These are the links that I have discovered so far. If any person has a link to suggest that I do not have, the please email me and I will put it on the list.
University of Kentucky's Social, Natural and Agricultural Resource Library has several good resources for people who are beginning work on rural poverty in Kentucky. Be sure to check out Kentucky by the Numbers page, which provides welfare reform information by county.
U of L's Urban Research Institute has been collecting data about Kentucky's Welfare Reform for the state government. They have a very useful and comprehensive site.
The Kentucky Long Term Policy Research Center is a branch of the Legislative Research Commission. Over the years they have done a couple of reports on poverty.
The Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service has put up a webpage devoted to rural poverty issues that affect their work.
Prior to the new welfare reform, Kentucky had a Commission on Poverty. Their last report "Families First" is still available online. (Ironically, Families First is the name of Tennessee's TANF program.)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a website with links to all state agencies engaged in welfare reform.
The Southern Rural Development Center has published several good papers about poverty, food security, and welfare reform in the Southern region of the United States. Be sure to check out both the Publications page and the RD Research and Education Resources page.
Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change -- Located in Cleveland, it makes sense that Case Western Reserve University would have a dedicated research agenda to address questions of both urban poverty and social change and their interactions. In their work, the staff members of the Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change use the city of Cleveland itself as a study area, both to illuminate context-specific issues and challenges, as a vehicle for developing a broader understanding of these issues across the United States. The group's site is divided into four primary areas dealing with research, publications, education and outreach. By browsing through the research area, visitors can learn about the group's current research projects, and as a nice organizational feature, may move to directly download relevant reports and working papers that have been produced from each project. For individuals interested in the Cleveland area specifically, there is the CAN DO section, which provides access to data describing Cleveland's neighborhoods and the suburban municipalities throughout Cuyahoga County. Overall, the site is both a fine source of information on important research in these topical areas, and a model of how research centers can support both practical and scholarly endeavors in urban areas.
The Census Bureau is, of course, the first place we think of going for information. I would also recommend their joint page with the Bureau of Labor Statistics concerning the Current Population Survey. This survey tends to be the source for most current poverty estimates.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service has a number of resources for individuals interested in food security and rural poverty. I would recommend looking through their old issues of Rural America and FoodReview.
Penn State Geography Department has recently created a Living Wage Estimator.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a national non-profit research organization and policy analysis institute that conducts research on a number of issues including federal poverty policy.
The Northwestern University and the University of Chicago run the Joint Center for Policy Research. The center recently co-hosted a Congressional Research Briefing on Rural Dimensions of Welfare Reform.
The University of Wisconsin's Institute for Research on Poverty is another academic research institute with a number of good resources.
Interagency Council on Homelessness -- In 1987, with the passage of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, Congress established the Interagency Council on Homelessness in order to provide organized leadership in the area of providing assistance to homeless families and individuals. From the homepage, visitors can read about the Council's latest activities, then continue on to learn about funding opportunities and information from states and local municipalities on their own homelessness-based initiatives. Specifically, visitors can learn about the various regional coordinators employed by the Council, and read some rather ambitious 10-year plans to end chronic homelessness adopted by cities such as Columbus, Ohio, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Chicago.
For a different perspective try Tufts University's Center on Hunger, Poverty, and Nutrition Policy.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a case study of seven one-stop centers throughout the U.S. In the report, evaluators identify barriers and best practices of effectively serving TANF recipients through one-stop programs. The report is available at: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/hsp/WIA-centers-site-visits04/.
http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20040914_pendall.pdf
While there is a great deal of scholarly and informed analysis of the various public policy issues within the city of New York, there is much less coverage of the area of upstate New York. Stepping into that literature gap is this recent report from the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy group. Released in September 2004, this 20-page report by Rolf Pendall and Susan Christopherson examines the socioeconomic situation of the residents of this region of New York. Some of the findings within the report note that personal income Upstate grew at just half the national rate in the 1990s, and by 2000 lagged the country by 11 percent. Another somewhat disheartening finding of the report is that hour for hour, Upstate workers receive lower wages than people of similar age, race, sex, and educational backgrounds nationwide. The report concludes with several useful policy suggestions that may help alleviate these complex problems.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development is a branch of the United Nations which is devoted to improving the quality of life for the vast number of rural poor around the world. They have a good website and a brand new report on rural poverty.
Of course, you might also want to try searching the United Nations website.
The Grameen Bank is a very interesting development organization. Check it out!
Revised 08/04/05
Douglas Smith