Law Commons^™

Stages Of Judgment Citizen Court Experiment Report, Courtney Breese

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

Over the past several years, the Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution and Public Collaboration (MODR) has worked with the Kettering Foundation to establish a Public Policy Institute (PPI) for public deliberation at the University of Massachusetts Boston. In June 2008, the Kettering Foundation invited MODR to join other research partners across the country in a research experiment influenced by Daniel Yankelovich‟s Seven Stages of Public Understanding. The purpose of this experiment is to test how effectively a citizen court process model communicates public opinion on contentious public policy issues to public officials and the media.

MODR agreed to join in …

The Pension Factor: Assessing The Role Of Defined Benefit Plans In Reducing Elder Hardships, Frank Porell, Beth Almeida

Gerontology Institute Publications

Traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plans have long been an important source of income for elder households seeking to maintain a middle-class standard of living after a lifetime of work. Under traditional DB plans, retirees receive a guaranteed, regular stream of income after retirement that continues until death.

The monthly pension benefit is typically based on years of service to the employer, age, and salary history. Retirees also have the option to elect a joint-and-survivor benefit, to ensure that pension payments continue to a surviving spouse. DB plan participation rates among private sector American workers have sharply decreased from about …

Unaffordable “Affordable” Housing: Challenging The U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development Area Median Income, Michael E. Stone

Center for Social Policy Publications

There is no such thing as “affordable” housing. Affordability is not a characteristic of housing: It is a relationship between housing and people. For some people, all housing is affordable, no matter how expensive. For others, no housing is affordable, no matter how cheap.

Science Tools To Implement Ecosystem Based Management In Massachusetts (Draft), Mrag Americas, Incorporated, Massachusetts Ocean Partnership, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

In this report we provide a framework for implementing ecosystem based management (EBM) and suggest a range of science information tools and their appropriate application to the decision making process. These tools can be broadly classified as modeling tools, decision analysis tools, and indicators. Modeling tools allow the user to organize data, communicate scientific findings to management and stakeholder audiences, and test alternative management scenarios. When used unwisely, however, models can preclude options, present unusable scenarios, generate results in scales that differ from management needs, and impose huge time, data, and technical requirements (Manno et al., 2008). Decision analysis tools …

Massachusetts Immigrants By The Numbers: Demographic Characteristics And Economic Footprint, Alan Clayton-Matthews, Faye Karp, Paul Watanabe

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

An analysis of data on the impact of immigrants on the Massachusetts economy. Along with demographic characteristics, the study examines variables such as income, poverty status, occupation, and home-ownership. In addition, the report addresses the impact of immigrants on taxes, social services, and transfer payments.

Institute Brief: Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership: Effective Strategies For Building The Capacity Of Parent Advisory Councils In Special Education, Heike Boeltzig, Matthew Kusminsky, Susan M. Foley, Richard Robison, Barbara Popper, Marilyn Gutierrez-Wilson

The Institute Brief Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, last amended in 2004 (IDEA 2004), encourages parents and educators to work collaboratively, emphasizing that as a team they are uniquely suited to make decisions that help improve the educational experiences and outcomes of children with disabilities. The Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership in Education (APPLE) Project was funded to develop the leadership skills of parents individually and within their communities. The project took place in Massachusetts, where school districts are required to have a special education parent advisory council (SEPAC).

English Learners In Boston Public Schools: Enrollment, Engagement And Academic Outcomes Of Native Speakers Of Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese Dialects, Haitian Creole, Spanish, And Vietnamese, Miren Uriarte, Nicole Lavan, Nicole Agusti, Mandira Kala, Faye Karp, Peter Nien-Chu Kiang, Lusa Lo, Rosann Tung, Cassandra Villari

Gastón Institute Publications

This study focuses on the academic experience of English Learners (ELs) in Boston’s public schools in the year before and in the three years following the implementation of Referendum Question 2. In 2002, this referendum spelled an end to Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as the primary program available for children requiring language support in Massachusetts public schools, replacing it with Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). Specifically, this report focuses on the enrollment and academic outcomes of the five largest groups of native speakers of languages other than English in the Boston Public Schools: speakers of Spanish, Chinese dialects, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, …

English Learners In Boston Public Schools: Enrollment And Educational Outcomes Of Native Spanish Speakers, Miren Uriarte, Nicole Lavan, Nicole Agusti, Faye Karp

Gastón Institute Publications

In November 2002, the voters of Massachusetts approved Referendum Question 2. This referendum spelled an end to Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as the primary program available for children requiring language support in Massachusetts. In its place came a radically different policy called Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). Unlike TBE, which relies on the English learners’ own language to facilitate the learning of academic subjects as they master English, SEI programs rely on the use of simple English in the classroom to impart academic content; teachers use students’ native language only to assist them in completing tasks or to answer a question. …

English Learners In Boston Public Schools: Enrollment, Engagement And Academic Outcomes, Ay2003-Ay2006 Final Report, Rosann Tung, Miren Uriarte, Virginia Diez, Nicole Lavan, Nicole Agusti, Faye Karp, Tatjana Meschede

Gastón Institute Publications

In 2002, Massachusetts voters approved a referendum against the continuance of Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as a method of instruction for English language learners. The study undertaken by the Mauricio Gaston Institute at UMass Boston in collaboration with the Center for Collaborative Education in Boston finds that, in the three years following the implementation of Question 2 in the Boston Public Schools, the identification of students of limited English proficiency declined as did the enrollment in programs for English; the enrollment of English Learners in substantially separate Special Education programs more than doubled; and service options for English Learners narrowed. …

Massachusetts' System Redesign To End Homelessness: An Overview And Assessment, Donna H. Friedman, Ghazal Zulfiqar

Center for Social Policy Publications

The Clayton-Mathews and Wilson 2003 analysis of Massachusetts’ expenditures of state and federal dollars to address family homelessness documented a serious system misalignment of public resources: that is, 80% of state and federal resources were tied up in shelter provision, while only 20%, including rental assistance, were designated for homelessness prevention (Clayton-Matthews and Wilson, 2003). Their analysis demonstrated what many had long suspected: if homelessness is to be ended in Massachusetts, fundamental changes would be needed to shift the state system from shelter-oriented toward prevention-oriented. Both the Romney and the Patrick administrations have clearly prioritized this objective with broad-based support …

Immigrant Workers In The Massachusetts Health Care Industry: A Report On Status And Future Prospects, Ramon Borges-Mendez, James Jennings, Donna H. Friedman, Malo Hutson, Teresa Eliot Roberts

Center for Social Policy Publications

Given the vital picture of foreign-born health care workers, this study has the following objectives:

1. To document the labor market position of foreign-born workers in the sector at various levels (national, statewide, sub-regional) including patterns of occupational concentration during the last decade or so, prospects for occupational mobility, wages, geographic concentration, employment by type of establishment (hospitals, community health centers, etc.) and workforce development opportunities;
2. To document, whenever possible, the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of foreign-born workers in the sector, including country of origin and gender among others;
3. To document the qualitative contribution of foreign-born workers in the health care …

Elder Economic Security Initiative™ Program: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For Minnesota, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for Minnesota’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (“the Elder Index”) methodology. The Elder Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status, and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

The Elder Economic Security Initiative™ Program: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For Connecticut, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for Connecticut’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status, and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

Lifelines For Elders Living On The Edge: How Elder Support Programs Compare To Living Costs. The Elder Economic Standard Index™ For Massachusetts, Laura Henze Russell

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report examines the array of federal and state support programs for elders in Massachusetts. It asks how well the lifelines - the support programs that have been set up to help low- and modest-income elders meet basic needs when costs exceed incomes – work in today’s economy. Which programs are serving elders well? Have they kept pace with inflation? Which lifelines are frayed, or about to rupture? Do seniors know about the programs, and use them when needed?

The Massachusetts Elder Economic Security Initiative, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

The Massachusetts Elder Econamic Security Initiative offers concrete tools to shape public policies and programs to promote the economic well-being of elders. The Initiative uses the Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) to reveal the economic vulnerability of older adults on a county-by-county basis. The Elder Index will change the way we address the economic needs of Massachusetts' older adults.

The Elder Economic Security Initiative™: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For Michigan, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for Michigan’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Elder Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status, and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

Maturing Subsidized Mortgages: The Next Frontier Of The Expiring Use Crisis, Emily Achtenberg

Center for Social Policy Publications

Over approximately the next decade, close to 17,000 affordable housing units could be lost in Massachusetts as their federally- and state-subsidized mortgages mature, terminating all associated use and affordability restrictions. Most of this housing, developed 30-40 years ago under various federal and state mortgage subsidy programs, is only partially assisted with project-based Section 8 rental subsidy; but 100% of the units are affordable due to budget-based (and tiered) rent restrictions.

To the extent that the properties have Section 8 assistance, the maturing mortgage crisis overlaps with larger crisis of expiring Section 8 subsidy contracts. However, the unique characteristics of this …

The Elder Economic Security Initiative™ Program: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For New Jersey, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for New Jersey’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Elder Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status, and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

Tools For Inclusion: Disclosure Of Disability Information At A One-Stop Career Center: Tips And Guidelines, David Hoff

Tools for Inclusion Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

One-Stops Career Centers (One-Stops) were established under the federal Workforce Investment Act to provide a full range of job seeker assistance under one roof. One-Stops are located at a variety of locations in each state, with more than 3,200 centers across the country. More than 13 million people per year use the One-Stop system. Many of these are people with disabilities.