TO READ MORE ABOUT IT – BOOKS, JOURNALS AND WEB RESOURCES ON POVERTY LAW ISSUES

Books

• Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas, Promises I Can Keep (University of California, 2005)
• Susan E. Mayer, What Money Can’t Buy (Harvard, 1997)
• Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism (Princeton 1990).
• Alberto Alesina and Edward Glaeser, Fighting Poverty in the US and Europe (Oxford 2003).
• Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. (Henry Holt and Company 2001)

· Bradley Schiller, The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination. (Prentice Hall Ninth Edition 2004)

· Understanding Poverty, edited by Danziger and Haveman (Harvard University Press, 2001)

· Ellwood, et. al, A Working Nation, ( Russell Sage Foundation, 2000)

· Russell Galloway, Justice for All?: The Rich and Poor in Supreme Court History 1790-1990 (Carolina Academic 1991)

· Julie A. Nice & Louise G. Trubek, Cases and Materials on Poverty Law: Theory and Practice, (West 1997 & Supp. 1999)

Law Journals

• Clearinghouse Review online at http://www.povertylaw.org/clearinghouse-review
• Fordham Urban Law Journal online at http://law.fordham.edu/ulj.htm
• Gorgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy (continues Georgetown Journal on Fighting Poverty) table of contents and links to abstracts online at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/journals/poverty/issues.html
• Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law (continues Loyola Poverty Law Journal) general information on the journal available online at http://law.loyno.edu/publaw/

Poverty Law Organizations and Research Centers

• Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). National nonprofit organization involved in law and policy affecting the poor. Includes the CLASP Update newsletter (January 1999- ) on welfare reform developments. Reports include analyses of legislation on poverty-related issues.
• National Center for Law and Economic Justice. Recent case developments, articles and links to poverty law topics.
• Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law Nonprofit organization engaged in legal and policy research. Site includes Clearinghouse Review journal, a Poverty Law library, Poverty Law News, and a case database (the cases can be searched or browsed by subject area).

Poverty Organizations and Research Centers generally

• The Brookings Institution. Performs independent analysis of scholarship and public policy. Some coverage of many poverty-related topics, including a welfare reform research project.
• Catholic Charities National Member Service Center for more than 1,700 Catholic Charities agencies and institutions. Catholic Charities currently has undertaken a Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, with research and advocacy materials.
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Organization conducts research on a broad range of government policies and programs affecting low to moderate income people. Reports and topics include poverty and income distribution, federal and state welfare, health policies, food assistance, social security and housing.
• Coalition on Human Needs (CHN). National policy issues related to low-income and other vulnerable populations. Articles, reports, legislative analyses, and data. Topics can be browsed or searched.
• The Heritage Foundation. Research institute formulates and promotes conservative public policies. Reports and data available on a number of issues, including welfare/welfare reform, education, families, and poverty.
• Joblessness and Urban Poverty Research Program, Harvard University and the National Institute for Social Science Information. Includes substantial online library.
• Joint Center for Poverty Research, Northwestern University and University of Chicago. Working papers, a newsletter, policy briefs, research summaries and online books and reports. Very comprehensive links page to sources for statistics, policy and research centers, and welfare reform.
• Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin.
• Mathematica Policy Research, Inc research and polling firm, conducts studies of health care, welfare, education, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs in the United States
• Moving Ideas, Policy Action Network. Collects "best ideas" and resources from leading progressive research and advocacy institutions, promotes high-quality websites, and publishes original content. Site includes a subject list, weekly news releases and articles that can be browsed by topic
• Penn State’s Poverty In America: One Nation Pulling Apart Accelerated research, data development, and distribution research program examining the manifestation, meaning, and causes of enduring economic distress.
• RAND. Nonprofit group performs research and analysis on policy issues. Well-organized site contains reports on research areas such as child policy, education, health and social welfare.
• The Urban Institute. Extensive collection of reports, publications, and data on social topics, including Assessing the New Federalism, a multi-year project designed to analyze the devolution of responsibility of social programs from the federal government to the states.

Access to Justice

• The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Focus area includes access to justice issue. (See, e.g, Hidden Agendas: What is Really Behind Attacks on Legal Aid Lawyers? (2001) online at http://www.brennancenter.org/resources/atj/atj7.pdf.
• American Bar Association Division for Legal Services The ABA Division for Legal Services is home to 11 committees and commissions. Each is devoted to examining, providing information and developing policy about issues important to the legal profession and the operation of the American justice system. The work done by these committees and commissions falls into three areas of concentration: Access to justice by poor people, Access to justice by moderate-income people, and Issues affecting the legal profession. Includes Dialogue Magazine Topical information on the delivery of legal services to low and moderate income people.
• LawHelp.org. Helps low and moderate income people find free legal aid programs in their communities, and answers to questions about their legal rights.
• Legal Services Corporation. Private, non-profit corporation established by Congress to seek to ensure equal access to justice under the law for all Americans by providing civil legal assistance to those who otherwise would be unable to afford it.

Children and Poverty

• Children's Defense Fund. Papers, articles, and data about child and family poverty.
• National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University. Papers, articles, and data
• Annie E Casey Foundation (AECF) Charitable foundation whose mission is to foster public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families.

Women and Poverty

• Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) public policy research organization dedicated to informing and stimulating the debate on public policy issues of critical importance to women and their families. Includes research and policy briefs on poverty and welfare

Race and Poverty

• Institute on Race and Poverty, University of Minnesota Law School. Current events, newsletters and news articles
• Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC). Articles, citations to studies, and resource links on different poverty topics.
• Southern Poverty Law Center Founded in 1971 as a small civil rights law firm. Today, SPLC is internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups.

Global Poverty

• Comparative Research Programme on Poverty (CROP), International Social Science Council. Reports and newsletters on global poverty topics.
• Poverty Vision. Portal to global information on poverty. Includes "The Poverty World Times," a daily newspaper that covers poverty topics.
• World Bank.
• PovertyNet. Comprehensive resource on global poverty issues, including a newsletter, poverty data, and a library.
• Urban Poverty. Section of the Urban Development subject area

Sources for Statistics & Measurements

• Administration for Children and Families U.S. Department of Health. Comprehensive collection of data sources for poverty topics
• Data on Poverty, World Bank.
• The Development and History of the Poverty Thresholds, Social Security Administration. History of the U.S. government definition and measurement of poverty.
• Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Institute for Social Research (University of Michigan). Survey of a representative sample of US individuals and the families in which they reside. Includes raw data, as well as working papers and dissertations on poverty and poverty-related topics that are based on the data.
• Statistical Resources on the Web, University of Michigan Documents Center. Extremely comprehensive collection of statistical information on a great many topics, including Poverty.
• U.S. Census Bureau
• Poverty
• Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau.
• Statistical Abstract of the United States online at http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-1995_2000.html. Annual publication that is the easiest and best place to start your statistical research. Provides extensive tables of statistical information, as well as citations to the agencies that produce and compile the statistics. There is a detailed index in the back of the book that will help you locate the tables you need.

Food and Hunger

• Center on Hunger and Poverty, Brandeis University. National and state data, publications, and research.
• Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). Current news, analyses, reports, and programs.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• The Food Assistance Landscape. Periodical includes food assistance program statistics, related economic and social indicators, and recent research.
• Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs
• Food Security in the United States.
• A Healthy, Well-Nourished Population. Data, publications, research, and briefings on food assistance topics.
• Bread for the World Christian advocacy and research center for issues related to hunger and development.

Housing and Homelessness

• American Bar Association Commission on Homelessness & Poverty .
• Federal Government Information
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Legal Information (opinions, decisions, regulations, etc.)
• Policy Development and Research Information Service
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Interagency Council on Homelessness
• Joint Center for Housing Studies. Harvard University's center for information and research on housing in the United States. Analyzes the dynamic relationships between housing markets and economic, demographic, and social trends. Reports, papers, and conference proceedings (1995- ) are mostly online beginning in 1999.
• National Alliance to End Homelessness.
• Detailed Statistics of Homelessness
• Policy and Legislation
• National Coalition for the Homeless. Factsheets, legislation and policy information, and directory links to other homeless organizations.
• National Housing Law Project. Engaged in public policy advocacy, litigation assistance, training, and research and writing, focusing on issues that have the greatest impact on the housing rights of the poor.
• National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. Newsletter, reports and publications (many available to members only), and advisories on homelessness issues.
• National Low Income Housing Coalition. Comprehensive links, publications, and a Memo to Members newsletter with good current awareness sections on Capitol Hill and HUD.

Welfare & Welfare Reform

• Administration for Children and Families. Federal agency responsible for programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities. Data and Statistics
• Legislation and Regulations
• Welfare Reform, including links to individual state information.
• American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) (formerly American Public Welfare Association). Site includes text of congressional testimony and policy statements on public benefits topics. The organization publishes the Policy & Practice of Public Human Services periodical (available on Westlaw as Public Welfare (PBWF database)).
• GovBenefits.gov, Information and eligibility information on more than 1,000 Federal and State administered benefit and assistance programs, including food/nutrition, education, housing, disaster assistance, unemployment/job training, healthcare, small business, and more.
• Economic Success Clearinghouse. Clearinghouse for information, policy analysis, technical assistance on welfare reform, and data.
• Welfare Children & Families John Hopkins University Policy briefs and research regarding the effects of welfare reform on children and families.

Elders and Poverty

• American Association of Retired Persons Public Policy Institute public policy research and analysis (federal, state, and international) at AARP. Its mission is to inform the development of AARP's public policy positions and to contribute to and influence public debate on issues of importance to midlife and older Americans
• National Senior Citizens Law Center Monthly review of significant cases. Online selection of articles organized by subject matter.
• Social Security Administration Online.
  • Program Rules. Laws, regulations, Commissioner rulings, and proposed legislation and regulations.
  • Legislative History of the Social Security Act.
  • Representing Social Security Claimants. Hearings and Appeals information.

Work and Wages

• Joblessness and Urban Poverty Research Program
  Established in 1996 under the direction of William Julius Wilson, the Joblessness and Urban Poverty Research Program seeks to analyze the effects of increasing urban poverty and joblessness plaguing the inner cities and to ensure that scholarly research plays a critical role in the creation and implementation of national public policy concerning the poor.
• ACORN Living Wage Resource Center Brief history of the national living wage movement, background materials such as ordinance summaries and comparisons, drafting tips, research summaries, talking points, and links to other living wage-related sites.
• Political Economy Research Institute, Labor Markets and Living Wages PERI is an independent unit of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Conducts research and policy initiatives on issues of globalization, unemployment, financial market instability, central bank policy, living wages and decent work, and the economics of peace, development, and the environment..
• The Economic Policy Institute nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy. Includes issues guides on living wage, minimum wage, unemployment and welfare, among others.

Additional Issues

National Consumer Law Center

http://www.consumerlaw.org
Affiliated with Boston Law College. Promotes its own services and publications, but offers useful set of Web sites (click on [Links]).

National Health Law Program

http://www.healthlaw.org
Sections on advocacy, child health, consumer resources, immigrant health, managed care, Medicaid, Medicare, public accountability, racial and cultural issues, reproductive health, and state and regional issues. Some full-text articles and links to related Web sites under each topic.

National Immigration Law Center

http://www.nilc.org
Articles and reports track recent developments in immigration law, and digests of recent court opinions.

National Legal Aid & Defender Association

http://www.nlada.org
Tracks developments and reports on recent cases in Civil Brief, its electronic newsletter. Information on indigent defense programs and outcomes.

Native American Rights Fund

http://www.narf.org
Updates on pertinent cases, court watch for pending matters. Offers searchable catalog of the National Indian Law Library. Two full-text periodicals: NARF Newsletter and NARF Law Review.