2009 Report on Illinois Poverty

In 2009, a family of four that is poor by the federal government's definition has an annual income below $22,050. A family that is extremely poor has an income less than half the poverty line for their family size -- under$11,025 for a family of four. As discussions continue on the best way to help the nation weather and emerge from the recession, the focus must be on meaningful policy changes that truly lift all boats and make us collectively a much stronger nation. If solutions do not specifically address the needs of those whose lives and hardships are reflected in this report, millions will be left behind, and we will all be left weaker and more vulnerable

Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2007 Edition

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy contends that any debate over immigration policy must be connected to the larger conversation about America's squeezed middle class and those striving to attain a middle-class standard of living. Accordingly, DMI offers a lens through which to evaluate immigration policy that operates from the basic principle that immigration policy is sound only if it also helps to strengthen and expand America's middle class. With that premise as our starting point, we wrote "Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2007 Edition." First published in December 2005, "Principles" is now updated to reflect recent legislative proposals and a discussion of issues that have emerged as important. It is intended to serve as a guide for those who wish to advance a progressive immigration agenda that reflects the best interests of America's current and aspiring middle class

DuPage County, Illinois, Plan to End Homelessness: Progress at the Five-Year Mark and a Blueprint for Moving Forward

The DuPage County Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) was an early leader nationally and locally in the development and implementation of its 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in 2003. In October 2007, the Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on Poverty was hired to conduct the evaluation and to facilitate a planning process to inform the update of the Plan.This report documents the tremendous successes of the past five years, outlines the process by which stakeholders were re-energized and re-engaged, and establishes a new blueprint for success for the coming five years. The DuPage County CoC is proceeding from this point even more committed to collaboration and success in ending homelessness in DuPage County

2009 Report on Chicago Region Poverty

In 2009, a family of four that is poor by the federal government's definition has an annual income below $22,050. A family that is extremely poor has an income less than half the poverty line for their family size -- under$11,025 for a family of four. As discussions continue on the best way to help the nation weather and emerge from the recession, the focus must be on meaningful policy changes that truly lift all boats and make us collectively a much stronger nation. If solutions do not specifically address the needs of those whose lives and hardships are reflected in this report, millions will be left behind, and we will all be left weaker and more vulnerable

2010 Report on Illinois Poverty

This 2010 report caps a decade of Heartland Alliance's annual reports on poverty. The project was initiated at a time when economic prosperity seemed widespread and the future outlook was infused with optimism. The goal with these reports at that time was simple: to serve as a caution that the rising tide of prosperity in the late 1990s had not lifted all boats and that many in our communities were being left behind.Today the situation is very different. The Great Recession has crumbled economic stability for millions of families in the form of massive job loss, cut backs in hours, the elimination of work benefits, skyrocketing foreclosures and bankruptcies, and the eroding value of retirement investments.The implications of massive service cuts to those experiencing poverty -- many of whom rely on state-funded services in their communities literally for survival, particularly those in extreme poverty -- will be nothing short of devastating. Without leadership to enact a responsible budget, Illinois can expect to see deepening hardship and further entrenchment of social problems

Back Home Again: LaPorte County, Indiana, Plan to End Homelessness

The Social IMPACT Research Center (IMPACT), a program of Heartland Alliance, worked with leaders in LaPorte County, Indiana to create a Plan to End Homelessness for the county. Plans to End Homelessness help communities determine and implement key system improvements, build community and political will for addressing homelessness, align resources efficiently, and begin the important march toward ending homelessness.LaPorte County's Plan to End Homelessness harnesses best practices, local realities, and community input to solve a problem that affects far too many lives: those who are at risk of homelessness, those who are experiencing homelessness, and their children, neighbors, friends, and family.LaPorte County's Plan includes goals in three areas: prevention, housing, and income/services with a number of action steps established to reach each goal. The Plan is designed to serve those who have been identified as needing services in LaPorte County, to help service providers enhance and streamline services, and help funders of the homeless system target funding and community resources to prevent and end homelessness

The Social and Economic Value of Human Services

This paper examines publicly-funded human services and highlights a body of evidence that speaks to both the social and economic value for society when investments are made into human services. The story that emerges points to the advantages of investments in human services in three distinct ways: Human services provide a lifeline for many of the state's most disadvantaged residents -- seniors, people with disabilities, people who are poor, those experiencing homelessness, children -- thereby honoring concepts of human rights, equality, and the inherent dignity and worth of each and every individual. There are a variety of documented positive impacts of a variety of human services programs including enhanced quality of life and stronger and more economically competitive individuals, families, and communities. Such programs are wise investments, staving off the much larger immediate and/or future costs that would be incurred if the social problems they address were left unchecked

Supportive Housing in Illinois: A Wise Investment

This study reports on 177 supportive housing residents around Illinois, comparing their use of publicly-funded services two years before entering supportive housing to two years after entry. Data were collected from Medicaid-reimbursed services, state mental health hospitals, substance use treatment, state prisons, and various county jails and hospitals. The study found an overall cost savings of over $850,000 in the two years after entry into supportive housing, a little over$2,400 per person annually. There was a drastic reduction in state prison, county jail, and state mental health hospital overnight stays. There was a shift from using expensive inpatient services before housing (nursing homes, inpatient care, state mental health hospitals) to less expensive outpatient services after entry into housing (outpatient medical and psychiatric care, case management). Supportive Housing in Illinois: A Wise Investment was researched and written by the Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on Poverty with support from the Illinois Supportive Housing Providers Association and the Corporation for Supportive Housing

MS-207 – The Daniel R. Gilbert, Jr. Papers: Dan Gilbert’s Bookshelf

The Daniel R. Gilbert Papers, aka Dan Gilbert’s Bookshelf, is a collection designed by Prof. Gilbert with the intention of documenting the development of his signature Organization and Management Studies (OMS) courses. Because book selection is crucial to the design of his courses, Gilbert requested that Special Collections and College Archives retain integral texts with this manuscript collection. The texts in combination with course syllabi and assignments encapsulate the course experience for Gilbert’s classes. This collection does not contain personal research conducted by Gilbert for his many publications. Hard copies of many of Gilbert’s publications are located in Glibert’s Vertical File in Special Collections and College Archives. His books are available through Musselman Library. Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on our website http://www.gettysburg.edu/special_collections/collections/.https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/findingaidsall/1182/thumbnail.jp

Total Physical Response in the Foreign Language Classroom

The following research addresses a critical question in the field of foreign language education; specifically, the research was conducted at a high school in the Spanish 2 classroom. First, the question was decided upon after careful observation of 95 Spanish students in Spanish 2. Many students struggle with communicating with one another; communication is a key component in learning a foreign language. The students struggled because they did not know vocabulary words to communicate. Therefore, this research studies the effect of Total Physical Response in the foreign language classroom. TPR is a method which requires students to physically respond to words. TPR also assumes that by producing words, students then understand the words. the research question is as follows: Will total physical response increase vocabulary retention in second tear Spanish students? To collect this data, there were three different methods used: observation, student interviews, and data collection. The data collection shows the average scores between two different classes. One, the control class, learned the vocabulary as normal. There was no difference in the methodology and no use of TPR. The data shows that the class who used TPR scored an average of 2.64 points higher. Additionally, initial observation showed that students were more engaged when using TPR