Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Business: Bonnie Braun: not present but still an active member New York team: no longer participating. Jo Swanson requested to be considered an affiliate Michigan: not able to continue in project but Laurie Bullock soon completing her dissertation and will want to be a part in some way. Wyoming: Kari Morgan still considering. Illinois: Ramona Oswald is present and is considering project West Virginia: Margaret Manoogian will not be representing West Virginia but rather will be part of the Ohio State team under Sharon Seiling Caroline Crocoll and Robin Douthitt unable to attend Overview of Past Accomplishments: (Liz Dolan) Reminder: we need to complete research proposal forms, post, and send out on the list serve. Also send completed papers to groups. Accomplishments: Papers: 17 Presentations: 94 Works in Press: 6 Works in Progress: 72 Masters/PhD theses and dissertations: 6 All members are working on at least one piece of scholarship 23 pages of publications, etc. for 10 year report Exhibit at NASALGIC (Business Cards passed out). Presentation of Overview of New Project: (Carolyn Bird and Kim Greder) Overview of project delivered Conference calls for the project will continue through Caroline Crocoll Issues Raised: 1.Pilot Data: Pilot datacollect in every state? States may not have money for this. Discussion about data collection training to get best data possible. Data collection work group is charged with this task. Diverse sample needs to be defined and best process to access these populations. 2.Protocol: Refinement of protocol needed to collect the data we want. For example, respite care policies in each state, caregiving by grandparents. 3.Collaboration: Dr. Chen, Nebraska Center for Rural Health Research, shared information about the projects they are working on and possibilities for collaboration. Work in Nebraska center performed under contract with public sector. Have worked with other states rural research centers. (RUPRI covers broad range of topics) 4.Sampling: Discussion about choosing counties and criteria. Oversight of state selection? Suggestion to select one county per state to get better data (if cost is a factor) Index of Relative RuralitySheila Mamman used in paper Issue of diversity in rural areas? Question: Did the state where data was collected make a difference in what was found in earlier studies? Types of families selected need to be diverse according to population of your state. Do we want to find out if community makes a difference? How do we decide who will be in our sample? Lesbian moms Latino immigrants Grandparents as caregivers Heads of household across all states Multigenerational Native Americans African Americans Asians Russian immigrants in Washington Family structures Language barriers Requiring SS#s and HIPPA regulations Discussion as to what counties with special populations should we study with the possibility of using another county to reflect entire state makeup Urban Influence Codes better than Beale Codes; take into account health influence Who is the family/unit of analysis? Female caregivers 19 and over Target child in household at least 50% of time at baseline Children birth to under age 13 Income guideline200% poverty line in February of year of data collection for size of the declared household Rural definition: UIC codes from previous project do not really represent what we want. CA, WY, LA and MA are 2s. States with limitations get first choice. Other states and new states will fill in missing holes. 5.Four Groups for New Project: Adult HealthBMI, CCED, SF36, health patterns of all members, relationship and confidence in health care provider, stigma, discrimination, perception of availability of doctors and dentists, food security, willingness to seek care, health routines Communityasset mapping, neighborhood quality and cohesiveness, physical activity, school score card, religious institutions, crime rate, financial institutions, housing type and affordability, transportation, child care availability Childparenting, fathers involvement, school outcomes, health, behavior, special needs, parent involvement Family Lifestyle & Economic Well-being Relationships (quality, stability, conflict), division of labor, social support networks, family well-being scale, Daily Hassles Inventory, human capital, income adequacy & perception, quality of life index, connectedness, health insurance. Business Meeting Continued October 10 Update on Previous Work: A list of journals in which work has been published and meetings for presentations were presented Funding from various sources impressive Over 80 graduate assistant years, not including Oregon. For future work, keep using the data and send to Jean. Nominated but not selected for best multi-state project Will seek foundation funding for policy conference in DC 2010. Guidelines for book proposals developed by Board this year. Requesting that you send the book proposal to Board and they will send it out for review in order to keep the group informed about what is going on. Current proposals include: (a) Bonnie Braun: Creative writing experience; (b) Liz and Jean: Edited textbook on employment for low-income mothers. Themes in this book will include: What is rural? EITC, health and physical issues, mental health and depression, employment volatility, food security, social support, child care issues, employment issues. Subset groups may include: Latino, Appalachian families. Chapters will be very short--book will be about 200 pages. Questions for students at end of each chapter will be included. Designated articles from our group will be summarized. Will put together a writing team for the project. Jean will deal with publisher and Liz will deal with us. Book will be in print by Springer publishing. Once approved, 6 month frame. Proposal will go to board and out for review. Similar volumes with different topics for future work can be developed possibly based on previous work groups. We have 60 on list serve on 1011 and a separate 1171 list serve. New board and old board need to discuss connections and new people and access to data. New board will need to update authors guide. Single author for manuscripts etc. need to be approved by Board. Important that we ask another state to work with us. If there is a decline, we can get Board approval to do work alone. Sampling: Will use UIC codes trying to get the ideal sample. Sample will be 30 participants from each state who meet the UIC code you choose We will identify counties based on UIC codes. Within counties, we will identify catchment areas (Lee Ann Simmons has definition of these areas), overlap county level UIC Codes with catchments to try to identify places in the state to collect data. Each state will need to find a couple of entry points. We will identify 8 families with criteria before relying on the social networking/snowballing. Need expressed for statements that everyone can use in IRBs in explaining sampling techniques. We will find IRB wording that has been approved. Subcommittee to develop template to use for IRB approval.(Leigh Ann, Leslie, Lenna, Lori, Peter) Special populations. Ramona requested that each state try to collect data from lesbian moms. She can help identify those families in each county. If a state wants to pursue diverse populations, they will identify the particular audience. Protocol: Add-ons to protocol do not have to be vetted if added after protocol completed first. Log additions so if another researcher might be interested in using. Variations in the procedures within a state must be approved by the group. Budget: Costs include collection, transcription, cleaning. Jean $10,000 for 30 families in last project. Susan estimated $15,000 for Nebraska for new project. Elections: Criteria for selection: No state duplicated, regional representation, and both new project members and members from earlier projects for continuity Chair: Sheila 2 year term; Secretary: Margaret 1 year; Vice Chair Outreach: Kim 1 year; Vice Chair Grant Management: Leigh Ann and Carolyn 2year term; Data Management: Cathey, Susan, and Yoshie 5 year terms Recognition to past leadership of projectLiz, Leslie, and Jean Funding Strategy: Establish key research questions/outcomes. Consider members who have done some work with health, universities with medical centers. Have multiple grants but target specific outcomes and still ask broad questions. Next Annual Meeting Possibilities: Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Des Moines. Date? First two weeks in October. Business Meeting Continued October 11 Write research questions remembering that objectives need to link families, community and policy and physical and mental health. Economic well being 1. What is intersection of physical and mental health and engagement in employment? a. Questions: current employment; employment history of adults in household; wages; how many weeks/months do they get that income? Health inventory; CES-D; perception of income adequacy 2.What is the access to health insurance, and public benefits, for both adults and children in the household? a.Questions: who in household have health insurance; what kind? b.What does this mean in accessing health care? What public benefits do they receive? How much do you pay for insurance? For health care when you access it? Prescriptions? c.Questions: when do household members get health care? Any issues accessing health care? 3.What is the interface between family well-being and family financial status, such as the ability to afford school fees and participation in extra-curricula activities, access to resources that assist in family economic well-being, (school lunch stigma, food stamps, finding a dentist/doctor accepting Medicaid, stigma of mental health treatment) a.Questions: (qualitative) what school fees? What kind of burden? 4.What is the relationship between financial behavior/financial stress, and mental and physical health? a.Daily hassles inventory b.Measure of credit history problems (3 questions) c.Measure of financial stress and financial well-being (8 questions) d.Measure of financial self efficacy and autonomy (13 questions) e.Transportation adequacy (have car, how old, how reliable) f.Public benefits received (what, how much) 5.What is the availability of affordable quality child care, and affordable, quality housing and the effect on employment situation, and mental and physical health? a.Questions: how much do they pay for child care? Housing costs? Rent/own? Utilities (gas, electric, phone, etc) b.Qualitative questions 6.What stressors, financial and otherwise, influence household financial self-sufficiency and mental and physical well-being? a.Daily hassles inventory b.CES-D 7.What is the interaction of community resources, economic marketplace, and mental and physical well-being on the ability of the household to maintain financial stability? a.EITC: get EITC; how much; how used; if not, why not filing b.qualitative Funding outlets: USDA: rural health and safety Education ($350,000) and about 5 will be funded Related issues of rural health care access& USDA: NRI  February 2009 $500,000 about 10 will be funded Reduce rural poverty, enhancing economic vitality of rural communities NRI  new investigator award Rural health and community development Grant Foundation: evidence of how context such as families and programs affect youth  3 year award Between $200,000 and $500,000 Decision: Meeting Site for 1171: October 7-10th, 2009 or following week. Des Moines, IA is choice for the siteKim Greder will be host and will assemble team to help Sacramento, CA is choice for the site2010Lenna Ontai will be host (Break down into small group work: grants and budget group, tentative sampling group, and protocol group)

1. Determination of Sample for New Project 2. Sampling strategies discussed and subcommittee formed to determine sample criteria and county selection 3. Protocol subcommittee formed and preliminary inclusion of measures in adult health, community, child well-being and outcomes, and family lifestyle and economic well-being 4. Funding subcommittee formed to determine source of potential funding opportunities and writing groups 5. Election of new officers for Executive Board 6. Determination of continued structure and annual meeting date/location.

Publications Berry, A., Katras, M. J., Sano, Y., Lee, J., & Bauer, J. (2008). Job volatility of rural low-income mothers: Mixed method approach. Journal of Family and Economic Issue, 29, 5-22. Braun, B. (2008). Rural family policy matters. In. Goreham, G.A. Ed. Encyclopedia of Rural America 2nd Edition. Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing. Churchill, S. L., Plano Clark, V., Prochaska-Cue, K., & Creswell, J. (2007). Family fun as reported by rural low-income women. Journal of Leisure Research, 39, 271-294. Cook, C., Bentzinger, A., Greder, K., Garasky, S., Sano, Y., Ontai, L., & Browder, D. (2008, October). The road to homeownership: Examining housing histories among recent Latino immigrants. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Housing Education and Research Association, Indianapolis, IN. Dolan, E., Braun, B., Katras, M.J., & Seiling, S. (2008). Getting off TANF: Experiences of rural mothers. Families In Society: Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 89 (3), 456-465. Grutzmacher, S. & Braun, B. (2008). Key differences between food secure and food insecure mothers in rural, low-income families. An analysis of three waves of the Rural Familes Speak study. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, 2, 81-92. Gudmunson, C.G., & Patricia D. Olson, P.D. (2008). Use of the EITC among low-income rural families in an economic downturn [Abstract]. In I. Leech & P. Fisher (Eds.), Proceedings of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. Pp.13. Mammen, S., and Lawrence, F. C. (2008). Losing out on the earned income tax credit: Differences between EITC recipients and eligible, non-recipients. [Abstract] In I. Leech & P. Fisher (Eds.), Proceedings of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. Pp. 7. Olson, C., Lent, M. (2008, May). Food insecurity in rural New York State. CARDI Research & Policy Brief, Number 17. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Available at: http://devsoc.cals.cornell.edu/cals/devsoc/outreach/cardi/publications/research-and-policy-brief-series.cfm Ontai, L., Sano, Y., Pong, H. N., Conger, K. (2008). Low-Income Rural Mothers Perceptions of Parent Confidence: Role of Family Health Problems and Partner Status. Family Relations, 57, 324-334. Plumb, J. & Braun, B. (2007). Rural low income womens struggles and strength: A call to change. Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 6. Available at: http://www.kon.org/urc/v6/plumb.html Sano, Y., Dolan, E. M., Richards, L. N., Bauer, J., & Braun, B. (In press). Employment patterns, family resources, and perception: Examining depressive symptoms among rural low-income mothers. Journal of Rural Community Psychology, E11 (1). Sano, Y., Richards, L. N., & Zvonkovic, A. M. (2008). Are mothers really gatekeepers of children? Rural mothers' perceptions of non-resident fathers involvement in low-income families. Journal of Family Issues, 29, 1701-1723. Simmons, L. A., Braun, B, Charnigo, R. C., Havens, J. R. & Wright, D. W. (Summer, 2008). Depression and poverty among rural women: A relationship of social causation or social selection? Journal of Rural Health, 24(3), 292-298. Simmons, L. A., Anderson, E. A., & Braun, B. (2008). Health needs and health care utilization among rural, low-income women. Women & Health, 47 (4), 53-69. Simmons, L.A., Huddleston-Casas, C., & Berry, A. (2007). Low-income rural women and depression: Factors associated with self-reporting. American Journal of Health Behavior,31(6), 657-666. Swanson, J. A., Olson, C. M., Miller, E. O., & Lawrence, F. C. (2008). Rural mothers use of formal programs and informal social supports to meet family food needs: A mixed methods study. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 29. 674-690. Available on line at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/l62x182554871302/ In Press Greder, K., Cook, C., Garasky, S., Sano, Y, & Randall, B.. (in press). Rural Latino immigrant families: Hunger, housing, and economic well-being. In R. L. Rochelle, J. DeFrain, J. Johnson, & D. A. Abbott (Eds.) Strengths and Challenges of New Immigrant Families: Implications for Research, Policy, Education and Service. Lexington Books. MD: Lanham. Huddleston-Casas, C., Charnigo, R., & Simmons, L.A. (in-press). Food insecurity and maternal depression in rural, low-income families: A longitudinal investigation. Public Health Nutrition. Katras, M.J., Dolan, E., Seiling, S. & Braun, B. (In press). The Bumpy Road off TANF for Rural Mothers. Family Science Review. Lee, J., Katras, M.J., & Bauer, J.W. (In Press). Childrens birthday celebrations from the lived experiences of low-income rural mothers. Journal of Family Issues. Mammen, S., Bauer, J., & Richards, L. (In press) Understanding persistent food insecurity: A paradox of place and circumstance. Social Indicators Research. Mammen, S., Lass, D., & Seiling, S. B. (In press). Labor force supply decisions of rural low-Income mothers. The Journal of Family and Economic Issues. Theses and dissertations Abel, T. (2008). Making ends meet: Hunger survival strategies in two rural Oregon communities. Unpublished master's thesis, Oregon State University. (J. Gross, advisor). Brewton, K. (defense fall, 2008) A qualitative look at the experiences of low-income, rural mothers raising children with disabilities. Unpublished masters thesis, University of Minnesota. (J.W. Bauer, advisor) Feeney, S. (2007). As a family we are going to be here: Mexican immigrant mothers experiences with parenting in distinct community contexts. Unpublished master's thesis, Oregon State University. (L. Richards, advisor). Frazer, M.S. (defense fall, 2008). Poverty measurement and depression in the context of welfare reform. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Minnesota. (J. W. Bauer, advisor). Petrovic, L. (2007). Health and the persistence of food insecurity in rural New York families. Honors thesis in Nutrition, Cornell University. (C. Olson, thesis advisor). Waldman, J. (2008). Stressor events, resources and depressive symptoms in rural, low-income mothers. Unpublished masters thesis. University of Maryland, College Park. (B. Braun, thesis advisor).