Education, Employment, Housing & Welfare

Education, Employment, Housing & Welfare
This section lists websites dealing with such topics as education, employment, housing and urban policy, and welfare and policy

LAST UPDATED MARCH 2009 

EDUCATION LAW AND POLICY: 

New York University Institute for Education and Social Policy 
http://www.nyu.edu/iesp 
The Institute for Education and Social Policy is based in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. The Institute conducts studies and makes recommendations for improving school systems in urban and low-income areas. This website includes full-text articles on general and special education in New York City and privatization of public schools. 

U.S. Department of Education 
http://www.ed.gov/ 
The U.S. Dept. of Education, a federal governmental entity, seeks to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation. The website includes (under the Budget tab) Annual Plans and Agendas, Performance and Accountability Reports, and the Strategic Plan for 2007-2012. The Education Department budget and proposed budgets are also included with implications for individual states. 

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 
http://nces.ed.gov/ 
The NCES, part of the Institute of Education Sciences, is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education such as: dropout rates, crime in the school systems, and projections of education statistics. The website includes four annual reports compiling statistical information and summaries: Digest of Education Statistics, School Crime & Safety, Condition of Education, and Projections of Education Statistics which can be accessed on the Home Page. 

Families and Advocates Partnerships for Education (FAPE) 
http://www.fape.org/index.htm 
FAPE seeks to improve the educational outcomes for children with disabilities. It links families, advocates, and self-advocates to information about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It includes links to the IDEA and its regulations, explanations for how to work with IDEA, and rulings of cases. 

National Head Start Association (NHSA) 
http://www.nhsa.org/index40.htm 
The National Head Start Association is a private not-for-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to meeting the needs of Head Start children and their families. It represents more than 1 million children, 200,000 staff and 2,600 Head Start programs in the United States. The website contains resource papers on Head Start and Universal Pre-K, opinion polls, research editorials, and a link to the federal Head Start Impact Study. 

EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR: 

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) 
http://www.dol.gov/ 
The DOL’s mission is to administer all federal labor laws and to foster and promote the welfare of job seekers, wage earners, and retirees by improving working conditions, protecting employment benefits, helping connect workers to employers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. This website includes the full text of the Family Medical Leave Act and its regulations; information regarding the Newborns and Mothers Health Protection Act; minimum wage and pension information; job openings; labor-related statutes, regulations and executive orders; and media releases about congressional testimony and speeches. 

Berger Institute for Work, Family, and Children 
http://berger.claremontmckenna.edu/ 
Located at Claremont McKenna College, the Berger Institute for Work, Family, and Children educates students, scholars, law-makers, and the community about a wide range of work and family issues including the effects of changing demographics and diversity on work-family balance, the business case for family-friendly workplaces, poverty issues for working families, and the relationships among stress, health, and child development. Information is available on its research projects, newsletters, articles, and other publications. 

HOUSING AND URBAN POLICY: 

Center for Urban Policy Research (CUPR) 
http://policy.rutgers.edu/cupr/ 
CUPR, a research center at Rutgers University, focuses its research on topics such as affordable housing, environmental impact analysis, public finance, infrastructure assessment, development impact analysis, transportation information systems, and community economic development. The website includes general information on its projects, institutes, and activities. 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 
http://www.hud.gov/ 
HUD is a federal governmental agency which seeks to increase homeownership and increase affordable housing. This site includes full text research documents; full text HUD periodicals; hyperlinks to state HUD resources and current news; Fair Housing Laws; consumer alerts; and housing assistance for veterans, low-income citizens, seniors, farm workers, Native Americans, the disabled, the homeless, and for people with HIV/AIDS. 

WELFARE AND POVERTY: 

HandsNet Welfare Reform Watch 
http://www.handsnet.org/ 
HandsNet works to make online collaboration and information sharing a reality for the human services community. The website includes information and articles on the latest news and legislation regarding family issues, children and youth, education, and other public interest issues. 

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) 
http://www.clasp.org/ 
CLASP, "is a national non-profit organization with expertise in both law and policy affecting the poor and families. The site's resources include policy links concerning child support, welfare, civil legal assistance, couples and marriage policy, and other related matters. 

Rural Poverty Research Institute (RUPRI) 
http://www.rprconline.org/index.htm 
RUPRI’s mission is to examine the causes and consequences of poverty in rural areas and implementing policies to improve the well-being of low income families in rural America. 

National Center on Poverty Law 
http://www.povertylaw.org/ 
The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law champions law and policy to promote equal opportunity and support for low-income individuals, families, and communities in order to escape poverty. Resources include a poverty law library for poverty law advocates, news, and other information.

Michigan Program on Poverty and Social Welfare Policy
http://www.fordschool.umich.edu/research/poverty/ 
This site promotes interdisciplinary applied research on poverty and social welfare policy and works to translate research findings to public policy decision makers. It includes online papers, reports and journal articles, and fellowship information.

National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) 
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu:80/dept/nccp/ 
NCCP, a research and policy organization at Columbia University, works to identify and promote strategies that prevent child poverty in the United States and that improve the lives of low-income children and families. This website includes interactive data wizards that compare state policies, demographics, and economic conditions; demographics for children living at the poverty level; and publications and reviews regarding public policy effecting families and poverty.