MANDEL SCHOOL
NEWS AND EVENTS

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.

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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.

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New Poverty Center report examines what happens to properties after sheriff's sale and REO ownership

Many properties that go into foreclosure eventually end up at a sheriff's auction, where they are usually purchased by the banks, mortgage companies, mortgage services, and government-sponsored enterprises involved in financing the foreclosed mortgage loan. These properties are referred to as "REO" (real-estate owned) properties. Between 2005 and 2008, there has been a drastic increase in REO properties being sold at extremely low prices—$10,000 and often less.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development has produced a report,
Beyond REO: Property Transfers at Extremely Distressed Prices in Cuyahoga County, 2005-2008, that takes a look at the trend of REO properties sold at $10,000 or less; the most frequent sellers and buyers of these properties in 2007 and 2008; time between property transactions; the price of properties in subsequent transactions; and limited information about the practices of some buyers and sellers of REO properties.

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These profiles summarize key data pertinent to the early childhood population in Cuyahoga County’s communities. This is provided as a reference tool that may be helpful in understanding community needs and existing services for children. A version of this profile was originally developed by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development for Invest in Children. Invest in Children, administered by the Board of Cuyahoga County Commissioners, is a community-wide public/private partnership working together to help increase the development, funding, visibility, and impact of early childhood services in Cuyahoga County. The common goal of these partners is to make sure that all children have quality services available to them, which assist in their earliest developmental years and ensure they enter kindergarten healthy, happy, and ready to learn. Click here to view sources for indicators in the profiles.

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New Poverty Center report examines circumstances most likely to lead a property to foreclosure

Foreclosure rates in Northeast Ohio have grown exponentially in recent years and present unprecedented challenges for communities, governments and households. Subprime lending has also increased markedly as a proportion of all mortgage loans originated in the region during this period and is widely believed to have played an important role in the current foreclosure crisis.

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A new report from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University addressing the foreclosure issue calls for refinancing loans or providing assistance to homeowners as an effort to maintain property values and prevent vandalism and deterioration to vacant structures.

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January 1, 2000 through September 1, 2007

It is now 6 months later and the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, using its NEO CANDO database, has updated the results of the Behind the Numbers Brief Number 6, Houses in transition: a report on properties owned by financial institutions and real estate organizations in Cuyahoga County, 2007.

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Behind the Numbers, BRIEF NO. 6, Titled "Houses in transition: A report on properties owned by financial institutions and real estate organizations in Cuyahoga County, 2007," discusses the rapid rise in foreclosure rates and housing abandonment in Cleveland and its surrounding suburbs.

This topic is garnering national attention and threatening to overwhelm the government agencies and community organizations that address the problem.

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The Poverty Center has released its May 2007 Briefly Stated, "Space to learn and grow: Early care and education capacity 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.

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As part of Invest in Children's Annual Meeting on June 4, 2007,
Cuyahoga County will share an update on the ongoing evaluation of its
programs. Since 2000 faculty and staff from the Center on Urban
Poverty and Community Development at MSASS have conducted a variety of studies related to the the condition of and services for children up to age six in Cuyahoga County. The evaluation team is led by Dr.
Claudia Coulton, Lillian F. Harris Professor, and Dr. Rob Fischer,
Research Associate Professor.

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Claudia Coulton, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, is presenting the Catalog of Administrative Data Sources for Neighborhood Indicators at the IASSIST (International Association for Social Science Information Services & Technology) 2007 Conference in Montreal. This monograph discusses using neighborhood indicators to identify problems, plan programs, stimulate community activism, target investments, evaluate initiatives and otherwise inform the community about itself.

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WCPN's Mhari Saito interviewed Mike Schramm, a programmer analyst at the Center on Urban Poverty, regarding an analysis that he did regarding the number of unrecorded sheriff's deeds in Cuyahoga County.

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