IssueLab's Comprehensive News Feed

Unions and Upward Mobility for Asian Pacific American Workers

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research. Asian Pacific American (APA) workers are, with Latinos, the fastest growing group in the U.S. workforce and in organized labor. Since the late 1980s, APA workers have seen their representation in the ranks of U.S. unions almost double, from about 2.5 percent of all union workers in 1989 to about 4.6 percent in 2008.

This report uses national data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) to show that unionization raises the wages of the typical APA worker by 9 percent compared to their non-union peers. The study goes on to show that unionization also increases the likelihood that an APA worker will have health insurance and a pension....

The Changing Face of Labor, 1983-2008

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research. Over the last quarter century, the unionized workforce has changed dramatically, according to this new CEPR report. In 2008, union workers reflected trends in the workforce as a whole toward a greater share of women, Latinos, Asian Pacific Americans, older, more-educated workers, and a shift out of manufacturing toward services.

"The view that the typical union worker is a white male manufacturing worker may have been correct a quarter of a century ago, but it's not an accurate description of those in today's labor movement," said John Schmitt, a CEPR Senior Economist and an author of the report....

Health Care Toolkit

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Sojourners. A Guide to the Health-Care Reform Debate from Sojourners and PICO....

Honduras: Recent Economic Performance

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research. This paper looks at the Honduran economy, including longer-term trends, the pre-crisis years, and recent developments since the June 28th coup. It finds that poverty and inequality decreased significantly during the Zelaya administration, with rapid growth of more than 6 percent during the first two years. The government also increased school enrollment significantly by abolishing school fees, expanded school lunch programs, and raised the minimum wage by 60 percent. Some expansionary monetary policy was used to counter-act the global downturn in 2008.

The paper finds that more recently, the Honduran economy has become especially vulnerable to the combined impacts of the world recession and the political crisis that has followed the military coup of June 28, 2009....

Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans Data and Policy Update

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): National Alliance to End Homelessness. New data from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) show that approximately 131,000 veterans were homeless at a point in time in 2008. This is a rate of 58 homeless veterans for every 10,000 veterans, more than double the rate of homelessness among the general population. New data on the demographics of veterans and homeless veterans also reveal that some veterans of the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are beginning to receive homeless services from the VA and that female veterans are increasingly represented in the pool of veterans who may face homelessness. The high prevalence of homelessness among veterans means that programs that serve homeless veterans must be expanded....

Organizational Capital: A New Approach to Lending in Nonprofit Affordable Housing

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Neighborworks America. In spite of a diminishing supply of public resources, many nonprofit housing developers are expanding their roles and their portfolios to address an increasing need for decent affordable housing. But as nonprofit housing organizations mature, the traditional project-by-project funding system fails to support their broader development goals. This paper stresses the urgent need for equity, or �organizational capital,� to help nonprofit housing organizations build their capacity and their impact. Unlike conventional financing, organizational capital is underwritten against a borrower�s balance sheet, or its organizational ability to repay. Whereas project-based loans are tied to one particular project, organizational loans can be a source of liquidity whenever an organization needs it: on the front end of a deal, for general business operations or during periods of organizational expansion. Despite its many advantages, there is an extremely limited supply of organizational capital in nonprofit affordable housing. This research outlines the practical challenges to organizational investing and uncovers the underlying barriers that have prevented a nonprofit organizational capital market from emerging. These findings lead us to explore nonprofit housing organizations in a �closed system� of standardized reporting and rational decision-making. The study concludes that while a new nonprofit reporting system would greatly encourage organizational investing in housing, the privat...

Harnessing Openness to Improve Research, Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Committee for Economic Development. Colleges and universities should embrace the concept of increased openness in the use and sharing of information to improve higher education. That is the core recommendation of this report. The report was produced by CED's Digital Connections Council (DCC), a group of information technology experts that advises CED's business leaders on cutting-edge technologies....

International Interfaith Centre Annual Lecture 1996: From Conflict to Harmony the Confucian response to interfaith dialogue

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): International Interfaith Centre. From Conflict to Harmony the Confucian response to interfaith dialogue

It is true that unlike other living faiths, Confucianism has lost its organisational and institutional mechanism. However, organisation and institution are never taken to be the sole foundation of Confucianism. Rather, the power and force of Confucianism lies in its values and ideals, the essentials of which have become part of the ways of the Chinese life. In this sense, we may say that Confucianism as a value system is still functioning in today's world and as a living force Confucianism holds not only the motives of social integration but also the solutions and resolutions of inter-religious conflict....

International Interfaith Centre Annual Lecture 1998: African Indigenous Religions and Inter-Religious Relationship

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): International Interfaith Centre.

African Indigenous Religions and Inter-Religious Relationship

This paper is in three parts. The first part deals with short introductory remarks on inter-faith relations. The second, the longest part, focuses on the fundamental features of Akan indigenous religion and the forms of inter-religious relationship that have emerged from the religious heritage. The third part is a sort of conclusion of my arguments.

...

A Practical Guide to Integrating Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS into Grant Proposals to the Global Fund

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Population Action International. Integrating RH and HIV can greatly contribute to mitigating the AIDS pandemic by reducing unintended pregnancy; preventing perinatal transmission; expanding to more target groups; reducing gender based violence; meeting the needs of people living with HIV and providing our youth with the knowledge and services they need. Whether to integrate, how to integrate and exactly what to integrate will depend on a country's epidemiological profile, policies and program structures.

Experience with implementation of integration initiatives in countries around the world shows that scale up and sustainability requires attention to policy and program operations issues. This document, with links to a range of resources, will help CCMs, civil society organizations and others developing proposals for the Global Fund that contribute to preventing HIV and mitigating the effects of the AIDS pandemic through programs that link and integrate RH and HIV/AIDS....

Environmental Justice in EPA Permitting: Reducing Pollution in High-Risk Communities is Integral to the Agency's Mission

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): National Academy of Public Administration. This study was designed to further the ability of environmental justice groups, academics, regulated industries, and state, tribal and local governments to understand how to effectively bring environmental justice considerations to the attention of environmental permitting authorities. For many years environmental permits have not taken into account the public's concerns about impacts on near-by residents and neighborhoods from disproportionate exposures to environmental harms and public health risks caused by industrial facilities....

Models For Change: Efforts By Four States To Address Environmental Justice

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): National Academy of Public Administration. As research continues on the potential correlation between health impacts and exposure to
environmental hazards, it is critical to collect the data needed to understand whether programs designed to protect human health and the environment are being administered in a just and equitable way. In the meantime, the Panel applauds states that are addressing high exposure levels of pollution in people-of-color and low-income communities and working to improve their ability to participate effectively in key processes, like permitting....

Building Livelihoods: A Field Manual for Practitioners in Humanitarian Settings

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission.

This publication by the Women's Refugee Commission is based on two-and-a-half years of research and 10 field assessments covering all contexts of displacement: refugee, IDP and returnee situations, in camp settings, as well as in rural and urban areas. It is informed by several pilot projects that were funded from one to three years in places such as the refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border; with women at-risk of gender-based violence who have returned to Burundi; and in the slums of Bogota, Colombia, home to a large displaced population.

The field manual has been reviewed and contributed to by experts from the NGO practitioner, UN and academic communities, including those who participated in a three-day intensive workshop at the Rockefeller Foundation's conference center in Bellagio, Italy. This field manual does not provide all the answers, nor does it provide models that can be simply replicated from one context to another. Instead, it provides guidance, ideas, tools and suggestions to assist practitioners and program managers in making strategic choices about their livelihood interventions so that programs can be appropriately designed and have greater impact.

This field manual was produced to assist practitioners who desire to strengthen their skills and enhance their knowledge in order to do better livelihoods and economic recovery programming. The Women's Refugee Commission hopes that the manual helps members of the humanitarian commu...

Desperate Lives: Burmese Refugee Women Struggle to Make a Living in Malaysia

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission.

Economic opportunities provide women with life options, greater participation in decision-making and more equity within the household. As a result, they are assumed to protect women against gender-based violence.

The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children traveled to Malaysia to learn if and how this assumption held for refugees from Burma who live and work in Kuala Lumpur, the capital, without legal status or the right to work. In a hostile environment where refugees are systematically arrested, detained, whipped and deported, the Women's Commission found that in accessing the few economic opportunities available refugee women actually increased their risk of exploitation and abuse.

While these women desperately need to work, without legal protection and legal status they are extremely vulnerable to violence and exploitation perpetrated by employers who are able to act with impunity because the women face deportation if they go to the police. Merely leaving the house to go to work puts refugee women at great risk of arrest and attack. Not working at all increases women's dependency on community members, spouses and neighbors, which also increases their risk of abuse.

Over all, the Women's Commission found that refugee women have no safe livelihood options. The complexity of an urban setting and an adverse political environment make it very challenging for UNHCR and other refugee advocates to provide sufficient refugee pro...

Earning Money/Staying Safe: The Links Between Making a Living and Sexual Violence for Refugee Women in Cairo

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission. It is widely believed that economic opportunities provide women with life options, greater participation in decisionmaking and more equity within the household. As a result, they are assumed to protect women against gender-based violence, including sexual assault and exploitation and domestic violence. The Women's Refugee Commission* (the Commission) traveled to Cairo, Egypt to learn if and how this assumption held for refugees from Sudan, Iraq, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, who live and work in Cairo. Although recognized refugees and asylum seekers are eligible for a work permit, in reality they are hard to obtain. Most women the Commission met with reported great difficulty in finding employment and meeting their basic needs. Often they are forced to work in unregulated sectors, such as housekeeping and child care, which exposes them to exploitation, abuse and harassment. There are very limited services for women who have been raped or abused, or women who have experienced domestic violence. The Women's Refugee Commission did see examples of promising livelihood interventions, including programs that include vocational training and job placement components. Such programs should be emulated. Key Findings

Refugee women in Cairo report great difficulty in meeting their basic needs, immense obstacles to obtaining employment, and many report incidences of racism and xenophobia.
Lack of legal access to the labor market forces refugee women ...

Halfway Home: Unaccompanied Children in Immigration Custody

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission.

Thousands of children migrate to the United States each year. Many of these children come fleeing war, violence, abuse or natural disaster; others come to reunite with family members already here, or to seek better lives for themselves. They undertake difficult journeys, often across numerous international borders, and often alone.

Unaccompanied children are some of the most vulnerable migrants who cross our borders, and are in need of special protections appropriate for their situation. Yet they face additional hurdles upon arrival. They are placed in custody while their immigration cases proceed through the courts, and they must undergo adversarial immigration proceedings, often without the help of a lawyer or guardian. In March 2003, the Homeland Security Act (HSA) transferred custody of unaccompanied alien children from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).4 ORR, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created the Division of Unaccompanied Children's Services (DUCS) to provide care and services to this population.

In an effort to assess the effectiveness of the transfer, the Women's Refugee Commission* and the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (Orrick) embarked on a landmark study of the conditions of care and confinement for children in immigration proceedings without a parent or guardian. We visited 30 DUCS prog...

Masculinities: Male Roles and Male Involvement in the Promotion of Gender Equality A Resource Packet

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission.

At the 48th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2004, participating governments agreed an important set of conclusions on "the role of men and boys in achieving gender equality" and urged all key stakeholders, including governments, UN organizations and civil society, to promote action at all levels in fields such as education, health services, training, media and the workplace to increase the contribution of men and boys to furthering gender equality.1

In order to initiate work on gender equality and male involvement therein, critical examination of men's power and privilege and current constructs of "masculinities" are necessary prerequisites. Seventy percent of the 1.3 billion people worldwide living in extreme poverty are women and girls. Gender discrimination is a major cause of poverty and, in many countries, women still have great difficulties securing basic education, finding employment and having fair control over household income. Until gender discrimination is ended, through the mainstreaming of gender issues and the promotion of gender equality, these issues cannot be successfully addressed.

The patterns of domination, though, may be so deeply embedded in cultures and institutions that we may not even recognize them: boys getting more food than girls; streets where women walk only under threat; the interruption of women's speech in conversation. Awareness, analysis and visibility are, he...

Redefining Manhood, Rebuilding Nations: How Men Can Empower Women to Lift Post-Conflict Communities

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission.

As Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan asserts, "[T]here is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women." However, the involvement of men and boys is vital to achieving the rights of women and girls.

Men and boys must be an active, engaged part of the solution. As violence against women has become epidemic, and with the increasing feminization of poverty, migration and HIV/AIDS, it is vital to reinvigorate the fight for gender equality. No longer is gender equality simply a women's right issue. It is a crucial social justice issue necessary for the longer-term well-being of humankind and the planet.

Women are disenfranchised, economically excluded and disempowered in many parts of the world:

Women and girls make up 70% of the 1.3 billion people worldwide living in extreme poverty (those living on less than $1 per day).
33% of women globally are homeless or live in inadequate dwellings, such as slums.
Women work 66% of the world's working hours and in most developing countries produce 60 - 80% of the food1 but only own 1% of land and hold only 14% of parliamentary seats.2

As a result of their disenfranchisement, women have less access to education at all levels and fewer economic opportunities. Women's work is generally less prestigious, less desirable and less well paid. Women have less voice in household a...

Refugee Girls: The Invisible Faces of War

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission.

Girls are rarely featured in the coverage of armed conflict. Given their invisibility, one might assume that girls are somehow spared involvement in war. Yet, not only are girls commonly targeted in armed conflict, in many ways their lives are more profoundly affected by it than other groups. However, their special needs are frequently overlooked or ignored.

More than 140 million girls live in fragile states affected by armed conflict. Of the 42 million people who have had to flee their homes because of war, 80 percent are women, children and young people. At least 10 million are estimated to be girls and young women. When war breaks out, people may flee their homes in search of safety. They face harrowing journeys, sometimes taking weeks or months to reach the relative safety of a refugee camp in another country or a camp for internally displaced persons in their own country. They may seek refuge in an urban area, often in slums on the outskirts of a city.

As they flee from war, girls face many dangers, including rape, landmines, gunfire and hunger. They may be recruited into armed forces or captured by traffickers, or they may fall ill. As they try to navigate through the chaos and confusion around them, family members may be left behind. Men and boys may stay and fight, or remain to protect the family's land and possessions.

Once refugees have reached a place of relative safety, they may stay there for years: the average le...

Reproductive Health Coordination Gap, Services Ad hoc: Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) Assessment in Kenya

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission.

The post-election violence in Kenya in the early months of 2008 displaced more than 500,000 people. In any humanitarian crisis, certain priority reproductive health (RH) services must be put in place from the earliest stages of an emergency. These essential activities are defined in the Minimum Initial Services Package (MISP) -- the established international standard for providing RH care in emergencies. They include activities to prevent sexual violence and treat survivors; protect against the transmission of HIV; ensure delivery supplies and emergency care for pregnant women and newborns; and lay the groundwork for comprehensive RH services once conditions allow.

The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children (Women's Commission) undertook a mission to Kenya in April 2008 to assess the progress the humanitarian community has made in the institutionalization of the MISP in emergency response operations. The assessment took place four months after the crisis erupted and included visits to camp settings in the Nairobi, Kisumu, Kitale, Eldoret and Nakuru regions.

Key Findings

1) Despite the ongoing and urgent needs of large numbers of displaced persons, the Women's Commission found that funding was clearly inadequate to meet the unaddressed health needs of the displaced. UN emergency appeals to address humanitarian needs related to the post-election violence remained significantly underfunded at the time of the asses...

The Struggle Between Migration Control and Victim Protection: The UK Approach to Human Trafficking

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission.

The UK has joined with other governments in addressing trafficking in source countries. Such cooperation has focused on raising awareness among communities at risk of trafficking about the dangers that trafficking poses; supporting efforts to address the root causes of trafficking, for example, through the promotion of girls' education; and coordinating with law enforcement agencies to facilitate the prevention, deterrence and prosecution of those involved in trafficking.

In November 2004, for example, the UK government and the government of Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) community in the UK is actively addressing trafficking. Both agencies that focus exclusively on trafficking and those that specialize in asylum and migration have dedicated significant time, resources and energy to understanding the problem, assisting victims and advocating for systemic reform with government both at the local and national levels to ensure an effective, holistic approach to the issue that puts the rights of victims at its center.

Fundamentally, trafficking will not end, and likely will continue to increase, unless effective strategies are developed that prevent communities at risk from becoming vulnerable, that protect and assist trafficking victims so that they are safe from retaliation from their traffickers and are not at ri...

Working Women at Risk: The Links Between Making a Living and Sexual Violence for Refugees in Ethiopia

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Women's Refugee Commission. It is widely believed that economic opportunities can provide women with life options, greater participation in decision-making and more equity within the household. As a result, they are assumed to protect women against gender-based violence, including sexual assault and exploitation and domestic violence. The Women's Refugee Commission* (the Commission) traveled to Ethiopia to learn whether this assumption held true for refugees from Somalia and Eritrea. The Commission found that refugee women generally provide for themselves and their families in three ways: participating in income generating activities within the camp; selling goods and/or working in domestic labor outside of the camp; and collecting and selling firewood. Women's attempts to make a living can put them at greater risk for gender-based violence, including domestic violence, attacks while collecting firewood and harassment by employers if they are engaged in domestic work. In addition, income generating activities sponsored by aid agencies do not significantly contribute to increased income for refugee women. Finally, refugee women do not often participate in training programs that will prepare them for opportunities to earn a living if they are resettled to the United States or elsewhere.
Key Findings

Without access to markets and real economic opportunities, women's livelihood strategies can put them at greater risk for gender-based violence.
Most current income ge...

Immigrant Workers in the Massachusetts Health Care Industry - A Report on Status and Future Prospects

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.. Immigrant Workers in the Massachusetts Health Care Industry is the first ILC-commissioned study about immigrants as workers. It is a groundbreaking study that provides basic and new data about immigrants' presence across the spectrum of health care providers and the vital role immigrants play in this essential industry to Massachusetts. The study also examines the breadth and scope of the health care industry across the state, its current and future workforce needs and promising models for developing the future workforce. The importance of immigrants as a pipeline for this future workforce is examined in depth....

Troubled Neighbor: Mexico's Drug Violence Poses a Threat to the United States

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Cato Institute. While U.S. leaders have focused on actual or illusory security threats in distant regions, there is a troubling security problem brewing much closer to home. Violence in Mexico, mostly related to the trade in illegal drugs, has risen sharply in recent years and shows signs of becoming even worse. That violence involves turf fights among the various drug-trafficking organizations as they seek to control access to the lucrative U.S. market. To an increasing extent, the violence also entails fighting between drug traffickers and Mexican military and police forces. The carnage has already reached the point that the U.S. State Department has issued travel alerts for Americans traveling in Mexico. U.S. tourism to cities on Mexico's border with the United States, where the bloodshed has been the worst, has dropped sharply. Even more troubling, the violence is spilling across the border into communities in the southwestern United States. U.S. officials, alarmed at the growing power of the Mexican drug cartels, have pressured the government of Felipe Calderon to wage amore vigorous anti-drug campaign. Calderón has responded by giving the army the lead role in efforts to eliminate the drug traffickers instead of relying on federal and local police forces, which have been thoroughly corrupted by drug money. Washington has rewarded Calderon's government by implementing the initial stage of the so-called Merida Initiative. In June 2008, Congress approved a $400 million instal...

Paid Sick Days Don't Cause Unemployment

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research. Critics of legislation requiring employers to provide paid sick days frequently argue that these measures will lead to job loss and raise the national unemployment rate. However, this issue brief shows that the experience of 22 countries with the highest level of social and economic development (as measured by the Human Development Index) suggests that there is no statistically significant relationship between national unemployment rates and legally-mandated access to paid sick days and leave....

Doing the Arts Justice: A Review of Research Literature, Practice and Theory

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Anne Peaker Centre. Researched and written by Jenny Hughes, this review of research literature, practice and theory is a must for anyone working on evaluation and research within the arts in social inclusion.

It is full of useful examples of the methodologies of recent arts projects that have taken place within criminal justice and social inclusion settings, and packed with statistics and findings relating to the impact of the arts in areas such as prevention of offending and within custodial and community sentencing....

Massachusetts Miracle or Massachusetts Miserable: What the Failure of the �Massachusetts Model� Tells Us about Health Care Reform

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Cato Institute.

When Massachusetts passed its pioneering health care reforms in 2006, critics warned that they would result in a slow but steady spiral downward toward a government-run health care system. Three years later, those predictions appear to be coming true:

Although the state has reduced the number of residents without health insurance, 200,000 people remain uninsured. Moreover, the increase in the number of insured is primarily due to the state's generous subsidies, not the celebrated individual mandate.
Health care costs continue to rise much faster than the national average. Since 2006, total state health care spending has increased by 28 percent. Insurance premiums have increased by 8-10 percent per year, nearly double the national average. New regulations and bureaucracy are limiting consumer choice and adding to health care costs.
Program costs have skyrocketed. Despite tax increases, the program faces huge deficits. The state is considering caps on insurance premiums, cuts in reimbursements to providers, and even the possibility of a "global budget" on health care spending -- with its attendant rationing.
A shortage of providers, combined with increased demand, is increasing waiting times to see a physician.

With the "Massachusetts model" frequently cited as a blueprint for health care reform, it is important to recognize that giving the government greater control over our health care system will ha...

2005 Arts Education Performance Indicators Report

Sat, 30 May 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Arts for All: Los Angeles Regional Blueprint for Arts Education.

The mission of Arts for All: Los Angeles County Regional Blueprint for Arts Education is to establish sequential K-12 arts education in each of the 80 school districts in Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) classrooms.The Blueprint focuses on building an infrastructure to support districtwide education in dance,music, theatre and the visual arts. Progress is measured by five critical success factors.

The data provided in this report gives a County-wide picture of the status of arts education with regard to five critical success factors in 2005.

...

The Arts and School Reform: Lessons and Possibilities From the Annenberg Challenge Arts Projects

Sat, 30 May 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Annenberg Institute for School Reform. The three Annenberg Challenge Arts projects (in New York City, Minneapolis, and a national consortium of schools) fostered a civic commitment to arts education in their local schools and communities, which led to an expansion in local ownership and investment in arts education. The report offers insights from arts education for school reform practitioners (build reform from within; make excellence equitable) and lessons from standards-based reform for arts educators (rethink accountability; begin with permanence in mind)....

Preventing Suicide in Colorado: Progress Achieved & Goals for the Future

Tue, 26 May 2009 19:59:01 -0400

Contributing organization(s): Colorado Trust, The. This 2009 report, issued jointly by Mental Health America of Colorado and The Colorado Trust, updates both the state's 1998 Suicide Prevention and Intervention Plan to address Colorado's historically high suicide rate, as well as The Trust's 2002 report Suicide in Colorado, which documented the problem of suicide across the state and identified suicide-prevention resources. This report details key facts and figures about the suicide rate in Colorado, many of the prevention achievements in the past 10 years, and recommendations to strengthen suicide prevention and awareness efforts into the future....