Exercising Sovereignty and Expanding Economic Opportunity Through Tribal Land Management

While the United States faces one of the most significant housing crises in the nation's history, many forget that Indian housing has been in crisis for generations. This report seeks to take some important steps toward a future where safe, affordable, and decent housing is available to Native people in numbers sufficient to meet the housing needs that exist in Indian country today. This study provides first-of-its-kind analysis of a critical barrier to homeownership on Indian lands. It analyzes the success of tribes that have taken responsibility (in whole or in part) for administering the land title process on tribal lands. It also addresses the challenges those tribes have faced. Section 1 outlines the significant obstacles to homeownership strategies for Native communities. In Section 2, the report delves into the experiences of five tribes that are managing aspects of the land title process in their communities. In Section 3, the report details findings from a site visit and in-depth interview at the Bureau of Indian Affairs regional offices in Portland, Oregon and Aberdeen, South Dakota. Finally, Section 4 of the report draws conclusions and makes specific recommendations about the future of land title processing on Indian lands. This report is the culmination of two years of research funded by NeighborWorks America and Stewart Title Company

Borrowing Trouble: Predatory Lending in Native American Communities

Based on surveys and financial data, examines the prevalence of predatory practices in Native American communities. Includes maps of predatory lenders, case studies of financial education and alternative services and products, and recommendations

Individual Development Accounts: Creative Savings for Families and Communities

This report discusses the characteristics of a selection of Individual Development Account (IDA) and similar savings programs. These programs were among the first IDA experiments in the United States

Individual Development Accounts: Creative Savings for Families and Communities

A new direction in anti-poverty policy has emerged in the United States. This new direction is centered around asset building and stakeholding. In contrast to many of the precepts of the welfare state, which emphasize income and consumption, asset-based policy promotes savings and investment

Asset-Building Policy Coalitions in the United States

Asset-Building Policy Coalitions in the United State

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs): A Good Match?

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs): A Good Match

Exemptions and Lien Avoidance Under The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 and Ohio Law

Specified property of a debtor is exempt from the bankruptcy estate. State law has generally specified the property of a bankrupt which may be exempted from the estate. The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 institutes a new federal policy regarding exemptions. The new federal provisions, however, are under attack. Currently in Ohio, the applicability of the federal avoidance power contained in section 522(f) of the Bankruptcy Code is being questioned. This section provides for the avoidance of certain liens encumbering property otherwise exemptable. Legislation in Ohio specifically provides that the exemption provisions do not affect a security interest of personal property or any lien thereby. The question of whether or not a debtor in Ohio may utilize the federal avoidance power to claim secured property as exempt, when Ohio prohibits exempting such property, is currently being litigated. Further, there is an underlying issue as to whether the avoidance power is unconstitutional as applied to security interests created prior to the enactment of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. A review of the Bankruptcy Act of 1898, and the exemption provisions of the State of Ohio will facilitate an understanding of the issues involved in the application of the new federal exemption provisions

The properties and environment of primitive solar nebulae as deduced from observations of solar-type pre-main sequence stars

The following topics were discussed: (1) current observation evidence for the presence of circumstellar disks associated with solar type pre-main sequence (PMS) stars; (2) the properties of such disks; and (3) the disk environment

The evolution of young stellar object disks and their environment

The main efforts were directed towards determining the frequency of disk occurrence and the timescales for disk evolution for solar-type and intermediate mass stars. The results of the investigation showed that optically thick disks are accretion disks. The projected accomplishments are also discussed