Category Archives: Grey Literature

Insight Center for Community Economic Development, April 2013

Compared to 2000, the proportion of polling places in 2008 without potential impediments increased and almost all polling places had an accessible voting system as states and localities made various efforts to help facilitate accessible voting. In 2008, based upon GAO’s survey of polling places, GAO estimated that 27 percent of polling places had no potential impediments in the path from the parking to the voting area–up from16 percent in 2000; 45 percent had potential impediments but offered curbside voting; …

Throughout 2011/12, we focused on our core role of inspecting health and social care services in England while continuing to protect the rights of people detained under the Mental Health Act.

This brief describes the characteristics and economic well-being of young people aging out of foster care who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB). It also compares their economic self-sufficiency to that of their heterosexual peers also aging out of care. The analysis uses data from the Midwest Study of Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth, a longitudinal study that followed a sample of young people from Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin as they transitioned out of foster care and …

…

The 2012 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report—the seventh in an annual series—presents a multidimensional measure of global, regional, and national hunger. It shows that progress in reducing the proportion of hungry people in the world has been tragically slow. According to the index, hunger on a global scale remains “serious.” The 2012 GHI report also focuses particularly on how to ensure sustainable food security under conditions of land, water, and energy stress. The stark reality is that the world needs …

The Welfare Reform Bill 2012 contains a radical package of reform. The Bill introduces to Northern Ireland a new integrated system of benefits, Universal Credit (UC), as well as a range of important changes to the welfare system. Few will disagree with the Westminster government’s stated objectives for the Bill – to simplify the benefits system and to make work pay – but it is important to ensure that in achieving this, the rights of children and young people are …

…

…

…

Read the findings from our third annual report on the use of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (the safeguards) in care homes and hospitals throughout 2011/12. The safeguards aim to protect people’s human rights in circumstances where they cannot consent to their care or treatment. We have been monitoring the use of the safeguards in hospitals and care homes as part of our broader inspection programme since 2009.

A review of previous literature suggests that wellbeing and learning are associated with one another; however, there is less information on how multiple dimensions of wellbeing simultaneously predict later changes in educational outcomes for children and teenagers. This project examines how various dimensions of children’s wellbeing are associated with their educational outcomes, including a review of relevant literature and an analysis using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).

…

In November 2011, the Scottish Government published a discussion paper to consult stakeholders about possible principles and minimum standards for advocacy services for children and young people. This consultation was one part of a raft of initiatives being undertaken by the Scottish Government to ensure that children and young people can have their voices heard in matters that affect them. The discussion paper was developed in consultation with a National Steering Group on Advocacy Support for Children and Young People, …

As a result of California’s Fostering Connections to Success Act (commonly known as AB12), foster youth in California now have the right to stay in care until their 21st birthday. This report traces the history of the AB12 legislation from its introduction in the California State Assembly, through its passage and signing, and ultimately to its innovative and extensive implementation planning process. The case of AB12 shows that even in a time of fiscal cutbacks and reduced state capacity, when …

The Real Story of Getting a “Green Card” and Coming to the United States Legally Many Americans wonder why all immigrants do not just come to the United States legally or simply “get in line” to gain residence (a “green card”) if they are undocumented. Yet few people understand how grossly out-of-date the U.S. immigration system is and how unable it is to keep up with the demands of a growing and changing U.S. economy and to reflect the needs …

This official statistics release reports on the number of children’s social care providers and places and provision of residential accommodation for children in boarding schools and further education colleges for which Ofsted had regulatory or inspection responsibility for, covering the period between 30 September and 31 December 2011.1 Children’s social care providers include, children’s homes, secure children’s homes, residential special schools, residential family centres, boarding schools, further education colleges, secure training centres, adoption support services, voluntary adoption agencies, local authority …

Since the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965, legal immigration to the United States has been based primarily on the family ties or the work skills of prospective immigrants. Under the provisions of current immigration law, the family-based immigration category allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs), or “green card” holders, to bring certain family members to the United States. There are 480,000 family-based visas available every year. Family-based immigrants are admitted to the U.S. either …

…

The research findings are consistent with a large overseas literature that has found associations between housing circumstances and a range of child outcomes. The key finding of the analysis is that there are highly statistically significant relationships between a range of aspects of young children’s housing and their outcomes. In terms of their magnitude, however, the effect of housing variables appears to be quite modest. The available housing variables explain very little of the variation in child outcomes beyond what …

This report looks at the shape of care services in England and the quality of care that they provide to people. Due to England’s growing population and the increase in the number of people who are being treated for complex conditions, our inspectors are seeing a growth in services that are struggling to cope with the pressures on them. Most of all, this affects those who are unable to speak up for themselves.

Child maltreatment in general and emotional abuse in particular are common and harmful, in many cases the harm extending into adulthood (Gilbert et al. 2009(a)). Emotional abuse is the second most common reason for children becoming the subject of a child protection plan in England (Department for Education, 2011). Moreover, some 80% of children who are physically abused and neglected also experience emotional abuse (Claussen & Crittenden, 1991; Glaser, Prior & Lynch, 2001). Emotional abuse is, therefore, arguably the most …

This report finds that women in Ontario still earn 28 per cent less than men – despite increased levels of education and workforce participation, and challenges the Ontario government to take 10 steps to close the province’s persistent pay gap between men and women. It builds on the work in the CCPA-Ontario report, A Living Wage As A Human Right.

…

As the immigration debate heats up in Congress, the central question will be what to do about the 11 million unauthorized immigrants now living and working in the United States. The media often portrays this population as barely literate young men who pour over the southern border and live solitary lives, rather than providing a nuanced understanding of who the 11 million really are: adults and children, mothers and fathers, homeowners and churchgoers who are invested in their communities. This …

This report presents the results of the Study of Household Transition from the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP-Katrina). This new approach to post-disaster housing assistance provided a time-limited, declining rental subsidy along with case management services to households affected by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina who still did not have permanent housing two years after the storms. The study’s results indicate that participants were largely satisfied with their DHAP-Katrina housing and with the case management services they received. Results on post-program …

Foreclosure and homelessness are linked in the public’s mind. But as shown in “Foreclosures and Homelessness: Understanding the Connection,” the latest brief from ICPH, the lack of data collection means that the effects of foreclosures on homelessness are still inconclusive. This ICPH policy brief looks at foreclosures and homelessness in the United States from 2005 to 2011, and provides recommendations to government agencies and researchers for how to better track the number of homeless people who have experienced foreclosure.

…

Commissioning is at an end. Its time for a better way of thinking about the relationship between the state, the citizen and public services.

This release presents the Economic Deprivation Index and the Children in Income Deprived households Index. These indices track levels of economic deprivation from 1999 to 2009 in small areas in England called Lower-layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs).

Katherine Curtis of University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Department of Community and Environmental Sociology talks about developing spatial measurements of poverty and how it is critical to consider locally specific factors when trying to understand the drivers of poverty and child poverty.

The research examined the prevalence of intergenerational homelessness in Australia and found that almost half of those currently receiving homelessness assistance had parents who themselves experienced homelessness. Prevention and early intervention programs, especially those oriented to Indigenous people are critical in breaking the cycle of intergenerational homelessness.

The issue of gun violence in America has taken center stage due to several tragedies taking lives – often the lives of youth – far too soon. Beyond these isolated and tragic incidents, however, is the persistent issue of homicide in black America. Gun violence most keenly affects black males in America, particularly those who live in high-poverty communities. Between 2000 and 2010, on average, 4,900 black males died each year from gun violence. During the same time period, 48 …

Implementing a new law is always a complex process. But what happens when you are the first jurisdiction in the country to pass such a law? This was the unique challenge facing San Francisco when it passed the nation’s first earned sick days law in 2006. The City and County government took on the challenge admirably, employing a variety of creative strategies to conduct outreach to the public, write meaningful rules, and ensure the law would be properly enforced. In …

…

All of us worry about things like health, money, or family problems. But people with GAD are extremely worried about these and many other things, even when there is little or no reason to worry about them. They are very anxious about just getting through the day. They think things will always go badly. At times, worrying keeps people with GAD from doing everyday tasks. GAD develops slowly. It often starts during the teen years or young adulthood. Symptoms may …

If your foundation is just starting its work in the field of aging, you may be wondering what is needed in your service area, and what types of programs or services are best for you to support.

Over the last 30 years or so the Australian economy has been subject to wide-ranging reforms. These reforms include reducing high protective tariffs on imported goods and removing some non-tariff barriers, floating the Australian dollar, deregulating the financial services sector, deregulating the labour market, increasing efficiency between the federal and state branches of government, privatizing government-owned industries, and reforming the tax system. The social security system has also been subject to considerable reform – some periods saw retrenchment of social …

The national unemployment rate hovers around 8 percent. Nearly 23 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed. Of these, 4.8 million have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks.1 Even if the economy were to add 208,000 jobs per month — the average monthly rate for the best year of job creation in the 2000s — it would take until March 2020—eight years—to close the current jobs gap.2 As sobering as these statistics are, the unemployment picture is graver for youth; …

As the Congress begins a serious discussion on immigration reform, it would be a mistake to ignore the lessons of the past. In that vein, many members of Congress are invoking the The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, informally known as the Jordan Commission, for its chair, Barbara Jordan, a former Democratic Congresswoman from Texas. Issued in 1990’s, the Commission’s recommendations reflect the thinking of the time, but do not necessarily provide guidance for resolving today’s immigration crisis. This fact …

As the legislative debate over immigration reform heats up, a central point of contention will be whether or not to create a pathway to legal status for all or most of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants now living in the United States. In evaluating the pros and cons of a legalization program, it is important to keep in mind that legalization is not only a humanitarian act; it is also a form of economic stimulus. The example of the 1986 …

This brief is part of a series that explores key implementation considerations important to consider when replicating evidence-based programs for children and youth. It focuses on the importance of identifying, operationalizing, and implementing the “core components” of evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions that likely are critical to producing positive outcomes. The brief offers a definition of “core components,” discusses challenges and processes related to identifying and validating them, highlights rationales for the importance of operationalizing core components, and explores implications for …

This research brief discusses some of the fundamentals of quality program implementation that have been identified through research and practice and that may be useful for practitioners and researchers alike. The brief defines quality program implementation, and highlights the importance of a high quality implementation, identifies 23 factors that affect implementation, discusses 14 steps in achieving quality implementation (10 of which need to occur before a program starts), and notes that responsibility for quality implementation is shared by key stakeholders. …

In April 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) hosted a Forum, Emphasizing Evidence-Based Programs for Children and Youth, to convene the leading practitioners and researchers with experience using and evaluating an array of evidence-based programs for children and youth. During the Forum, experts discussed challenges encountered when selecting and replicating evidence-based programs (EBP s) and also identified approaches for developing evidence-informed programs when EBPs are not …

…

Commonwealth of Australia 2012

Rates of risky driving remained fairly stable between the ages of 19-20 and 23-24 years, but had significantly decreased by 27-28 years. While there was a general trend for levels of risky driving to decrease, considerable variability was found in the risky driving patterns of individuals over this period.

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the legendary Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, in which a Mexican force of 4,500 men faced 6,000 well-trained French soldiers. The battle lasted four hours and ended in a victory for the Mexican army under Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza. Along with Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 16, Cinco de Mayo has become a time to celebrate Mexican heritage and culture.

This report outlines the power of alternative systems of communication and was written by Nadia Clarke following her Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship, 2012

The Family Resources Survey collects information on the incomes and circumstances of private households in the United Kingdom. It has been running since October 1992. This report summarises the results for the 2010/11 full survey year in which approximately 25,000 households were interviewed. The report is divided into sections covering: Income and State Support Receipt; Tenure; Savings and Investments; Disability; Carers; Occupation and Employment; and Pension Participation.

Marcy Carlson, professor of sociology at UW–Madison, talks about parents having kids with more than one partner and how this can be a challenge for families and for policymakers.

…

…

Agencies must also observe obligations imposed by the Privacy Act 1988 in handling personal information. In particular, the Act requires agencies to take reasonable steps in some circumstances to destroy or de-identify personal information. This is particularly important where information assets that are proposed to be published or shared with others contain personal information. De-identifying that information can maximise the utility and value of the information assets without compromising privacy or confidentiality.

DEEWR, in collaboration with JBWere, has developed a report that establishes a foundation for understanding impact investing in the Australian context: what it is, why it matters, what is happening here and what could or should happen. The report showcases examples in Australia and internationally of people harnessing capital markets to: support community prosperity; encourage vibrant culture; and contribute new solutions for issues of exclusion and sustainability.

The poverty thresholds are the original version of the federal poverty measure. They are updated each year by the Census Bureau. The thresholds are used mainly for statistical purposes — for instance, preparing estimates of the number of Americans in poverty each year. (In other words, all official poverty population figures are calculated using the poverty thresholds, not the guidelines.) Poverty thresholds since 1973 (and for selected earlier years) and weighted average poverty thresholds since 1959 are available on the …

includes documents and podcast

…

The report argues that South Australia does not need to define a fixed template or model to impose upon itself. Instead South Australians should collaborate with each other to innovate and develop a progressively intelligent and innovative system – drawing on the best of international practice.

Laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly under section 11(3) (c) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 by the Department for Social Development