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Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development
November 12, 2009
ARNOVA Best Paper for 2008 by Prof. Mark Chupp
"Transforming Civil Discourse and Neighborhood Identity through Action Research," a paper written by Mark Chupp, was recently selected by the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) as the "Best Paper for 2008." Chupp, Assistant Professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and Faculty Associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, presented the paper at ARNOVA's 2008 conference.
October 12, 2009
New Thinking About Poverty
New Thinking About Poverty in a Shrinking City: a presentation by Claudia Coulton, Co-Director, Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, September 2009.
Cleveland has lost more population and housing in the past 5 years than previous trends would have suggested. Yet it continues to be one of the poorest cities in America. This presentation documents the shifts in demographics and an economic downturn that suggest the need for new thinking about how to address poverty in a shrinking city.
October 12, 2009
A Plain Dealer Article by Brent Larkin Quotes Center Co-director Rob Fischer Regarding Investment in Early Childhood in Cuyahoga County.
A Plain Dealer article by Brent Larkin, "Focus public investment on early-childhood intervention," on October 11, 2009, quotes Center Co-director Rob Fischer regarding Investment in Early Childhood in Cuyahoga County.
The articles main point can be summed up by this quote from the article from Arthur Rolnick and Rob Grunewald, officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis:
"We're quite certain that investing in early childhood education is more likely to create a vibrant economy that [sic] using public funds to lure a sports team by building a new stadium or attracting an automaker by providing tax breaks," Rolnick and Grunewald wrote in 2007. "The return on early childhood development programs that focus on at-risk families far exceeds the return on other projects that are funded as economic development."
The full article can be seen here.
October 05, 2009
Social Work Students Conduct Housing Survey in East Cleveland
First year students Susan Ross and Jeong Woo Lee help survey vacant homes and lots in the City of East Cleveland, for their Macro and Policy Skills course. The students, accompanied by East Cleveland residents, surveyed the vacant properties and the results are helping city officials prioritize which buildings should be demolished. The students’ project helped the City of East Cleveland secure $2.2 million in federal funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
July 25, 2009
Limitations and Lessons in Place-Based Community Development: The CDC Movement in the US
Prof. Mark Chupp and Doctoral candidate Diwakar Vadapalli, will present "Limitations and Lessons in Place-Based Community Development: The CDC Movement in the US" in Monterrey, Mexico at the 16th, International Consortium for Social Development Symposium.
Abstract:
Community Development Corporations (CDCs) in the US are a vital organizational mechanism for revitalization of disadvantaged communities. throughout their evolution in history, CDCs followed the dominant framrwork of "place-based community development'.
This study examines the diverse roles of CDC's in community revitalization in the Cleveland metropolitan area, their limitations in addressing challenges that result in part from larger state and federal policies in spite of their adoption of sophisticated and modern organizational mechanisms and techniques.
Recommendations include: 1) adopting a broader social development framework for building community capitals and 2) adopting a flexible unit of analysis that can be applied beyond the confines of a "place-based community'. Community-based organization in other countries, as they design their strategies for revitalization or development, can draw lessons from the experience of CDC's from a major American city.
July 21, 2009
Facing the mortgage crisis: What Detroit can learn from Cleveland
Michigan Radio, July 20, 2009
The City of Cleveland has a goal of rehabbing 150 vacant homes, demolishing 300, and preventing another 300 homes from going into foreclosure. It's all part of a program called Opportunity Homes. The program relies on data from Mike Schramm and the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University.
Read or listen to the WUOM 91.7, Ann Arbor, Michingan NPR affiliate interview here.
July 19, 2009
"Bank 'walkaways' from foreclosed homes are a growing, troubling trend"
Cleveland Plain Dealer July 19, 2009
You can see a troubling new trend in the foreclosure crisis in a Cleveland Plain Dealer article by Sandra Livingston titled, "Bank 'walkaways' from foreclosed homes are a growing, troubling trend" here.
"Bank walkaways" are another troubling development in the foreclosure crisis, particularly in cities like Cleveland with weaker housing markets, say housing advocates and government officials. Where banks and Mortgage comanies choose to leave the house in legal limbo, rather than complete the foreclosure. Researchers at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University are studying the issue.
Researcher Michael Schramm comments.
July 17, 2009
Berea Children's Home and Family Services highlights Poverty Center in newsletter.
The Berea Children's Home and Family Services's Summer 2009 newsletter, Seeds of Hope, highlights The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development in the question-and-answer article, "Understanding Poverty: What Can Be Done To Help Children and Families?"
The Berea Children's Home and Family Services's site can be found here.
The Summer 2009 issue of the Seeds of Hope newsletter can be found here.
The Article with the Poverty Center starts on page 6 of the PDF version.
July 13, 2009
John Taylor, from The ‘Urban Observatory’ from Indonesia meeting with Poverty Center
John Taylor, an urban planner from Indonesia, and José "Zay" Marcelo Zacchi, Executive Director of Overmundo Institute and a founder and a member of the Brazilian Public Security Forum Board of Directors, visited the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.
Mr. Taylor is currently involved in facilitating data-driven decision-making in urban areas of Indonesia. Building bridges between policy establishment, political decision makers, and the population impacted by those decisions is at the core of Mr. Taylor efforts. The ‘Urban Observatory’, as he called it, will be a place to collect data from various sources and disseminate it in multiple formats such as tables and maps.
Mr. Taylor and Mr. Zacchi were at the Center for a three day exchange of ideas on democratizing data and assisting in local policy making. A video of their impressions of the Center and its work will be part of a documentary film that Mr. Taylor will be using to advocate for data-driven decision-making in Indonesia.
An overview of Mr. Taylor's presentation can be viewed, here. His bio can be found, on page ten, here.
July 08, 2009
NASW article features research by Diwakar Vadapalli for UNICEF, which will be presented in Monterrey, Mexico in July.
Diwakar K. Vadapalli, Doctoral Research Fellow at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, presented a paper in Carmona, Spain, April 22-24, at a research meeting titled, "Social Welfare and Cash Transfer Meeting," which was organized by both UNICEF and University College London, to discuss the role of social welfare services in improving cash transfer programs.
A communiqué released from the meeting is available here.
Mr. Vadapalli's paper is titled, "Barriers and challenges in accessing social transfers and role of social welfare services in improving targeting efficiency: a study of conditional cash transfers," and it was featured in the July edition of NASW News in the article, "Services Enhance Cash Programs: Information flow among the parties is vital to the success of cash transfer policies," by Paul R. Pace, that reports about this research meeting.
Mr. Vadapalli's paper will also be presented at the 2009 Symposium of the International Consortium for Social Development in Monerrey, Mexico on July 28th, 2009. It will appear in a special issue of the international journal Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies titled, "UNICEF Special Issue: Barriers and challenges in accessing social transfers and role of social welfare services in improving targeting efficiency: a study of conditional cash transfers by: D. Vadapalli."
April 03, 2009
Event Title: The Impact of Housing on Financial Markets and Urban Families Primary Speaker: Marc A. Stefanski Event Date: April 3, 2009
You are invited to watch a video on the university's YouTube channel featuring Marc A. Stefanski and Sharon Milligan on "The Impact of Housing on Financial Markets and Urban Families."
Stefanski is the chairman and CEO of Third Federal Savings and Loan; Milligan is associate dean for academic affairs at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and Associate Director for Outreach and Education at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.
The discussion—which took place during spring semester—was sponsored by the Office of the President, Case Western Reserve University.
To view this video please click here.
February 02, 2009
Briefly Stated No. 09-01, January 2009:
Lord knows...But what do we know about the effectiveness of faith-based programming?
Beginning with the Clinton Administration and greatly extended under George W. Bush, the federal government has expanded the role of faith-based providers in the delivery of a range of human services.
Since 2001, the Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) has aimed to give these organizations equal opportunity with secular and larger organizations to secure federal funding for the delivery of social services.
February 02, 2009
Briefly Stated No. 09-02, January 2009:
Quality Matters - Assessing the quality of early care settings in Cuyahoga County
This document summarizes recent research which investigates the effects of County programs which promote increased capactiy and quality in the region's childcare.
Using data from 177 pre-school classrooms, this study was undertaken to assess the level of quality in regulated early care and education settings in and around Cleveland, Ohio.
The quality of care in settings serving young children is a crucial concern in policy and practice circles as we seek ways to promote child development. This study examined the structural and contextual factors associated with high quality care and was designed to inform a community-wide initiative focused on child well-being and school readiness.
November 11, 2008
Poverty Center Mapping Series: Food Stamp Enrollment Between July 2000 and July 2008
Among its many functions, the Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing (NEO CANDO) database allows users to extract data across geography and time to examine trends.
The second map in the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development’s Map Series illustrates changes in Food Stamp enrollment between July 2000 and July 2008.
October 22, 2008
Poverty Presentation to the Young Presidents Organization
Sharon Milligan Presents on Poverty to the Young Presidents Organization as part of a panel that addressed Poverty in Cleveland.
The event was held at the Christian Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Cleveland on October 22, 2008.
Others joining Dr. Milligan on the panel that presented to the Young Presidents Organization were Joe Gaunter, Cuyahoga County Employment & Family Services; Reverend Bruce Goode, Christian Hope Missionary Baptist Church; and Judy Simpson, United Way of Greater Cleveland. The panel's moderator was Regina Brett from The Plain Dealer.
The handout providing an update about poverty statistics in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County was distributed to those who attended and is available here.
October 15, 2008
NEO CANDO In Practice
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals and research.
Read about how two researchers, Fahui Wang and Richard Smith utilize NEO CANDO for policy evaluation in Evaluating Economic Development in Cleveland's Urban Neighborhoods.
July 15, 2008
NEO CANDO Survey
Let us know how we are doing! Please take the NEO CANDO survey by clicking the following link:
http://neocando.case.edu/survey
There are also links to the survey on the NEO CANDO home page under "NEO CANDO features" and the "Questions and Comments" section on the left.
Your feedback is valuable to the improvement and maintenance of the system.
If you took the last survey, you can still take this one.
The survey will be available through July 31.
April 04, 2008
Poverty Center demonstration in KSL GIS Symposium
Kristen Mikelbank & Michael Schramm, presented a poster and a demo of NEO CANDO, the web-based social and property indicators data system, at The Kelvin Smith Library GIS Symposium, titled,
"The NEO CANDO Database: How it can be Used to Help Understand the Surrounding Environment"
Additional Authors: Tsui Chan and Claudia Coulton
Abstract is available here.
February 06, 2008
NEO CANDO In Practice
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals.
Read about how Rebecca Kodysh of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland uses NEO CANDO in
Demonstrating the need for community services.
February 06, 2008
MSASS Faculty Member Rob Fischer selected for White House Faith-Based Conference
Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Research Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Urban Poverty & Community Development Rob Fischer, has been selected to write a commissioned paper for the upcoming White House Conference on Research Related to the Faith-Based and Community Initiative to be held in June 2008.
January 03, 2008
NEO CANDO In Practice
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals.
Read about how Matt Russell of Center on Health Promotion at Case Western Reserve University uses NEO CANDO in
Providing Context to Research Findings Using Demographic Indicators.
December 05, 2007
NEO CANDO In Practice
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals.
Read about how Debra Peck-Baumgardner of Buckeye Area Development Corporation uses NEO CANDO in
Targeting Capital to Encourage Successful Home Ownership.
November 05, 2007
Poverty Center's Claudia Coulton part of BBC look at America's foreclosure crisis
The U.S. foreclosure crisis has earned international attention, with BBC news turning toward Mandel professor and Poverty Center director Claudia Coulton for some answers and analysis.
November 02, 2007
NEO CANDO In Practice
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals.
Read about Joy Brewington of Catalyst Cleveland use of NEO CANDO in Documenting Analyzing and Supporting School Improvement Efforts.
October 01, 2007
NEO CANDO In Practice
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals.
Read about Frank Ford from Neighborhood Progress, Inc and Stacy Pugh from Slavic Village Development's use of NEO CANDO's property data in Creating Regionally Competitive Neighborhoods of Choice.
September 24, 2007
Poverty Center Presentation at 2007 National Vacant Properties Campaign Conference
Michael Schramm, analyst/programmer at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, travels to Pittsburgh to present the following at the 2007 Vacant Properties conference convened by the National Vacant Properties Campaign and the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank:
September 05, 2007
NEO CANDO In Practice
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals.
Read about Jeff Sugalski and Burten Bell Carr's use of NEO CANDO's crime data in Evaluating Social Change, Developing Community.
July 24, 2007
Poverty Center Mapping Series: Cleveland's Community Gardens
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development creates maps for numerous research projects that may be of interest to a wider audience. With this map of community gardens, prepared by the Center's Kristen Mikelbank, in collaboration with Matthew E. Russell of the Center for Health Promotion Research for his paper Steps to a Healthier Cleveland: 2006 Community Garden Report, the Center debuts its mapping series. View the map of Cleveland's Community Garden Sites by Neighborhood here.
July 05, 2007
NEO CANDO In Practice
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals.
Read about Terry Lenahan, use of NEO CANDO to predict and organize hunger solutions in "Documenting Hunger Trends in Greater Cleveland."
July 03, 2007
Claudia Coulton presents at the Inaugural Conference of International Society for Child Indicators
Dr. Coulton presented research she prepared with Dr. Jill Korbin, director of Case's Schubert Center for Children.
June 12, 2007
MSASS Faculty Member to Speak About Race, Class and Diversity
The Heights Community Congress (HCC) will host "Perception vs. Reality: How Do We Talk About Race, Class and Diversity In Our Own Community?" beginning at 7 p.m. on June 13 at John Hay High School, 2075 Stokes Blvd. Mark Chupp, a visiting assistant professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, is part of the panel. Free, open to the public. For more information, call the HCC at 216- 321-6775. Visit the Heights Congress site for more information.
May 23, 2007
Poverty Center presentation of AEC study at '07 AAG Conference.
Kristen Mikelbank presents an AECF study at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in San Francisco. The presentation was titled, "Residents" Perceptions of Neighborhood and the Implications for Community Change."
May 17, 2007
Poverty Center presentation on Literacy at The Literacy Cooperative's Instructors Learning Network (ILN)
Kristen Mikelbank presented about the state of literacy and poverty in Greater Cleveland at The Literacy Cooperative's Instructors Learning Network (ILN) launching meeting.
April 27, 2007
NEO CANDO Success Story
The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals.
October 18, 2006
Sharon Milligan presents to the Central Neigborhood Committee
Presents "Building upon the work of others: The Cleveland Community Building Initiative Experience" to the Central Neighborhood Committee, at The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland October 17, 2006