Public Administration Commons^™

Healthy Eating And Savvy Saving: An Evaluation Of Action For Boston Community Development’S Food Dollars Program For Low-Income Elders, Ann Bookman, Susan M. Phillips

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report is an evaluation of an innovative community-based intervention – the Food Dollars Program. Funded by the AARP Foundation, this program was designed and delivered by Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) and their Elder Services staff in order to promote healthy eating and reduce food and economic insecurity among low-income elders in Boston. The impetus for creating this program arose from the challenges many low-income individuals face in purchasing and consuming healthy foods from the five food groups as recommended by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in their ChooseMyPlate model of healthy eating. The Food Dollars curriculum …

Review Of Proposed Plan For New Police And Fire Facilities, Carver, Ma, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston was hired by the Town of Carver to perform an independent assessment of the Buildings Study Committee’s proposals for the construction/renovation of three new public facilities including a fire station, police station, and elementary school. Specifically, the team from the Center was asked to review: 1) the selected and considered sites for the facilities; and, 2) the funding plan recommended by the Buildings Study Committee.

This analysis has been divided into two components. This, first report presents the Center’s findings as they relate to the …

Managing Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Helen Levine

Commonwealth Compact

Commonwealth Compact is an organization formed to help make Massachusetts a location of choice for people of color and women in the belief that their contributions are vital to the region’s social and economic future. The need for an initiative such as Commonwealth Compact stems from a number of factors. As racial and ethnic diversity increases across the nation, business and civic leaders agree that it is critical to reverse the reputation that Massachusetts and Greater Boston, in particular, have not been seen as a welcoming, diverse place to live and work for people of color. Without a better reputation …

Aging In Hingham: A Community Affair, Jan Mutchler, Caitlin Coyle, Hayley Gravette

Gerontology Institute Publications

The purpose of this needs assessment is to investigate the needs, interests, and opinions of mature residents of Hingham, Massachusetts, relating to their aging experiences and needs for age-related services. This assessment was undertaken by the Gerontology Institute of the McCormack Graduate School at UMass Boston on behalf of the Town of Hingham Department of Elder Services (hereinafter referred to as the Department of Elder Services). The focus of this report is on Hingham residents aged 60+ (referred to here as “Seniors”) and residents aged 45-59 (referred to here as “Boomers”). Information about these two age groups was obtained both …

Food Stamps: Available But Not Easily Accessible: A Study Conducted For Project Bread, Michelle Kahan, Elaine Werby, Jennifer Raymond

Center for Social Policy Publications

Concerned with growing hunger among Massachusetts families eligible for Food Stamps, and the paradoxical decline in the number of program enrollees, Project Bread asked the Center for Social Policy at the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs, University of Massachusetts Boston (CSP) to study the process of securing and sustaining Food Stamp Benefits. Concurrent with the planning process for the study, the Massachusetts legislature, in an override of the Governor's veto in early December 2001, included language in the FY 2002 budget designed to expand access to the program. Among other requirements, the language requires the Department of Transitional …

A Policy Brief: Massachusetts (T)Afdc Case Closings, October 1993-August 1997, Donna Friedman, Emily Douglas, Michelle Hayes, Mary Ann Allard

Center for Social Policy Publications

When a DTA (Department of Transitional Assistance) worker assesses whether a family's (T)AFDC (Temporary Aid to Families with Dependent Children) case will be closed, s/he decides which one of 67 different codes best describes the reason cash benefits for the household will be stopped. To carry out the analyses, we sorted all of the 67 codes into clusters of codes that logically grouped together: Cluster I, Increased Income; Cluster H, Sanctions; Cluster III, Eligible Persons Moved; Cluster IV, Fraud; Cluster V, Client Request; Cluster VI, No Longer Eligible; Cluster VII, Other or Multiple Meanings. The Appendix displays a description of …

Eastward Ho: Issues And Options In Regional Development For The Metropolitan Boston Region, Robert C. Wood, Laura C. Ghirardini, Lori L. Prew, Aundrea Kelley

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

Conventional wisdom suggests that the basic job of public policy studies (and public institutions, for that matter) is to deal in a timely and practical fashion with pressing public issues of the day. The focus typically is on 'ripe' topics, 'hot' political problems. If a study can be ahead of the curve, in John Kingdon's apt phrase "an idea whose time has come," so much the better. But unlike more traditional academic research, where the focus is timeless — i.e., an explanation of previously inexplicable phenomena, timeliness is a prime reason for initiating a policy study.

In this context, analyzing …

The Economic Status Of Older Women In Massachusetts, Elba Caraballo, Nita Goldstein

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report presents a list of current state legislative initiatives which directly or indirectly, affect older women in Massachusetts.

Despite the progress made by the Commonwealth in the area of elder services, a significant portion of this population continues to live in dire need. It is important that State Legislators, State Administrators, policymakers and community leaders understand the needs of this population and work to increase the financial resources and enhance the dignity of older women in the Commonwealth.

Boston's Recurring Crises: Three Decades Of Fiscal Policy, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

The word "deficit" has dominated the most recent 35 years of Boston's fiscal history. This report probes the experience and lessons of this history in order to propose a more permanent resolution of Boston's financial difficulties.

Three deficit categories are identified and analyzed: appropriation deficits, revenue deficits and overlay deficits. Over the past 35 years, the City has had 12 years of appropriation deficits, 19 years of revenue deficits and 28 years of overlay deficits. In each year the City's budget was certified as in balance. Deficits became a way of life. Fortunately the overlay deficit problem, except for the …

Boston In Transition: A Financial Analysis, Raymond L. Flynn, Financial Analysis Research Group, John W. Mccormack Institute Of Public Affairs, University Of Massachusetts Boston

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

The new Mayor of Boston must earn the confidence of the taxpaying public in his financial leadership by employing credibility and candor in the management of city affairs.

To begin the process of re-enfranchising Bostonians who have come to mistrust financial decisions seemingly determined by political calculations, the new Mayor must make an accurate disclosure of the City's financial picture, rely on the commitment of the state to properly support its capital city and restore integrity and strong management controls to government operations. Recommendations for budget cuts, hiring freezes and adjustments in tax rates, when they are necessary, should only …

Housing Issues In Boston: Guidelines For New Policy And Program Perspectives, Joseph S. Slavet, Boston Urban Observatory, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Boston Urban Observatory Publications

Urban stagnation and turbulence, the roller-coaster trends In the national and local economy and the vicissitudes of national, state and local public policies have left their mark on Boston's residential neighborhoods and housing markets.

Boston's response to the new opportunities of public policy during the sixties and seventies was to take full advantage of urban renewal, assis ted-housing production and housing rehabilitation. Large-scale activities reshaped the occupancy patterns and market strengths of residential neighborhoods. By mid-1975, however, except for continuing growth in the City's subsidized housing stock, Boston's housing future looked bleak. There was pervasive evidence of a growing housing …

Evaluation Of City Of Boston Fair Housing Programs: The Final Report, Boston Urban Observatory, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Boston Urban Observatory Publications

The City of Boston's 3-year Pair Housing Plan (1981-83) identifies the following six goals for achieving greater freedom of choice in housing for its minority residents: 1) To improve the delivery of services relative to the enhancement of freedom of choice to all minorities in Boston as they relate to fair housing; 2) To increase enforcement of fair housing laws; 3) To increase public safety and security to assure equal access throughout the City of Boston; 4) To Increase the participation of all minorities and low-and moderate-income people in all City of Boston housing programs; 5) To increase low-cost housing …

Substandard Housing And The Cost Of Providing Housing-Related Services, David Podoff, Daniel A. Primont, Louis Esposito, Boston Urban Observatory, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Boston Urban Observatory Publications

Designed as a comparative undertaking by the National League of Cities (NLC) , this study is officially entitled "National Research Agenda Project No. 5: Substandard Housing and the Cost of Providing Housing-Related Services." A similar study was carried out by the urban observatories in Denver and Nashville. According to the study scope of services, the NLC was interested in the cost of "a wide variety of local government activities ... required to support and service urban housing," and how these costs "are affected by housing quality, housing location, age and type of structures. ..." It was also suggested that attention …