January 2003 - December 2003
Return to Archives Table of Contents
January
2, 2003. No.138.
COMMUNITIES
OF COLOR
ColorLines is pleased to announce the launch of RaceWire, our news
service geared specifically to the ethnic press and its readership.
Each month RaceWire will feature news, features, and op-ed articles
that focus on issues of race, politics, and culture in communities
of color. Recent headlines:"Black and Latino parents are demanding
better schools and fewer tests;" "Politics Trumps Religion." Click here for more information.
COMMUNITY
ORGANZING AND DEVELOPMENT
The COMM-ORG mission is to help connect people who care about
the craft of community organizing; find and provide information
that organizers, scholars, and scholar-organizers can use to
learn, teach, and do community organizing. COMM-ORG is based
on two basic beliefs: community organizers and academics can
both benefit by exchanging information and resources. The COMM-ORG
membership is composed of about half academics and half practitioners
(including some government officials and funders);the Internet
should remain a place where information and communication is freely available. Click here for more information.
CENTER FOR
COMMUNITY CHANGE
The Center for Community Change (CCC) is committed to reducing poverty
and rebuilding low income communities. The CCC helps people to
develop the skills and resources they need to improve their communities
as well as change policies and institutions that adversely affect
their lives. Poor people themselves " through organizations they
control " need to lead efforts to eliminate poverty. CCC helps
grassroots leaders build strong organizations that bring people
together to become a force for change in their communities. Click here for more information.
January
8, 2003. No.139.
January is POVERTY AWARENESS MONTH.
=============================================
POVERTY USA
Nearly 33 million Americans have fallen into poverty - more people
than a year ago, the highest number in years. What does it mean
to the life of our nation to have so many people lost in a shadowy
state of uncertainty and need? What does it mean to be poor in
America - to be a resident of the forgotten state of poverty?
Click here for the Poverty Tour. Click here for the Poverty USA Web site.
REGRESSIVE
TAXES FOR POOR & MIDDLE-CLASS
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy today released "Who
Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States."By
an overwhelming margin, most states tax their middle- and low-income
families far more heavily than the wealthy, the study finds.Most
states require their poor and middle-income taxpayers to pay the
most taxes as a share of income -- and the ways in which states
have managed their budgets during the last decade have made this
problem worse." State-by-state reports and "Top Ten" lists in pdf.
Click here for more information.
POOR HAVE
FALLEN OUT OF POLITICAL FAVOR
Despite the outpouring of support and generosity for the poor
during the holiday season, Americans don't really seem to care
about low-income people. Despite reports that hunger and homelessness
have increased dramatically over the last year (U.S. Conference
of Mayors report), raising the issue of
poverty in America has fallen out of political favor. "We have
indeed slipped into class warfare in our country, but it is being
fought top down, as the well off harvest new gains for themselves
from the powerless poor. And no number of charitable gestures,
as admirable as they are, can make up the difference." Click here for more information.
January 2003. No. 140.
From time
to time I learn of a special event that relates to community building.
This one sounds outstanding.
============================================
Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cornell's Community and Rural
Development Institute are hosting this year's Community Development
Society/International Association for Community Development meeting
at Cornell University in July, and expect over 400 community development
professionals to attend. The theme of Community as Place may be
of particular interest to library professionals. See announcement
:
YOU'RE INVITED
to join community development practitioners, researchers, policy
makers, and citizen
leaders from the U.S. and the around the world next July at the
2003 meeting of the Community Development Society. Click here for more information.
The Community
Development Society's 2003 meeting will provide a valuable opportunity
to sharpen professional skills, discuss critical issues, learn
from and interact with your community development colleagues. We
will meet on the scenic and historic campus of Cornell University
in Ithaca, New York, USA, July 20-23, 2003.
THEME: The
theme of the conference is Community as Place.Conference participants
will collectively explore the relationship between community
development and community sustainability. With a focus on "place"
we will explore different perspectives on the intersection of natural,
built and cultural environments. Participants will discuss and
learn about resources and approaches that foster community development.
HIGHLIGHTS:
The Conference features multiple tracks covering areas such as
Community Vitality, Economic Development, Extension, Environment
, Practice, Research and Graduate Studies, Social and International
Issues, Urban Issues, Telecommunications, and Faith-based Community
Development. Mobile workshops will go into the local community
for first-hand experiences in community development.
Regional
pre- and post-conference tours, plenary sessions, a picnic dinner
at Taughannock Falls State Park, awards banquet and
networking opportunities round out the agenda.
Click here for full conference
details.
January
14, 2003. No.141.
ONLINE ACCESS
TO BENEFITS FOR WORKING FAMILIES
One of the promises of the electronic age is to make government
services more accessible to citizens. Paper examines whether
technological improvements allow people to access a variety of
publicly funded work supports via the Internet. Six work supports
are examined: cash assistance, child care, food stamps, health
insurance, public or subsidized housing, and child support. These
work supports can help parents retain jobs and better provide
for their families, thus reducing turnover for businesses and
encouraging long-term employment among workers. Project of the
Center for Law and Public Policy. Click here for more information.
UTILITIES
RELIEF ACTION
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now,
is the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate-income
families, with over 120,000 member families organized into 600
neighborhood chapters in 45 cities across the country. Priorities
include: better housing for first time homebuyers and tenants,
living wages for low-wage workers, more investment in our communities
from banks and governments, and better public schools. We achieve
these goals by building community organizations that have the
power to win changes -- through direct action, negotiation, legislation,
and voter participation. Click here for more information.
NEW YORK
LIBRARIES and 2-1-1
Because of the shared goal of equal access to information for
all New Yorkers, libraries and the 2-1-1 Collaborative are natural
partners in the 2-1-1 Initiative. As the library community, education
and business leaders, and the public work together for support
and passage of New Century Libraries legislation, it is important
to recognize and lend our voices to the 2-1-1 Initiative for
New York State as well. The specialized information and referral
provided by 2-1-1 will offer a different kind of assistance and
access to information than that which is available in libraries.
The enhanced access to information offered by both 2-1-1 and
our public libraries will build awareness of community responsibility
for New York's diverse population. Click here for more information.
January
17, 2003. No.142.
UNITED FOR
PEACE
The demand placed on us by world events is to deal with the Iraq
crisis and to work to stop the war that is being planned. This
is unfolding in a global context where other crises can and will
erupt in connection to the Iraq crisis and they too will demand
our action. In addition, we will oppose new repressive measures
at home. We can and will work together now, focused on stopping
this war, and as we go forward we will discuss other issues and
the larger context. Unite for peace and say NO! to war. Click here for more information.
CITIES FOR
PEACE
Cities for Peace is a rapidly growing effort to get City Councils
and other civic bodies to pass resolutions against a war on Iraq.
CHICAGO, SAN FRANCISCO, BALTIMORE, DETROIT, SYRACUSE, PHILADELPHIA,
SEATTLE resolutions are among the 41 listed. Click here for more information.
UNMOVIC :
BASIC FACTS
The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission
(UNMOVIC) was created through the adoption of Security Council
of 17 December 1999. UNMOVIC was to replace the former UN Special
Commission and continue with the latter's mandate to disarm Iraq
of its weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological weapons
and missiles with a range of more than 150 km), and to operate
a system of ongoing monitoring and verification to check Iraq's
compliance with its obligations not to reacquire the same weapons
prohibited to it by the Security Council. Click here for more information.
January 23, 2003. No.143.
CENTER FOR
LAW & PUBLIC POLICY: WELFARE PLAN
The Administration seems to be proposing the same plan that it
put forward last year, even though the plan went through a year
of criticism for being rigid and unrealistic, unemployment is
now higher, and the state fiscal situation has deteriorated sharply
over the year. The Administration is also proposing to freeze
child care funding for the next five years at a time when states
are struggling to prevent cutting back child care assistance
for low-income working families. Click here for more information.
ARTS AND
CREATIVE AGING
When elders share their stories, they pass on to others their
accumulated wisdom. Unfortunately, America has provided few opportunities
for its elders to share their lives' stories with their communities.
Too often older Americans have been dismissed, denied meaningful
social roles, sequestered by a culture that views old age only
in terms of decline. Fortunately, America is changing. A sudden
and intense shift in ideology is underway in the U.S., and with
this shift a new field has emerged that may well transform what
it means togrow old. That field is creative aging. Click here for more information.
STATE OF
WORKING AMERICA
This year's State of Working America, the eighth in a series published
biennially since 1988 incorporates data through the first half
of 2002 in a comprehensive roadmap through the economy as it
is experienced by America's working people and their families.
With unemployment up sharply and job growth stagnant at best,
the tight labor market of the ˜90s boom is quickly unwinding
and its benefits are beginning to fade. Unless growth accelerates
soon, high and rising unemployment will generate wage stagnation,
higher poverty rates, and rising inequality. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
February
6, 2003. No.143.
AMERICAN
ASSOCIATON OF MUSEUMS & COMMUNITY
The American Association of Museums urges all museums to embrace
their responsibility to be active and collaborative civic institutions
and to respond to the aspirations and needs of citizens in their
communities.... Museums are community cornerstones. They are cultural
symbols and contributors to community enterprise, stewards of
collections, and providers of educational experiences. They are
treasured places where memories are created and shared.Museums
can also transform the way people view the world. Click here for more information.
EARNED INCOME
CREDIT (EIC) CAMPAIGN
EIC Campaign Kits help you help workers get the tax credits they've
earned: easy-to-read fact sheets; a full range of outreach strategy
ideas that have been used successfully in local communities; posters,
flyers, and envelope stuffers in English and Spanish; and the
essential tax forms workers need to claim the credits. By joining
the EIC Campaign, your organization becomes one of thousands across
the country helping millions of working families and individuals
claim the tax credits for which they qualify.Whether you put up
a poster, pass out flyers or run a full-fledged campaign, your
efforts to promote the EIC and the CTC can make a real difference
in the lives of millions of low-income workers. Click here for more information.
RACIAL JUSTICE--BREAKING
BARRIERS
NABRE (pronounced "neighbor") is a network that links national
and community-based organizations to bridge racial and ethnic
divisions. Our mission is to cultivate and nurture race relations
and racial justice organizations committed to building alliances
that break down barriers of race and ethnicity in all sectors
of communities and to build relentless momentum toward a more
inclusive and just nation. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
March
3, 2003. No.144.
[Jeb Bush
has signed the circulating components of the State Library of
Florida to a private university. Protests continue. Demonstration
on March 4, 2003. See item#3 for details].
REAUTHORIZATION
ROUNDUP
On February 13, the House passed H.R. 4, the Personal Responsibility,
Work, and Family Promotion Act, by a vote of 230 to 142. H.R.
4 increases work participation rates from 50 to 70 percent; increases
the required hours of work from 30 to 40 hours; restricts the
number of work activities countable toward the participation rate
for the first 24 hours; phases out the caseload reduction credit;
and mandates a new universal participation requirement. Click here for more information.
NO CHILD
LEFT BEHIND??
With its narrow focus upon math and reading test scores, NCLB
(No Child Left Behind) is seen by some as a dangerous experiment
that threatens to disrupt and dilute the education of millions
of children. Hidden within this law and the rules promoted by
the Ed Department are dozens of changes that are untested, unproven
and laced with political motives that could do great damage to
public education.The early focus on labeling schools as failures
when combined with parental choice provisions represents an assault
on public education, allowing virtual elementary schools, faith-
based tutoring and other untested charter alternatives to creep
into public systems with public tax money. Click here for more information.
SAVE THE
STATE LIBRARY OF FLORIDA
There is VALUE in keeping these functions within the same administrative
unit. The analogy to the Library of Congress made by many on the
listserv is an excellent one---would the Library of Congress operate
more efficiently by scattering its services across federal agencies
and sending its collections to other libraries? NO. Keeping the
State Archives with other library functions of the State has VALUE.
Dismantling the State Library of Florida with the actions described
above sends the scary message that...libraries, archives and historical
records have NO VALUE. Suggesting that no services or collections
are being eliminated, just sent to places where they can be more
efficient JUST ISN'T TRUE. Librarians, genealogists, historians,
archivists, and the citizens of Florida understand this! The State Library
of Florida has been awarded for its efficiencies and is known
for being an outstanding steward of taxpayers' dollars. PLEASE
ACT TODAY! The response to this issue has been strong already--please
put pen to paper, type an email, make a call. Let your voice be
heard! SAVE YOUR STATE LIBRARY! Click here for more information.
March 5, 2003. No.145.
ART AND SOCIAL
JUSTICE
Blueprint for connecting with community provided in the remarks
of Claudine Brown. Clarifies how main-stream institutions [like
libraries!-ed.] can become become cultural citizens with true
collaborative partnerships.The Community Arts Network (CAN) promotes
information exchange, research and critical dialogue within the
field of community- based arts. Click here for more information.
SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
Management of Social Transformation (MOST) promotes international,
comparative and policy-relevant research on contemporary social
transformations and issues of global importance. Created in 1994,
MOST aims to: further understanding of social transformations;
establish sustainable links between social science researchers
and decision-makers; strengthen scientific, professional and institutional
capacities, particularly in developing countries; encourage the
design of research-anchored policy. Click here for more information.
LIVING WAGE
CAMPAIGN
Living wage campaigns seek to pass local ordinances requiring
private businesses that benefit from public money to pay their
workers a living wage. Commonly, the ordinances cover employers
who hold large city or county service contracts or receive substantial
financial assistance from the city in the form of grants, loans,
bond financing, tax abatements, or other economic development
subsidies. The concept behind any living wage campaign is simple:
Limited public dollars should not be subsidizing poverty-wage
work. Click here for more information.
March
7, 2003. No.147.
THE STATE
OF WORKING AMERICA-2002-2003
The living standards of most American families are determined
by opportunities in the labor market. The
majority of family income derives from earnings, and the loss
of a job poses real hardship. In this regard, the recent recession
and the ensuing slow-growth recovery are serious problems that
have been underappreciated by many commentators who have judged
the downturn to be mild based on macroeconomic measures such as
overall growth in gross domestic product. [toward bottom of page]. Click here for more information.
EXECUTIVE
ORDER: PRESERVE AMERICA
It is the policy of the Federal Government to provide leadership
in preserving America's heritage by actively advancing the protection,
enhancement, and contemporary use of the historic properties owned
by the Federal Government, and by promoting intergovernmental
cooperation and partnerships for the preservation and use of historic
properties. The Federal Government shall recognize and manage
the historic properties in its ownership as assets that can support
department and agency missions while
contributing to the vitality and economic well-being of the Nation's
communities and fostering a broader appreciation for the development
of the United States and its underlying values.[continues on site]. Click here for more information.
COALITION
FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
The Coalition for Community Schools works toward improving education
and helping students learn and grow while supporting and strengthening
their families and communities. Community schools bring together
many partners to offer a range of supports and opportunities to
children, youth, families and communities -- before, during and
after school, seven days a week. Click here for more information.
March
12, 2003. No.148.
BRENNAN CENTER
FOR JUSTICE
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of
Law unites thinkers and advocates in pursuit of a vision of inclusive
and effective democracy. The mission is to develop and implement
an innovative, nonpartisan agenda of scholarship, public education,
and legal action that promotes equality and human dignity, while
safeguarding fundamental freedoms.Scholarship, public education,
and legal action are used to find innovative and practical solutions
to intractable problems in the areas of democracy, poverty, and
criminal justice. Click here for more information.
CENTER FOR
DEMOCRACY & TECHNOLOGY
The Center for Democracy and Technology works to promote democratic
values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With expertise
in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions
to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications
technologies. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all
parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new
communications media. Click here for more information.
ART MUSEUM
IMAGE CONSORTIUM
AMICO was established in 1997 by a handful of museum directors
who decided it was important to collaborate together in order
to promote and make their collections more accessible to educational
institutions around the globe. Their digital library includes
images from ancient to ncontemporary times... Click here for more information.
March
19, 2003. No.150.
UNITED FOR
PEACE AND JUSTICE
The demand placed on us by world events is to deal with the Iraq
crisis and to work to stop the war that is being planned. This
is unfolding in a global context where other crises can and will
erupt in connection to the Iraq crisis and they too will demand
our action. In addition, we will oppose new repressive measures
at home. We can and will work together now, focused on stopping
this war, and as we go forward we will discuss other issues and
the larger context. Unite for Peace & Justice and say NO!
to war. Click here for more information.
NATIONAL
PRIORITIES
The National Priorities Project (NPP) offers citizen and community
groups tools and resources to shape federal budget and policy
priorities which promote social and economic justice.Since 1983,
the National Priorities Project (NPP) has been the only group
in the country that focuses on the impacts of federal tax and
spending policies at the community level. We link political analysis
to action by serving as a bridge between policy organizations
and grassroots groups. We translate policy information into everyday
language and assist national and grassroots groups in their efforts
on such issues as improving their schools, creating living wage
jobs and providing affordable housing. Click here for more information.
COST OF WAR-TRADEOFFS
The TRADEOFFS NPP database offers state data on socio-economic
needs and federal expenditures, and allows you to create customized
tables, graphs and reports. Project website shows the impact of
how tax dollars are spent. Click here for more information.
March
25, 2003. No.151. Hard Times.
WELFARE REFORM
AND LOW-INCOME CHILDREN
Late in 2002, fifty leading U.S. scholars signed a statement explaining
how varying approaches to welfare reform are likely to affect
children.The good news is that improving the well-being of low-income
children through welfare reform is within policymakers' grasp.
But it is likely to depend on greater income support for working
families and more resources for child care. The bad news is that
one approach embodied in the House- passed plan" tougher work
requirements and few new work supports " appears, if anything,
to be more likely to harm children than to help them. Click here for more information.
CENTER FOR
LAW AND SOCIAL POLICY (CLASP)
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization
proposal requires individuals receiving cash assistance to participate
in certain federally defined activities for at least 40 hours
a week to fully count toward program participation rates. Supporters
argue that a structured 40- hour week is more likely to result
in families entering full-time jobs, and that since other families
work 40 hours a week, so should welfare recipients.A CLASP analysis,"Imposing
a 40- Hour Requirement Would Hurt State Welfare Reform Efforts,"
argues that the 40-hour requirement would make it harder for states
to run effective employment programs; would force states to misallocate
limited TANF and child care dollars; ignores the fact that some
parents are caring for ill or disabled family members; and does
not acknowledge that the average work-week is less than 40 hours
for mothers with school-age and younger children. Click here for more information.
COPING WITHOUT
EARNINGS OR GOVERNMENT
CASH ASSISTANCE
Urban Institute report examines what the poorest families need
in order to work and what supports they need when work cannot
be found. Interviews with families with children, [incomes below
50 percent of poverty level] show how very poor health, limited
skills, and the lack of jobs, transportation and child care raise
serious barriers to employment. They also illustrate how sanctions,
time limits, and other administrative hassles can prevent welfare
participation for many families without work. Food stamps
provided a base of support for about half of the families, but
50 percent of those not receiving food stamps had their benefits
terminated for administrative reasons. Interviewed families coped
by combining in-kind government support, child support, help from
family or friends, "side jobs," and charity. Click here for more information.
March
31, 2003. No.152.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
AND GOVERNMENT
OMB Watch was formed in 1983 to lift the veil of secrecy shrouding
the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It was
quite apparent that OMB's actions were having an enormous impact
on agency operations and the pursuit of social justice. Yet despite
this influence, OMB remained largely unaccountable to the public,
while most public interest groups did not fully understand its
behind-the-scenes role. By explaining governmental process and
by monitoring OMB, OMB Watch helped bring sunshine to this powerful
agency. As the years have progressed, tracking OMB activities
has led to other concerns about the federal government's institutional
responsiveness to public needs. Click here for more information.
PERFORMING
ARTS RESEARCH COALITION
The goal of the Performing Arts Research Coalition is to improve
and coordinate the way performing arts organizations gather information
on our sector, so that we can offer a more unified and factually
based voice on issues of common concern, and aid the performing
arts in developing a national model for arts research collaboration.
PARC will help performing arts organizations across the United
States significantly improve their management capacity, increase
their responsiveness to their communities, and strengthen local
and national advocacy efforts on behalf of American arts and culture. Click here for more information.
RURAL HUMAN
SERVICES
Although much of the policy debate on welfare reform has concentrated
on the urban poor, nearly 20 percent of welfare recipient families
reside outside of central cities and metropolitan areas. They,
along with other rural working families, rely on various social
services to help them move toward self-sufficiency. Affording
rural residents access to social services is a challenge even
in the best of times. With the decline in state revenues expected
to continue, the challenge will be greater. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
April
4, 2003. No.153.
MAKE CIVIC
ENGAGEMENT A PUBLIC SENSIBILITY
True civic engagement is a vibrant approach to public life. "Making
it Real: How to Make Civic Engagement a Public Sensibility" offers
seven ways for public leaders and organizations to infuse civic
engagement practices throughout their public work.
To obtain a copy of Making it Real, e-mail thi@theharwoodinstitute.org
or call (301) 656-3669. Click here for more information.
FOODSTAMPS FOR LEGAL IMMIGRANTS
On April 1, 2003, many legal immigrants become newly eligible
for the Food Stamp Program. Food stamp offices must process applications
in March and many offices are processing them in February, even
though benefits will not start until April. New resources are
available in English and other languages for advocates, service
providers, elected officials and others to use in getting the
word out to immigrant populations and communities. Links to such
materials.Spanish, English, Russian,Vietnamese, Cambodian (Khmer)
and Mandarin. Click here for more information.
HEALTH OF
THE HUMAN SERVICES WORKFORCE
A nation that truly wants no child left behind must make sure
that workers who care for children, youth, and families have the
motivation, resources, and support to succeed. At a minimum, this
workforce numbers 2.5 million, of which two-thirds serve low-
income children, youth, and families. As such, the human services
workforce, as low- incomeserving workers will be called in this
report, is almost as large as the federal government's civilian
workforce. Click here for more information.
April
9, 2003. No.154.
INFORMATION
& COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
FOR POVERTY REDUCTION.
Poverty reduction is a neglected avenue in the ICT-debate. NGO-led
global advocacy campaigns undoubtedly have a poverty reducing
impact. But what about the poverty impact of community radio,
telecentres, the internet, or regulatory frameworks for ICTs?
Some preliminary lessons learnt are presented by the authors in
view of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in
Geneva from
10-14 December,2003. Click here for more information.
WORKFORCE
INVESTMENT ACT: FIRST LOOK
The data, from July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001, show that only about
one-third as many people completed training under the Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) as compared to the number in 1998 under the
previous federal job training program. This amounts to about 200,000
fewer individuals. Click here for more information.
NO CHILD
LEFT BEHIND: FEDERALISM OR FEDERAL
CONTROL?
Education is a long-standing and protected state right. It is
a triumph of federalism and local control, but the new federal
education law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), may change that. NCLB
critics believe that the law is too intrusive. It is an enlarged
federal role that is an unnecessary offense to the Tenth Amendment
which reserves powers to the states that are not delegated to
the federal government. According to Denis Doyle, the recent publication
of the non-regulatory guidance for charter schools under NCLB
highlights and contributes to this discomfort. Click here for more information.
April 9, 2003. No.155.
PETERSBERG
DECLARATION AND ICT
"Leadership for a connected world," ICT Development Forum,
will address the effectiveness of information communications &
technology to empower people,promote local capacity, and improve
equitable growth in developing countries. Results debate will
be captured in the "Petersberg Declaration," a plan of action
to identify those areas in which leadership is most needed if
the information revolution is to reach the poor. Click here for more information on the ICT Development Forum sponsored by The Development Gateway Foundation--World Bank
provides some funds. Its objectives are to reduce poverty and
support sustainable development through the use of information
and communication technologies. Click here for more information on the Development Gateway Foundation.
LIBRARIES LEADING THE WAY IN COMMUNITY
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Public libraries are taking on new roles supporting individuals,
organizations, small businesses, and municipal economic development
initiatives in order to promote community economic development.
Canadian focus and wonderful examples. [Thanks TA]. Click here for more information.
ADA WATCH
The ADA WATCH campaign is a nonprofit informational online network
designed to activate the disability community's grassroots in
response to threats to civil rights protections for people with
disabilities. The ADA WATCH campaign educates and informs people
with disabilities, disability advocates, members of the general
public, the business community, policy makers, and the media regarding
threats to civil rights protections for people with disabilities.
Click here for more information.
April
21, 2003. No.157.
SOUTHERN
AREA POVERTY RESEARCH CENTER
The Kentucky Center for Poverty Research mission is a multidisciplinary
approach to the causes, consequences, and correlates of poverty
and inequality in the southern United States. A focused research
agenda on poverty among the residents of the South is critical
to our Nation™s poverty research effort because low-income populations
in the South face a different set of challenges than comparable
groups in other parts of the United States, which is manifested
in a host of economic and social disparities including higher
rates of poverty, inequality, and welfare-program utilization. Click here for more information.
RACIAL JUSTICE
AND RACE RELATIONS
The Racial Justice and Race Relations project's goal is to strengthen
the effectiveness of local government and the leadership capacity
of local officials in racial justice and race relations. This
project is supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation. The
project builds upon the organization's past work and primarily
focuses on helping local officials move towards a new level of
engagement and re-affirm their commitment to reducing racism and
improving race relations in their cities and towns. Project of
the National League of Cities. Click here for more information.
STATE CULTURAL
POLICY PROJECT
As part of the Innovations in State Cultural Policy project, the
Center for Arts & Culture is now disseminating Investing in
Culture: Innovations in State Policy. Produced in partnership
with the Cultural Policy Working Group of the National Conference
of State Legislatures and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts,
this report is meant to assist legislators who want to strengthen
their states' cultural agenda. Download a free PDF version of
the reportor learn more about the project from the Center's website. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
May 1,
2003. No.158.
POVERTY,
RACISM AND LITERACY
A significant correlation between race and poverty exists, with
Black and Hispanic Americans three times more likely to be impoverished
than White Americans (Proctor and Dalaker 2002). The cycle of
poverty and low-literacy functioning is well documented, as is
the achievement gap between White students and students of color.
Race is a persistent factor in employment statistics, educational
attainment, and the acquisition of literacy skills, with significantly
higher unemployment rates and lower educational attainment rates
among Black and Hispanic Americans than among White Americans.
Read the complete text of this ERIC report by Mary Anne Corley,Principal
Research Analyst at American Institutes for Research. Click here for more information.
TO TRULY
LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND
Children's Defense Fund Report analyzes the war on children. Compares
compassionate words with
uncompassionate deeds. State by state tables of child poverty.
Click here for more information.
COMBAT POVERTY:CATALYST
FOR CHANGE
The aim of Combat Poverty is to promote a just and inclusive society
by working for the prevention and elimination of poverty and social
exclusion. Combat Poverty is a statutory agency established under
the Combat Poverty Agency Act 1986, which sets out our four general
functions: policy advice, project support and innovation, research,
and public education. (Irish site; good ideas). Click here for more information.
May 6,
2003. No.159.
INDICATORS:
CHICAGO, BOSTON, SOUTH FLORIDA
Indicator projects designed to furnish current "snapshots"
of metropolitan social, economic, physical, and environmental status
- while tracking progress and trends over time - are among the
more powerful emerging tools available to regional stewards. THREE
great examples:
Boston Community Building Network. Click here for more information.
Chicago Metropolis 2020. Click here for more information.
South Florida Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions. Click here for more information.
PUBLIC CITIZEN
Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization
founded by Ralph Nader in 1971 to represent consumer interests
in Congress, the executive branch and the courts. We fight for
openness and democratic accountability in government, for the
right of consumers to seek redress in the courts; for clean, safe
and sustainable energy sources; for social and economic justice
in trade policies; for strong health, safety and environmental
protections; and for safe, effective and affordable prescription
drugs and health care. Click here for more information.
SCHOLARSHIP
AMERICA
Scholarship America, the nation's largest private sector scholarship
and educational organization, created the National Scholarship
Month to raise public awareness about the need for scholarships
for postsecondary education, including vocational or technical
school. It celebrates the current level of scholarship support
and calls forc additional support from the private sector. Now
in its sixth year, Scholarship America urges local organizations,
businesses and community members to get involved in the celebration
of National Scholarship Month. Click here for more information.
May 16,
2003. No.160.
EQUIPPED
FOR THE FUTURE
Tools & Standards for Building & Assessing Quality Adult
Literacy Programs by Gail Spangenberg and Sarah Watson - - New
publication reviews the developmental history of EFF and discusses
its accomplishments, implementation, and work in progress. The
Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy
(CAAL) promotes more effective policy, practice, and resource
development at the state level. Equipped for the Future is a singularly
important resource developed by the National Institute for Lteracy
that can be tremendously beneficial to states wanting to improve
the effectiveness of their adult literacy services." Click here for more information.
COLORLINES
Cultural work is prophetic. Whether the form is pulp fiction,
hip hop, independent film, poetry, photography, painting, or dance,
the expression reveals and recasts the social relation. ColorLines
discusses and presents the best of our expressions--in literature,
art, music, film, and more--and couples it with incisive criticism.
It's all about presenting life in full color. Click here for more information.
NATIONAL
CENTER FOR CHILDREN IN POVERTY
Child poverty is one of the most important problems facing our
nation. All children deserve an equal opportunity to succeed in
life, and child poverty denies too many children a fair chance.Low-
income children and families are diverse, as are the communities
and states in which they live. There is no single solution to
child poverty. Both the public and private sectors have important
roles to play in reducing child poverty and investing in families.
This includes the state and federal governments, local communities,
civic and business leaders, and individual families themselves. Click here for more information.
May 24,
2003. No.161.
CHICAGO PUBLIC
LIBRARY & COMMUNITY BUILDING
I have just spent a week (May 19-May 23, 2003 as Scholar in Residence
at the Chicago Public Library. Programs focused on many aspects
of community building: building the community of librarians; libraries
as cultural heritage institutions, lifelong learning and literacy;
building the community of readers; and library service to diverse
communities. Click here for more information.
May 30, 2003. No.162.
URBAN INSTITUTE
New reports on changes in state and federal incentives and options
that would likely take place if Medicaid is transformed from an
entitlement program into a block grant;who has stock dividends
and how dividend income is distributed; disability law and juvenile
justice; hardship among the uninsured; and the change in course
of concentrated poverty. Click here for more information.
BASIC INCOME
MOVEMENT
Liberty and equality, efficiency and community, common ownership
of the Earth and equal sharing in the benefits of technical progress,
the flexibility of the labour market and the dignity of the poor,
the fight against inhumane working conditions, against the desertification
of the countryside and against interregional inequalities, the
viability of cooperatives and the promotion of adult education,
autonomy
from bosses, husbands and bureaucrats, have all been invoked in
its favour. Click here for more information.
LEAVING TEACHERS
BEHIND
ACORN has published a study documenting problems in the implementation
of the No Child Left Behind Act. (NCLB) The report analyzes data
from 24 states and 73 school districts, and finds that the Bush
Administration and the U.S. Department of Education are selectively
following through on the promises made under NCLB. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
June 6,
2003. No.163.
CAPITALISM,
CALCULUS, AND CONSCIENCE
Teachers need to face up to the fact that a significant number
of our students are never intended to reach the celestial standards
held out by the corporate/political sleight-of-hand artists. This
reality tells us that it's past time for us to remember why we
became teachers. We serve children, not corporate America. For
the sake of the children, we need to say out loud that, for all
their bully pulpits, the emperors of standards and testing have
no clothes. Click here for more information.
CRITICAL
HOURS
Afterschool programs have been referred to as the new neighborhood.Positive
effects extend to families, employers and communities. Research
indicates that investments in afterschool programs for youth are
likely to have benefits that far outweigh the cost. Click here for more information.
STAND BY
ME-PUBLIC AGENDA
In Stand by Me, Public Agenda examines the attitude of public
school teachers--about their jobs, the challenges they face and
the reform proposals that may change what they do.Teachers have
a fierce loyalty to their profession, tempered with a sense that
society expects far too much of them. They feel vulnerable to
unjust accusations from students and parents, budget cuts and
favoritism from
administrators and ill- informed reform plans. Teachers see the
flaws in unions and the tenure system, but they believe both are
needed to protect them from the risks they face. Click here for more information.
June 11, 2003. No.164.
HIGH COST
OF BEING POOR
Fundamental links between poverty and factors that hinder a child's
chances for achievement and success. Obstacles facing low-income
parents. Click here for more information.
KIDS COUNT
Online Data Book comprises ten key measures that index child well-being.
Rank of states and supplemental data on education, health, and
economic conditions for each state. KIDS COUNT is a national and
state- by-state effort to track the status of children in the
U.S. This site focuses on an
interactive presentation of data from the annual Data Book, the
signature product of the KIDS COUNT initiative. Click here for more information.
June 13, 2003. No.165.
BUSH ADMINISTRATION
SUED FOR VIOLATING RIGHTS
OF HEAD START WORKERS
The National Head Start Association (NHSA) recently filed a lawsuit
seeking to overturn a Bush Administration effort to chill the
First Amendment free-speech rights of 51,681 Head
Start teachers and more than 870,000 parent volunteers who have
serious concerns about a controversial White House plan now pending
before the U.S. House to dismantle the Head Start program serving
one million at- risk children across America. The civil lawsuit
asks the federal district court to enjoin any action related to
a May 8, 2003 letter from a U.S.Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) official warning all local Head Start staff and
parent/volunteers of possible civil and criminal penalties if
they speak out against an extremely controversial Bush Administration
proposal to gut the Head Start program. Commenting on the lawsuit,
NHSA President Sarah Greene said:"What does this Administration
have to fear from free and open public debate about its plan to
destroy the Head Start program? Head Start has been around for
nearly four decades. No previous Administration has seen fit to
slap Head Start instructors and parent/volunteers in the mouth
with the threat of possible criminal penalties if they use their
free-speech rights to urge Congress to preserve the program that
they love and know better than anyone else in America." Click here for more information.
June
18, 2003. No.166.
FREIRE,ADDAMS
& INFORMAL ADULT EDUCATION
Ideas, thinkers and practices within informal education and lifelong
learning. Includes Paulo Freire with his emphasis on dialogue
and his concern for the oppressed. Click here for more information on Paulo Freire.
Eduard Lindeman,friend and colleague of John Dewey who shared
with him a concern for social justice, a belief in the possibilities
of education and human action, and a deep commitment to democracy. Click here for more information Eduard Lindeman.
Jane Addams who stated that intellectual life requires for its
expansion and manifestation the influences and assimilation of
the interests and affections of others. Click here for more information on Jane Addams.
For further articles and analyses, please click here for access to the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INFORMAL
EDUCATION.
June 20, 2003. No.167.
FAMILY ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The Self-Sufficiency Standard calculates how much money working
adults need to meet their basic needs without subsidies of any
kind. Unlike the federal poverty standard, the Self-Sufficiency
Standard accounts for the costs of living and working as they
vary by family size and composition and by geographic location.
The Standard provides important guidance for policymakers and
program providers regarding how to target their education, job
training, workforce development, and welfare-to-work resources.
Click here for more information.
TOP 1% WILL AVG. $96, 634 IN TAX CUT
Citizens for Tax Justice has released a state-by-state analysis
of the final version of the Bush tax cut plan, as signed May 28.
The analysis was performed using the Institute on Taxation and
Economic Policy's Tax Model. Nationwide, the wealthiest 1 percent
of Americans will receive, on average, a total of $96,634 in tax
cuts over the next four years. In individual states, this figure
ranges from a high of $213,514 in Connecticut to a low of $33,775
in West Virginia. Click here for more information.
REDUCTION
OF ESTATE TAX WOULD REDUCE
CHARITABLE GIVING
Brookings study finds that, without the estate tax, charitable
giving in 2001 would have been reduced by about $10 billion "
an amount equivalent to the total grants currently made by the
largest 110 foundations in the United States. The estate tax increases
the amount of charitable contributions, particularly among the
largest estates, because these donations are fully deductible and
thus act to reduce estate taxes. Permanently eliminating the estate
tax, as legislation that the House of Representatives is scheduled
to consider this week would do, would remove a powerful incentive
for charitable giving both at death and during life. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
July
2, 2003. No.168.
POVERTY
in 2003: $18,400 for Family OF FOUR
The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary
by family size and composition to determine who is poor. If a family's
total income is less than that family's threshold, then that family, and
every individual in it, is considered poor. Click here for more information.
SHELTERFORCE:
COLLABORATION
Collaboration is a large and growing part of the landscape
for community development work. Often it makes sense and leads
to good results. Yet the timing is not always right, nor the ingredients
in place for a successful collaborative effort. Although there™s
no foolproof way to predict the outcome of any undertaking that involves
people and organizations working together, a few basic checkpoints
can be quite revealing. And if you™re already involved in a
collaborative effort, these same checkpoints can help your group
recognize strengths and work on weaknesses. Click here for more information.
NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY FOR THOSE IN NEED
The National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations
is an association of national nonprofit health and human service
organizations bound by a common concern for the effective delivery
of health and human services to the American people, especially those
in need. One of the primary goals of the National Assembly is to
build the capacity of its member organizations by providing an
opportunity for members to network with one another and exchange
ideas and information about issues, trends and innovations relevant
to managing and governing national health and human service organizations. Click here for more information.
July
14, 2003. No.169.
SENTENCING
PROJECT
In the field of criminal justice policy, The Sentencing
Project is widely known for its reports and analyses highlighting
inequities in the criminal justice system.The Sentencing Project
has provided technical assistance and helped establish alternative
sentencing programs in more than 22 states and consulted on issues
such as juvenile detention, racial disparity, and the trial of juveniles
in adult court. Click here for more information.
ACORN
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN),
is the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate-income
families, with over 150,000 member families organized into 700 neighborhood
chapters in 51 cities across the country. ACORN priorities include:
better housing for first time homebuyers and tenants, living wages
for low-wage workers, more investment in communities from
banks and governments, and better public schools. These goals are
achieved by building community organizations that have the power
to win changes -- through direct action, negotiation, legislation,
and voter participation. Click here for more information.
DIGITAL
DIVIDE NETWORK
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressed business
leaders June 18 at a conference on the role of industry in bridging
the global digital divide: The Net World Order: Bridging the Global
Digital Divide.He also spoke for involvement in the World Summit
on the Information Society offers a unique opportunity to shape the
future of the information society so that all people can enjoy these
benefits. It will bring together political leaders and leaders
from the private sector, civil society and media organizations. It
can help us to better understand just how the information revolution
is transforming our societies. Most of all, it provides a platform
for developing a shared vision of ways to create a truly inclusive
information society that serves and empowers all people. Click here for more information.
July 28, 2003. No.170.
CENTER FOR
LAW & PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE
Article topics include the need for more child care funding
for low-income families, research on the effects of marriage
on children's well-being, a snapshot of 2002 Head Start program data,
and an analysis of the House welfare bill's participation requirements. Click here for more information.
PRISONERS
INCREASE IN 2002
The latest prisoner survey to be released by the Justice
Department on July 27, 2003 shows that after two years of slowing
prison growth, the nation's incarcerated population rose at 3 times
the rate of the previous year--an ominous message that even during
budget strained times, policymakers are choosing to fund continued
prison expansion. The 2002 increase was equal to an additional 700
prisoners being added every week during the year.According to a report
released July 23, 2003 by the National Conference of State
Legislatures, the country's continued prison expansion comes at
a time when it can least afford it: NCSL reports that 31 states are
cutting spending due to state budget shortfalls. General fund spending
for higher education is budgeted to decline by 2.3% from 2003, while
corrections spending is expected to grow 1.1 percent. Click here for more information on the Justice Policy. Click here for the news article.
ENDING THE
SAFETY NET AS WE KNOW IT
The 1996 welfare law transformed a safety net for all eligible
families into a block grant for states. Now, the Bush Administration
wants to apply this model to other major anti- poverty programs.
While the plan takes the form of individual legislative pieces, together
they have major implications for the federal role in addressing the
needs of low-income Americans. The speakers at this forum discussed
what this shift in social policy could mean for states and
localities and ultimately for low-income families. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
August
4, 2003. No.171.
DEATH BY
A THOUSAND CUTS: OMB WATCH REPORT
Instead of a single legislative or regulatory proposal that
would limit nonprofit speech, the Bush administration and conservative
allies have proposed or begun implementing a number of proposals
that are akin to a "death by a thousand cuts." These "cuts," which
have suddenly accelerated in the last year, come in three
areas: 1) Attacks on nonprofit advocacy, particularly when there are
disagreements with Bush administration policies; 2) Limits imposed by government
on nonprofit speech, particularly targeted to those working on issues
-- such as reproductive rights, HIV/AIDS, and international development
-- where there may be ideological differences with the administration;
and 3) Changes made by nonprofits resulting from fear of how laws such
as the USA Patriot Act are being implemented. Click here for the full report.
August
7, 2003. No.172.
A SHAMEFUL HARVEST
The vast majority of America's farm laborers are immigrants,
many of them undocumented. Farm work is notoriously dangerous,
arduous and toxic; the average U.S. farmworker has a life expectancy
of just 49 years. Farm laborers are generally paid piecework rates.
Their average earnings are $7,500 a year, or $150 a week, by far
the lowest wage of any occupation. Most farm laborers are denied
overtime pay, medical insurance, sick leave or the right to organize.
In many states they're excluded from workers' compensation and
unemployment benefits. Of the more than 1 million farmworkers
in this country, only about 27,000 are unionized. Click here for more information.
PROJECT FOR
PUBLIC SPACES
PPS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and
sustaining public places that build communities. We provide technical
assistance, education, and research through programs in parks, plazas
and central squares; buildings and civic architecture; transportation;
and public markets. Since our founding in 1975, we have worked in
over 1,000 communities in the United States and around the world,
helping people to grow their public spaces into vital community
places. Click here for more information.
ARTS &
CULTURAL POLICY
The Princeton University Center for Arts and Cultural Policy
Studies was created to improve the clarity, accuracy and sophistication
of discourse about the nation's artistic and cultural life. Its programs
and activities are designed to create an infrastructure of well-trained
scholars who have access to regularly collected information about
cultural organizations, activities and providers and who produce
timely research and analysis on key topics in arts and cultural
policy. Click here for more information.
August
20, 2003. No.173.
POVERTY RESEARCH
The purpose of Focus is to provide coverage of poverty-
related research, events, and issues, and to acquaint a large audience
with the work of the Institute for Research on Poverty by means of
short essays on selected pieces of research. Click here for more information.
LA
RAZA-AGENDA FOR HISPANIC FAMILIES
As we move toward the 2004 elections, federal, state, and
local policy-makers have an opportunity to identify and address
issues of importance to Latinos. In that context, NCLR offers this
briefing book “ the framework of NCLR's policy agenda for the period
spanning the 108th Congress “ as a roadmap for legislators and other
policy-makers to facilitate knowledge of and communication with Latino
voters and constituents. The briefing book offers guidance to
Congress, the Administration, and state legislatures about which
issues resonate with the nation's largest ethnic group. Click here for more information.
RURAL
MONITOR-SUMMER 2003
The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) is a new national resource
on rural health and human services information. Our information
specialists are available to provide customized assistance, such
as web and database searches on rural topics and funding resources,
linking users to organizations, and furnishing relevant publications
from the RAC resource library. Click here for more information.
August
29, 2003. No.174.
THINKING
ABOUT LABOR DAY
" Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and
I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest
on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower
class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it;
while there is a soul in prison, I am not free." --Eugene V. Debs. Click here for more information.
FIGHT FOR
RIGHTS OF THE WORKER
On Labor Day this year, let us rededicate ourselves to America's
workers. Let us protect America's jobs and create more jobs.
Let us increase the strength of our unions. Let us fight for the
rights of workers as we did over 100 years when we set aside the
first Monday in September to celebrate the workers of America who
have built this great country. ” AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee,Labor
Day 2003. Click here for more information.
SI SE PUEDE-UNITED
FARM WORKERS
Central Valley farm workers will join United Farm Workers
President Arturo S. Rodriguez and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante on Saturday,
Aug. 30, where Cesar Chavez's union was founded in Delano to announce
the UFW's opposition to the recall of Gov. Gray Davis and its endorsement
of Bustamante on the Oct. 7 ballot. Farm workers will assemble in
Delano where Sen. Robert F. Kennedy helped Chavez end his 25-day
fast for nonviolence on March 10, 1968. Kennedy became the first
nationally prominent political figure to unequivocally side
with Cesar Chavez and the farm workers against the corporate
agricultural lobby. Yet Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger
describes unions like the UFW as special interests while insisting
corporate supporters”including Schwarzenegger advisor David Murdock,
chairman and CEO of Dole Food Co.”won't adversely influence him." Click here for more information.
LABOR
ACTIVISM
Labor Notes is a non-profit organization that has been the
voice of union activists who want to "put the movement back in
the labor movement" since 1979. For years, the labor movement has
been reeling from an employers' offensive. We now have real lower
wages, less job security, and smaller, weaker unions than the previous
generation. Employers are turning what used to be good, steady jobs
into poorly-paid drudgery, often dangerous and stressful. Click here for more information.
BEST ANTI-POVERTY
With a union, working people win basic rights, like a say in
their jobs, safety and security. Unions help remedy discrimination
because union contracts ensure that all workers are treated fairly
and equally. When there™s a problem on the job, workers and management
can work together as equals to solve it. Click here for more information.
LABOR HISTORY
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The Brotherhood's records
(41,000 items) span the years 1939-68, with most material dating
after 1950. The largest part of the records consists of files
on agreements with major railroads, conventions, relations between
the headquarters and local branches, and the Brotherhood's
relationship with other rail unions and with the AFL. The records
also include several short series consisting of the personal
papers of Benjamin F. McLaurin, Ashley L. Totten, and A. Philip
Randolph. Randolph's series contains files on his interest
in organizing farm workers. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
September 15, 2003. No.175
COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH
" Crossroads: Critical Issues in Community-Based Research Partnerships"
will critically analyze the factors that contribute to effective
and ineffective research partnerships; the balance between research
rigor and community action; the challenges and difficulties of
ensuring effective dissemination, translation and use of research
results; and ethical issues related to conducting community based
research in partnership. Click here for more information.
IMMIGRANT
WORKERS FREEDOM RIDE
Immigrant workers, living and paying taxes in the United
States, deserve the rights to legalize their status, to have a clear
road to citizenship, to reunify their families, to have a voice on
the job without regard to legal status, and to enjoy full protection
of their civil rights and civil liberties... rights denied by their
undocumented status and outdated laws. Immigrant workers and their
allies will set out from nine major U.S. cities and cross the country
in buses in late September 2003. They will converge on Washington,
D.C. to meet with members of Congress and then travel to
Liberty State Park in New Jersey October 3, and then Flushing Meadows
Park, Queens, New York for a mass rally on October 4, 2003. Click here for more information.
THE NEW NEIGHBORS
" The New Neighbors: A User's Guide to Data on Immigrants in
U.S. Communities," by Randolph Capps, Jeffrey Passel, Dan
Perez-Lopez, and Michael Fix.This new resource prepared by
the Urban Institute can help local policymakers, program administrators,
and advocates use U.S. Census and other data to identify the characteristics,contributions,
and needs of immigrants in their communities. Click here for more information.
September
17, 2003. No.176.
OUT OF REACH 2003
Despite the emphasis on homeownership and the marginalization
of renters, renter households still make up fully one-third of the
households in the United States – nearly 36 million households. Out
of Reach is a side-by-side comparison of wages and rents in every
county, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), combined nonmetropolitan
area and state in the United States. Click here for more information.
JOB WATCH
Greatest employment contraction since the Great Depression.
Since the recession began 29 months ago in March 2001, 3.3 million
private sector jobs have disappeared, a 2.9% contraction. This is
the largest sustained loss of jobs since the Great Depression. Since
the official end of the recession in November 2001, there has been
a 1.3 million loss in private sector jobs, a 1.1% contraction.
Unemployment has risen to over 8.9 million people, as the unemployment
rate increased from 4.0% in 2000 to 6.1% in August 2003. Click here for more information.
NON-PROFIT
FINANCIAL STRESS
Nearly two-thirds of a broad cross-section of U.S. nonprofit
organizations are feeling financial stress from recent government
funding cuts, according to a survey by the Johns Hopkins Center for
Civil Society Studies. These budget strains come on top of pressures
resulting from the national economic downturn, which has constrained
private charitable giving. 63 percent of respondents currently rate
local, state or federal government budget cuts as a "very
significant challenge." Among agencies serving families and children,
the elderly and disadvantaged communities, more than 70 percent reported
significant budget strain. Click here for more information.
September
30, 2003. No.176.
2002 INCOME AND POVERTY
ESTIMATES
The number in poverty in 2002 – 34.6 million people – was
1.7 million more than in 2001. In 2002, 7.2 million families (9.6
percent) were in poverty, up from 6.8 million (9.2 percent) in 2001.The
number of people in severe poverty increased from 13.4 million in
2001 to 14.1 million in 2002. Click here for more information on income statistics. Click here for more information on poverty statistics.
WHO PAYS
FOR POVERTY?
Critics questioned welfare reform during the prosperous
'90s, but the real crisis is emerging now. Click here for more information.
FREEDOM RIDE
ROLLS
Immigrant workers work hard, pay taxes, and sacrifice for
their families. They work as construction workers, doctors, nurses,
janitors, meat packers, chefs, busboys, engineers, farm workers,
and soldiers. They care for our children, tend to our elderly, pick
and serve our food, build and clean our houses, and want what we
all want: a fair shot at the American Dream. Click here for more information.
AUTHORITATIVE
COMMUNITIES
The Commission on Children at Risk is calling upon all U.S.
citizens to help strengthen what it calls ``authoritative communities"
as likely to be the best strategy for improving children's lives,
in its report, Hardwired to Connect: The Case for Authoritative Communities.
Authoritative communities are groups of people who are committed
to one another over time and who exhibit and are able to pass on
what it means to be a good person. These groups provide the
types of connectedness our children increasingly lack. [Thanks
CB] Click here for more information.
HEALTHY FAMILIES
Healthy Families America is a national program model designed
to help expectant and new parents get their children off to
a healthy start. Families participate voluntarily in the program
and receive home visiting and referrals from trained staff. By providing
services to overburdened families, Healthy Families America fits
into the continuum of services provided to families in many
communities. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
October
13, 2003. No.177.
WORKING CLASS LIFE
The Center for Study of Working Class Life is dedicated to
exploring the meaning of class in today's world. Looking at society
through the lens of class clarifies many important social questions
in new ways – why the rich get richer while the poor get poorer,
what attacks on government programs through privatization mean, why
the suburbs aren't really a middle class haven, how the "family values"
debate impacts our lives, and much more. Click here for more information.
ADULT LITERACY
AND BASIC EDUCATION
The National LINCS team at the National Institute for Literacy
has a HOT Sites award program to highlight and promote the "best"
Web-based resources in and for the adult basic education and literacy
community. Latest include topics of importance for learners of English
as a second language; health related activities for beginner and
low-literacy ESL students;online reading and writing curriculum
specifically for Family Child Care Providers, Children and Families;
and the Virginia Adult Education Health Literacy Toolkit. Click here for more information.
URBAN AND
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Institute of Urban and Regional Development (IURD) serves
faculty and students of the University of California, Berkeley,
conducting research into processes of urban and regional growth and
decline, and effects of governing policies on the patterns
and processes of development. Focus includes sustainable development,
inner city inequality, evolving patterns of suburbanization and transportation
alternatives. Click here for more information.
October
21, 2003. No.178.
FACE ON
THE NUMBERS
The Social Investment Initiative "Face on the Numbers" project
is a way to bring together living examples of how government resources
and services can make a positive difference in people's lives,
and examples of where government fails to provide adequate resources
to address inequities and injustices, provide a strong safety net
for those who need it, and insure a good quality of life for all
its citizens. Numbers alone often have a limited power to
convince. Click here for more information.
COALITION
ON HUMAN NEEDS
We believe that the federal government is ultimately responsible
for assuring that the basic human needs of all residents of the United
States are met. These needs include adequate food, shelter, as well
as the supports required to move up and out of poverty. The Coalition
on Human Needs is dedicated to steadily improving and adapting the
response of the federal government in meeting the needs of our nation’s
most vulnerable populations, including women and children,
the elderly, minorities, people with disabilities, the poor, and
the working poor. Click here for more information.
HOW NCLB
HURTS
As the impact of the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) legislation
continues to unfold across the country, educators and child advocates
face the difficult task of explaining how NCLB hurts schools instead
of helps them. NCLB is the current version of the longstanding federal
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), first implemented
in the 1960s. Click here for more information.
October
30, 2003. No.179.
OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE
The goal of the Soros foundations network throughout the
world is to transform closed societies into open ones and to protect
and expand the values of existing open societies. The concept of
open society is, at its most fundamental level, based on the recognition
that people act on imperfect knowledge and that no one is in possession
of the ultimate truth. In practice, an open society is characterized
by the rule of law; respect for human rights, minorities, and
minority opinions; democratically elected governments; a market
economy in which business and government are separate; and a thriving
civil society. Click here for more information.
THE STATE
OF THE COMMONS
The State of the Commons: A Report to America's Stakeholders
on their Commonly Held, Government Managed Assets. Report of
the ‘audit committee’ that assessed the management of these common
assets. The report calls attention to often unrecognized public assets,
including: the sky - the airwaves - water - culture - science - and
even "the quiet."On the one hand, the committee found that our common
assets are being grossly mismanaged. On the other hand, the
committee showed how these assets can, if properly managed, build
wealth for citizen-owners. All Americans are joint owners of a trove
of hidden assets. These assets - natural gifts like air and water,
and social creations like culture and the Internet - constitute our
shared inheritance. Click here for more information.
CRITICAL
HOURS
New study documents the value of after-school programs on
student's in-school performance. This analysis is intended to serve
as a resource to anyone interested in knowing why and how afterschool
programs work, stimulate dialogue among parents, educators, policymakers,
and public officials and help providers think about ways to improve
their program models.(Boston). Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
November 10, 2003. No.180.
WHY LIBRARIES NEED TO HELP JOB-SEEKERS The depth and duration
of the job decline since the start of the recession, along with the
growth in the working age population, the fact that many people who
have moved to the sidelines of the labor market are not included
in unemployment measures, and the loss of wage and salary
income, all indicate that the current labor market remains in severe
and record-setting distress. Click here for more information.
SUSTAINABILITY
INDICATORS
Societies measure what they care about. Measurement helps decision-
makers and the public define social goals, link them to clear
objectives and targets, and assess progress toward meeting those
targets. It provides an empirical and numerical basis for evaluating
performance, for calculating the impact of our activities on the
environment and society, and for connecting past and present activities
to attain future goals. Measuring sustainable development—just as
we currently measure economic production—makes it possible for
social and environmental goals to become part of mainstream
political and economic discourse. Click here for more information.
LIBRARY SERVICES
TO IMPRISONED MENTALLY ILL
Room here for ideas--
Somewhere between two and three hundred thousand men and
women in U.S. prisons suffer from mental disorders, including such
serious illnesses as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression.
An estimated seventy thousand are psychotic on any given day. Yet
across the nation, many prison mental health services are woefully
deficient, crippled by understaffing, insufficient facilities,
and limited programs. All too often seriously ill prisoners receive
little or no meaningful treatment. They are neglected, accused of
malingering, treated as disciplinary problems. Click here for more information.
November
17, 2003. No.181.
POWER OF CULTURE
At the 32 nd meeting of the Unesco General Conference (29
September-17 October) the member states adopted the Intangible Cultural
Heritage Treaty. In this context intangible legacy means oral traditions
including the language, as employed in arts such as (music)
theatre, rituals, celebrations and traditional craftmanship. Click here for more information.
STATE BY
STATE ECONOMIC REPORT
Two years after the end of the recession, millions of unemployed
U.S. workers still cannot find jobs. Corporations are moving millions
of high-quality manufacturing and, increasingly, information sector
jobs out of the country, while states face the worst budget crises
in 60 years. These first-ever Economic Richter Scale reports measure
the magnitude of the economic problems facing each state and all
of America.(click on 'state economic snapshots). Click here for more information.
NONPROFITS
The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and
Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) is an international, interdisciplinary
membership organization. Members include scholars and nonprofit leaders
fostering through research the creation, application and dissemination
of knowledge on voluntary action, nonprofit organizations and philanthropy. Click here for more information.
ADULT
LITERACY EDUCATION-ROBERT WEDGEWORTH
Robert Wedgeworth, President of Proliteracy Worldwide, advocates
for adult literacy education. The Number of Functionally Illiterate
Adults in U.S. Is Growing. 2003 National Literacy Survey Likely to
Show More Adults Lacking Basic Reading and Writing Skills.We are
now on the eve of a new National Assessment of Adult Literacy report,
scheduled for release in 2004. download "State of Literacy." Click here for more information.
November
24, 2003. No.182.
CITISTATES
The Citistates Group is a network of journalists, speakers
and civic leaders focused on building competitive, equitable and
sustainable 21st century metropolitan regions. The Group's forte
is communications -- using its journalistic, speaking and facilitation
skills to stimulate active debate on the real-world choices facing
21st century American regions. Click here for more information.
RURAL POLICY
RESEARCH
Through the Community Informatics Resource Center (CIRC),
the “place- based” implications of issues impacting rural America
can be more effectively visualized, analyzed, queried and mapped.
While serving as a Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) core resource
for panels and stakeholders, CIRC also coordinates with other national
“place- based” initiatives to help bring focus upon rural issues
within those initiatives. In addition to internet mapping, CIRC
provides other data management and application development
services. Click here for more information.
NATIONAL
NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION
The NNC serves as a crucial link to Washington for neighborhood
and community-based organizations and an important networking resource
for representatives of regional and national organizations involved
in community development, housing and a wide range of other neighborhood
issues. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
December
8, 2003. No.183.
DEMOCRACY
IN ACTION
The mission is to develop and promote tools and infrastructure
that facilitate the growth and vitality of organizations and networks
who share ecological and social justice values by enhancing their
ability to reach and facilitate individual participation in the democratic
process. Click here for more information.
ASSOCIATION
OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR REFORM NOW.
ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low
and moderate-income families, with over 150,000 member families
organized into 700 neighborhood chapters in 51 cities across the
country. Since 1970 ACORN has taken action and won victories on issues
of concern to our members. Our priorities include: better housing
for first time homebuyers and tenants, living wages for low-wage
workers, more investment in our communities from banks and governments,
and better public schools. We achieve these goals by building
community organizations that have the power to win changes -- through
direct action, negotiation, legislation, and voter participation. Click here for more information.
SUSTAINING
EQUITY
The key to sustaining equity is building strong, organized
communities. PolicyLink is bringing together resources, partners,
and information to craft policies and strategies that build the public
will for change. Using new tools and mechanisms, PolicyLink is bridging
the traditional divide between communities and the world of policymakers
at the local, state and national levels. By analyzing and lifting
up best practices and lessons learned, PolicyLink promotes
local successes and local leaders as catalysts for a national agenda
for change. Click here for more information.
December
15, 2003. No.184.
EARNED INCOME TAX
CREDIT OUTREACH-MANY LANGUAGES
Earned Income Tax Credits provide tax reductions and wage
supplements for low-and moderate-income working families.Organizations
may order a free copy of the EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT KIT at eickit@cbpp.org.
Additional kits and color posters can be ordered for a minimal charge
at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities at eickit@cbpp.org
or 202-408-1080. Look here to view flyers in a variety of
languages, including Amharic/Ethiopian, Arabic, Bosnian, Cambodian,
Chinese, French, Haitian-Creole, Hmong, Italian, Korean, Laotian,
Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Tagalog, Ukranian, and Vietnamese. Click here for more information.
ECONOMIC
JUSTICE
The Brennan Center's Economic Justice Project starts with
the premise that quality jobs are essential to the long-term viability
of our communities and our economy. But the past three decades have
taken our nation in precisely the opposite direction, with growing
numbers of working Americans spending their careers cycling through
badly paid, dead-end jobs. In an era of devolution, we focus in
particular on the state and local level, supporting coalitions
of community organizations, progressive unions, and legislative leaders
trying to address the problem of growing inequality. Click here for more information.
SACRED RICE,BIOTERRORISM,TRANS-ATLANTIC
FOOD FIGHT
The Council for Responsible Genetics fosters public debate
about the social, ethical and environmental implications of genetic
technologies.CRG works through the media and concerned citizens to
distribute accurate information and represent the public interest
on emerging issues in biotechnology. GENEWATCH msg. includes archive. Click here for more information.
Return to Archives Table of Contents
Please e-mail all comments to Kathleen de la Peña McCook
at kmccook@tampabay.rr.com.
"Rule 6C4-10.109.B-6 Official Disclaimer:
The University of South Florida
requires that all faculty members make clear at all times
that their opinions are their own and
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