Publications

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January 15, 2011
In December of 2010, the Pittsfield School District received a one-year planning grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to support the transformation of our middle high school from a traditional school to a student-centered learning environment. The School District has recognized that the Pittsfield Schools, particularly the Middle High School, need to improve learning outcomes for all...
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December 14, 2010
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the most responsive federal programs to economic downturns, as evidence by the increases in SNAP use between 2007 and 2009. Nationally, more than one in ten households relies on SNAP benefits, and the rate is even higher in rural areas, with more than 13 percent of households reporting use. This brief examines the trends in SNAP use...
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November 29, 2010
Poverty is only one of many challenges tied to a report of child neglect. The analysis in this brief finds that neglected children whose caregivers struggle with substance abuse and mental health problems are at significant risk for out-of-home placement. Risk factors for out-of-home placement for neglected children are discussed, as well as a multifaceted approach to services to prevent neglect...
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October 25, 2010
Measuring by race, place, and family, this brief highlights poverty rates for two rural groups--young black children and children of single mothers--who each face rates around 50%.
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October 13, 2010
Can Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) get unlimited amounts of low cost, unsecured, short- and long-term funding from the capital markets based on their organizational credit risk? Can they get pricing, flexibility, and procedural parity with for-profit corporations of equivalent credit risk?
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October 11, 2010
Students who feel positively about their education, have a sense of belonging in school, and maintain good relationships with students and staff generally feel connected to their schools. In fact, 63 percent of Coös youth report feeling this way.
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October 4, 2010
In the second year of the recession, wives' contributions to family earnings leapt again, jumping two percentage points from 45 percent in 2008 to 47 percent in 2009. This rise marks the largest single-year increase in 15 years. This is not due to an increase in their earnings but rather to a decrease in husband’s employment, as the economy disproportionately shed male-dominated jobs during...
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September 28, 2010
The U.S. Census Bureau's release of its American Community Survey data in September 2010 illustrated some expected changes in poverty rates in 2009, the second year of the Great Recession. For young children under age 6, living in poverty is especially difficult, given the long-term effects on health and education. Every region of the country except the West saw increases in rural young...
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July 13, 2010
This report, a collaboration of the Carsey Institute, the UNH Survey Center, and the UNH Office of Sustainability, is the first of a new initiative that will track public perceptions about climate change as they change over time. Questions related to climate change were asked as part of New Hampshire's Granite State Poll, which surveyed 512 New Hampshire residents in April 2010.
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July 1, 2010
According to a Community and Environment in Rural America survey, Michigan's Upper Peninsula residents, often called "Yoopers," said that ties to community and the area's natural beauty were significant factors for those who planned on staying in this rural area, which comprises about a third of Michigan's land mass but only 4 percent of its population. Those planning on...