Digital Commons Network^™

The Long-Term Unemployed In The Wake Of The Great Recession, Andrew P. Schaefer

Carsey Publications

Using the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, this brief outlines the demographic and economic characteristics of the long-term unemployed and compares them with their short-term unemployed counterparts. It also describes changes in the composition of the long-term unemployed since the start of the Great Recession. Author Andrew Schaefer reports that the percentage of unemployed workers who were seeking employment for more than six months more than doubled between 2007 and 2013 from 18.4 percent to 39.3 percent and that the long-term unemployed are more likely than the short-term unemployed to live in urban areas. In …

Variation Found In Rates Of Restraint And Seclusion Among Students With A Disability, Douglas J. Gagnon, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Vincent J. Connelly

Carsey Publications

The restraint and seclusion of individuals—practices usually associated with highly restrictive environments—are extreme responses to student behavior used in some public schools. In this brief, authors Douglas Gagnon, Marybeth Mattingly, and Vincent Connelly report that restraint and seclusion are used much more frequently on students with a disability than on students without a disability. In addition, the majority of U.S. school districts does not restrain or seclude students with a disability; 59.3 percent of districts report no instances of restraint, while 82.5 percent do not report a single instance of seclusion. However, a small proportion of districts report exceedingly high …

New Hampshire Children In Need Of Services: Impacts Of 2011 Legislative Changes To Chins, Lisa Speropolous, Barbara Wauchope

Carsey Publications

Using administrative data from state and local agencies and data from interviews with CHINS professionals, this brief provides an overview of participation in the Children in Need of Services (CHINS) program before and after the change in the law in September 2011 but before funding returned in 2013. Specifically, it examines changes in CHINS petitions filed, children served, and services provided to children and their families in the state. Authors Lisa Speropolous and Barbara Wauchope present the study as an example of the impact that state fiscal policy can have on the most vulnerable of New Hampshire’s populations.

Mental Health Among Northern New Hampshire Young Adults: Depression And Substance Problems Higher Than Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy

Carsey Publications

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 …

Snap Use Increased Slightly In 2012, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

This brief uses data from the American Community Survey to examine rates of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) receipt in 2012, track changes since the onset of the recession, and monitor receipt by region and place type. It also explores changes in SNAP receipt among households that may be at particular risk for food insecurity and considers rates among some less traditionally at-risk populations, exploring changes in their rates of receipt over time.

Author Jessica Carson writes that reports of SNAP receipt in 2012 increased among populations at particular risk for food insecurity, including households with children, seniors, the poor, …

2012 National Child Poverty Rate Stagnates At 22.6 Percent, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jess Carson, Andrew P. Schaefer

Carsey Publications

No abstract provided.

Comparing Teen Substance Use In Northern New Hampshire To Rural Use Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy

Carsey Publications

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 …

Wanting More But Working Less: Involuntary Part-Time Employment And Economic Vulnerability, Rebecca K. Glauber

Carsey Publications

Using data from the Current Population Survey, a national survey of U.S. households, this brief outlines a strong association between involuntary part-time employment and economic vulnerability. Author Rebecca Glauber reports that the involuntary part-time employment rate more than doubled between 2007 and 2012. For women, it rose from 3.6 percent to 7.8 percent and, for men, the rate increased from 2.4 percent in 2007 to 5.9 percent in 2012. Involuntary part-time employment is a key factor in poverty. In 2012, one in four involuntary part-time workers lived in poverty, whereas just one in twenty full-time workers lived in poverty. In …

Granite Staters Weigh In On Renewable Energy Versus Drilling: Environmental Quality Of Life Ranks High Across Party Lines, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Cameron P. Wake

Carsey Publications

Since the fall of 2001, the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center has been conducting the Granite State Poll—a statewide, scientific survey of public opinion and behavior concerning policy issues—via telephone interviews with random samples of New Hampshire residents about four times each year. Starting in 2010, the poll began regularly including environmental topics among its mix of survey questions. In 2012, the environmental questions expanded to include non-climate topics, in connection with a new five-year project on Ecosystems and Society under the New Hampshire Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. In this brief, authors Lawrence Hamilton and Cameron Wake …

Who Would Be Affected By A New Minimum Wage Policy?, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

This brief describes the population who would be directly affected by the President’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour: workers earning between $7.25 and $9.00 per hour. Using data from the 2010 and 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, author Jessica Carson details the characteristics of these potentially affected earners and compares them with the hourly workforce more broadly, paying particular attention to rural-urban differences. She reports that nearly 17 percent of hourly paid workers earn between $7.25 and $9.00 per hour and would see a pay increase under the proposed …

Middle-Skill Jobs Remain More Common Among Rural Workers, Justin R. Young

Carsey Publications

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 …

Child Care Subsidies Critical For Low-Income Families Amid Rising Child Care Expenses, Kristin Smith, Nicholas Adams

Carsey Publications

The high cost of child care is a barrier to employment among low-income families with young children. Child care subsidies are designed to support both parental employment and child development by lowering the cost of child care and making high-quality child care affordable to low-income families. This policy brief compares the shares of income spent on child care in 2005 and 2011 using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Authors Kristin Smith and Nicholas Adams report that child care expenditures were higher on average in 2011 than in 2005 (in constant 2011 dollars) and that employed, poor mothers with …

2012 New Hampshire Civic Health Index, Bruce L. Mallory, Quixada Moore-Vissing

Carsey Publications

The 2012 New Hampshire Civic Health Index follows earlier studies, including the New Hampshire Civic Index compiled by the NH Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in 2006 and the 2009 Civic Health Index published by the Carsey Institute in collaboration with the National Conference on Citizenship and Knowledge Networks. This report begins with key findings, a general description of the Granite State, followed by detailed findings from the U.S. Census Current Population Survey and other surveys that illustrate patterns of volunteering and giving, voting and voter registration, civic engagement (both informal and formal), and confidence in public institutions …

Age And Lifecycle Patterns Driving U.S. Migration Shifts, Kenneth M. Johnson, Richelle Winkler, Luke T. Rogers

Carsey Publications

Migration—people moving between locations—is now driving much of the demographic change occurring in the United States. In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson, Richelle Winkler, and Luke Rogers share new research on age-related migration patterns to provide a fuller understanding of the complex patterns of demographic change in the United States. Examining four migration age groups, including emerging adults, young adults, family age, and older adults, their analysis of trends over time shows evidence that certain age groups migrate in similar ways. For example, young adult migrants are flowing to large metropolitan areas, while family age migrants are leaving large urban …

Rural Natives’ Perceptions Of Strengths And Challenges In Their Communities, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad

Carsey Publications

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 …

Informal Kinship Care Most Common Out-Of-Home Placement After An Investigation Of Child Maltreatment, Wendy A. Walsh

Carsey Publications

This fact sheet examines differences between urban and rural areas in foster care placement with informal kin caregivers. The data for this analysis come from a national sample of children who had a maltreatment report that resulted in an investigation: the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Author Wendy Walsh reports that informal kinship placement settings, where a parent voluntarily places a child with a family member, were the most common out-of-home placement in both rural and urban areas. Informal placements involve children who are in physical custody of a relative but may remain in legal custody of …

Record Number Of Children Covered By Health Insurance In 2011, Michael J. Staley

Carsey Publications

Using data from the 2008 through 2011 American Community Survey, this brief describes rates of children’s health insurance coverage nationally, by region, and place type (that is, rural, suburban, and central city). In addition, it details the composition of coverage in the United States, specifically the proportion of children covered by private and public insurance. Author Michael Staley reports that rates of insurance coverage for children under age 18 increased from 90 percent in 2008 to 92.5 percent in 2011 and that the proportion of children covered by public health insurance increased substantially for the fourth consecutive year in every …

Psychotropic Medication Use Among Children In The Child Welfare System, Wendy A. Walsh, Marybeth J. Mattingly

Carsey Publications

Prior research demonstrates that children in the child welfare system are given psychotropic medication at rates approximately three times higher than children and adolescents in the general population. Using data from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, authors Wendy Walsh and Marybeth Mattingly report that among children age 4 and older with a report of maltreatment, rates of psychotropic medication use are significantly higher in rural (20 percent) than urban areas (13 percent). Children age 4 and older with a maltreatment report in rural areas were significantly more likely to take more than one medication than children …

Recent Data Show Continued Growth In Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use, Jess Carson, William W. Meub

Carsey Publications

This brief uses data from the American Community Survey to examine rates of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) receipt in 2011, with particular attention to changes since the onset of the recession, and to receipt by family composition, region, and place type (rural, suburban, and central city locations). It also explores SNAP receipt among households at particular risk for food insecurity. Authors Jessica Carson and William Meub report that 13 percent of all households reported receiving benefits in 2011. This represents an increase from 7.7 percent in 2007, reflecting both changes in need and policy. SNAP is increasingly the target …

Share Of Tax Filers Claiming Eitc Increases Across States And Place Types Between 2007 And 2010, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Elizabeth Kneebone

Carsey Publications

In this brief, Authors Beth Mattingly and Elizabeth Kneebone use Internal Revenue Service tax filing data to show that the share of tax returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) increased between 2007 and 2010, as did the size of the average credit claimed and the number of EITC filers benefitting from the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit (the Additional Child Tax Credit, or ACTC). They report that one in five federal income tax filers claimed the EITC in tax year 2010, which represents a 4 percentage point increase since 2007, when just over one in six …

Recessions Accelerate Trend Of Wives As Breadwinners, Kristin Smith

Carsey Publications

This brief investigates the increased role employed wives played in family economic stability prior to, during, and in the two years after the Great Recession, and makes comparisons to the 1990-1991 and 2001 recessions. Author Kristin Smith reports that employed wives’ contribution to total family earnings jumped to 47 percent in 2009 from 45 percent in 2008—the largest single-year increase during the past twenty-three years—and has held steady at 47 percent in 2010 and 2011. Recessions substantially accelerate the trend of increased reliance on wives’ earnings. In all three recessions since 1988, annual increases in wives’ share of total family …

Underemployment In Urban And Rural America, 2005-2012, Justin R. Young

Carsey Publications

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

Carsey Publications

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

Carsey Publications

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

Carsey Publications

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

Carsey Publications

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

Carsey Publications

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 …

Mathematics Achievement Gaps Between Suburban Students And Their Rural And Urban Peers Increase Over Time, Suzanne E. Graham, Lauren E. Provost

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Suzanne Graham and Lauren Provost examine whether attending a school in a rural, urban, or suburban community is related to children’s mathematics achievement in kindergarten, and whether increases in mathematics achievement between kindergarten and eighth grade differ for children in rural, urban, and suburban schools. They also consider whether achievement differs by region of the country and for children of different racial and ethnic groups. Finally, they discuss the impact of a family’s socioeconomic status, and the ways in which place and socioeconomic status together affect both early mathematics achievement levels and change over time. They …

Who Cares For The Sick Kids? Parents’ Access To Paid Time To Care For A Sick Child, Kristin Smith, Andrew P. Schaefer

Carsey Publications

This brief analyzes employed parents’ access to five or more paid sick days annually to care for a sick child in 2008. Using data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce collected by the Families and Work Institute (the most recent data available in the series), authors Kristin Smith and Andrew Schaefer analyze differences in access between employed mothers and fathers by demographic and work-related characteristics. They report that, in 2008, more than one-half—52 percent—of employed parents lacked access to at least five paid sick days to care for a sick child, and lower-earning parents had the least …

Understanding Child Abuse In Rural And Urban America: Risk Factors And Maltreatment Substantiation, Wendy A. Walsh, Marybeth J. Mattingly

Carsey Publications

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) …