Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Transformation And Taking Stock: A Summary Of Selected Findings From The Mccormack Graduate School Diversity Survey, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Paul Watanabe

William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications

This report summarizes some of the major findings of a survey of 749 Massachusetts adults which focuses on matters related to race, public policy, confidence in public institutions, and political behavior. Since a principal objective of the poll is to elicit views from diverse perspectives, the respondents include significant numbers from all major racial groups: Whites (N=100), Latinos (N=113), Asian Americans (N=103), and Blacks and African Americans (N=100). The data was collected in October and November 2006. On some items, there are comparisons with data derived from a similar poll conducted in 1998.

The poll was undertaken during a time …

On The Edge: Facing A Challenging And Uncertain Future. Elder Economic Security Standard™ For The Boston Area, Laura Henze Russell, Ellen A. Bruce, Judith M. Conahan

Gerontology Institute Publications

What is an adequate income for older adults in the Boston area to age in place? How does it vary according to their life circumstances: whether they are living alone or with a spouse, rent or own their home, drive a car or use other transportation? How do Boston area elders’ living costs change as their health status and life circumstances change? What happens if they need long-term care to keep living at home?

This report will address these questions through the development of a measure of income adequacy for older adults, the Elder Economic Security Standard (Elder Standard). The …

Data Note: The Relationship Between Supported Employment Status And Minimum Wage For Vocational Rehabilitation Integrated Employment Closures In 2004, Frank A. Smith, Dana Scott Gilmore

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Some VR customers earn less than minimum wage despite being closed successfully, i.e., exiting Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services into an integrated employment setting. Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to pay less than the minimum wage to a person whose disability impairs their capacity to be productive at a particular job. People in supported employment are more likely to have a disability that makes them eligible for Section 14(c) minimum wage exemption. How do wages for customers in supported employment compare to those earned by other customers?

Housing Affordability For Households Of Color In Massachusetts, Michael E. Stone

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

While housing is deeply significant for all of us, in our society it tends to pose particular challenges to many, if not most, people of color. For one thing, households of color continue to have considerably lower incomes, on average, than White-headed households. This means that households of color can, on average, afford less and therefore have fewer housing choices available, just for economic reasons alone. Yet we are not in a world where differential housing choices are determined only by ability to pay. Residential segregation by race persists and is not merely a consequence of unacceptable practices of the …

Elder Economic Security Initiative: The Elder Economic Security Standard For Massachusetts, Laura Henze Russell, Ellen A. Bruce, Judith M. Conahan

Gerontology Institute Publications

What is an adequate income for older adults in Massachusetts to age in place? How does it vary according to where they live, and their life circumstances: whether they are living alone or with a spouse, rent or own their home, drive a car or use other transportation? How do elders’ living costs change as their health status and life circumstances change? What happens if they need long-term care to keep living at home?

This report will address these questions through the development of a measure of income adequacy for older adults using the WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard …

Changing Patterns Xiii: Mortgage Lending To Traditionally Underserved Borrowers And Neighborhoods In Greater Boston, 1990-2005, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

The present study is the latest in a series of annual updates of the original report, Changing Patterns: Mortgage Lending in Boston, 1990-1993. Beginning in 1998, the reports’ geographic scope was expanded to include an examination of mortgage lending patterns in 27 cities and towns surrounding the city of Boston. In 2003, the report’s geographic coverage was further expanded to include a total of 108 communities. This year’s report extends coverage to all counties, regional planning areas, and federally-defined metropolitan areas in Massachusetts.

The text that follows this introduction highlights some of the most significant findings that emerge from …

Community Mobility And Dementia: A Review Of The Literature, Nina M. Silverstein, Megan Vanderbur

Gerontology Institute Publications

By the year 2030, 70 million Americans will be 65 or older. Approximately 80 percent of this population will likely be driving themselves. And without appropriate and timely interventions, many are likely to be driving with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Current estimates suggest that 2 percent of the population 65 to 74, 19 percent of the population 75 to 84, and 47 percent of the population 85 and older are likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder. By the year 2050, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease could range from 11.3 million to 16 million. This significant …

Data Note: Relationship Between Integrated Employment And State Unemployment Rates For Mr/Dd Consumers, Katherine Fichthorn, Dana Scott Gilmore

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

State mental retardation/developmental disability (MR/DD) agencies provided day and employment supports to over 466,500 people in 2001. Approximately 23% of individuals supported by MR/DD agencies nationwide were employed in integrated employment settings, with individual state outcomes ranging from 2% to 56%.

The Feasibility Of Establishing The Mosaic Partnerships Program In The City Of Boston, Deb Devenne, Maia Germain, Marsha Inniss-Mitchell, Kyle Reilly, John Sieracki

Emerging Leaders Program Team Projects

Six years ago, Rochester, NY Mayor William A. Johnson contracted with the consulting firm Idea Connection Systems (ICS) to create a program then called Biracial Partnerships for Community Progress. Since that time over 400 leaders from all areas of the Rochester community have participated. ICS has established this program, since renamed the Mosaic Partnerships Program, in several cities. Through the UMASS Boston - Center for Collaborative Leadership, Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), the Mosaic Partnerships Program was introduced as a way to bridge race relations in Boston and be a catalyst for change. Can the Mosaic Partnerships Program provide positive results …

Latino Shelter Poverty In Massachusetts, Michael E. Stone

Gastón Institute Publications

There were about 121,000 Latino-headed households in Massachusetts in 2000 – nearly 5% of all households, an increase from 3.5% in 1990. The median annual income for Latino-headed households was $27,400 in 2000. About one-third of Latino households had annual incomes of less than $15,000; one-third had between $15,000 and 40,000; and one-third had incomes of $40,000 or more. The median Latino household size was 3 persons. 78% of Latino-headed households rented housing, and only 22% were homeowners.

Data Note: Relationship Between Mr/Dd Consumers In Integrated Employment And Working Ssi Recipients, Katherine Fichthorn, Dana Scott Gilmore

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

State mental retardation/developmental disability (MR/DD) agencies provided day and employment supports to over 466,500 people in 2001. Of these, 108,981 individuals were supported in integrated employment settings. The percentage of individuals working in integrated employment varied widely by state, from 56% in Washington to only 2% in Alabama.

Moving Here Saved My Life: The Experience Of Formerly Chronically Homeless Women And Men In Quincy's Housing First Projects, Tatjana Meschede

Center for Social Policy Publications

For the past ten years, Father Bill’s Place (FBP) in Quincy, Massachusetts, has moved steadily towards providing permanent housing with supportive services rather than emergency shelter as a solution to ending homelessness. According to John Yazwinski, executive director of FBP, the vision for the future is to be able to independently house every homeless person entering FBP within a short period of time instead of “housing” people in the shelter for prolonged periods. As such, sheltering homeless people in mass emergency shelters should be a picture of the past.

Yazwinski’s Housing First Model builds upon an approach of housing “chronically” …

Minority Women In The Healthcare Workforce In New England, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Erika Kates, Helen Levine, Kate Peery-Wolf

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Research on health disparities affecting people of color typically focuses on their health status, health treatment and health outcomes with a particular emphasis on the relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality from selected diseases for ethnic and racial minority groups. This fact sheet offers a different but related focus on gender and race/ethnicity in the health care workforce. Our rationale is that the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce concluded that the lack of minority doctors, nurses and dentists is a significant cause of racial/ethnic health disparities and that the ability to recruit, train and retain minority …

Latinos In Massachusetts: A Mid-Decade Status Report, Jennifer Shea, Charles Jones

Gastón Institute Publications

This research report provides an updated socioeconomic profile of Latinos in Massachusetts. Using data from the 2000 Census, the 2004 American Community Survey, and the 2002 Economic Census and Survey of Business Owners, it provides a comprehensive, comparative overview of a variety of statistical indicators – including population, national origin, age, gender, education, employment, poverty, income, and household composition. This information should prove useful to a range of individuals and organizations concerned with issues that impact the Latino community: policy-makers, advocates, community-based organizations, businesses, and the media. The report focuses primarily on Latinos as a group in Massachusetts, though where …

Springfield, Mandira Kala, Charles Jones

Gastón Institute Publications

This fact sheet presents various economic, social, and demographic indicators pertaining to the Latino population in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and, when required, compares the Springfield MSA with the state of Massachusetts overall and with the other main areas of large Latino concentration, namely, the Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas (PMSAs). In this fact sheet the term “Springfield” refers to the complete MSA and not just the city of Springfield. The information for this fact sheet comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 2004.

Boston, Mandira Kala, Charles Jones

Gastón Institute Publications

This fact sheet presents various economic, social, and demographic indicators pertaining to the Latino population in the Boston Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) and, when required, compares the Boston PMSA with the state of Massachusetts overall and with the other main areas of large Latino concentration, namely, the Lawrence and Worcester PMSAs and the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).1 In this fact sheet the term “Boston” refers to the complete PMSA and not just the city of Boston. The information for this fact sheet comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 2004.

Lawrence, Mandira Kala, Charles Jones

Gastón Institute Publications

This fact sheet presents various economic, social, and demographic indicators pertaining to the Latino population in the Lawrence Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) and, when required, compares the Lawrence PMSA with the state of Massachusetts overall and with the other main areas of large Latino concentration, namely, the Boston and Worcester PMSAs and the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). In this fact sheet the term “Lawrence” refers to the complete PMSA and not just the city of Lawrence. The information for this fact sheet comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 2004.

Latinos In Massachusetts: Selected Economic Indicators, Ramon Borges-Mendez, Nicole Lavan, Charles Jones

Gastón Institute Publications

This brief presents an analysis of various economic indicators pertaining to the Latino population in metropolitan areas of high Latino concentration in Massachusetts. It includes information on and comparisons of the Primary Metropolitan Areas of Boston and the Metropolitan Statistical Area of Springfield and when available the Primary Metropolitan Area of Lawrence. The information comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 2004.

Research To Practice: Postsecondary Education Options For Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Debra Hart, Meg Grigal, Caren Sax, Donna Martinez, Madeleine Will

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

An overview of research on postsecondary education and options, with a bibliography and recommendations for improving access to college.

Worcester, Mandira Kala, Charles Jones

Gastón Institute Publications

This fact sheet presents various economic, social, and demographic indicators pertaining to the Latino population in the Worcester Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) and, when required, compares the Worcester PMSA with the state of Massachusetts overall and with the other main areas of large Latino concentration, namely, the Boston and Lawrence PMSAs and the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). In this fact sheet the term “Worcester” refers to the complete PMSA and not just the city of Worcester. The information for this fact sheet comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 2004.

A Qualitative Examination Of The Psychosocial Adjustment Of Khmer Refugees In Three Massachusetts Communities, Leakhena Nou

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

This paper uses a sociological stress process model to explore the Khmer adult refugees’ experience in Massachusetts. The analysis is based on the responses of three focus groups in the Khmer communities of Lowell, Lynn, and Revere, Massachusetts. The focus groups provided an in-depth understanding of sources of stress, stress mediators, and psychosocial adjustment/adaptational patterns for Khmer refugees who had experienced the Cambodian genocide. Symptoms and reactions associated with underlying causes of mental health problems had culturally specific relevance to physical illness and mental health.

Data Note: Wia Employment Outcomes, Frank A. Smith

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) requires One-Stop system partners who provide employment services funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to report data on performance measures. These data include the rate of customers entering employment, their employment retention rate, and their rate of earning a work credential. WIA tracks a number of funding streams for different audiences. This Data Note focuses on adults in the general population and dislocated workers.

Research To Practice: The National Survey Of Community Rehabilitation Providers, Fy2004-2005 Report 1: Employment Outcomes Of People With Developmental Disabilities In Integrated Employment, Heike Boeltzig, Dana Scott Gilmore, John Butterworth

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Where do people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities work? What are their hours, wages, and benefits? This brief covers partial results from a survey that gives a snapshot of the outcomes for recently employed people with developmental disabilities.

In Defense Of Jack: Gay Cowboys And Fairy Actors In Brokeback Mountain And Will & Grace, C. Heike Schotten

Political Science Faculty Publication Series

An investigation of the gender politics of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain.

Can We Talk? Feminist Economists In Dialogue With Social Theorists, Julie A. Nelson

Economics Faculty Publication Series

The article focuses on the issues regarding the social and political theory of feminism. It has been mentioned that political action will be dynamized rather than compromised by a more alive observation of economic organizations and activities. The author has suggested that feminist social theorists across the disciplines must join the several feminist economists who are dropping the negative one-size-fits-all prescription of protection from markets. It is essential to have more positive results in the complex contemporary economies.

Research To Practice: Trends And Emerging Issues Regarding Ssa/Vr Reimbursements For Ssi/Ssdi Recipients, John Halliday, Dana Scott Gilmore, Katherine Fichthorn

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief discusses the declining amount of reimbursement paid to public VR agencies from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2002 to FFY 2005 by considering the impact that fewer claims submitted and a rising SGA level may have on the amount of reimbursement paid.

Data Note: Relationship Between Ssi Recipients Who Work And State Unemployment Rate, Katherine Fichthorn, Dana Scott Gilmore

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The Supplemental Security Income program (SSI) administered by the Social Security Administration provides cash assistance to low-income individuals who are seniors, blind, or have a disability.

Human Development And Resources Use In The Coastal Zone: Influences On Human Health, Robert E. Bowen, Anamarija Frankic, Mary E. Davis

Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences Faculty Publication Series

Coastal watersheds and nearshore marine areas are the most valuable and dynamic places on Earth. Human population growth is great in these regions, which are home to some of the most sensitive habitats in the world. Coastal areas provide more than half of the overall service value derived from the global environment (Costanza et al., 1997). Natural (e.g., hurricanes and tsunamis) and human pressures on this environment require it to constantly adjust. More than any other area, the global coast has defined the progress of human culture and continues to be a singular influence in how humans connect to the …

Report I: An Assessment Of The Coastal And Marine Economies Of Massachusetts, University Of Massachusetts Donahue Institute, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

This three-part study — An Assessment of the Coastal and Marine Economies of Massachusetts — provides an analysis of the economic value of the coastal and marine economies as well as an overview of employment, wages, business activities and trends within important sectors of the Massachusetts marine economy. The data used is primarily from 2004, unless otherwise noted.

Massworks: Creating Effective Business Partnerships: What Businesses Want Human Service Agencies To Know, Rick Kugler, Cindy Thomas

MassWorks Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

In October 2005, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston hosted Mission: Employment II, a conference that brought together people with disabilities and workforce, rehabilitation, and employment professionals. Representatives from the Massachusetts Business Leadership Network (MassBLN) presented these tips on how employment service providers can better respond to companies' needs.