ANALYSIS: Obama proposes same-old discredited education ideas

During his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, President Obama once again called for renewed and vigorous funding of universal preschool programs at the state and national level–a favorite policy of the president that nevertheless is opposed by most education experts.

“Research shows that one of the best investments we can make in a child’s life is high-quality early education,” said Obama. “I’m going to pull together a coalition of elected officials, business leaders, and philanthropists willing to help more kids access the high-quality pre-K they need.”

Contrary to the president’s statements, research does not indicate that greater funding of early education efforts would be a worthwhile investment for the nation’s children. Experts from the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution and the Reason Foundation have all told The Daily Caller that there is very little evidence for the claims made by universal pre-K supporters.

While children enrolled in preschool tend to develop more quickly than their peers, the gains don’t last. By fourth grade, children who enrolled in preschool are no more intellectually or socially advanced than their peers, according to studies.

There is also scant evidence that expanding early education programs would have a noticeable reduction on crime or poverty, as liberals often claim.

Still, the evidence has not stopped Obama from frequently demanding increased funding for federal preschool programs like Head Start, as well as state efforts. Funding for pre-K was a major policy proposal in previous SOTU addresses as well as in other speeches the president gave throughout the year. (RELATED: Obama skirts Congress, funds pre-K through Obamacare)

Via: Daily Caller

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The Case for Evidence Based Government

One of the trends in modern medical practice is the growing popularity of evidence based medicine (EBM), also called evidence based health care. In the United States the leading advocate of EBM is theUS Preventive Services Task Force. Their methodology is widely used within the Department of Health and Human Services. Under the EBM protocol, studies are reviewed and assigned a rating:

Level I: Evidence obtained from at least one properly designed randomized controlled trial.

Level II-1: Evidence obtained from well-designed controlled trials without randomization.

Level II-2: Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case-control analytic studies, preferably from more than one center or research group.

Level II-3: Evidence obtained from multiple time series with or without the intervention. Dramatic results in uncontrolled trials might also be regarded as this type of evidence.

Level III: Opinions of respected authorities, based on clinical experience, descriptive studies, or reports of expert committees.

From these studies possible interventions are rated on a scale of efficacy

• Grade A. Recommended. There is high certainty that the net benefit is substantial.
• Grade B. Recommended. There is high certainty that the net benefit is moderate or there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial.
• Grade C. No recommendation. Clinicians may provide the service to selected patients depending on individual circumstances. However, for most individuals without signs or symptoms there is likely to be only a small benefit.
• Grade D. The Task Force recommends against this service. There is moderate or high certainty that the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits.
• I statement. The current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms.

Via: Red State

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HHS Spent $56 Million on Conferences in 2012

Kathleen Sebelius discusses Obamacare in Texas / AP

BY: Elizabeth Harrington
October 17, 2013 11:00 am

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spent over $56 million on 135 conferences in one year, ranging from Head Start meetings to diversity seminars.

According to the agency’s report on conferences for fiscal year 2012, HHS spent an average of $415,784 per event.

Four conferences were devoted to the Head Start program, including the “1st National Birth to Five Leadership Institute,” a three-day conference held at the Washington Hilton for $836,521. The conference taught participants how to become Head Start leaders.

A “Head Start Research Conference” held at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C., cost $1,130,000.

HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement hosted a $350,000 conference at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va., entitled, “Transforming Hope into a Brighter Future.”

“The purpose of this meeting was to consult with various stakeholder groups to support vulnerable populations in becoming self-sufficient in the United States,” a description of the event said.

Two conferences were held on “health care in rural America” in Washington, D.C. within two months, for a total of $319,467.

Another event focused on how to “diversify the nursing workforce,” at a cost of $151,200. The “Nursing 3D: Workforce Diversity, Health Disparities, Social Determinants of Health” event was held at the North Bethesda Marriott in Maryland.

“The purpose of the summit was to convene experts, thought leaders, and key workforce diversity stakeholders to identify the full range of academic and health system factors, as well as the social, economic, and environmental determinants that influence our ability to diversify the nursing workforce,” HHS said.

Via: WFB

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Exclusive Gyms For Members Of Congress Deemed ‘Essential,’ Remain Open During Shutdown

Head Start programs have been shuttered, small businesses can’t get loans and hundreds of thousands of federal government employees are furloughed. But the exclusive gyms available only to members of Congress have remained open throughout the shutdown.

A House aide confirmed to ThinkProgress that the House member’s gym is open. The House gym features a swimming pool, basketball courts, paddleball courts, a sauna, a steam room and flat screen TVs. While towel service is unavailable, taxpayers remain on the hook for cleaning and maintenance, which has been performed daily throughout the shutdown. There are also costs associated with the power required to heat the pools and keep the lights on.

According to the aide, the decision to keep the gym open — even while other critical government services were shelved — came directly from Speaker Boehner’s office. Meanwhile, the staff gym available to Congressional staff has been closed.

It appears that the members gym in the Senate remains open on similar terms. Yesterday, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) complained to a reporter from the Omaha World-Herald that the members gym was getting “rank.”

The daily operating cost of the House and Senate gyms remains shrouded in secrecy. The Architect of the Capitol, which oversees both gyms, has previously refused to provide information about the gyms for “security reasons.” A call to the Architect of the Captol for this story was not immediately returned.

Dozens of House members — including many members of the Tea Party who pushed the government into shutdown over demands to defund Obamacare — live in their offices to save money and use the House gym to shower.

Via: Think Progress

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