Salt of the Earth: Research group helps cut the trial and error

Social justice news
August 2001

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Research group helps cut the trial and error of social change

Research group helps cut the trial and error of social change
There's always room for improvement, as the social service groups tackling today's tough community problems would probably be the first to admit. But knowing progress is possible and knowing how to achieve it are two different things. A Virginia research group has some advice with proven results.

The Pew Partnership for Civic Change in July published a 55-page report detailing the most reliable strategies for creating healthy families, thriving neighborhoods, living-wage jobs, and successful economies. The Charlottesville-based group is funded by Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of Richmond.

"We had a team of researchers, both internal and external, pull together the best and most documented strategies for social problems," says Suzanne Morse, executive director of the Pew Partnership. The researchers obtained formal, multi-year evaluations of government and private approaches at the federal and local levels. "We now have a tested body of information that allows us to avoid the pitfalls and the blind alleys of too many social programs," Morse says.

She describes the report as a "blueprint for launching a new program" but says established groups could also learn from it too. "For those who already run programs, there's a real interest and hunger in finding out what works, and reevaluating their programs based on that knowledge," Morse says.

From the report the Pew Partnership has compiled a "top 10" list of suggestions for groups confronting social problems.

1. Start early education programs to prevent violence and reduce crime. Establishing pre-school and weekly home visits by teachers to at-risk children under 5 years of age substantially reduces the likelihood of these youngsters being arrested at least through the age of 19.

2. Concentrate on families to ensure the well-being of children. Children born at risk are more likely to suffer consequences later in life. There are 9.2 million children who have four or more potential risk factors that include poverty, lack of health insurance, and no steady employment in the family. These children are 10 times more likely to have problems later in life than children without these factors.

3. Create quality and affordable after-school care. The parents of more than 28 million children work outside the home. Children who participate in after-school programs are much less likely to use drugs and alcohol, to have sex, or to be involved in criminal activity than their peers who go home to empty houses in neighborhoods that are not safe. Participation in after-school programs is linked to improved school attendance and academic performance.

4. Parenting is key to successful child development. There is no guarantee that people who parent children have the necessary skills to do so. These skills are not innate or natural, often they must be taught and learned. Programs that direct attention to the needs of parents as well as children have seen positive results.

5. Improve neighborhoods through homeownership. Homeownership contributes to family stability, improved property maintenance, increased neighborhood stability, and increased civic participation. Effective strategies to help lower-income people buy homes provide training in financial matters and home maintenance in addition to financial support, such as down payment assistance and below-market-rate mortgage products.

6. Acquaint neighbors with each other to improve safety. Communities where neighbors know each other and each other's children are safer and more likely to have mechanisms in place to combat outside negative influences. These types of relationships are as important to neighborhood well being as the ratio of police officers to residents.

7. Prepare hard-to-employ people for work and help them get there. Helping people with little employment experience find jobs demands an intensive approach combining vocational training, on-the-job experience, basic education, and "soft skills" such as training in the expectations of the workplace and on-the-job communication issues. Helping workers keep jobs demands individualized attention to challenges such as childcare and transportation. People cannot get or keep jobs without ways to get to work and safe places for their children.

8. Help entry-level workers "move up the ladder" to better jobs. Customized training programs for industries that have trouble filling "better jobs" can provide the bridge between highly motivated entry-level workers and better career opportunities. This approach prepares workers for their first job and their "next" job.

9. Root economic development in local circumstances and strengths. While national and global markets affect local economies, successful economic development efforts are based on local expertise of the culture and assets of the region. One successful strategy to help strengthen local economies is the promotion of business sectors. These sectors are businesses that produce similar products, use the same raw materials or technology, or share a common market.

10. Make reputable financial services accessible to lower-income residents through the creation of community development financial institutions. Members of minority groups and residents in poor neighborhoods often have difficulty accessing capital for household and business purposes from commercial banks. This contributes to the divestment of neighborhoods. Community development financial institutions address this need by increasing the access of all residents to reputable financial services.

The complete report offers details and case studies of Pew Partnership's advice. Morse calls it a "primer, or a starting point." The group hasn't identified a top-10 list of common mistakes, but she says that might be in the works.

Social justice workers can download "What We Know Works" from the Web or request a free copy from Pew Partnership by e-mailing mail@pew-partnership.org.—Anne Graber

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