
2012	$218.4	1,400
2011	65.3	407
2010	24.1	22
2009	24.6	46
2008	21.8	46
Total	354.2	1,921

For more information, including the reason for the significant jumps in 2011 and 2012, along with answers to the other questions, read the full report.

State Laws Address Unauthorized Immigration

A recent article in the Pew Charitable Trust’s Stateline magazine highlights some of the measures state lawmakers have taken to address unauthorized immigration. The measures include allowing unauthorized immigrants to:

1. pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities,
2. get driver’s licenses, and
3. receive welfare or Medicaid benefits.

Citing National Conference of State Legislatures research, the article stated that (1) 16 states now offer in-state tuition rates to unauthorized immigrants and (2) 11 states allow them to get driver’s licenses. Five years ago, only three states allowed these immigrants to get driver’s licenses, the article stated.

The article also highlights recent executive branch actions and court decisions regarding illegal immigrants in California, Florida, New York, and Nevada. Although these actions and decisions are based on state law, they invariably test the jurisdictional boundaries between local, state, and federal governments.

Hartford Reopens Economic Development Contest for Four Days

The “Strong Cities, Strong Communities” (SC2) challenge in Hartford is accepting new teams into the contest from August 14 - August 18. The SC2 challenge is part of a federal initiative launched to “enhance the capacity of local governments to develop and execute their economic vision and strategies.” Currently, in addition to Hartford, two other cities are participating in the initiative: Greensboro, NC and Las Vegas, NV.  Each participating city has launched a competition with a cash prize for the best economic development plan.

The SC2 challenge in Hartford is looking for detailed, feasible, and sustainable economic development plans that will attract, assist, and retain (1) the most likely to succeed first-time and serial entrepreneurs and (2) established companies with significant growth potential.

The competition will take place in two stages. In Phase I, registered teams will create proposals, due September 22, 2014, and a panel of community leaders will review the proposals. In phase II, the finalists will further develop their proposals into actionable plans. Hartford initially opened the contest in March. Cash prizes total $900,000.

Trend Toward Criminalizing Homelessness

A recent report  from an organization advocating for homeless people, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, notes that municipal codes are increasingly criminalizing activities that homeless individuals engage in out of necessity.  The center’s survey of almost 200 cities revealed that:

• 43% prohibit sleeping in vehicles,
• 35% impose city-wide bans on camping in public,
• 33% impose city-wide bans on loitering in public,
• 24% impose city-wide bans on begging in public,
• 18% impose city-wide bans on sleeping in public, and
• 9% prohibit individuals and organizations from sharing food with homeless individuals.

The chart below shows how these numbers have changed in the last few years. 



Source: No Safe Place

The report discusses the implications of these statistics and suggests policy alternatives.

An article on National Public Radio discusses the issue and the report.

Voting Equipment Nears End of Useful Life

In the wake of the 2000 election, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) which, among other things, set new standards for voting equipment. As part of the act, the federal government provided more than $3 billion in funding for local jurisdictions to upgrade their voting equipment.

But according to a recent article in Governing, much of that equipment is nearing the end of its useful life and purchasing new equipment, which the article states could cost some jurisdictions millions of dollars, will be a significant challenge. The article also states that there is currently a shortage in available replacement equipment, noting that voting technology standards have not been updated since 2005, which makes vendors hesitant to introduce new products.

Mosquito Tests Positive for West Nile Virus

On July 22, 2014, the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station and the Department of Public Health (DPH) confirmed that a mosquito tested positive for West Nile virus in Connecticut, according to the Hartford Courant.  This is the first detection of West Nile in the state this year, out of 144,000 mosquitoes caught and tested so far.   DPH issued a reminder to residents that they can reduce their risk of mosquito bites by:

• minimizing time outdoors between dusk and dawn;
• making sure door and window screens are tight fitting and in good repair;
• wearing shoes, socks, long pants, and long-sleeved shirts when outdoors for long periods or when mosquitoes are most active; and
• using mosquito repellent when outdoors.

 

Hot Report: Housing Units Supported by the Department of Housing

OLR Report 2014-R-0194 answers the following questions: How many programs does the Department of Housing (DOH) fund or administer that provide, rehabilitate, or create short- or long-term emergency, supportive, or affordable housing?  How many beds or units do these programs support?  Where are they located? 

Other OLR Reports list residential housing programs operated by or under contract with other state agencies: 

1. 2014-R-0078 (departments of Developmental Services, Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), and Children and Families (DCF) operated or funded group homes).
2. 2014-R-0195 (Nursing homes receiving funds from the Department of Social Services (DSS)).
3. 2014-R-0197 (Department of Corrections and Judicial Branch residential programs).

DOH funds or administers numerous programs providing, rehabilitating, or creating short- or long-term emergency, supportive, or affordable housing.  DOH provided our office with information on 12 of these programs.  They are the:

1. Assisted Living Demonstration Program (363 units);
2. Congregate Housing Program (985);
3. Elderly Rental Assistance Program (1,376 units);
4. Emergency Shelter Program (1,720 beds);
5. Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS Program (298 dormitory-style beds and 215 units, including 3 houses);
6. Moderate Rental Payment In Lieu Of Taxes Program (3,590 units);
7. Privately Owned Rental Housing Tax Abatement Program (6,268 units);
8. Rental Assistance Program (houses 4,032 individuals);
9. Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (houses 7,451 individuals);
10. Section 8 New Construction/Substantial Rehabilitation Program (798 units);
11. State-Assisted Supportive Housing Program (1,178 units); and
12. Transitional Living Program (517 beds and 6 units).

In many cases, DOH is just one of many funding sources for these programs.  For example, (1) the Supportive Housing Program is supported by DOH, DCF, DMHAS, DSS, and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, among other entities and (2) DOH gives grants under the Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS Program using both federal and state money.

 

DOH also provided information on housing construction and rehabilitation projects receiving funding under various DOH programs that were contracted for on or after January 1, 2011.  Since January 1, 2011, at least 1,175 new housing units have been built with such funding and at least 7,419 additional units either are under construction or received funding commitments.

For more information, read the full report.

VA Program Aims to Help Veteran ID Theft Victims

A new U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program called More Than a Number aims to help veterans who are identity theft victims.  The program’s website includes pages on how to tell if you have been victimized and what to do after your identity has been stolen.

The program also offers suggestions to prevent identity theft.  “Small changes can have big consequences,” Steph Warren, VA’s chief information officer said in a press release about the program. “Little things like shredding banking statements before throwing them away or using strong and unique passwords for all of your accounts can make a significant difference in protecting your identity from thieves who may try to use your personal information.”

The program also has a toll-free hotline — 1-855-578-5492 — that veterans can call with questions and concerns about identity theft Monday through Friday, 8 am to 8 pm Eastern.

A New Study on Why Students Leave High School: Don’t Call Them Dropouts

A new study shines light on what students say causes them to drop out of high school and indicates the primary reasons are significant problems the students face, often outside of school. The study, Don’t Call Them Dropouts: Understanding the Experiences of Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation, asserts that it is a mistake to assume young people leave school because they are lazy and unmotivated.

America’s Promise Alliance and the Center for Promise at Tufts University issued the report in June. Center researchers conducted in-depth group interviews in 30 cities with 200 young people ages 18-25 and surveyed several thousand more for the study.

The problems students cite are often a cluster of issues taking place at the same time that may include family health crises, dangerous neighborhoods, unstable home lives, homelessness, and abuse. These factors can be aggravated by the students’ yearning to belong somewhere.  If school is not supportive or inviting, some students view other options, like joining a gang or having a child at a young age, as more attractive.

“Young people who don’t finish high school have few avenues for sharing their stories with adults, school professionals, community leaders, and policy makers,” the report’s authors write. “The goal of this report is to change that – to raise up the voices of young people who have not graduated from high school so that we all gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and choices they face.”

 

Roughly 20% of the nation’s high school students drop out of school, according to the report. That represents about 800,000 students a year.

 

The report’s survey shows that of those who leave school:

• 53.1% lost someone close to them,
• 42.6% were a regular caregiver to a family member,
• 36.9% used drugs,
• 30% were emotionally or physically abused,
• 21.9% experienced homelessness,
• 18% were incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility, and
• 11% were in a gang.

These responses were all well above the levels of those who continuously attended school, according to the survey. For example, 39.8% of the dropouts said they had moved four or more times, compared to 19.7% of the graduates.

 

The report also includes recommendations to address this problem, including making greater efforts to identify students who need extra support and then providing those supports.

A Few Days Left to Apply for Department of Housing’s RAP and Section 8 Waiting Lists

The Department of Housing (DOH) recently announced that on August 4, 2014 it would open the waiting lists for its Rental Assistance Program (RAP) and the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.  The lists had been closed since 2007, making their opening significant. According to the announcement, DOH is accepting applications from August 4 through the 18 and will choose, by lottery, 3,000 applications for the RAP waiting list and 5,000 applications for the Section 8 HCV Program waiting list.

RAP and the Section 8 HCV Program are Connecticut’s two main rent subsidy programs that help low-income families rent privately-owned housing. RAP is state funded and HCV is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

To Some Insurance Companies, Scooters are Just Like Cars

A case in Michigan may affect thousands of people who use personal motorized scooters. A man using a personal motorized scooter was hit in a crosswalk by an automobile driver, but the driver’s insurance company is refusing to pay, according to a story in Bloomberg Businessweek. The insurance company contends the man on the scooter was required to have no-fault auto insurance and because he didn’t, the insurance company doesn’t have to pay damages.

According to an article in the Macomb Daily, the insurance company claimed the “[p]laintiff’s mobility scooter was a motor vehicle because it was operated on a public highway by a power other than muscular and it has four wheels.”

However, according to attorneys interviewed for the Bloomberg article, it appears that insurance companies in Michigan and other states do not offer auto insurance for personal motorized scooters.

Hot Report: DCF Background Checks

OLR Report 2014-R-0188 answers the questions: Under what circumstances does the Department of Children and Families (DCF) perform background checks? How many employees perform the checks and how many are performed per year? What is the process for a batch file?

By law, DCF maintains a confidential central registry of substantiated perpetrators of child abuse and neglect. DCF uses the registry to perform background checks for prospective employers, licensing authorities, and other public agencies permitted by law to request such checks. (This is different from criminal history background checks, which are conducted by law enforcement.) The registry background check request must be accompanied by an “Authorization for Release of Information for DCF CPS Search” signed by the subject of the check. The law requires individuals applying for certain specified positions and licenses to submit to a background check from the registry. 

According to DCF, in 2013 the department’s Background Check Unit (BCU) processed 135,000 background checks.  There are currently six processing technicians in the BCU that perform such checks.

According to DCF, the department currently has memoranda of agreement with four state agencies to run batch files (i.e., automated runs):  the departments of Education, Motor Vehicles, Public Health, and Social Services. Depending on the agency, the frequency of the runs varies from once a week to once a month. The process, outlined below, generally takes DCF one week to complete. 
For more information, read the full report.

Wiretapping Practices Nationwide

According to a report from the federal court system and analysis by the Pew Research Center, four states account for half of the nation’s wiretapping activity (California, Florida, Nevada, and New York).  Together, these four states account for only a quarter of the nation’s population.  According to Pew, when accounting for population, Nevada had the highest wiretap rate, with 38.2 wiretaps per 500,000 people in 2013.  Connecticut came in 14th on this list, with 5.1 wiretaps per 500,000 people.
 
The annual federal report compiles wiretap authorizations by state and federal judges.  Pew notes that nearly 90% of the wiretaps appear related to drug offenses.

Click here for the Pew story and here for the full 2013 wiretapping report from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Bike Saddles—A New Innovation in Airplane Seating?

A recent Atlantic City Lab article reported on a recent patent application from Airbus for a conceptual seat design that could increase the number of seats on a plane, and thus an airline’s revenue.

The seats, shown below, resemble bike saddles and are described in the application with the US Patent and Trademark Office as a “seating device comprising a forward-foldable backrest.” The application claims that the seats will “avoid providing an excessive unnecessary distance” between seats. According to Airbus, these seats are conceptual, and “many, if not most, of these concepts will never be developed, but in case the future of commercial aviation makes one of our patents relevant, our work is protected.”

Despite obvious issues with passenger comfort, the article notes that seating arrangements like this may have a future, as the success of discount airlines (e.g., Spirit Airlines) have shown that many passengers will give up comfort for a cheaper fare. However, attempts to cram more passengers into an airplane have often met opposition in safety regulators, such as a recent proposal by Ryanair to create standing-only tickets.

The article also mentioned other recent ideas by companies wishing to increase capacity on airplanes. These include “hammock” seats, seats that keep a passenger partially standing, and lofted seats. 

Source: Google Patents, US20140159444

It’s That Time of Year Again: Sales Tax Free Week from August 17-23

From Sunday, August 17 through Saturday, August 23, Connecticut shoppers can buy clothing and footwear costing less than $300 per item without paying the state’s 6.35% sales tax.  This one-week sales tax holiday applies to clothing and footwear sales made by Connecticut and out-of-state retailers to Connecticut customers.

What’s covered by the sales tax holiday?  The Department of Revenue Services has a comprehensive list that generally includes most articles of clothing or footwear (e.g., shirts, dresses, jackets, sneakers, sleepwear, and work clothes) and a few more unusual items (e.g., arm warmers, diapers, ear muffs, scout uniforms, and square dancing clothes).

What’s not covered?  The list of excluded items includes special clothing or footwear designed for certain athletic activities or protective uses (e.g., athletic supporters, shin guards, and sports helmets and uniforms) and a few peculiar items (hair nets and lobster bibs).

Did you check for any inflection points today?

Well, if you didn’t, your business (or agency or state, for that matter) could be in trouble. An inflection point is a disturbance in the force that upsets an organization’s mental apple cart, requiring new ways of thinking and acting if the organization is going to survive.  It’s the make or break point, as the graphic below suggests.


 

That’s not too far off from how Intel Corporation’s CEO and President Andrew Grove defined  inflection points in his book, Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points that Challenge Every Company and Career.

There’s wind and then there’s a typhoon; there are waves and then there’s a tsunami. There are competitive forces and then there are supercompetitive forces….An inflection point occurs where the old strategic picture dissolves and gives way to the new, allowing business to ascend to new heights. However, if you don’t navigate your way through an inflection point, you go through a peak and after the peak the business declines. It is around such inflection points that managers puzzle and observe, “Things are different. Something has changed.”

When the winds change, a business or any organization stands to lose its competitive advantage if it’s slow to detect and respond to the change. Intel had its close call with a technological tsunami and survived. Kodak and Polaroid weren’t so lucky. These camera and film industry giants apparently didn’t pay attention to the tsunami generated by new, emerging digital technology and lost their competitive advantage. (In an earlier posting, we compared these events to fast breaks in basketball, where a team steals the ball from the other team and races unobstructed to its basket for a quick two points.) 



Hot Report: Return To Learn

OLR Report 2014-R-0209 examines  “return to learn” efforts in other states to help student athletes return to the classroom following a concussion.

Massachusetts regulations require each student diagnosed with a concussion to have a written graduated reentry plan for return to both athletic and
academic activities.

A Nebraska law passed in 2014 requires schools to establish a return to learn protocol for students that sustain a concussion. The protocol must recognize that such students who have returned to school may need informal or formal accommodations, curriculum modifications, and monitoring by medical or academic staff until they are fully recovered.

In 2007, the Pennsylvania Department of Health created the Brain Strategies Teaching Educators, Parents, and Students (BrainSTEPS) program, which helps school districts create educational plans for students after they receive a concussion or traumatic brain injury.

For more information, read the full report.

Higher Education Persistence Rates Decreasing

A recent report found a 1.2 percentage point decrease from 2009 to 2012 in the number of students who enroll in higher education and return for a second year. The numbers, known as persistence rates, measure the percentage of students who remain enrolled in any higher education institution (not necessarily the one at which they started) from one year to the next.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 68.7% of students who first enrolled in postsecondary education in Fall 2012 returned to the same or a different institution the following year, compared with a 69.9% persistence rate for students who first enrolled in Fall 2009.

Persistence rates declined by 2.8 percentage points in four-year private institutions and 2.3 percentage points in both two-year and four-year public institutions. The rate increased by 0.7 percentage points in four-year for-profit institutions.

People Want Good Highways, Not Necessarily to Pay for Them

Although 60% of people believe the economic benefits of good quality highways outweigh the cost to taxpayers, there isn’t agreement on how to pay for them, an AP poll has found. The poll, conducted in July 2014, found that 58% of respondents opposed raising the federal gas tax to pay for transportation projects, with only 14% supporting the idea. The federal gas tax of 18.4 cents has not increased since 1993.

The poll also found that 17% of respondents support turning over highway construction projects to private companies in exchange for the right to impose tolls (46% opposed); 30% support having state and local governments take over responsibility for these projects from the federal government (22% opposed); and 20% favor replacing the gas tax with a tax based on the number of miles a vehicle is driven (40% opposed).

Congress has also been unable to agree on a long-term solution for maintaining and repairing the highway system, agreeing this summer on a temporary solution that will end in May 2015. “Congress is actually reflecting what people want,” according to Joshua Schank, the president of a transportation think tank quoted by the AP. “People want to have a federal transportation program and they don’t want to pay for it.”

Using Social Media off the Clock? There’s no Such Thing

The Employer Handbook blogger Eric Meyer offers a cautionary tale of how using social media on your personal time can cost you your job. A waitress in Findlay, Ohio, used her Facebook page to complain about a particular customer’s tips, and the waitress used some colorful language to boot. The restaurant where she worked fired her.

The customer was one of her Facebook friends and she brought the post to the waitress’s employer. That’s when she was let go, according to Meyer. While Meyer notes the local media in Findlay framed the situation as a freedom of speech issue, he is not sympathetic to that thinking. Insulting a customer generally is not allowed in a restaurant so why should it be condoned on Facebook?

Meyer says the Facebook post is even worse than calling a customer an expletive to her face. “Because not only did the waitress embarrass her Facebook friend, a customer of the restaurant, she did so publicly,” Meyer writes. “That’s a terminable offense.”

Response of Public Benefit Programs to Rise In Parental Unemployment

The Urban Institute recently published a fact sheet on the response of public benefit programs to the increase in parental unemployment during the recent recession (specifically, 2007-2012). The researchers looked at certain programs supporting children over those five years and found that enrollment in some programs rose along with the unemployment rate while others appeared less responsive. As depicted in Table 1, the researchers found that enrollment in unemployment insurance (UI) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) rose dramatically from 2007 to 2009, while enrollment in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) remained relatively stable.

Table 1: Growth in Public Benefit Programs Supporting Children



Source: Urban Institute, Public Supports When Parents Lose Work: A Fact Sheet



In the accompanying research brief, researchers noted that during the recession, most low-income families were able to access at least some public assistance (in the form of cash, food, or both) when one or both parents were unemployed. However, they also found that many families receiving some form of assistance still struggled economically and were food insecure. But, according to the brief, “without the safety net, unemployed parents would have found it more of a challenge to meet their children’s basic needs.”

Hot Report: LEED and Energy Star Buiding Certifications

OLR Report 2014-R-0200 explains the difference between the Energy Star and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications for buildings, including their potential financial costs and benefits.

Energy Star is a program developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that, among other things, promotes energy efficiency in consumer products and buildings. The Energy Star certification for buildings focuses on measuring a building’s energy usage and comparing it to similar buildings. EPA awards Energy Star certification to certain types of buildings that earn an Energy Star score of at least 75 out of 100. This score indicates that the building is among the top 25% most energy efficient buildings of its type. Although Energy Star certification requires at least 12 months of a building’s operational energy data, EPA also offers a “Designed to Earn the Energy Star” designation for new construction projects based on a new building’s estimated energy usage.

The LEED program is a building certification process developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) that aims to improve a building’s performance across a variety of “green” areas, including energy efficiency.  Eligible building projects must meet various prerequisites, such as complying with certain energy efficient engineering standards, and can earn additional points by implementing other green measures. The prerequisites and optional measures cover energy efficiency and several other areas, such as water management, material and resource use, and indoor air quality. A project’s certification level depends on how many optional points the project accumulates.

For more information, read the full report.

Some Hospitals Using Consumer Spending Data to Predict Patient Care

According to a recent Business Insider article, some health insurers and hospitals buy consumers’ spending data in order to “identify high risk patients and curtail bad health habits.”

While patient medical records are protected under HIPAA, other personal health information can be obtained from store loyalty program transactions, credit and debit card histories, and other public records sold by data brokers. This information may include whether you currently have a gym membership or regularly buy fast food, cigarettes, or over-the-counter medications.

The article notes that Carolinas Health Care, which operates more than 900 medical centers in North and South Carolina, started entering consumer data on two million patients into predictive models that assign risk scores to patients. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, within two years the company will distribute the scores to doctors and nurses so that they can identify high risk patients and intervene before they become ill. 

Gregory Project: Billboard Housing

NBC News recently reported that a Slovakian architectural design firm has proposed building small living spaces for the homeless in the triangular space behind V-shaped billboards.  These lofted units would utilize billboards’ rigid structure and electric connections; all that’s needed is a water connection.  The firm’s plans for a two room apartment include a kitchen, bed, desk, and bathroom. 

The designers suggest that the billboards’ advertising revenue could partially fund the homes’ maintenance.



Source: Gregory Project

The Centenarian Population

A recent U.S. Census Bureau report that analyzed characteristics of the nation’s 55,000 centenarians (people age 100 or older) and compared them with other seniors found that centenarians have lower education levels, are predominantly female, and are more likely to live in poverty than other seniors.  Among the report’s major findings:

1. 57% of centenarians received at least a high school diploma compared with 77% of those in the age 65 and older group.
2. Women made up 81% of centenarians and 57% of those age 65 and older.
3. 17% of centenarians and 9% of the 65 and older population lived below the poverty line.
4. 83% of centenarians received Social Security income compared with 88% of the age 65 and older group.
5. 24% of centenarians were receiving retirement income and 38% of the 65 and older population received it.