Common Good Forecaster, Exploring the Impact of Education in Your Community

Two new interactive websites on education and housing

Common Good Forecaster, Exploring the Impact of Education in Your Community has been created and developed by United Way and the American Human Development Project

This interactive site allows the user to see how differing levels of education (less than high school, high school, some college , college graduate and more) impacts other areas of well being, including health (life expectancy in years, low birth weight, obesity and homicide rate), financial stability (poverty, median personal earnings, unemployment), civic participation (voter turnout) and more. Data can be manipulated for each state and for states' counties.

Selected Features and Findings:

• Incarceration rates and 8th grade proficiency rates for each state.
• Downloadable data sets for each county for each state (includes all data for all indicators for health, financial stability, civic participation and educational achievement).
• Rates of voting for each state.
• State data can be compared to national averages, and county data can be compared to state averages.

W. Toby Hur, MSW
Field Education Faculty
UCLA School of Public Affairs
Department of Social Welfare
3250 Public Affairs Bldg.
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656
(310) 825-9736
thur@spa.ucla.edu
www.spa.ucla.edu

The Strengths of Poor Families

                                                  

 

Family Routines and Relationships Strengthen Poor Families

Although poor families experience socioeconomic disadvantages, these families may be strengthened by their family routines and relationships, according to a new Child Trends brief.  The Strengths of Poor Families analyzes data for more than 100,000 families from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health to find the similarities and contrasts between poor and more affluent families. 

Among the findings: 

• Poor families do not differ from more affluent families in many ways, such as in the closeness of their relationships and the frequency of outings together or attending religious services.
• Poor families are at a disadvantage when it comes to having health and dental insurance, and are more likely to express concerns about their neighborhoods.  In addition, poor children have fewer stories read to them at home.
• While parents in poor households express concerns about neighborhood safety in general, they are just as likely to report feeling that their child is safe at home or at school as are parents who are better off.
• Families in poverty are somewhat more likely to eat meals together, a family routine that contributes to child well-being.

RELATED WORK FROM CHILD TRENDS:

 

Exploring The Links Between Family Strengths and Adolescent Outcomes (Child Trends Research Brief)