August 1853 - "Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to full captain on August 9, 1853. He was to report to Fort Humboldt, California. Military duties there included the protection of settlers from hostile Indians and holding prisoners. Off duty, he visited with friends, went to Eureka to play pool or cards, or wrote to his family. He was extremely lonely. The cost of living was too high to bring his family to the West Coast. His salary was inadequate. He was not well; he suffered from migraine headaches. "  www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ihy930224.html  

August 1853 - "I very soon started to join my new command. There was no way of reaching Humboldt at that time except to take passage on a San Francisco sailing vessel going after lumber. Red wood, a species of cedar, which on the Pacific coast takes the place filled by white pine in the East, then abounded on the banks of Humboldt Bay. There were extensive saw-mills engaged in preparing this lumber for the San Francisco market, and sailing vessels, used in getting it to market, furnished the only means of communication between Humboldt and the balance of the world.... Prices for all kinds of supplies were so high that at it would have been impossible for officers of the army to exist upon their pay. A cook could not be hired for the pay of a captain."  www.sfmuseum.org/hist9/usgrant.html  

Studies in the News is a very current compilation of items significant to the Legislature and Governor's Office. It is created weekly by the State Library's Research Bureau to supplement the public policy debate in California’s Capitol. To help share the latest information with state policymakers, these reading lists are now being made accessible through the State Library’s website. This week's list of current articles in various public policy areas is presented below.

Service to State Employees:

• When available, the URL for the full text of each item is provided.

• Items in the State Library collection can be checked out to state officials and staff.

• Access to all materials listed will be provided by the State Information Reference Center, either by e-mail to cslsirc@library.ca.gov or by calling 654-0261.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE & LAW ENFORCEMENT

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Batterer Intervention Programs: Where Do We Go From Here? By Shelly Jackson and others, National Institute of Justice. U.S. Department of Justice (The Department, Washington, DC) June 2003. 35 p.

Full Text at: www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/195079.pdf

["Batterer intervention programs were introduced as a way to hold batterers accountable without incarcerating them. Initial studies suggested that the programs reduced battering. Two evaluations of programs in Broward County, Florida, and Brooklyn, New York, based on more rigorous experimental designs, claim that they have little or no effect. There are two possible explanations for these findings. One is that the evaluations may be methodologically flawed; the other is that something may be wrong with the programs themselves. This report analyzes both possibilities and suggests directions for future policy and research."]

[Request #S8765]

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Children at Clandestine Methamphetamine Labs: Helping Meth's Youngest Victims. By Karen Swetlow, Office for Victims of Crimes, U.S. Justice Department (The Department, Washinton, DC) June 2003. 12 p.

Full Text at: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/bulletins/children/197590.pdf

["Until recently, clandestine methamphetamine production was viewed as a victimless crime. Law enforcement and child protective services personnel typically failed to treat as victims the children found living at or visiting illegal methamphetamine laboratory sites. They rarely interviewed these children as potential witnesses, evaluated them for physical or psychological damage, or ensured that they were placed in proper and safe environments. Now, as more and more children are found living at home-based labs, law enforcement, medical, and social services professionals are showing growing awareness of the enormous physical, developmental, emotional, and psychosocial damage these children may incur."]

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Evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act 2002: Report. By Douglas Longshore and others, UCLA, Integrated Substance Abuse Program. Prepared for the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs California Health and Human Services Agency (The Program, Los Angeles, California) July 7, 2003. 172 p.

Full Text at: www.uclaisap.org/Prop36/images/Evaluation%20of%20the%20Substance%20Abuse%20and%20Crime%20Prevention%20Act%202002%20Report.pdf

["In the first independent evaluation of a state measure diverting nonviolent drug offenders to treatment rather than prison, UCLA researchers found that methamphetamine abusers and whites comprised the largest portions of the 30,000 people sent to rehabilitation during the first year of Proposition 36. Of the drug offenders diverted to treatment in 2001 under the proposition, 50% were methamphetamine abusers. Cocaine users were a distant second, at 15%; 12% were marijuana users; and 11% heroin users, according to the study. Also, about 50% of the drug offenders sent to treatment were white, 31% Latino and 14% African American, the study found." Los Angeles Times (July 17, 2003) 3.]

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People v. Fax.Com, Inc. et al. U.S. District Court, Southern District of California. Complaint for Injunction, Damages, Civil Penalties and Other Equitable Relief. July 22, 2003. 15 p.

Full Text at: caag.state.ca.us/newsalerts/2003/03-089.pdf

["Attorney General Bill Lockyer sued a company for allegedly violating federal law by faxing unsolicited advertisements to small businesses, corporations and homes across the country. The consumer protection lawsuit seeks $15 million in penalties from Fax.com.... Previously, state law allowed unsolicited faxes to be sent as long as they came with an 800 number where consumers could call and request to be removed from the distribution list. But a state law enacted in 2002 placed California under federal statute barring all unwanted faxes, Lockyer said." Los Angeles Times (July 23, 2003) B5.]

[Request #S8769]

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CULTURE AND SOCIETY

IMMIGRANTS

The Universe of the Illegal Alien. By Victor Davis Hanson. Center for Immigration Studies. June 2003. 7 p.

[“The dream of the young worker is that he might earn money as a Mexican in America and then go home to live like an American in Mexico.... For the rustic Mexican who occupies the bottom rung of a static society and has virtually no chance of upward mobility, America represents not just an escape from drudgery, but the phantasm of redemption – a way not so much of getting rich, but of getting even.”]

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A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country. By the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (The Commission, Washngton, DC) July 2003. 131 p.

Full Text at: www.usccr.gov/pubs/na0703/na0731.pdf

["The report finds that the United States is not meeting its obligation to Native peoples, an obligation rooted in the history of forced removal from lands and confiscation of natural resources that they depended on for their livelihood. The study finds evidence of pervasive unmet needs in health care, housing, law enforcement and education in Native American communities due to the government failure to honor promised funding." PR Newswire (July 14, 2003) 1.]

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ECONOMY

BUSINESS CLIMATE

CEO Economic Outlook Survey. And The Business Roundtable Releases Economic Outlook Survey: Press Release. By The Business Roundtable. (The Roundtable, Washington, DC) July 16, 2003. 4 p.

Full Text at: www.brtable.org/press.cfm/975

["The Business Roundtable, comprised of America's leading CEOs, released its quarterly economic outlook survey for the next six months of 2003, revealing a modest but measurable improvement in their economic outlook and trending more optimistic when compared to the survey's April 2003 results." PR Newswire (July 17, 2003) 1.]

[Request #S8773]

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In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991: Request for Expedited Stay. U.S. Federal Communication Commission. CG Docket No. 02-278. July 25, 2003.

["Telemarketers have made another legal attempt to stall the government's do-not-call list, saying the national registry violates free-speech protections and will lead to massive layoffs.... The ATA also asked the FCC for an immediate stay of its new rules while the court considers its petition." San Jose Mercury News (July 29, 2003) B3.]

Press release. 1 p.
http://www.ataconnect.org/newsrelease.asp?ID=99

Request for FCC Stay. 28 p.
http://www.ataconnect.org/documents/ATAreq-exp-stay.pdf

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National Export Strategy, 2003: The Administration's Trade Promotion Agenda, Unlocking America's Potential: Report to the United States Congress. By Donald L. Evans, Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, U. S. Department of Commerce, (The Department, Washington, DC) 2003. 46 p.

Full Text at: www.ita.doc.gov/media/Publications/pdf/nes2003FINAL.pdf

["This report sets the course for achieving a world-class system of federal programs that are coordinated, leveraged, and focused on the tools small and large U.S. companies need most to take advantage of emerging trade opportunities.... With the United States asserting it's leadership role in global trade through the negotiation of new multilateral and bilateral trade agreements, we must deliver accessible and effective services so that U.S. businesses can take full advantage of market openings."]

[Request #S8776]

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EDUCATION

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2002. By Hilary R. Persky and others. National Center for Education Statistics. (The Center, Washington D.C.) 2003. 248 p.

Full Text at: nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2002/2003529.pdf

["The Nations's Report Card ... found just 23% of the state's fourth and eighth-graders were proficient or advanced writers in 2002.... California was in the bottom third of states in a group that included Georgia, Tennesee, Michigan, Missouri and Hawaii." Los Angeles Times (July 11, 2003) 1.]

[Request #S8779]

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Digging Deeper: Where Does the Public Stand on Standards-Based Education? By Bryan Goodwin. (Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning, Aurora, Colorado) July 2003. 8 p.

Full Text at: www.mcrel.org/PDF/Standards/5032IR_IssuesBrief0703_DiggingDeeper.pdf

["Although public opinion polls have shown that parents and the public are generally supportive of current standards-based education reform efforts, such polls only provide part of the picture of what people think because they rarely let people finish their sentences or express why they believe what they do.... They found that when it comes to education reform, parents and the public may be far more focused on improving social and personal aspects of schools -- 'soft' results -- that cannot be easily quantified. Educators and policymakers, on the other hand, appear to be mainly focused on improving the technical aspects of schooling, namely test scores and other quantifiable results." CDF Violence Prevention Listserv (July 29, 2003).]

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Education Inadequacy, Inequality, and Failed State Policy: A Synthesis of Expert Reports Prepared for Williams v. State of California. By Jeannie Oakes. UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education and Access. (The Institute, Los Angeles, California) 2003. 73 p.

Full Text at: repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=idea

["This report synthesizes the findings of a set of expert reports analyzing the plaintiffs’ claims in Williams v. State of California, and it presents the implications of those reports for changes in state policy and practice. It examines California students’ access to three basic requirements for educational quality and opportunity: qualified teachers; adequate textbooks and other relevant instructional materials; and clean, safe, and educationally appropriate facilities.... It places the availability of these basic requirements in the context of California’s current standards-based education policies."]

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Charter Schools File Suit Against State Board of Education: Press Release. By Options for Youth. (Options for Youth, Pasadena, California) July 23, 2003. 1 p.

Full Text at: www.ofy.org/wbs/press_det.cfm?id=12

["Two of California's largest and oldest charter schools are suing the state after the Department of Education asked them to pay back millions of taxpayer dollars. State education officials cut funding to the schools in April, citing concerns that both Southern California-based charters weren't spending enough money on their teachers and students, while the schools' founders pocketed more than $4 million. But Options for Youth, a non-profit school, and Opportunities for Learning, a for-profit charter, allege in their lawsuit that the state hasn't set up clear enough guidelines on how they should spend their money." San Jose Mercury News (July 24, 2003) A24.]

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Overview and Inventory of State Education Reforms: 1990 to 2000. By David Hurst and others. (National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC) July 2003. 137 p.

Full Text at: nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003020.pdf

["In this report, National Center for Education Statistics reviews state education policies during the 1990s. Across the country, states adopted new legislation that emphasized outcomes -- for example, raising academic standards and holding schools accountable for student performance -- over input, like per-pupil expenditures. Many states passed bills to reform education finance systems and increase public schools' educational resources and standards, while also approving vouchers and the establishment of charter schools to give parents more choice over kids' schooling. A number of states reexamined teacher training and certification." Connect for Kids (July 14, 2003) 1.]

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ENERGY

ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY

Electricity Markets: FERC's Role in Protecting Consumers. By the U.S. General Accounting Office. GAO-03-762R. (The Office, Washington, DC) June 6, 2003. 14 p.

Full Text at: www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-726R

["FERC’s role in protecting electricity consumers is to ensure that prices in the wholesale electricity market are just and reasonable.... FERC believes the best ways to ensure wholesale prices are just and reasonable today is by fostering competitive regional wholesale markets that have balanced market rules; continuously monitoring these markets for anticompetitive behavior; and enforcing or correcting market rules as needed."]

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ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES

AIR POLLUTION

"Rethinking Hydrogen Cars." By David W. Keith and Alexander E. Farrell. IN: Science, vol. 301 no. 5631 (July 18, 2003) pp. 315-316.

["Two U.S. energy experts cast more doubt on a push to develop hydrogen-powered cars as a means to cut air pollution and reduce oil imports. Cheaper and faster ways already exist to achieve the same effect, including raising fuel efficiency and toughening environmental standards." World Environment News (July 21, 2003) 1.]

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PCBs in Farmed Salmon: Factory Methods, Unnatural Results. By the Environemental Working Group. (The Group, Oakland, California) July 2003. Various pagings.

Full Text at: www.ewg.org/reports/farmedPCBs/printversion.php

["A study found that 7 of 10 farmed salmon recently purchased at grocery stories in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon and Washington D.C., contained concentrations of PCBs that were 16 times higher than those found in wild salmon fished from the ocean and roughly four times higher than those in beef and other seafood.... Most salmon consumed in the United States is produced on aquatic farms and is fed fish meal that consists of mostly ground-up small fish that have absorbed PCBs.... 'When Congress banned PCBs in 1976, no one contemplated that 20-odd years later we would have invented a new industry that re-concentrates these toxins in our bodies,' said Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at the Environmental Working Group." San Francisco Chronicle (July 30, 2003) A2.]

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Contaminant Concentrations in Fish from San Francisco Bay: 2000. By Ben K. Greenfield, San Francisco Estuary Institute, and others. (The Institute, Oakland, California) July 2003. 90 p.

Full Text at: www.sfei.org/rmp/reports/fish_contamination/2000/FishStudy_finalv2.pdf

["Sport fish caught in San Francisco Bay routinely exceed state health guidelines for PCBs, mercury, dioxin and other toxic chemicals, according to the most extensive analysis yet of contamination trends.... The Institute conducted the study based on data from fish caught in 2000.... The study indicates that fish size and fat content are important factors in the amount of accumulation." San Francisco Chronicle (July 24, 2003) A21.]

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GENERAL GOVERNMENT

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

"Lessons Learned from Two Decades of Alternative Dispute Resolution Programs and Processes at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency." By Rosemary O'Leary and Susan Summrs Raines. IN: Public Administration Review, vol. 61, no. 6 (2003) pp. 682-692.

["Concluding that there are generally high levels of satisfaction with the EPA's enforcement Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program, [it] examines the sources of obstacles and assistance to ADR efforts at the EPA, suggests ways in which the EPA might improve its ADR programs, and draws lessons from the EPA's experiences that may be helpful to other public programs or organizations."]

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The Role of Money in the 2002 Congressional Elections. By Adam Lioz, U.S. Public Interest research Group Education Fund. (The Group Public, Washington, DC) July 2003. 62 p.

Full Text at: www.uspirg.org/reports/roleofmoney2003.pdf

["This report provides a summary of the role of money in the 2002 congressional elections. While most analysts have focused on soft money in recent years, our findings indicate that hard money plays a more critical role in the political process. The key findings from our analysis of Federal Election Commission campaign finance data for the 2002 election cycle and academic estimates include: Hard money is the currency of elections; hard money was a key determinant in 2002 election outcomes; and out-of-district and out-of-state donors exerted considerable influence on 2002 congressional election contests."]

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State-By-State Report on Permanent Public Access to Electronic Government Information. By Richard J. Matthews and others. (Government Relations Committee and Washington Affairs Office, American Association of Law Libraries, Chicago, Illinois) 2003. 292 p.

Full Text at: www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash/State_report.pdf

["While government entities today make available enormous amounts of information to the public through the Internet, most fail to recognize the need to manage the entire lifecycle of electronic government information, from its creation to its preservation. These needs include ensuring that electronic government information is easily located; that an electronic publication is deemed 'authentic' and 'official'; and that electronic government information of long-term value will be preserved for permanent public access. This report reviews the state of the states, provides general background, and features successful state models."]

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Major Features of the 2003 California Budget. By the California Legislative Analyst's Office. (The Office, Sacramento, California) August 1, 2003. 30 p.

Full Text at: www.lao.ca.gov/2003/major_features_03-04/major_features_03-04.pdf

["In this report we highlight the major features of the budget package, as enacted by the Legislature.... The ... budget addresses an enormous General Fund shortfall through a combination of program savings, borrowing, new revenues, funding shifts, and deferrals."]

[Request #S8792]

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Progress in the States: A Report on Proactive, Progressive Victories in 2003. By Center for Policy Alternatives. (The Center, Washington, DC) July 2003. 28 p.

Full Text at: www.stateaction.org/2003victories.pdf

["While the progressive movement has been stymied by the conservative stranglehold in Washington, progressives have quietly won a series of surprising, proactive victories in the states. For progressives, both the policies and leaders of tomorrow are developing in state capitals today."]

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Oregon Tax Breaks: Hidden Spending and Misplaced Priorities. By Oregon Center for Public Policy. (The Center, Silverton, Oregon) June 2003. 30 p.

Full Text at: www.ocpp.org/2003/0306TaxExpManual.pdf

[Includes "Some Tax Expenditures Are Good Public Policy, Some are Not;" "Tax Breaks Are a Form of Hidden Spending;" "Oregon Is Not Monitoring Its Tax Breaks Well;" and more.]

[Request #S8794]

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Addressing the Regressivity of Sales Taxes: Hard to Overcome and Made Worse by Income Tax Cuts. By Jeff Thompson and Charles Sheketoff, Oregon Center for Public Policy. (The Center, Silverton, Oregon) July 7, 2003. 6 p.

Full Text at: www.ocpp.org/2003/issue030707.pdf

["Sales taxes are an option for raising additional revenue for vital state services. Sales taxes are, however, inherently regressive, taking a larger share of the income of low-income households. Exempting food and other necessities and adopting an expanded and refundable Earned Income Credits are insufficient to offset the added tax burden on low-income households. To prevent tax burdens from rising sharply on low-income households under a sales tax scheme, tax credits must be targeted to all low-income households and made refundable and larger than what has been proposed to date."]

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Secretary of State's Ad Hoc Touch Screen Task Force: Report. By the Office of the Secretary of State. (The Office, Sacramento, California) July 1, 2003. 56 p.

Full Text at: www.ss.ca.gov/elections/taskforce_report_entire.pdf

["Secretary of State Kevin Shelley created the Ad Hoc Touch Screen Task Force in response to concerns expressed over the security of DRE voting equipment. The purpose of the Task Force was to study these concerns, discuss possible improvements, and to make recommendations to the Secretary of State and the Voting Systems and Procedures Panel. The four key issues addressed by the Task Force were: computer security; administrative security; voter confidence; and voter verification"]

[Request #S8796]

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HEALTH

HEALTH CARE FINANCING

New Health Savings Security Accounts Could Reduce State Revenues By up to $30 Billion over the Next Ten Years. By Iris J. Lav and Andrew Lee, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (The Center, Washington, DC) July 8, 2003. 11 p.

Full Text at: www.cbpp.org/7-8-03tax.pdf

["The proposed Health Savings Security Accounts could significantly alter how employers provide health insurance to their workers. They could weaken traditional employer-based coverage and shift a greater proportion of the costs of health insurance from firms to employees, with adverse effects on low-income, older, and sicker workers."]

[Request #S8797]

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Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America: Final Report. By the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. (The Commission, Rockville, Maryland) 2003. 113 p.

Full Text at: www.mentalhealthcommission.gov/reports/FinalReport/downloads/FinalReport.pdf

["This report examines and reviews the nation's mental health system. The goals include: Americans understand that mental health is essential to overall health; Mental health care is consumer and family driven; Disparities in mental health services are eliminated; and Early mental health screening, assessment, and referral to services are common practice; Excellent mental health care is delivered and research is accelerated; Technology is used to access mental health care and information.

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Burger, Fries and Lawyers: The Beef Behind Obesity Lawsuits. By Todd G. Buchholz, Enso Capital Management. Prepared for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. (The Chamber, Washington, DC) July 2, 2003. 28 p.

Full Text at: www.legalreformnow.com/resources/burgers.pdf

[“The fast food industry is not to blame, Buchholz said. Buchholz's' study disproves one of the litigation's main arguments that the fast food companies 'duped' their patrons into buying unhealthy products because they did not know any better. His study shows that the rise in obesity in the last 20 years has actually been among college educated people.” UPI (July 3, 2003) 1.]

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The Paradox of Hunger and Obesity in America. By the Center on Hunger and Poverty, Brandeis University, and the Food Research and Action Center. (The Center, Waltham, Massachussetts) July 2003. 5 p.

Full Text at: www.centeronhunger.org/pdf/hungerandobesity.pdf

["Challenging current knowledge about the epidemics of obesity and hunger in America, this report examines the emerging and seemingly paradoxical relationship between hunger, food insecurity and obesity. It also examines the health risks of both hunger/food insecurity and obesity, and how both of these serious threats can co-exist in the same household."]

[Request #S8803]

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Out-of-Bounds: Rising Prescription Drug Prices for Seniors. By Families USA. (Families USA, Washington, DC) July 2003. 28 p.

Full Text at: www.familiesusa.org/site/DocServer/Out_of_Bounds.pdf?docID=1522

["Prescription drug expenditures in 2002 continued to be one of the fastest growing components of heath care spending, disproportionately contributing to overall increases in health care costs.... Moreover, many seniors live on fixed incomes that rise in pace with inflation; if prices they pay for drugs consistently grow faster than inflation, their prescription drug costs will consume a growing portion of their finances every year."]

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"Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance and Prescription Drug Coverage for New Retirees: Dramatic Declines in Five Years." By Bruce Stuart and others. IN: Health Affairs (July 2003) pp. 1-8.

Full Text at: www.healthaffairs.org/WebExclusives/2205Stuart.pdf

["The number of people retiring with health insurance from their employers had dropped significantly since 1996, according to a new study, leaving many recent retirees without coverage for prescription drugs.... Many retirees rely on their employers' coverage to pay for presription drugs that are not covered under the Medicare program, and there is concern that the Medicare benefit could leave them with coverage that is significantly less generous than what they receive from an employeer." New York Times (July 23, 2003) 1.]

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R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al. v. Diana M. Bonta, et al. U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. CIV S-03-659. July 22, 2003. 57 p.

Full Text at: 207.41.18.73/caed/DOCUMENTS/Opinions/Karlton/reynolds.pdf

["In a blow to the tobacco industry, a federal judge ruled that California could continue to use cigarette tax revenue to pay for aggressive anti-smoking campaigns.... The companies claimed that their constitutional rights had been violated because taxes on their products were being used to support ads that were against their interests. They said the ads contaminated the minds of potential jurors in smoking-related cases." Los Angeles Times (July 23, 2003) B6.]

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HOUSING

LOW INCOME HOUSING

New HUD Data Show Families Will Likely Lose Housing Vouchers If Congress Approves President's Budget Request. By Barbara Sard and Will Fischer. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (The Center, Washington, DC) July 11, 2003. 8 p.

Full Text at: www.cbpp.org/7-11-03hous.pdf

["Data collected show that the Administration’s budget request for fiscal year 2004 is inadequate to fund all housing vouchers likely to be in use when the fiscal year starts in October 2003.... If the projected funding shortfall occurs, it is likely that some families that now rely on vouchers to help pay their rent will lose assistance, placing these families at a high risk of eviction and, in some cases, homelessness."]

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HUMAN SERVICES

FAMILIES

Family Support: Strategies to Strengthen Families. By Teresa Myers and Jody Ruskamp, National Conference of State Legislatures. Legisbrief. Vol. 11, No. 26. (NCSL, Denver, Colorado) June/July 2003. 2 p.

["Many American families face great challenges, such as low-wage jobs and few assets, unmarried or divorced parents, poor physical or mental health, and lack of parental education. These factors place children at a greater risk of abuse, illiteracy, school failure, teen pregnancy, drug abuse and crime.... Family support initiatives strive to ensure that all children and families get what they need to succeed .... Programs include independent resource centers; centers housed within larger organizations; and community systems that deliver services to vulnerable families."]

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Developing Community-wide Outcome Indicators for Specific Services. By Harry P. Hatry and others. (The Urban Istitute, Washington, DC) 2003. 44 p.

Full Text at: www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310813_OutcomeIndicators.pdf

["This guide describes how community funders and service providers can work together to develop a core set of outcome indicators to assess program effectiveness and improve services. The guide is based on such an effort in Montgomery County, Maryland."]

[Request #S8806]

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Working with Disadvantaged Youth: Thirty-Month Findings from the Evaluation of the Center for Employment Training Replication Sites. By Cynthia Miller and others, MDRC. (MDRC, Oakland, California) June 2003. 168 p.

Full Text at: www.mdrc.org/Reports2003/343/full.pdf

["Young people who lack postsecondary education or vocational credentials face an uphill battle in the competition for jobs. Two prior studies found that the services of the Center for Employment Training (CET) in San Jose, California, significantly increased low-income youths’ and single-mothers’ chances of finding employment and also raised their earnings.... This report summarizes the implementation findings and presents initial impact findings based on a random assignment research design and a survey conducted 30 months after application to CET."]

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Leave No Youth Behind: Opportunities for Congress to Reach Disconnected Youth. Edited by Jodie Levin-Epstein and Mark H. Greenberg, Center for Law and Social Policy. (The Center, Washington, DC) July 2003. 114 p.

Full Text at: www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1057083505.88/Disconnected_Youth.pdf

["Too many young people are not on the path toward successful adulthood, and the U.S. has no coherent policy to help these disconnected youth become productive members of society. This report offers recommendations to help disconnected youth in six programs. It encourages federal policymakers to look across legislative initiatives to develop an integrated set of policies to address the needs of this population. The report concludes that the nation should commit itself to increase the proportion of young people who at age 25 have a high school diploma and postsecondary degree or credential; are employed in jobs with career advancement possibilities; and are not engaged in adverse risk-taking behaviors."]

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WASHINGTON READER

California Capitol Hill Bulletin. By the California Institute for Federal Policy Research. Vol. 10, Bulletin 22. (The Institute, Washington, DC) July 25, 2003

Full Text at: www.calinst.org/bulletins/b1022.htm

[Includes: "Hearing Examines School Lunch Programs;" "Operation of the Food Stamp Program Examined;" "Resources Subcommittee Considers CALFED Bills;" "Transportation Subcommittee Examines Port Security Regulations;" "Impact of Chile and Singapore FTAs On Entertainment Industry Discussed;" "Hearing on Space Commercialization;" and others.]

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[The following studies, reports, and documents have been ordered or requested, but have not yet arrived. Requests may be placed, and copies will be provided when the material arrives.]

GENERAL GOVERNMENT

TAX REVENUES

The Lawmaker's Guide to the Streamlined Sales Tax Project: 2003, The Year of Decision. By Diane L. Hardt, Douglas L. Lindholm and Stephen P.B. Kranz. Deloitte & Touche Center for Multistate Taxation at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. (The Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 2003. 39 p.

["The Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) is an effort created by state governments, with input from local governments and the private sector, to simplify and modernize sales and use tax collection and administration. Proposals include tax law simplifications, more efficient administrative procedures, and emerging technologies to reduce the burden of tax collection." NOTE: The Lawmaker's Guide ... will be available for 3-day loan.]

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