Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 30 of 76
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Proposed Eitc Expansion Would Increase Eligibility And Dollars For Rural And Urban “Childless” Workers, Jessica A. Carson, Marybeth J. Mattingly
Proposed Eitc Expansion Would Increase Eligibility And Dollars For Rural And Urban “Childless” Workers, Jessica A. Carson, Marybeth J. Mattingly
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief uses data from the 2013 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey to examine how President Obama’s proposed expanded eligibility and higher credit values might affect tax filers in both rural and urban America. Authors Jessica Carson and Marybeth Mattingly report that proposed changes to the earned income tax credit (EITC) will increase the share of workers without a qualifying child eligible for the EITC equally in rural and urban places, although rural residents are more likely to be eligible under both current and proposed policies. The average increase in the credit is $476, more …
The Increasing Diversity Of America's Youth, Kenneth M. Johnson, Andrew P. Schaefer, Daniel T. Lichter, Luke T. Rogers
The Increasing Diversity Of America's Youth, Kenneth M. Johnson, Andrew P. Schaefer, Daniel T. Lichter, Luke T. Rogers
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief documents how unfolding demographic forces have placed today’s children and youth at the forefront of America’s new racial and ethnic diversity. Authors Kenneth M. Johnson, Andrew Schaefer, Daniel T. Lichter, and Luke T. Rogers discuss how the rapidly changing racial and ethnic composition of the youth population has important implications for intergroup relations, ethnic identities, and electoral politics. They report that diversity is increasing among America’s youth because there are more minority children and fewer non-Hispanic white children. Minority births exceeded non-Hispanic white births for the first time in U.S. history in 2011 according to Census Bureau estimates. …
Mental Health Among Northern New Hampshire Young Adults: Depression And Substance Problems Higher Than Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy
Mental Health Among Northern New Hampshire Young Adults: Depression And Substance Problems Higher Than Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief uses data on depressive and substance abuse symptoms from two surveys administered in 2011—the Coös Youth Study and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health—to compare mental health patterns among young adults in Coös County, New Hampshire, to patterns among rural young adults nationwide. The analyses focus on 214 Coös young adults and 1,477 young adult respondents, ages 18 to 21, who were living in non-metropolitan areas in 2011 and who provided usable data on depressive and substance abuse symptoms. Author Karen Van Gundy reports that Coös County young adults are more likely than rural young adults …
Comparing Teen Substance Use In Northern New Hampshire To Rural Use Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy
Comparing Teen Substance Use In Northern New Hampshire To Rural Use Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy
Carsey School of Public Policy
Using data administered in 2011 from the Carsey Institute’s Coös Youth Study and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this brief compares teen substance use patterns in New Hampshire’s most rural county to patterns among rural youth nationwide. Author Karen Van Gundy reports that about half of the teens in Coös County and in rural areas nationwide reported using any substance in the previous year. Alcohol use was reported most often, followed by tobacco or marijuana, and other illicit substances. Rural boys nationwide reported using tobacco at significantly higher rates than Coös boys and girls and rural girls …
Middle-Skill Jobs Remain More Common Among Rural Workers, Justin R. Young
Middle-Skill Jobs Remain More Common Among Rural Workers, Justin R. Young
Carsey School of Public Policy
This issue brief uses data from the Current Population Survey collected from 2003 to 2012 to assess trends in employment in middle-skill jobs and the Great Recession’s impact on middle-skill workers, with particular attention paid to differences between those in rural and urban places. Author Justin Young reports that roughly half (51 percent) of American workers living in rural areas held middle-skill jobs in 2012—positions requiring at least some on-the-job training, an apprenticeship-type experience, or postsecondary education but no more than a two-year degree. This figure is well above the national average of 43 percent and the urban average of …
Rural Natives’ Perceptions Of Strengths And Challenges In Their Communities, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad
Rural Natives’ Perceptions Of Strengths And Challenges In Their Communities, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief uses two sources of data to explore how Native Americans view the current socioeconomic and environmental state of their communities and their future within them—the Community and Environment in Rural America (CERA) surveys and focus groups with Native leaders in one rural state. The data help to illustrate how the Native experience is both similar to, and unique from, that of other rural Americans. While the findings reported by author Jessica Ulrich-Schad illustrate that there are significant challenges facing Native people, they also show that strengths and opportunities continue to exist in Indian Country and that Natives remain …
Underemployment In Urban And Rural America, 2005-2012, Justin R. Young
Underemployment In Urban And Rural America, 2005-2012, Justin R. Young
Carsey School of Public Policy
Author Justin Young reports that underemployment (or involuntary part-time work) rates doubled during the second year of the recession, reaching roughly 6.5 percent in 2009. This increase was equally steep in both rural and urban places. By March of 2012, underemployment was slightly lower in rural places (4.8 percent) compared to urban places (5.3 percent). Prior to the recession, however, underemployment was slightly higher in rural America. Workers under age 30, as well as women, black, and Hispanic workers, continue to experience higher levels of underemployment. Underemployment is strongly linked with education, with the least educated workers experiencing higher rates …
It Takes A Community: Civic Life And Community Involvement Among Coös County Youth, Justin R. Young
It Takes A Community: Civic Life And Community Involvement Among Coös County Youth, Justin R. Young
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief explores the extent to which Coös County youth are involved in a variety of civic-related activities, with particular attention to the demographic and attitudinal factors associated with such participation. Author Justin Young reports that approximately 75 percent of Coös County youth report involvement in at least one type of civic-related activity. The types of activities varied by year in school. Eighth grad¬ers were more involved in 4-H, Scouts, church groups, and community center events, while twelfth graders volunteered more often and participated in community-service clubs. Forty percent of youth volunteered within the past year, and a third are …
Over Sixteen Million Children In Poverty In 2011, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jessica A. Bean, Andrew P. Schaefer
Over Sixteen Million Children In Poverty In 2011, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jessica A. Bean, Andrew P. Schaefer
Carsey School of Public Policy
In this brief, authors Marybeth Mattingly, Jessica Bean, and Andrew Schaefer use American Community Survey data released on September 20, 2012 to address patterns of child poverty. To evaluate the changes in child poverty, they focused on two time periods -- change since 2007, as the nation entered the recession, and change since 2010. According to the American Community Survey, the overall child poverty rate for the United States rose slightly from 21.6 in 2010 to 22.5 percent in 2011, resulting in an estimated 16.4 million children living in poverty. Of these children, 6.1 million are young (under age 6). …
Coös County’S Class Of 2009: Where Are They Now?, Eleanor M. Jaffee
Coös County’S Class Of 2009: Where Are They Now?, Eleanor M. Jaffee
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief reports on the first follow-up survey of the Coös Youth Study participants beyond high school. The focus of the Coös Youth Study, a ten-year panel study following the lives of youth in Coös County, New Hampshire, is the transition of Coös youth into adulthood. Author Eleanor Jaffee reports that approximately half of the Coös County Class of 2009’s follow-up survey participants (49 percent) are living in Coös County the majority of the time. Of those living outside Coös County, 81 percent are attending school full time. The most frequently reported combinations of school and work situations were in …
Forging The Future: Community Leadership And Economic Change In Coös County, New Hampshire, Michele Dillon
Forging The Future: Community Leadership And Economic Change In Coös County, New Hampshire, Michele Dillon
Carsey School of Public Policy
Author Michele Dillon conducted a case study of community change in Coös County, New Hampshire, for two-and-a-half years (June 2009-December 2011) to investigate how local community leaders in Coös assess the initiatives, challenges, opportunities, and progress in the North Country during this time of economic transition. Her primary data-gathering method included personal interviews with community leaders, supplemented by observation, documentary, and survey data. Dillon discusses how there is a strong consensus among community leaders that Coös needs to work together as a county with a unified vision and voice while respecting the specific character, strengths, and needs of each local …
Beginning Teachers Are More Common In Rural, High-Poverty, And Racially Diverse Schools, Douglas J. Gagnon, Marybeth J. Mattingly
Beginning Teachers Are More Common In Rural, High-Poverty, And Racially Diverse Schools, Douglas J. Gagnon, Marybeth J. Mattingly
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief considers whether the concentration of beginning teachers in a district is associated with the district's poverty rate, racial composition, or urbanicity. Authors Douglas Gagnon and Marybeth Mattingly report that poor communities have moderately higher percentages of beginning teachers than communities with lower poverty rates and that a higher concentration of minority students in a district is associated with a higher percentage of beginning teachers. Large cities, remote towns, and rural districts have higher percentages of beginning teachers than midsized-small cities, suburbs, and fringe-distant town districts. The combined impact of poverty, race, and urbanicity has a substantial effect on …
Understanding Child Abuse In Rural And Urban America: Risk Factors And Maltreatment Substantiation, Wendy A. Walsh, Marybeth J. Mattingly
Understanding Child Abuse In Rural And Urban America: Risk Factors And Maltreatment Substantiation, Wendy A. Walsh, Marybeth J. Mattingly
Carsey School of Public Policy
Using a large national sample of child maltreatment reports, this brief compares the outcomes of child maltreatment cases in rural versus urban places and identifies the characteristics associated with substantiation. Child abuse cases substantiated in rural and urban areas share many caregiver risk factors, such as drug and alcohol abuse, and many family stressors. Substantiation is equally likely across income levels; approximately one-fourth of cases in each income level are substantiated. However, when place is taken into account, a greater share (36 percent) of higher-income families (that is, families with incomes greater than 200 percent of the federal poverty level) …
Mapping Food Insecurity And Food Sources In New Hampshire Cities And Towns, Barbara Wauchope, Sally Ward
Mapping Food Insecurity And Food Sources In New Hampshire Cities And Towns, Barbara Wauchope, Sally Ward
Carsey School of Public Policy
Using a series of detailed New Hampshire maps, this brief presents a geographic picture of the towns and cities at risk for food insecurity as well as the food resources available across the state. By detailing places with high food insecurity risk and comparing them to places where food is available, these maps show areas of unmet need. This information will enable organizations partnering with New Hampshire Hunger Solutions to identify where initiatives addressing food insecurity and hunger could have the greatest potential impact.
Forest Views: Northeast Oregon Survey Looks At Community And Environment, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Joel N. Hartter, Forrest Stevens, Russell G. Congalton, Mark J. Ducey, Michael Campbell, Daniel Maynard, Michael Staunton
Forest Views: Northeast Oregon Survey Looks At Community And Environment, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Joel N. Hartter, Forrest Stevens, Russell G. Congalton, Mark J. Ducey, Michael Campbell, Daniel Maynard, Michael Staunton
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief reports on a survey conducted in fall 2011 as one component of the ongoing Communities and Forests in Oregon (CAFOR) project. The CAFOR project focuses on the people and landscapes of three counties in northeast Oregon (Baker, Union, and Wallowa), where landscapes and communities are changing in interconnected ways.
Demographic Change In The Northern Forest, Kenneth M. Johnson, Susan I. Stewart, Miranda H. Mockrin
Demographic Change In The Northern Forest, Kenneth M. Johnson, Susan I. Stewart, Miranda H. Mockrin
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief examines the population redistribution in the Northern Forest, which includes thirty-four counties scattered across northern and central Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. Authors Ken Johnson, Susan Stewart, and Miranda Mockrin report that the population of the Northern Forest grew modestly between 2000 and 2010, and the population gains were greatest in recreational areas and least in manufacturing areas. Racial and ethnic diversity is also growing in the Northern Forest, and the population is getting older due to aging in place among current residents and net outmigration among younger populations.
The Local Agricultural Community Exchange: Outcomes And Lessons Learned From A Public-Private Initiative To Revitalize A Downtown Community, Michele Cranwell Schmidt
The Local Agricultural Community Exchange: Outcomes And Lessons Learned From A Public-Private Initiative To Revitalize A Downtown Community, Michele Cranwell Schmidt
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief describes a revitalization project in Barre, Vermont, led by a public-private partnership involving the Agricultural Community Exchange, the Central Vermont Community Action Council, and the private businesses that operated out of the storefront. The Nancy Nye Fellowship, through the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, supported the evaluation of the project from 2007 to 2010. After four years of operation, the market, café, and Gallery closed due to economic hardship. Author Michele Schmidt, the 2008 recipient of the Nancy Nye Fellowship, examines the impact the initiative had on community revitalization and economic development, and she cites …
Rural Demographic Change In The New Century: Slower Growth, Increased Diversity, Kenneth M. Johnson
Rural Demographic Change In The New Century: Slower Growth, Increased Diversity, Kenneth M. Johnson
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief examines rural demographic trends in the first decade of the twenty-first century using newly available data from the 2010 Census. The rural population grew by just 2.2 million between 2000 and 2010—a gain barely half as great as that during the 1990s. Population growth was particularly slow in farming and mining counties and sharply reduced in rural manufacturing counties. Rural population gains were largest in high-amenity counties and just beyond the metropolitan fringe. Diversity accelerated in rural America, with racial and ethnic minorities accounting for 83 percent of rural population growth between 2000 and 2010.
Teen Stress And Substance Use Problems In Coös: Survey Shows Strong Community Attachment Can Offset Risk, Karen T. Van Gundy, Meghan L. Mills
Teen Stress And Substance Use Problems In Coös: Survey Shows Strong Community Attachment Can Offset Risk, Karen T. Van Gundy, Meghan L. Mills
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief explores how social stress and community attachment are related to problem alcohol and drug use for girls and boys in Coös County, New Hampshire. The brief uses survey data from the Coös Youth Study, which includes self-reported information from 564 Coös youth who were in seventh and eleventh grades in 2008, and who were surveyed again one year later (in 2009) when they were in eighth and twelfth grades. Nearly one-fourth of youth in Coös County (22 percent of boys and 23 percent of girls) reported at least one alcohol or drug use related problem. The authors note …
Coos Teens’ View Of Family Economic Stress Is Tied To Quality Of Relationships At Home, Corinna J. Tucker, Genevieve R. Cox
Coos Teens’ View Of Family Economic Stress Is Tied To Quality Of Relationships At Home, Corinna J. Tucker, Genevieve R. Cox
Carsey School of Public Policy
Family economic hardship during adolescence affects family relationships and the social, emotional, and behavioral development of a substantial number of American youth. The authors of this brief use data from the Coos County Youth Study, conducted by the Carsey Institute, to explore adolescents’ perceptions of family economic pressure in 2008 and determine whether these views are linked to their family relationship experiences one year later. They report that one-third of adolescents in Coos County, New Hampshire, perceive that their family is experiencing significant economic pressure and that significant economic pressure is linked to negative parent-child and sibling relationships one year …
Stretching Ties: Social Capital In The Rebranding Of Coos County, New Hampshire, Michele Dillon
Stretching Ties: Social Capital In The Rebranding Of Coos County, New Hampshire, Michele Dillon
Carsey School of Public Policy
Place rebranding is gaining in popularity as cities and rural communities alike attempt to expand their revenue streams through innovative marketing strategies that seek to revitalize or create tourism destinations. These efforts tend to come about as part of an economic development strategy pursued by communities that have borne steep economic losses resulting from global economic restructuring and the decline in traditional manufacturing, agriculture, and natural-resource extraction. Author Michele Dillon explores the role of social capital in rural wealth generation by focusing on how it was used to advance place rebranding in Coos County in northern New Hampshire.
Jobs, Natural Resources, And Community Resilience: A Survey Of Southeast Alaskans About Social And Environmental Change, Thomas G. Safford, Megan M. Henly, Jessica D. Ulrich
Jobs, Natural Resources, And Community Resilience: A Survey Of Southeast Alaskans About Social And Environmental Change, Thomas G. Safford, Megan M. Henly, Jessica D. Ulrich
Carsey School of Public Policy
As part of the Community and Environment in Rural America (CERA) project, researchers at the Carsey Institute surveyed 1,541 residents of the ten boroughs and unincorporated census areas in Southeast Alaska to better understand social and environmental change in the region and their implications for Alaskan community and families. The authors of this brief report that social problems in the extremely isolated region of Southeast Alaska such as crime and drug use are closely related to economic distress, particularly in small outlying communities.
Tanf In Rural America: Informing Re-Authorization, Leif Jensen, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jessica A. Bean
Tanf In Rural America: Informing Re-Authorization, Leif Jensen, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jessica A. Bean
Carsey School of Public Policy
In 1996 welfare reform ushered in a new era in which cash assistance for poor parents became both temporary and conditional on activities to promote economic independence through work. Cash assistance from TANF relieves, but does not eliminate, poverty because benefit levels are far too low to lift families above the poverty threshold. These ameliorative effects are weaker in rural than urban areas. Over time, the positive impacts of TANF receipt have continued to decline. The authors assert that the necessity of re-authorizing TANF gives us an opportunity to reflect on its strengths and limitations.
Southeastern Kentuckians Remain Optimistic Through Great Recession: Growing Concerns About Sprawl, Housing, And Recreational Opportunities, Jessica D. Ulrich
Southeastern Kentuckians Remain Optimistic Through Great Recession: Growing Concerns About Sprawl, Housing, And Recreational Opportunities, Jessica D. Ulrich
Carsey School of Public Policy
In May and June of 2007, Carsey Institute researchers surveyed 1,000 randomly selected respondents from Kentucky’s Harlan and Letcher counties, and between November 2010 and January 2011, they returned to survey 1,020 different randomly selected respondents from the same counties. These two Kentucky counties provide a snapshot of perceptions of community and environmental change in a chronically poor rural place. This brief focuses on the questions asked in both surveys to identify area wide (Harlan and Letcher counties combined) changes since the Great Recession. The surveys reveal that the recession has exacerbated concern about many community-level problems including poverty, affordable …
Continuity And Change In Coos County: Results From The 2010 North Country Cera Survey, Chris R. Colocousis, Justin R. Young
Continuity And Change In Coos County: Results From The 2010 North Country Cera Survey, Chris R. Colocousis, Justin R. Young
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief from Chris Colocousis and Justin Young uses the most recent North Country CERA survey to focus on change and continuity in Coos County between 2007 and 2010, and then makes comparisons of the present conditions across the three study counties. The authors examine such topics as community problems, environmental and economic concerns, and community cohesion and confidence in the local government. They report that Coos County residents remain highly concerned about the lack of economic opportunities in the region, and their concern about population decline has increased in recent years. Coos residents see the economic future of their …
Rural And Central City Residents With Multiple Children Likely To Be Hardest Hit By Proposed Wic Cuts, Jessica A. Bean
Rural And Central City Residents With Multiple Children Likely To Be Hardest Hit By Proposed Wic Cuts, Jessica A. Bean
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief uses data from the 2007 and 2010 Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement to describe the distribution of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receipt across the population and to detail place-based differences in receipt. WIC is a nutrition program that serves pregnant or postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5 (who meet certain criteria) by providing them with nutrition education and checks or vouchers for food purchases. The proposed fiscal year 2012 funding is $733 million less for WIC than fiscal year 2011 levels, and far less than …
Rural Workers Have Less Access To Paid Sick Days, Kristin Smith, Andrew P. Schaefer
Rural Workers Have Less Access To Paid Sick Days, Kristin Smith, Andrew P. Schaefer
Carsey School of Public Policy
This brief, using data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW) survey, analyzes paid sick time rates of workers by place and type of work. Paid sick days provide job protection to workers and a steady paycheck when they need to care for themselves or family members. Paid sick days also help workers with more limited resources who cannot otherwise afford to take a day off. Authors Kristin Smith and Andrew Schaefer report that a greater proportion of rural workers than urban workers (both suburban and central-city) lack access to at least five paid sick days per …
Community Strength And Economic Challenge: Civic Attitudes And Community Involvement In Rural America, Michele Dillon, Justin R. Young
Community Strength And Economic Challenge: Civic Attitudes And Community Involvement In Rural America, Michele Dillon, Justin R. Young
Carsey School of Public Policy
Residents in rural areas that are rich in amenities report a positive outlook about their community strength and civic engagement, with nine out of ten saying they would work together to solve a community problem. However, residents in chronically poor rural communities are less likely to trust, get along with, and help their neighbors.
Education In Chronically Poor Rural Areas Lags Across Generations, Jessica D. Ulrich
Education In Chronically Poor Rural Areas Lags Across Generations, Jessica D. Ulrich
Carsey School of Public Policy
As part of the Community and Environment in Rural America (CERA) initiative, the Carsey Institute has been investigating broad trends between rural community types, including the education level of residents and their parents. Since 2007, Carsey researchers have conducted over 17,000 telephone surveys with randomly selected adult Americans from twelve diverse rural locations to ask about both their own and their parents’ educational attainment, as well as their perceptions of school quality in their communities. Survey results conclude that educational achievement varies significantly by type of place in rural America. In chronically poor rural areas, 45 percent of residents have …
Civil Protective Orders Effective In Stopping Or Reducing Partner Violence: Challenges Remain In Rural Areas With Access And Enforcement, T. K. Logan, Robert Walker
Civil Protective Orders Effective In Stopping Or Reducing Partner Violence: Challenges Remain In Rural Areas With Access And Enforcement, T. K. Logan, Robert Walker
Carsey School of Public Policy
Civil protective orders are a low cost, effective solution in either stopping or significantly reducing partner violence for women. While all women benefit from civil protective orders, this brief finds there are greater obstacles to enforcement in rural places, which result in less benefit for rural than urban women. The authors suggest that policies and services should be tailored to address community-specific barriers and differences such as hours of access, time it takes to obtain or serve an order, and access to information about the process.