Fred Brooks

School bullies, victims, and aggressive victims : Factors relating to group affiliation and victimization in early adolescence

The occurrence of bullying, victimization, and aggressive victimization was documented in a sample of 5th graders. Bullies comprised about 14% of the sample, whereas aggressive victims and victims comprised, respectively, 5% and 18%. Bullying and aggressive victimization was positively related to yo

Impacts of Child Care Subsidies on Family and Child Well-Being.

Abstract This cross-sectional study compares 52 working poor families receiving subsidies for child care with 50 demographically matched families drawn from the subsidy waiting lists across three sets of variables: (1) maternal employment and income, (2) child care, and (3) child well-being. Compared to mothers from waiting lists, mothers receiving subsidies for their child’s care were more likely to be employed, spent half as much of their income on child care, and were less likely to be very poor. Compared to children on waiting lists, children receiving subsidies for child care were more likely to be in a formal licensed child care center, have more stable care, and have mothers who were more satisfied with their child care arrangement.

Resident Perceptions of Housing, Neighborhood, and Economic Conditions After Relocation From Public Housing Undergoing HOPE VI Redevelopment:

Objective: This study evaluates participant perception of neighborhood, economic, and housing well-being of residents 4 and 5 years after forced relocation from a public housing complex in Atlanta, Georgia. Method: The study used a mixed-method, posttest-only design with two data points. Focus groups with 93 participants combined qualitative, open-ended questions with quantitative measures. Results: Four years after relocation, residents living in homes/apartments found with Section 8 housing vouchers were faring better than residents who moved to other public housing projects. A majority of voucher users believed their house, neighborhood, and overall global living situation had improved since relocation. In the year between the first and second wave of focus groups, 40% of voucher users had moved to a new house/apartment. Moving was associated with residents perceiving their situations improving in many categories. Implications: Our findings suggest HOPE VI developments are more likely to accomplish their objectives if the current administration continues full funding of the voucher program rather than implements the cutbacks it is currently proposing.

New Turf for Organizing: Family Child Care Providers

Child-care providers are among the lowest paid wage workers in the United States. Nationwide, less than 5 percent of child-care providers are represented by labor unions. This article addresses the question,: How can family child care providers be effectively organized? I describe and analyze Local 880 Service Employees In ternational Unions effort to organize family child-care providers in Illinois. Adapting the grassroots-organizing model that they developed to organize homecare workers, Local 880 has over 2,200 signed authorization cards and over 1,500 members in the family child-care union. Even without formal recognition, the union won a pay increase for providers in 1999 and has filed numerous suc cessful grievances about disputed back pay. Keys to 880s success in organizing family child-care providers were: (1) prior experience in homecare organizing, especially non-NLRB organizing, (2) experi ence with grassroots organizing, and maintaining unions without recognition, and (3) ability to influence state-wide elections and legislative issues by becoming involved in direct politics and join ing coalitions.

African American and Latino Perceptions of Cohesion in a Multiethnic Neighborhood

Although cohesive neighborhoods are associated with a wide variety of positive outcomes for residents, little research on neighborhood cohesion has been done in multiethnic neighborhoods. This exploratory study combines the administration of Buckner’s Neighborhood Cohesion Index to 50 Latinos and 50 African Americans, with semistructured qualitative interviews with 14 Latino and African American residents. Results from the quantitative cohesion measure indicate a moderate level of cohesion in the neighborhood, with Latinos having a significantly higher degree of attraction to the neighborhood as well as neighborly contact. An analysis of the qualitative interviews indicates differences between the two groups, although both groups agree that mutual aid and respect are keys to cohesion. Even with the social distance between ethnic groups, both groups are willing to work together to improve their neighborhood.

“Don’t Be a Blockhead” ACORN, Protest Tactics, and Refund Anticipation Loans

The recent proliferation of community-based responses to urban problems has been characterized by a shift away from protest tactics to more moderate approaches of building community and consensus, developing social capital, and identifying and improving local assets. This case study examines the persistence and effectiveness of protest tactics in a campaign by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now against H&R Block around predatory tax preparation practices. It reveals the potential of direct action, especially when local protests are coordinated nationally. This combination helps to transcend the inherent limits of both community-based activism and national-oriented advocacy efforts.

The Living-Wage Movement: Potential Implications for the Working Poor

In December 1994, the mayor of Baltimore signed Council Bill 716, requiring businesses with large city contracts to pay their employees a minimum wage of

In Defense of the Community Reinvestment Act

6.10 per hour. At the time, this was almost

Evaluation of a Job-Finding Club for TANF Recipients: Psychosocial Impacts

2.00/hour more than the

Voucher Users and Revitalized Public-Housing Residents 6 Years After Displacement

4.25 federal minimum wage. The first living wage law in the USA passed as a result of a year-long campaign organized by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and a coalition of faith-based community groups called Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD). As a direct result of the new law, people like Charles Riggs, who cleaned up Oriole Park at Camden Yards, received an almost 50% pay raise. Although Riggs was employed full-time, he had been living in a homeless shelter because he was unable to afford rent out of his minimum wage job (Reynolds & Kern, 2003).