Improving Access to Work Supports: Strengthening State Policies and Practices Strengthening State Policies and Practices This brief is packed with fresh ideas and real-world examples aimed at enhancing access to public work supports. It is the product of a national initiative, called The Working Poor Families Project, which supports the policy efforts of state nonprofits seeking to improve economic conditions for America’s vulnerable working families. Read More
Finding Place in Making Connections Communities Applying GIS to Residents’ Perceptions of Their Neighborhoods For policymakers, funders and front-line professionals, this report describes how to involve residents in place-based strategies that address the needs of disadvantaged children and families. Read More
Metropolitan Conditions and Trends Changing Contexts for a Community Initiative This report reviews recent trends for social and economic conditions in the 10 metropolitan areas surrounding the Casey Foundation's Making Connections initiative cities, giving context for the neighborhood programs being implemented. Read More
Not Quite Chaos Toward a More Disciplined Approach to Community Building This report introduces two new guides, the Process Framework and the Structural Framework, that aim to bring order to the very organic enterprise that is resident-empowered change. The text — which dives deeply into Casey’s Making Connections initiative in Denver — also pitches a strong case for using these two frameworks to help move community building from a intuition-driven journey to a more disciplined and sustainable field of practice. Read More
Advice to a New Child Services Leader This paper by the Honorable James Payne, a retired judge and former director of the Indiana Department of Child Services, offers personal insights for top leaders new to posts in public child-serving systems. Read More
What Grantees Want Funders to Know Lessons From the Southern Partnership to Reduce Debt The SPRD initiative aims to alleviate burdensome debt for communities of color in the South. Read how it's working and where there's room to improve. Read More
Social Networks and Civic Participation in Making Connections Neighborhoods: Cross-Site Brief This brief, which utilizes survey results gathered from 10 Making Connections sites, aims to understand how residents relate to one another and to local institutions. Readers will examine these social connections from a variety of angles, including across sites, within the scope of broader municipalities and through the lens of various socio-economic factors. Read More
Health Insurance in Nonstandard Jobs and Small Firms Differences for Parents by Race and Ethnicity This brief looks at current health insurance coverage by race, ethnicity and size of employer, and how the proposed 2009 federal health insurance coverage bill would affect minority uninsured workers. Read More
Unlocking the Gate What We Know About Improving Developmental Education This report, powered by 40 years of research and writings on developmental education, opens with a sobering look at the struggles community colleges face in advancing remedial-level students into successful college careers. Readers will learn about four current strategies for reforming the field of developmental education as well as innovative next steps that hold the promise for more radical change. Read More
Systems Reform in the Jobs Initiative Lessons from Using the Framework for Labor Market Systems Reform This policy brief looks at the challenges and opportunities of pursuing systems change related to job retention and advancement for low-income workers. Read More
