Entitlement Reform and the Future of Pensions

Reform of retirement and health care entitlements is inevitable, but its ultimate format remains uncertain. Any entitlement reform should take advantage of the additional resources provided by economic growth and the rise in demand for and supply of older workers. Recognizing the potential from those two forces argues for constructing reforms aimed largely at three goals: better orientation of public-sector retirement resources to needier and older populations; removal of obstacles to increased employment of older workers; and private-pension reform that provides the long-sought second tier of support in older ages

1994-95 Advisory Council on Social Security Technical Panel on Assumptions and Methods Final Report

The Panel\u27s major conclusions are: The intermediate projection of the Trustees Report for the Old-Age. Survivors. and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program provide a reasonable evaluation of the financial status. Although the Panel suggests that modifications be considered in various specific assumptions, the overall effect of those suggestions would not significantly change the financial status evaluation. There should be evolutionary implementation of procedures to indicate more adequately the uncertainties involved in the projections. Even though such uncertainties are unavoidable, stochastic analysis should be used to examine more explicitly the probabilities of alternative projections. It is emphasized that there should be an extended period during which the new procedures would supplement, rather than replace, the current methods of considering high-cost and low-cost projections and individual assumption sensitivity analysis. Evaluation of the long-range financial status should put less emphasis on the 75-year actuarial balance and the test of long-range close actuarial balance. Prior to enactment of legislation reforming the program, primary emphasis should be on the projected date the Trust Fund Ratio would fall below 100 percent; when definitive legislative revisions are adopted, subsequent long-range evaluation should compare up-dated projections with the intended results of the legislation. There should be a substantial expansion of SSA\u27s resources and its interaction with experts in related areas: increased recognition should be given to the interrelationships between OASDI and many public and private programs as well as other aspects of the economy. Social Security Administration (SSA) staff does high quality work, but is relatively small and works with inadequate resources. In addition to internal expansion, there should be greater use of outside consultants and contractual research; periodic comprehensive review by technical panels should be supplemented by ongoing arrangements for advice on specific matters

Principals’ Hiring Of Teachers In Philadelphia Schools: A Research Report On Improving Teacher Quality

The School District of Philadelphia (SDP), like many other urban school districts, struggles to increase its hiring and retention of experienced and highly qualified teachers in its low-performing/high-need schools. Toward the goal of improving teacher quality and the experience balance, particularly in hard-to-staff schools, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) and SDP agreed to a set of innovative approaches in their 2004 contract. That contract included new policies for school-based selection of teachers and the provision of incentives for teachers who seek employment in selected incentive schools, in selected subjects, and to teachers new to the district\u27s schools. Although similar hiring and/or incentive policies have been used elsewhere, little is known about the role that districts and principals play in implementing these policies and how they affect teacher recruitment and overall teacher quality. The Urban Education Collaborative (UEC) at Temple University\u27s Institute for Schools and Society conducted a study of SDP\u27s effort to implement these new policies during 2005-06. This study reports, in particular, on how SDP\u27s principals responded to the district\u27s newly created district hiring and incentive policie

Effect Of A Home Intervention Program On Pediatric Asthma In An Environmental Justice Community

Asthma prevalence rates are at an all-time high in the United States with over 25 million persons diagnosed with asthma. African Americans and other minorities have higher asthma prevalence and higher exposure to environmental factors that worsen asthma as compared to Caucasians. This article describes the evaluation of an inner-city home-based asthma education and environmental remediation program that addressed both indoor and outdoor triggers through collaboration between a health system and local environmental justice organization. The program enrolled 132 children older than 2.5 years and centers on a 4- to 6-week intervention with peer counselors using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Asthma Home Environment Checklist and the You Can Control Asthma curriculum. Families receive asthma-friendly environmental home kits. Peer counselors reinforce key asthma management messages and facilitate the completion of Asthma Action Plans. The environmental justice community partner organized block cleanups to reduce outdoor triggers. The evaluation used a pretest–posttest design to assess changes in client behavior and asthma symptoms. Data were collected at baseline and during a 6-month postintervention period. Participants saw enhanced conditions on asthma severity and control. The improvement was greatest for children whose asthma was considered “severe” based on the validated Asthma Control Test. Other positive results include the following: greater completion of Asthma Action Plans, significant reduction in the number of emergency room visits (p = .006), and substantial decreases in school absenteeism (p = .008) and use of rescue medications (p = .049). The evaluation suggests that the program was effective in improving asthma self-management in a high-risk population living within an environmental justice community