MANDEL SCHOOL
NEWS AND EVENTS

All too often research is conducted in a way that is disconnected from the reality of life in communities, with findings often having little relevance to real-world program and policy decisions. With this publication, the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development highlights an example of how research and evaluation data have been effectively used over time in a major community initiative in the Cleveland region.

Drawing on a decade of transformative research done in partnership with Cuyahoga County's Office of Early Childhood/Invest in Children and its public/private set of collaborators, the report describes the experiences of this community initiative and concrete examples of how data have been used to inform practice and policy.

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Representatives from nine community-based organizations and a state psychiatric hospital in Ohio attended a one-day training for “Tobacco: Recovery Across the Continuum (TRAC)”, a stage-based motivational service model that helps people diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance use disorders reduce and eventually eliminate the use of tobacco products. The event provided practical information and useful strategies for implementing TRAC services and featured Carlo DiClemente and other presenters from the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices.

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The topic of e-cigarettes came up at a recent TRAC Program Leader Training, held in Cleveland on October 1st, so the "Tobacco: Recovery Across the Continuum (TRAC)" intitiative at the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) at Case Western Reserve University presents a summary regarding what is known to date about electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), what are commonly called "e-cigarettes."

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Save these dates! The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) at Case Western Reserve University will host its next conference October 12, 13, and 14, 2010. The event, titled "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next Ten Years", will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the State of Ohio's success with implementing EBPs for people diagnosed with mental illness. The event will highlight national EBP research and lessons-learned from EBP initiatives in Ohio and other states. The Center for EBPs is a partnership of the Mandel School and the Dept. of Psychiatry.

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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.

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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.

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The Annual Ohio Supported Employment (SE) Conference 2009, entitled "Recovery Is Working," attracted some 200 people from around the country to Columbus in March. Participants learned about the most recent outcomes from national studies of the evidence-based SE model and forged professional relationships, sharing consumer-success stories and lessons-learned stories from implementation of SE. Listen to and read about presentations and conversations in this retrospective of the event.

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Gary Bond, PhD, digs into the researech evidence and explains why Supported Employment (SE) is one of the most sought-after service models for people diagnosed with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses. He also foreshadows the coming of two emerging best practices—cognitive rehabilitation and supported education—which will likely augment SE and enhance consumer outcomes.

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Philip Devol wants everyone to know that if you are going to help people get out of poverty, you must include representatives from all economic classes—the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor—in the process of planning and implementing services. Each has mental models (perspectives and experiences) that contain knowledge to shape useful solutions.

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Michele Robinson is an employment specialist embedded in an Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) team, which serves people diagnosed with co-occurring severe mental and substance use disorders. She shares a story about a woman in her twenties who started her teen years and adult life with the odds stacked against her.

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In this Update:

In this Update:

In this Update:

Supported Employment (SE), the evidence-based practice, helps people diagnosed with severe mental illness or co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders find competitive jobs of their choice in local communities with rapid job-search and placement services. There are seven core principles that make the evidence-based SE model different from traditional vocational programs.

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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.

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.

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.

Family Homelessness in Cuyahoga County

A new Briefly Stated number 09-03, titled "Family Homelessness in Cuyahoga County" has been released. It summarizes research in a white paper by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development regarding an analysis of the number of homeless families and "doubled up" families in Cuyahoga County.

The Briefly stated can be read or downloaded here.

The White paper, also titled "Family Homelessness in Cuyahoga County," can be read or downloaded here.

A brief radio article, on NPR affiliate WCPN, referencing this paper can be read or heard here.

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In this Update:

We recently mailed the first issue of our new printed newsletter, "Evidence Matters." A free PDF is available from our web site. Please distribute it to anyone who is interested in enhancing services for people diagnosed with severe mental illness. We've retired our "SAMI Matters" newsletter. The Fall 2008 issue was the last. Find out why. Get back issues from this web page. Use them to educate staff and stakeholders. . . . The Center for EBPs is a partnership between the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

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The primary purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of who gets referred to evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) services and what characteristics predict entry into competitive employment for adult consumers diagnosed with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. This report includes some tips for policy and practice. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case is a partnership between the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

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John Moneypenny is Assistant Director of the Choices Community Social Center in Akron, Ohio, a gathering place that provides a social, recreational, and educational outlet for adults recovering from mental illness in the surrounding Summit County area. He recounts his recovery story, so it might be shared as a source of inspiration for others. . . . Listen to and download free ".mp3" audio files. . . . Choices is a community partner of the Center for EBPs at Case, which is a partnership between the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

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NEO CANDO property data update

The Ohio SE CCOE is now using a revised fidelity scale to assist mental health service organizations in Ohio that are implementing the evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) model. Evaluators from the CCOE have already conducted fidelity reviews using the new scale at several organizations across the state and plan to conduct at least one review with the new scale at all evidence-based SE programs in Ohio by the end of the year. (The Ohio SE CCOE is a program of the Center for EBPs at Case--a partnership of the Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry.)

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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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Keynote speaker Gary Bond, PhD, an internationally known SE researcher from Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis. . . . Keynote speaker Phil DeVol, co-author of "Bridges Out of Poverty". . . . Over 30 practical workshops. . . . This event is designed for those who want to acquire more information about and practical skills that pertain to providing evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) services for people diagnosed with severe mental illness. . . . . Sponsored by the Ohio Supported Employment CCOE, a program of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry.

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It's always a pleasant surprise when a national discussion focuses on the work we do in the world of social services. It's all the more surprising when the conversation highlights one of our own at the Center for Evidence-Based Practices--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine. The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric recently aired a report on Supported Employment (SE), the evidence-based practice, featuring our own SE Consultant and Trainer Nicole Clevenger.

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The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) at Case's Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry is collecting audio recordings of service providers, consumers, and others telling stories of their experiences with evidence-based practices and other services. Share your story.

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A significant cutback in funding for tobacco-cessation programs in the State of Ohio has negatively affected efforts to reduce illnesses and healthcare costs associated with the use of harmful tobacco products. Yet, the Ohio Tobacco & Recovery (TR) Project, developed for people with severe mental illness, continues to make progress toward a service model that will stand the test of time and create positive results for Ohio residents. The Ohio TR Project is a program of the Center for EBPs at Case--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry, Case School of Medicine . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Deb Hrouda, MSSA ('94), LISW.)

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The Ohio Tobacco and Recovery stages-of-change model is among the nation’s cutting-edge efforts to improve health outcomes among people diagnosed with severe mental illness, because it is designed specifically to address the unique needs of this population. A recent story in Time magazine identified the high incidence of tobacco use and dependence among people with severe mental illness as one of the growing health concerns in the United States. The Ohio Tobacco & Recovery Project is a program of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

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The November/December 2008 cover story of the nationally distributed Social Work Today magazine features the Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence (Ohio SAMI CCOE)--a program of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) at Case Western Reserve University. The Center is a partnership of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine. Both are curriculum innovators: both have fellowship programs for the study of co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Ric Kruszynski, MSSA ('93), LISW, LICDC.)

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The Ph.D. Program at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences celebrates the second anniversary of its part-time study option for doctoral-level education in social welfare and is inviting applications from professionals with experience in social work and allied disciplines--such as psychology, public health, nonprofit organizations, law, anthropology, and sociology, among others. The doctoral program has both part-time and full-time study options available, along with financial assistance for both.

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As the Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School looks toward its Supported Employment conference on March 24 and 25, 2009, we reflect upon the 8th Annual SAMI/IDDT conference that took place this past September in Columbus, Ohio and are reminded how conversations at these annual events continue to inform the implementation of evidence-based practices throughout Ohio and across the nation. Featuring audio interviews with Robert Drake, MD; Carlo DiClemente, PhD; Sandra Stephenson, MSW, director of ODMH; and more.

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Psychiatrist and researcher Robert E. Drake, MD, PhD, knows a few things about the evidence-based Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model—why it’s necessary, how it works, and which treatment components produce the most positive outcomes. He is one of the original creators of IDDT. His research continues to inform the dissemination of IDDT and the evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) model. . . . Dr. Drake has been a long-time supporter, collaborator, and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School. Join us for our conversation with him.

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Ask Psychologist Carlo DiClemente, PhD, co-creator of the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), how you might achieve and maintain a meaningful personal change in your life—diet, exercise, sobriety, mental health recovery—and he’ll tell you what he’s found from almost 30 years of research on the subject. Dr. DiClemente sat down with us to provide a tutorial on the origins and ongoing evolution of TTM. . . . Dr. DiClemente is a supporter, collaborator, and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School.

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Living two seemingly separate lives never seemed quite right to Darnella Allen, BA, LICDC, of Cleveland. There was her life as an ordained minister, where she felt free to use her compassionate, forgiving, and supportive self to help people. And there was her life as an addictions counselor, where she felt skeptical of the motives of people who abused alcohol and other drugs. She spent some 20 years living with this conflict. Then she was hired as a case manager at Mental Health Services, Inc. (MHS) in Cleveland, which uses IDDT to help homeless persons with severe mental illness. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case provides technical assistance to MHS.

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There is hope for people who are most at-risk of psychiatric hospitalization, homelessness, and institutional recidivism. It is called Assertive Community Treatment (ACT). If you listen close enough to Jonas Thom, MA, PCC, you will get the impression that ACT is more than an evidence-based practice that produces improved outcomes; it is a way of being present gently and consistently in the lives of others. Thom is Director of the Ohio Coordinating Center for ACT. He is a collaborator and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case's Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry. Join us for our conversation with him.

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Before getting a formal introduction to the Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model, Dianne Asher, LSCSW, CADC-I, often felt frustrated and powerless in her work as a case manager and team leader. In the 1990s, she became one of the first practitioners in the State of Kansas to be introduced to IDDT and was recruited by The University of Kansas to lead IDDT implementation throughout the sunflower state. . . . Asher is a collaborator and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case's Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry. Join us for our conversation with her.

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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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Vocational specialists from the State of Ohio's inpatient Behavioral Healthcare Organizations (BHOs) are putting to rest fears about symptoms of mental illness interfering with a person’s ability to work. The specialists are exploring how they might help some people obtain or return to competitive jobs in the community as part of their transition out of the hospital, before discharge. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School provides technical assistance to the State of Ohio's BHOs.

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The Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland, Ohio is no ordinary park. It is a living educational museum, with interactive exhibits for children and adults alike. John is a participant of evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) services who works at the Farmpark. He has not missed a shift in over four years. His success is partly the result of his own fortitude, the guidance he receives from SE services at NEIGHBORING of Lake County, and the open communication he has with his boss, Beth Florian. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case provides technical assistance to NEIGHBORING.

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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.

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This past July, over 200 participants gathered at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM) in Rootstown to attend a conference entitled “Moving in the BeST Direction: An Incubator to Improve Schizophrenia Treatment in Northeastern Ohio.” Representatives from the Center for Evidence-based Practices at Case Western Reserve University attended.

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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.

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.

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This award recognizes a service team that embodies passion, dedication, and creativity when providing services to people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. It recognizes those who consistently go above and beyond the expectations of the Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model and, in doing so, raise the standard for exceptional care.

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Renee Molzon went into social work to help emotionally-disturbed children, never anticipating that her professional journey would land her beside homeless adults dealing with severe mental illness. . . .(Molzon is a community partner of the Mandel School.)

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The career of Deana Leber-George has been an odyssey of reinvention. . . . She is now the Dual Diagnosis Program Supervisor at NEIGHBORING and has been a guiding member of the service team since 2002. She has learned a few lessons along the way about the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs). . . . (Leber-George is a community partner of the Mandel School.)

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Times are especially good for NEIGHBORING's Chief Operating Officer Ken Gill, MSSA ('82), LISW-S, LICDC, and his Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) team. They are being recognized for raising the standard of exceptional care with the third annual Lynn Goff Spirit of Integrated Treatment Award. . . . Things, however, weren’t always running this smoothly.

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A few years back, the City of Painesville had a problem: what to do about the homeless population hanging out in its picturesque town square. For NEIGHBORING, a mental-health and substance-abuse service agency headquartered in the City of Mentor, this was another chance to step up and help out. . . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Ken Gill, MSSA (’82), LISW-S, LICDC, and other community partners.)

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In this Update:

The IDDT Affiliation Code Initiative gives agency providers, county boards, and State of Ohio stakeholders the capacity to collect data and to examine indicators and outcomes systematically. . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Deb Hrouda, MSSA ('94), LISW, and community partner David C. Ross, MA, LPCC, of the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Ashland County.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

To sustain NEO CANDO as a free resource to the community, we are now requiring self-registration and login in to access the Social and Economic Data and Quick Profiles in NEO CANDO. We have been using this login successfully for the past 2 years on the Property Data section. If you have already registered to use the Property Data you do not need to self register again.

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The advisory committee meeting of the Ohio Tobacco and Recovery Project was held at Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare in Columbus this past spring. Mental health organizations around Ohio are getting ready to implement components of the new Tobacco and Recovery model.

(Featuring Mandel School graduate Patrick E. Boyle.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

The Shawnee Mental Health Center not only serves three of the poorest, most rural regions in Ohio--Lawrence, Scioto, and Adams counties--with mental health and tobacco recovery services, but it also lies in the heart of tobacco country, making the notion of kicking the habit seem less doable than flicking a cigarette butt across the Ohio River.

(Featuring community partner Flash Phipps of Portsmouth, Ohio.)

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Data Sources Recently Updated:

Ric Kruszynski, MSSA ('93), LISW, LICDC, provides consultation to mental-health and substance-abuse service agencies about the effectiveness of real-time clinical supervision in the community.

| learn more & listen to audio |

Eleven people representing eight organizations throughout the Buckeye State attended the Ohio Supported Employment CCOE’s outcomes-based management training. The event gave service team leaders methods for promoting competitive employment among people with severe mental illness.

| learn more & listen to audio |

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.

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Over the past few months the following data sources have been updated:
Social and Economic Data:

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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Community partners at the Northeast IDDT Regional Stakeholders meeting shared challenges to and emerging solutions for implementing and sustaining family psychoeducational programs. (Featuring Jeremy Evenden, MSSA ('03), LISW.)

| read more & listen to audio |

The Ohio Supported Employment(CCOE) hosted the first Regional Stakeholders Meeting in the state. These meetings help professionals from multiple service systems promote competitive employment among people with severe mental illness. (Featuring Mary Ann Hastings of the Ohio SE CCOE.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

Three staff members of the Ohio SAMI CCOE participated in a three-day international Motivational Interviewing Network Training (MINT). The CCOE is participating in this initiative to add to the pool of advanced MI consultants and trainers in Ohio. The training was conducted by William R. Miller, Ph.D. and Theresa Moyers, Ph.D. (Featuring Patrick E. Boyle, MSSA ('89), LISW, LICDC, and Christina M. Delos Reyes, MD, of the Department of Psychiatry.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

The annual conference of the Ohio Supported Employment CCOE drew close to 200 participants from throughout Ohio and 10 additional states, demonstrating the growing national interest in this evidence-based practice. (Featuring Gary Bond, Ph.D., of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

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.

Download PDF of Poster

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Property transfer data through February 29, 2008 have been added to the parcel report in NEO CANDO.

NEO CANDO has transfer history back to January 1, 1976 for all parcels in Cuyahoga County.

Property transfer data through January 31, 2008 have been added to the parcel report in NEO CANDO.

NEO CANDO has transfer history back to January 1, 1976 for all parcels in Cuyahoga County.

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Public assistance data for January 2008 have been added to the Social and Economic Data report.

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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.

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Attendance and enrollment data for the 2006-2007 school year have been added to the Social and Economic report in NEO CANDO. These data are only available for the Cleveland School District.

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Property transfer data through December 31, 2007 have been added to the parcel report in NEO CANDO.

NEO CANDO has transfer history back to January 1, 1976 for all parcels in Cuyahoga County.

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Property transfer data through November 30, 2007 have been added to the parcel report in NEO CANDO.

NEO CANDO has transfer history back to January 1, 1976 for all parcels in Cuyahoga County.

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The Tobacco Cessation Kick-Off Event introduced community-based and hospital-based behavioral healthcare organizations to a new service model being designed and disseminated by the Center for Evidence-Based Practices.

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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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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.

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2006 juvenile delinquency data have been added to the Social and Economic Data report. These data are only available for Cuyahoga County.

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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.

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Property transfer data through October 31, 2007 have been added to the parcel report in NEO CANDO.

NEO CANDO has transfer history back to January 1, 1976 for all parcels in Cuyahoga County.

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Public assistance data for October 2007 have been added to the Social and Economic Data report.

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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.

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Property transfer data through September 30, 2007 have been added to the parcel report in NEO CANDO.

NEO CANDO has transfer history back to January 1, 1976 for all parcels in Cuyahoga County.

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2004 death data have been added for all 17 NEO CANDO counties to the Social and Economic Data report.

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Second quarter (June 2007) United States Postal Service (USPS) data from HUD on addresses and vacant addresses have been added as to the Social and Economic report in NEO CANDO for all 17 counties.

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2006 child maltreatment data have been added to the Social and Economic Data report. These data are only available for Cuyahoga County.

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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.

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Property transfer data through August 31, 2007 have been added to the parcel report in NEO CANDO.

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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:

2004 birth data have been added for all 17 NEO CANDO counties to the Social and Economic Data report.

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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.

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Public assistance data for July 2007 have been added to the Social and Economic Data report.

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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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Property transfer data through July 31, 2007 have been added to the parcel report in NEO CANDO.

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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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The quick profiles in NEO CANDO have been upgraded to include aggregate information on the 17 county NEO CANDO service area and the 8 county Cleveland-Akron CMSA.

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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.

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Property transfer data through June 30, 2007 have been added to the parcel report in NEO CANDO.

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Business pattern data have been updated for 2004 and 2005 in the Social and Economic report in NEO CANDO. These data are available for all 17 NEO CANDO counties at the zip code tabulation area and the county levels.

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Population estimates from the Census Bureau for 2006 the have been added to the Social and Economic component of NEO CANDO. These data are only available at the Township (MCD) level and the county level.

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Parcel characteristics and tax billing information have been added to the parcel report for the 2006 tax year. These include updated market values from the 2006 reassessment. Also, variables and filters on parcels receiving the homestead exemption and 2.5% owner-occupied reduction have been added at the request of NEO CANDO users. Finally, lot shape has been updated after being missing for the 2004 and 2005 tax years.

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Crime Data for 2006 has been added to NEO CANDO.

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The quick profiles in NEO CANDO have been upgraded to include aggregate information on the 17 county NEO CANDO service area and the 8 county Cleveland-Akron CMSA.

Select “Regional” as your geographic level and then make either the 17 or 8 county selection. These profiles return side-by-side information on each county for comparison.

Select “County” as your geographic level after choosing a county. This profile will allow comparison between the chosen county with the aggregate values for both the 8 county Cleveland-Akron CMSA and the 17 county NEO CANDO service area.

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Efforts to Stop Smoking Target Mental Health Agencies

Behavioral health staffs that need to take a smoke break might have some relief from their tobacco habits as they start tobacco cessation programs along with their mental health and substance abuse clients.

The Center for Evidence Based Practices, a joint program of Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Science and the psychiatry department at the School of Medicine, have received a grant to design and implement tobacco cessation programs that target clients and staffs at behavioral health agencies.

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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."

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Dr. Coulton presented research she prepared with Dr. Jill Korbin, director of Case's Schubert Center for Children.

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Property transfer data through April 30, 2007 have been added

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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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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."

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Special study areas around University Circle have been added to the Social and Economic report.

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2005-2006 proficiency test data for the Cleveland Municipal School District have been added to the Social and Economic Data report.

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Public assistance data for April 2007 have been added to the Social and Economic Data report.

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Zip code tabulation areas have been added as a new geography to the Social and Economic report. These are a Census geography that are generalized area representations of U.S. Postal Service (USPS) ZIP Code service areas and are built from 2000 Census blocks.

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The Dual Disorders Fellowship Program gives employed mental health and substance abuse professionals the opportunity to enhance their education, credentials, and experience by earning a Master of Social Science Administration (MSSA) degree while staying in their current jobs and attending classes one weekend per month. The Program is also structured to provide financial support to students by forging a partnership among the employed student, his or her employer (service organization), the local community mental health and/or substance abuse services board, and the Mandel School. Each partner pays a portion of the tuition.

- Full news release
- Dual Disorders Fellows Program brochure

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Kristen Mikelbank presented about the state of literacy and poverty in Greater Cleveland at The Literacy Cooperative's Instructors Learning Network (ILN) launching meeting.

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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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Home Mortgage Disclosure data (HMDA) for 2005 have been added to NEO CANDO for all 17 counties. These data are available at the tract level and the county level for non Cuyahoga counties. In Cuyahoga County these data area available at the Neighborhood, DCFS Geodistrict, Cleveland Planning District, Township (MCD) or City/Village level.

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People with severe mental illness and their families in communities throughout Ohio, several other states, and two countries are experiencing an improved quality of life, in part, because of the work being done by the staff of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs).

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NEO CANDO, Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing, is a free and publicly accessible social and economic data system of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, a research institute housed at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. NEO CANDO allows users to access data for the entire 17 county Northeast Ohio region, or for specific neighborhoods within Cleveland.

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The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals.

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Property transfer data through March 31, 2007 have been added

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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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Property transfer data through Feb 28, 2007 have been added

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Please take the NEO CANDO survey by clicking here. Your feedback is very important to us and will help us improve NEO CANDO!

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Public assistance data through January 2007 have been added to the Social and Economic Data report.

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More exporting options have been added to the Social and Economic Data report. By clicking “Download Menu” on the results screen, users can now export data into the following formats: CSV, Excel, DBASE/DBF(for GIS mapping) and a SAS dataset.

Also, new identifier fields have been added when exporting tract, block group, or block data. These fields correspond with the STFID field found in GIS datasets downloaded from ESRI’s Geography Network and should help users join NEO CANDO data easier to these GIS datasets. Also, because DBF files limit field names to 10 characters or less, a variable code to variable name lookup dbf can be downloaded from the “Download Menu” as well.

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December 14, 2006
Death data for 2003 from the Ohio Department of Health have been added to the Social and Economic Report.

December 12, 2006
Business Pattern data have been added as a new subject category in the Social and Economic Data report in NEO CANDO. These data are only available at the Zip Code Tabulation Area and County geographic levels.

County and Zip Business Patterns provide data on business establishments and employment by industry and establishment size. The information is derived from the Standard Statistical Establishment List, a file of all known companies maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Bureau obtains data for the list from its own programs as well as administrative files from the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Business Patterns data cover most of the country's economic activity, but exclude data on the self-employed and most government workers.

The data are currently available for 1998-2003.

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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

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NEO CANDO expanded in depth and breadth, now including 17 northeast Ohio counties and data down to the parcel level.

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