Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/CarlosAManjarrez

Recipients of housing assistance under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs can keep their benefits as long as they remain income eligible and abide by program requirements. Under HUD's MTW demonstration, however, a small number of housing agencies that administer these programs chose to impose time limits on various program benefits, including housing assistance. This report documents their rationale for doing so, companion policy and programmatic changes they made in conjunction with time limits, their design decisions and implementation experiences and, to the extent knowable, effects on recipients and housing agencies.

At every age level, HOPE VI Panel Study respondents are much more likely than other adults overall to describe their health as fair or poor; the rates are even higher than those of black women, a group with higher-than-average rates of poor health. HOPE VI Panel Study respondents suffer many serious conditions including arthritis, asthma, depression, diabetes, hypertension, and stroke at rates twice as high as black women nationally; a significant number of HOPE VI Panel Study respondents also face the burden of multiple serious health problems. And the death rate of HOPE VI residents far exceeds the national average of black women, with the gap increasing dramatically at older ages. These findings imply an urgent need for better and more comprehensive support for families as they undergo the stress of involuntary relocation.

The Making Cities Stronger report, which is based on data from a national survey and case studies from nine sites across the country, provides new insights into the economic impact of public libraries in American cities. The report highlights ways in which library programming in the areas early literacy, employment services, and small business development, contribute to local economic development strategies. The study also identifies ways in which library construction is used to bolster place-based development in a wide variety of settings. Commissioned by the Urban Libraries Council, the study was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

This brief provides the first comprehensive look at the age, ethnicity, household size, and location of over 45,000 households receiving Food Stamp benefits in the District. In addition to the demographic profile, we examine the average distance between clients and area supermarkets. The profile highlights the concentrated nature of the city's food stamp caseload, with eight neighborhood clusters accounting for 50% of all recipients. The limited geography of the Food Stamp caseload presents new opportunities for targeted programming. However the scarcity of supermarkets in certain areas accentuates the barriers some families face in finding quality, low-cost food close to home.

The Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration was launched by HUD in the late 1990s to permit a small number of local and state housing agencies (HAs) to experiment with limited deregulation. This demonstration was not designed with the rigorous controls or monitoring that would be required to definitively measure impacts, but it does provide valuable insights on the types of changes HAs make in response to regulatory flexibility, the implementation challenges they face, and implications for ongoing policy discussions about federal housing policy.

Cultural institutions across the country are experimenting with partnerships in efforts to expand offerings to current clients and/or broaden their appeal to reach new constituencies. These partnerships offer important lessons for institutions hoping to engage new constituencies and for policy makers concerned with broadening access to public resources and fostering creative opportunities for life-long learning. In this report, we explore a variety of partnerships across libraries, museums, and public broadcasters in seven communities. Partnership initiatives show that public institutions can be linked in ways that not only broaden opportunities for individuals but also provide unique public benefits to communities.

This "Where We Live" research note identifies various demographic characteristics of the elderly in Metropolitan Washington's "Inner Region": DC, Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, Fairfax City and County, Alexandria and Arlington County.

Few technologies have spread as quickly, or become so widely used, as computers and the Internet. However, there are significant disparities in ownership and use by age, race and economic status. To address these disparities, a wide variety of local agencies have risen to the challenge of providing residents with access to information technology. To gain a clearer understanding of the availability and use of information technology in local communities, the Urban Institute conducted a study of public computer access in three areas of the District of Columbia. This study highlights the need for targeted program investment, coordinated training and services, and alternative staffing strategies for technology support. A set of recommendations are listed for service providers, government, and philanthropy, for improving public access computing in the District of Columbia.

The report has four main sections. The first part highlights the significant demographic changes that have taken place since the enactment of the Economic Opportunity Act in 1964. Using data from the decennial census and other sources, the report identifies pockets of poverty in the city and notes how these areas have both shifted geographically and become more entrenched over time. The second section of the report provides a snapshot of the nonprofit organizations that make D.C. their home and provide services to the community. It maps the distribution of nonprofit organizations against areas of poverty and provides important comparisons of nonprofit resources for four service areas—programs for children, youth, and families; community development; community empowerment; and work force development. The third section of the report highlights the work of five UPO delegate agencies that serve the District's low-income and at-risk residents. The final section suggests lessons that help frame a strategic planning process.

The purpose of the study was to construct a methodology to identify and describe community organizations and networks that strengthen families and children in three low-income neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. The study involved developing tools to analyze the size, scope, and structure of community organizations that foster local leadership and leverage resources on behalf of families and children. A spatial analysis was undertaken to understand the relationship between the nonprofit infrastructure and socioeconomic characteristics of the studied neighborhoods. Also included is a description of community-based groups and networks that enhance the well-being of families and children.

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