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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Moving Target: The Dilemma Of Serving Massachusetts Poor Families, Randy Albelda
Moving Target: The Dilemma Of Serving Massachusetts Poor Families, Randy Albelda
New England Journal of Public Policy
While Community Action Agencies’ original mission of serving the poor has changed little over the last three decades, government commitments to the poor, the population of poor individuals and families, and women’s economic expectations have changed considerably. This article documents the trends in family structure, women’s employment patterns, and poverty policies in Massachusetts between 1970 and 2000. The increase in poor, single-mother families and poverty policies that emphasize employment present dynamic challenges for Community Action Agencies (and others who serve the poor), but also create some new organizing opportunities.
The Nonprofit Sector And The Will To Change, Pablo Eisenberg
The Nonprofit Sector And The Will To Change, Pablo Eisenberg
New England Journal of Public Policy
A greater portion of our nonprofit activities in the future will have to be devoted to policies and actions that can produce constructive change. The extraordinary problems of our society as we enter the twenty-first century — poverty, racism, environmental degradation, lack of health protection, declining trust in governments — can only be tackled by strong policy work, advocacy, and citizen mobilization. The author outlines seven challenges that nonprofits need to address including promoting democracy, strengthening government, asuring public accountability, redefining the nonprofit sector, reforming philanthropy, developing new leadership, and engaging institutions of higher learning in promoting democracies and communities. …
Masscap And The Caa Role In Advocating For Change, Joseph Diamond
Masscap And The Caa Role In Advocating For Change, Joseph Diamond
New England Journal of Public Policy
Cites the efforts of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action Inc. and community action agencies (CCA) to alleviate poverty in the state. Programs offered by CCAs that aim to improve the quality of life of low income people; Efforts of the organization to call for changes in federal and state policies directed to the poor; Details of several initiatives assisted by the organization; Support for the adoption of the Massachusetts Self-Sufficiency Standard.
Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley
Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley
New England Journal of Public Policy
In this issue, special guest editors, Elaine Werby and Donna Haig Friedman, assemble an array of distinguished scholars, policymakers, community activists and political advocates to examine the interaction of the economic, political, and social “flows,” the undercurrents of history that stymied the war on poverty. Their articles and essays chart the beachheads that must be secured before the war can be successfully resumed; No war, they collectively remind us, is won without some battles being lost. You do not secure the future of the country if you abandon the principles of equity and equality for all, the bedrock of the …
The Economic Context: Growing Disparities Of Income And Wealth, Chuck Collins
The Economic Context: Growing Disparities Of Income And Wealth, Chuck Collins
New England Journal of Public Policy
In the last few years, poverty rates have remained constant in the New England states. The effort to reduce poverty in New England and the United States has been thwarted by trends of growing income and wealth inequality. Since the late 1970s, the real incomes for the majority of U.S. households have remained stagnant or fallen. During the same time, asset ownership has become dramatically more unequal, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few has increased. The causes of this accelerated inequality are complex, but underlying the picture are a series of rule changes, both public …
Interrupted Progress: Forty Years Of Child Poverty, Deborah Weinstein
Interrupted Progress: Forty Years Of Child Poverty, Deborah Weinstein
New England Journal of Public Policy
In the last forty years since the beginning of the war on poverty, the condition of poor children has improved and the percentage of children living in poverty has declined. Children and their families made the greatest gain when there was a good economy and an increase in government supports. But when such investments shrink, as they have in recent years, progress is impeded. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) must be reauthorized by Congress. The legislation now under discussion does not encourage states to replicate programs that have increased work and family income and helped children.
Community Action In Massachusetts, Jim Canavan
Community Action In Massachusetts, Jim Canavan
New England Journal of Public Policy
Evaluates the contribution of community action agencies (CCA) in alleviating poverty in Massachusetts from its creation during the term of former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson until 2004. Description of the programs to the poor offered by CCAs; Operation of CCAs across the state; Affordable housing offered by the CCAs.