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Internships are widely perceived as a "high-impact practice" that opens the doors of opportunity for college students, yet little is known about obstacles to participation. Instead, educators and employers too often view participation as unproblematic, with many postsecondary institutions beginning to mandate internships for graduation in many colleges and universities. This study reports findings from surveys (n = 1,549) and focus groups (n= 100) with students at five diverse postsecondary institutions that include a community college, a Historically Black College and University, and three comprehensive universities. Results indicate that 64% of students who did not take internships had in fact wanted to, but could not due to intersecting obstacles that include the need to work at a full- or part-time job, heavy course loads, and a lack of opportunities in their disciplines. First-generation students were more likely to report needing to work, Arts & Humanities students were more likely to report insufficient pay and heavy course loads, and full-time students were least likely to report insufficient pay. Given the financial, structural, and even spatial forces that inhibit the ability of many college students to pursue and then complete an internship, we argue that postsecondary institutions should not mandate or advocate for internships until and unless they address these obstacles to internship participation. Ultimately, colleges and universities must work to ensure that internships do not reproduce privilege and exacerbate inequality.

Historically, waves of new technologies have brought Americans higher standards of living. Electrical service and hot and cold running water, for example, were once luxuries; now their absence makes a home substandard. Today, technologies for accessing the Internet are diffusing at an even faster rate than those earlier innovations once did, bringing with them commensurate transformations of Americans' way of life. Technologies that increase the speed at which data can be transmitted have had powerful effects. Most importantly, they have transformed the Internet from a tool used by a narrow group of academics and technicians into a means of interaction used by a large majority of Americans. However, Americans have not universally benefitted from better Internet access. Geography, especially the divide between rural and urban America, determines how much some Americans can benefit from the Internet. Networks have not been as extensively developed in rural areas as in urban areas. Some people in rural America still have dial-up as their best available, affordable technology, a technology that offers five percent of the capacity for what the FCC has said is the broadband threshold. Others have service that reaches the broadband level, but still does not offer the "lightning-fast" speeds advertised by Internet service providers in urban areas. Accordingly, the nation faces a "broadband gap," not only with regard to the lack of access in rural areas to service that meets the broadband threshold, but also with regard to the lack of availability of faster service between urban and rural America. This report identifies opportunity costs that arise from this gap. These costs exist today, but the pace at which data transmission capability is growing means that the inequality between the technology being newly deployed and the technology that was deployed a decade or more ago is increasing. Networks that connect research institutions in the United States can move 100,000 times more data per unit of time than the dial-up connections that some Americans still must use. The technology gap is not a fixed deficit that once filled, stays filled. The technology gap will be larger--much larger--in the future, along with the information and technology gap, unless significant action is taken to overcome it. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table, and 19 footnotes.)

Economic downturns have a particularly strong impact upon new entrants to the labour market. These can include recently arrived migrants and refugees, women returning to the labour force after a period of child rearing, and youth. This paper reflects on the impact of the recent financial crisis on particular groups in Australian society and comments on whether the VET sector is well placed to meet the challenges of the recovery. An overview accompanies this paper. (Contains 7 tables, 1 figure, and 10 footnotes.)

The Great Recession left a crater in the labor market that has been devastating for unemployed Americans of all ages. After more than two years of unemployment at well over 8%, there is a hole of more than 11 million jobs, with average spells of unemployment lasting nearly nine months. The weak labor market has been particularly tough on young workers. In 2010, the unemployment rate for workers age 16-24 was 18.4%--the worst on record in the 60 years that this data has been tracked. Though the labor market has started to "slowly" recover, the prospects for young high school and college graduates remain grim. This briefing paper examines the dire labor market confronting young workers and concludes with ways that government policy could help. (Contains 11 figures and 2 endnotes.)

It will take years for the labor market to recover from the damage induced by the recent recession. While monthly job losses almost surely peaked in 2009, the unemployment rate will likely peak in 2010 (CBO 2010a). In April, the unemployment rate reached 9.9% and the overall economic cause is simple: firms are not hiring quickly enough, as indicated by the 5.6 job seekers per current job opening. The 290,000 jobs gained in April, the largest monthly job gain in three years, represent a baby step in climbing out of the jobs hole of 10.7 million that remains in the recession's wake. For the class of 2010, it will be one of the worst years to graduate high school or college since at least 1983 and possibly the worst since the end of World War II. This paper documents several aspects of the grim labor market situation facing young graduates. It also discusses ways that government policy both helps and ways that it fails to help young workers damaged by the recession. The class of 2010 is graduating at a particularly bad time, and their poor job prospects are manifestly not their fault. They need a response from policy makers that appreciates these facts. (Contains 9 figures, 1 table, and 6 endnotes.)

"Policy Matters" is an initiative of the Center for the Study of Social Policy. The "Policy Matters" project is designed to develop and make available coherent, comprehensive information regarding the strength and adequacy of state policies affecting children, families, and communities. The project seeks to establish consensus among policy experts and state leaders regarding the mix of policies believed to offer the best opportunity for improving child and family well-being. A series of policy briefs, policy papers, guides for self-assessment, and 50-state comparative reports is envisioned. The project focuses on six core results: school readiness, educational success, family economic success, healthy families, youth development, and strong family relationships. Together, these six core results and the policies designed to achieve them make up a state-level family-strengthening policy agenda. This paper puts forth an approach to setting benchmarks for a state policy agenda to encourage stronger family relationships. Given current policy concerns for the well-being of families and the hardships some families are experiencing, an examination of state policy efforts and trends to strengthen families is timely. The current paper offers a beginning statement on the importance of solid, evidence-informed recommendations to help states encourage the development of stronger family bonds and resilience in the face of economic and social pressures. Section I of the paper provides a brief introduction to some current family policy issues and questions in the U.S. Section II reviews data and research on the impact of family structure, economic conditions, and the quality of familial relationships on the well-being of family members. This section also includes a brief look at the growing diversity of American families sometimes overlooked in U.S. family policy debates. Section III suggests a state-level policy framework focusing on the formation, maintenance, stability and safety of families. Section IV recommends a series of policies with potential for improving child and family relationships. This section details the policy options and preliminary benchmarks that research and practice evidence suggest can promote successful family formation and maintenance outcomes. While other policy remedies are possible, and are discussed in other "Policy Matters" volumes, this paper attempts to limit its focus to those policies that promote the relational success of families and to those policies with greater research and practice evidence in support of their effectiveness. Over time, the recommendations and benchmarks will be improved as more research and practice evidence is available. Thus, this paper presents a preliminary set of benchmarks. This paper is an invitation for further deliberation and action regarding policies leading to stronger family relationships. Moving forward, the project aims to expand this initial statement to a national bi-partisan consensus on policy directions for those interested in promoting positive family outcomes. Policy Matters Project Overview is appended. (Contains 9 tables, 4 figures and 156 endnotes.) [For companion brief, "Encouraging Strong Family Relationships. State Policies That Work. Brief Number 6," see ED536813.]

This discussion paper explores interactions among formal learning, informal learning, and life conditions and opportunities experienced by aboriginal people in Canada. The contradictory importance of education for aboriginal people is examined with respect to three related aspects of these relationships. First, the paper summarizes students' accounts of their experiences in conventional and alternative school settings in three Saskatchewan communities, exploring how these relate to the students' broader cultural and home environments. Second, it examines the formal and informal educational experiences of a small group of adults surveyed in an urban Indian and Metis Friendship Center. Finally, the paper explores issues that arise around the emergence of entrepreneurial training and entrepreneurship, areas posed by many commentators as a possible way of bridging formal and informal learning and overcoming the longstanding marginalization of aboriginal people from labor market and economic participation. The paper concludes that gaps remain in the attainment of educational success by aboriginal people, relative to the general population, when viewed in terms of conventional educational indicators. However, the aboriginal youth and adults involved in the study place a high value in formal schooling, mainstream economic activities, and entrepreneurial opportunities to provide routes for individual and community advancement. The study suggests that the aboriginal peoples could benefit more if the educational system better integrated their skills and culture and acknowledged the strengths that the aboriginal people bring to learning. (The paper lists 40 references.) (KC)

Many economists and policymakers believe that the growth in inequality in the last 2 decades reflects mostly an imbalance between the demand for and the supply of employee skills driven by technological change, particularly the spread of computers. However, the empirical basis for this belief is not strong. The growth in inequality was concentrated in the recession years of the early 1980s and any imbalance between the supply of and demand for workers with technological skills likely did not occur until later. The growth of the supply of more-educated workers decelerated during the 1980s, any impact of which would not have been felt until the late 1980s and 1990s. However inequality actually stabilized then. On the demand side, trends in occupational composition do not suggest that upgrading was particularly rapid in the 1980s and 1990s compared to the 1970s. Computers do not seem to have greatly affected employment in a number of narrow occupations that are likely to be sensitive to technological change (e.g., computer programmers, bank tellers), but computer use itself does seem to be associated with more education, even controlling for occupation. But the causal status of this relationship is uncertain and the magnitude of the association seems too small to have seriously compromised the ability of supply to meet the implied growth in demand. Other possible causes of inequality growth, including macroeconomic forces and the decline of institutional protections for workers, should be considered. (Contains 52 references, 8 tables, and 13 figures.) (CML)

An empirical analysis used data for 12 European countries from the 1988-1997 European Community Labour Force Survey to assess the effects of cyclical changes in aggregate economic conditions, changing youth cohort sizes, increasing educational expansion, and structural changes in labor demand on new labor force participants. Emphasis was on the unemployment risks and occupational allocations of these labor market entrants. The study found that unemployment risks have closely followed the evolution of aggregate economic conditions with only a little impact from demographic factors. Changes in occupational allocation, in turn, are much dependent on the relative evolution of educational expansion and professionalization tendencies. In addition, these trends do not affect all educational leavers evenly. The lowest qualified are most heavily affected by cyclical changes in economic conditions, while leavers from university-level education have been more strongly affected by trends of changing occupational attainment. Increasing labor force professionalization is found to contribute to increasing labor market difficulties among the lowest qualified. (Contains 83 references.) (KC)

A research project in the Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Tanzania evaluated the cost effectiveness of management training seminars for women entrepreneurs in the informal sector. Women, a large and growing part of entrepreneurs, had less access to needed resources, skills, and information than men. Reasons for failure to study the cost effectiveness and efficiency of development assistance included lack of clear concepts, methodologies, and standards. Grassroots management training seminars were conducted for businesswomen operating established informal sector businesses. In each country, 40 businesswomen were selected; some were assigned to a control group. A set of indicators was developed to measure benefits. Levels of criteria considered in evaluating outcomes were reaction, learning, behavioral, and result. Impact of the training program was assessed by applying this set of indicators and comparing pre- and postseminar values. Findings indicated that participants appreciated acquisition of management skills, had a more favorable attitude toward learning and the importance of management know-how to improve business, and acquired cognitive skills. Behavioral changes were reflected in the application of acquired skills and knowledge through business expansion by at least one-third of participants in each country. They improved or stabilized their businesses. Benefits to participants exceeded costs in all three countries. (Appendixes include 29 references, a summary of seminar content, and data tables.) (YLB)

An overview of the level and distribution of income for a sample of Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) during the period 1959-1969, using data on pretax pretransfer incomes published by the Internal Revenue Service, is presented in this paper. Several results are described. (1) The level and distribution of income vary widely among the SMSAs. (2) A majority of the SMSAs experience an increase in inequality during the 1959-1969 period. (3) Differences among the SMSAs in both income level and degree of income inequality narrows. (4) Higher rates of growth of income are associated with smaller increases in inequality. While this paper is descriptive, the author hopes that the data set will be useful for testing theories that relate the income level and income distributions of metropolitan areas to their urban problems--for example, whether increases in SMSA crime rates or the incidence of urban riots or urban fiscal problems can be explained by changes in the level and distribution of metropolitan area incomes. (Author/AM)

Three different analytical approaches to assessing the economic return to be derived from the two-year college degree are examined in this paper. Introductory comments discuss the conditions that gave rise to interest in assessing the economic pay-off of both two- and four-year college degrees. Next, the paper analyzes the economic costs and benefits of beginning work after high school, earning a two-year college degree, and obtaining a four-year college degree, using and explaining the following approaches: (1) constructing an age earnings profile based on census data to trace the path of a person's lifetime income; (2) calculating lifetime income by determining the worth of future income in terms of present dollar values; and (3) establishing the internal rate of return on the investment in schooling. In the next section, the effects of an individual's willingness to incur risk are incorporated into the value calculations. Finally, brief concluding remarks summarize each analytical method and assert that calculating income alone as a benefit of education underestimates the rate of return to be derived from all forms of education. Graphs, tables, and formulas are included. (MPH)

This paper presents an overview of the socioeconomic status and advancement of the Hispanic population in the United States. The study uses both socioeconomic indicators and noneconomic measures to assess the level of Hispanic assimilation, and analyzes the influence of subgroup affiliation, place of birth, and length of time since immigration on socioeconomic stratification. The paper is comprised of seven sections. Section 1, "Introduction," discusses theoretical and methodological considerations and presents a demographic overview of Hispanic Americans. Section 2, "Income and Earnings of Hispanics," finds greater declines in family income and individual earnings for Hispanics than for Whites or Blacks during the 1980s. Section 3, "Poverty and Welfare Use Among Hispanics," indicates increases in the poverty rate and number of welfare recipients. Section 4, "Education," reports increases in Hispanic educational attainment in the 1980s but a persistent lag behind that of Whites. Section 5, "Homeownership," finds Hispanics less likely than Blacks or Whites to own homes in 1986. Section 6, "Occupation and Labor Force Participation," examines trends in employment and unemployment. Section 7, "Other Measures of Assimilation and Integration," uses the following measures to analyze Hispanic assimilation: (1) English language usage; (2) residential integration; (3) intermarriage; and (4) fertility. Statistical data are presented on 29 tables. (AF)

This paper proposes a model for the process of attaining occupational status and income, where change in attainment is generated by the creation of vacant positions in social structure. The distribution of attainments, or the structure of inequality, is assumed fixed and described by a simple exponential or geometric distribution function, depending on whether attainment levels are assumed discrete or continuous. Persons leaving the labor force create chains of vacancies in this structure that present mobility opportunities for persons entering the labor force. The implications of the model for the attainment process derived from these considerations for status attainment research and stochastic models for job-mobility are discussed. (Author/JM)

Israel is a society with a considerable tradition of social planning and centralized decision making. The government, consequently, was in a position to undertake far-reaching decisions concerning population redistribution. The instrument to accomplish population redistribution was to be a network of small and medium sized urban settlements, located away from the densely populated coastal plain, which have become known as "development towns." They are, then, related to suburbanization in a peculiar way, in that their construction constitutes a governmental response to an unwelcome process of metropolitan growth and suburb proliferation. These new towns have been the focus of much concern. They are populated by recent immigrants, particularly from less developed lands. Many are isolated, outside the main stream of Israeli society geographically as well as socially. For these reasons, the settlements constitute, in many respects, a second and inferior Israel. This paper considers how these settlements have influenced: (1) the areal distributions of different ethnic (country-of-origin) groups, (2) the tendency for each group to be concentrated in certain industries, and (3) the occupational opportunities available to the members of an ethnic population. In the concluding section, the relevance of these considerations for understanding the role of community in ethnic stratification in America is reviewed. (Author/JM)

This paper uses data on earnings and education from the 1971 Current Population Survey to test three hypotheses of ethnic achievement and assimilation. The evidence does not support the hypothesis that differences among European ethnic groups have melted away during the three generatioons since the end of the second wave of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. Statistically significant differences in both education and earnings persist. The differences in earnings have definitely been narrowing over time. However, the differences in earnings do not disappear when ethnic differences in education, location, age and marital status are taken into account. However, the differences that persist are not those that the melting pot hypothesis, or other theories, of social mobility, would predict. The second wave groups, the more recent arrivals from supposedly inferior cultures, in many cases have higher average earnings with and without adjusting for other factors than the first wave groups. Although differences in education and earnings persist among European ethnic groups, contrary to the melting pot hypothesis, these differences completely contradict theories that predict that later groups or Southern and Eastern European groups should do worse than earlier or Northern and Western European groups. (Author/JM)

This paper examines the possibility that returns to various personal characteristics obtained from education differ among five Spanish surname ethnic groups as well as for Blacks and non-black, non-Spanish people (Anglos). Numerous studies have found differences in the returns that Blacks and Whites obtain from education, experience, migration, and other personal characteristics. To measure these differences in return, it is now common practice to run entirely separate regressions for Blacks and Whites; especially significant for policy have been findings that Black-White earnings differences stem not only from lower Black educational attainment, but also from lower Black returns to education. The data for this study came from the 1971 Current Population Survey. It was found that in 1970 returns to education were 30 percent higher for men of Cuban and Central or South American origin than for non-Spanish, non-Black (Anglo) men, Puerto Rican men or other Spanish men. Black and Chicano men had returns of about 70 percent those of Anglo men. These differences are not explained by differences in nativity, mother tongue, years of education, or marital status. Differences in discrimination, quality of schooling, and class origin may be the causes, but data are insufficient to draw firm conclusions. (Author/JM)

The American philosophy of social mobility has traditionally focused upon equal opportunity to succeed rather than the actual equality of socioeconomic status from the outset. Two replicate studies of social mobility in the U.S. undertaken in the early sixties and seventies enable social scientists to measure shifts in opportunities for American men. General findings about recent trends are presented in this document. Typically, American children have acquired more schooling than their parents, and access to a high school education has increased for the less advantaged. This greater equality of precollege education by social trends, however, tends to mask the persistence of unequal opportunity for a college education. In terms of job opportunities, occupational mobility of whites did not change between 1962 and 1973, but that of blacks did. In 1962, there was little relationship between the occupational position of the black man and that of his father. In 1973, there was evidence that the occupational positions tended to persist across generations for both blacks and whites (although there is also substantial occupational mobility). In terms of income opportunities, the relative economic returns of college education have declined for young whites but not for young blacks. This latter phenomenon has contributed to a relative "catching up" of the black minority. (Author/GC)

Employee ownership through employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) was first mentioned in federal legislation in the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973. Since then, at least 19 pieces of federal legislation have been enacted that deal with employee ownership in some way, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and tax legislation. Among the results of such legislation have been the slight broadening of the holding of stock, the provision of an important employee benefit, and the ability of entrepreneurs to manage financial needs. These benefits have come without decreases in company performance, but there is evidence that increased performance is possible if ownership is coupled with participative decision making. To encourage employee ownership, the U.S. Department of Labor should (1) support the formation of state-level organizations to facilitate employee ownership and to help implement the necessary changes in labor relations; (2) make available information on Internal Revenue Form 5500C so researchers can study whether companies use employee ownership to replace pension plans or offer it as simply an additional benefit; and (3) develop a simplified ESOP document. Securities and Exchange regulations should give employee shareholders the same rights held by bondholders in firms of 500 or more employees. (53 references) (CML)

This document is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focused on the question: "How could a philanthropist make the biggest improvement on social mobility with an investment of $1 billion?" In answering this question, the authors have sought to understand "what matters most" for improving social mobility outcomes. To do this, the authors have drawn from extensive research conducted by leading scholars in the field. They have also outlined a range of tools to assist philanthropists seeking systemic and field-level changes that go well beyond scaling direct service interventions. Using the research and identified tools, the authors have created an illustrative set of "bets" that provide concrete roadmaps for high-leverage investments of $1 billion with the potential for sustainable change at scale. From a list of 15 high-potential bets through which philanthropists could have a significant impact on increasing upward mobility, six bets were selected that are particularly timely, suited to the unique role of philanthropy, have the potential to create significantly outsized impact, and, as a package, could truly sum to $1 billion. This concept paper illustrates one of the six bets. The paper looks at how philanthropists could help decrease over-criminalization, focusing on those populations that most acutely feel the burden: low-income communities of color. It describes the laws and policies that produce and/or exacerbate over-criminalization, and describes the devastating effects of this system on individuals and families, particularly their ability to reach middle class by middle age. [For the main report, "'Billion Dollar Bets' to Create Economic Opportunity for Every American," see ED606509.]

This document is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focused on the question: "How could a philanthropist make the biggest improvement on social mobility with an investment of $1 billion?" In answering this question, the authors have sought to understand "what matters most" for improving social mobility outcomes. To do this, the authors have drawn from extensive research conducted by leading scholars in the field. They have also outlined a range of tools to assist philanthropists seeking systemic and field-level changes that go well beyond scaling direct service interventions. Using the research and identified tools, the authors have created an illustrative set of "bets" that provide concrete roadmaps for high-leverage investments of $1 billion with the potential for sustainable change at scale. From a list of 15 high-potential bets through which philanthropists could have a significant impact on increasing upward mobility, six bets were selected that are particularly timely, suited to the unique role of philanthropy, have the potential to create significantly outsized impact, and, as a package, could truly sum to $1 billion. This concept paper illustrates one of the six bets. The paper discusses potential solutions to place-based barriers--such as limited job opportunities, restricted access to good schools, and high rates of crime--focusing on investments that help break apart the structural forces of economic and racial segregation that have created communities of concentrated poverty and that help improve conditions in distressed neighborhoods. [For the main report, "'Billion Dollar Bets' to Create Economic Opportunity for Every American," see ED606509.]

This document is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focused on the question: "How could a philanthropist make the biggest improvement on social mobility with an investment of $1 billion?" In answering this question, the authors have sought to understand "what matters most" for improving social mobility outcomes. To do this, the authors have drawn from extensive research conducted by leading scholars in the field. They have also outlined a range of tools to assist philanthropists seeking systemic and field-level changes that go well beyond scaling direct service interventions. Using the research and identified tools, the authors have created an illustrative set of "bets" that provide concrete roadmaps for high-leverage investments of $1 billion with the potential for sustainable change at scale. From a list of 15 high-potential bets through which philanthropists could have a significant impact on increasing upward mobility, six bets were selected that are particularly timely, suited to the unique role of philanthropy, have the potential to create significantly outsized impact, and, as a package, could truly sum to $1 billion. This concept paper illustrates one of the six bets. The paper discusses potential solutions to reducing unintended pregnancies in the United States. It focuses on building a national initiative that encourages and supports young women and their partners to make informed decisions about when to have a child and improving access to the most effective contraceptive methods. It also outlines the potential of seven investments philanthropists could make to improve and grow promising programs and to shift incentives and behaviors in an effort to reduce unintended pregnancies. Lastly, it puts the investments into economic perspective, quantifying their projected impact on the lifetime earnings of individuals and their families and highlighting for philanthropists the return on investment of such commitments. [For the main report, "'Billion Dollar Bets' to Create Economic Opportunity for Every American," see ED606509.]

This document is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focused on the question: "How could a philanthropist make the biggest improvement on social mobility with an investment of $1 billion?" In answering this question, the authors have sought to understand "what matters most" for improving social mobility outcomes. To do this, the authors have drawn from extensive research conducted by leading scholars in the field. They have also outlined a range of tools to assist philanthropists seeking systemic and field-level changes that go well beyond scaling direct service interventions. Using the research and identified tools, the authors have created an illustrative set of "bets" that provide concrete roadmaps for high-leverage investments of $1 billion with the potential for sustainable change at scale. From a list of 15 high-potential bets through which philanthropists could have a significant impact on increasing upward mobility, six bets were selected that are particularly timely, suited to the unique role of philanthropy, have the potential to create significantly outsized impact, and, as a package, could truly sum to $1 billion. This concept paper illustrates one of the six bets. The paper explores potential solutions to the underperformance of social service programs. It focuses on ways to increase government use of data to improve their efficacy and proposes eight potential investments philanthropists can make. The paper quantifies the projected impact with estimates of the potential return on investment individuals and families would experience if a big bet were to be made to improve program performance. [For the main report, "'Billion Dollar Bets' to Create Economic Opportunity for Every American," see ED606509.]

This work is part of a larger set of conversations on how philanthropic capital can better deliver potent results. This paper is intended for philanthropists and foundation staff who are interested in understanding not only which issues and interventions might put many more low-income people on an upward trajectory, but also how private donors can use their dollars, networks, and voices to achieve systemic change. Based on their review of the research on social mobility, the authors identified four sprawling opportunities for philanthropic investors to help ensure that far more Americans have a chance to reach their full potential. Using the frame of a philanthropist investing $1 billion, the authors have constructed a set of 15 big bets across each of the four general investment areas. The bets consider specifically how a philanthropist could support efforts to improve outcomes for low-income populations across race, gender, and geographic differences. For donors seeking to give big to catalyze greater levels of social mobility and build sustainable pathways out of poverty for low-income Americans, this paper aims to: (1) provide a draft frame of "what matters most" to help an individual attain social mobility (or be "middle class by middle age"); (2) highlight ways that philanthropists can use a broad set of tools--beyond funding nonprofits--to support enduring impact; (3) develop an illustrative set of 15 investment opportunities ("bets") that map out how to spend $1 billion to drive change at scale; and (4) provide preliminary estimates of the potential return on investment for six of the $1 billion bets. [For the Executive Summary, see ED606513. For the Overview of Research, see ED606515. For the Overview of Estimated Returns on Six Big Investments and Their Impacts on Lifetime Earnings, see ED606518.]

This paper examines pregnancy in early adolescence, among West Virginia females aged 10-14, as it relates to local economic and social contexts. Although research on adolescent pregnancy is substantial, it is generally limited to the experiences of older adolescents and premised on assumptions of methodological individualism--that the correlates of teen pregnancy can be construed as the characteristics of individual young women, their families, and occasionally their schools. In contrast, this paper suggests that social and economic contextual factors may be of primary importance in determining the incidence of adolescent pregnancy, and that contextual factors that encourage or discourage prudent sexual behaviors (such as perceived future prospects and sense of community) are relevant to younger, as well as older, adolescents. Analysis of data from West Virginia's 55 counties (which are coterminous with school districts) examined relationships of the birth rate among females aged 10-14 to economic opportunity (average job wage and unemployment rate), in-school community (school size), and "traditional" versus modern out-of-school community (a composite variable encompassing rurality, ethnicity, educational attainment, enrollment in college preparatory courses and in college, and extent of service sector jobs). Birth rates to females aged 10-14 were inversely related to job wages and positively related to secondary school size and "modern" community characteristics (those departing from traditional patterns of community organization). Contains 63 references and 4 data tables. (SV)

This issue brief summarizes the economic conditions in rural communities since the Great Recession and highlights the educational attainment of rural men. It then describes the barriers to attending college that rural men face and these promising efforts that Hinds Community College and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) have undertaken to help men gain the knowledge and skills they need to compete in the modern workforce: (1) Both institutions use scholarships to encourage students to enroll and complete their studies. Simply getting students on campus can have a tremendous impact on their long-term success; (2) Both institutions recognize that students need guidance and assistance once enrolled, such as with mentors, apprenticeship programs, and wrap-around services to support basic needs; (3) Both institutions have crafted programs with the goal of finding students jobs in high-demand fields in their home state. Higher education benefits job seekers and improves income, job security, and knowledge transfer. It also encourages civic and community engagement that is as essential in rural areas as it is everywhere. The authors hope that this paper will serve as a foundation for further discussions and greater inquiry into the attainment disparities affecting men in the rural United States and what can be done to address this challenge. [This report was written with Allison Beer and Marcia Calloway.]

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly known as the "stimulus." Enacted in the midst of a deep recession brought on by global financial collapse, ARRA provided more than $800 billion in federal spending and tax cuts intended to stimulate the economy while laying the roots of future long-term growth. A substantial portion of that funding, more than $100 billion, was dedicated to education. This unprecedented one-time spending boost is larger than the entire annual budget of the U.S. Department of Education. Recognizing that the unprecedented flow of ARRA funding into education created both potential pitfalls and opportunities, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation supported the efforts of 10 national and state-based organizations to disseminate information and analysis on ARRA and help states and local school districts make good use of ARRA funds. Half of the grantees--the Center on Education Policy, the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), Editorial Projects in Education, the New American Foundation, and the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education--have focused on helping to document exactly how ARRA funds have been distributed to and used by states and districts. The other grantees--the American Institutes for Research (AIR), the Aspen Institute, the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA), Education Resource Strategies (ERS), and the Policy Innovators in Education Network--have focused on providing direct assistance to states and districts in making choices about the use of ARRA funds. These organizations have acquired a deep and unique understanding of the impacts of ARRA on the ground, both in school systems that received extra help and counsel to use ARRA funds wisely and in those that did not. This paper draws on and synthesizes this understanding to independently identify key themes and lessons emerging from state and district experiences with ARRA. Through an analysis of Hewlett grantees' publications and work as well as interviews with both Hewlett grantees and district leaders, the authors of this paper have identified these emerging lessons and their broader implications for education policy and practice. Although the work of the Hewlett grantees plays a key role in informing this analysis, the conclusions presented here are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of the Hewlett Foundation or its grantees. (Contains 1 table, 2 figures and 25 endnotes.)

In May 2000, the United States Department of Labor awarded sizable Youth Opportunity (YO) Grants to 36 high-poverty urban, rural, and Native American communities. These communities were among the most economically distressed communities in the nation, all characterized by high drop out rates, high youth unemployment rates, greater incidence of juvenile crime, violence, and gang activity. The Youth Opportunity Grants--ranging from $3.1 to $43.8 million over five years--provided the resources to put in place comprehensive approaches at considerable scale. The Department's expressed intent in awarding these grants was to demonstrate that the educational outcomes and economic prospects for young people in high-poverty communities could be dramatically improved by infusing these communities with resources; building capacity and infrastructure; connecting systems; and developing comprehensive, age-appropriate opportunities for youth. The observations in this paper are based on the responses of 22 of the YO sites to a "Learning from Youth Opportunity" survey administered by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), wherein respondents were asked to identify areas of strength and challenges on 120 items in four categories: (1) Mobilizing and Engaging Leadership; (2) Connecting Systems; (3) Implementing Comprehensive Program Strategies; and (4) Engaging the Business Sector. Focus group discussions were conducted with several of the YO sites shortly after the start of the final grant year and then again as the year ended. This paper presents an assessment of the capacity building efforts in YO communities, the strengths and challenges of the program, lessons learned, and recommendations for policy and approach. The following are appended: (1) YO Community Collaborations with Other Systems; (2) Communities Indicating Success Worth Sharing in Various Areas; and (3) Contact Information for Respondents to the "Youth Opportunity: Lessons Learned Survey."

This digest reviews the literature examining ways in which the academic world is shifting toward more entrepreneurial approaches for running an institution and examines some programs that have been developed both at the community college and the senior college level. Reasons cited for the shift toward entrepreneurial ways of operating include cuts in traditional sources of funding, government intervention in higher education, and the escalating costs of teaching and research. Also noted are some of the risks posed for colleges and universities when participating in entrepreneurial activities, including business risk, management risk, and image risks. The paper notes that community colleges, because of their traditional role in job training, have been successful in obtaining money from both government and industry to prepare workers for jobs. In contrast, universities and four-year colleges have tended to focus on generating revenue through research collaborations with private industry and the government, such as partnerships with licensing and patenting offices, small business development centers, research and technology centers, and business incubators. The paper concludes that entrepreneurial ventures performed in keeping with academic values can be worthwhile for institutions, students, and the public. (Contains 14 references.) (JM)