Showing papers by "Urban Institute published in 2001"
TL;DR: This paper found that fewer noncitizen immigrants and their children (even U.S.-born) have Medicaid or job-based insurance, and many more are uninsured than is the case with native citizens or children of citizens.
Abstract: Recent policy changes have limited immigrants’ access to insurance and to health care. Fewer noncitizen immigrants and their children (even U.S.-born) have Medicaid or job-based insurance, and many more are uninsured than is the case with native citizens or children of citizens. Noncitizens and their children also have worse access to both regular ambulatory and emergency care, even when insured. Immigration status is an important component of racial and ethnic disparities in insurance coverage and access to care.
461 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that nearly one in ten families with children is a mixed status family: that is a family in which one or both parents is a non-citizen and one or more children are a citizen.
Abstract: In this paper we document the prevalence of mixed immigration status families and discuss some of the immigration and citizenship policies that drive their formation. Using the 1998 Current Population Survey, we find that nearly one in ten families with children is a mixed status family: that is a family in which one or both parents is a noncitizen and one or more children is a citizen. We also find that 75 percent of children in immigrant families are citizens. We identify a number of the challenges that mixed status families pose for achieving the goals of recent welfare and illegal immigration reforms.
255 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the construction of time-consistent national and state-level estimates of union density for the years 1964 through 2000, using the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the discontinued BLS publication Directory of National Unions and Employee Associations.
Abstract: This paper describes the construction of time-consistent national and state-level estimates of union density for the years 1964 through 2000. Two sources of data are combined to produce these estimates, the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of U.S. households, and the discontinued BLS publication Directory of National Unions and Employee Associations, based on data reported by labor unions to the government. The union density measure represents the percentage of nonagricultural wage and salary employees who are union members, including employees in the public sector. A more limited database, available for years since 1977 and based exclusively on the CPS, provides a measure of union coverage density, representing the percentage of nonagricultural wage and salary workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement. The databases will be updated annually and distributed freely via the Internet.
219 citations
TL;DR: In the past decade, nonprofits scholars have given increased attention to the topic of vulnerability and organizational demise as discussed by the authors, and an early contribution to this literature was Tuckman and Chang's elab...
Abstract: In the past decade, nonprofits scholars have given increased attention to the topic of vulnerability and organizational demise. An early contribution to this literature was Tuckman and Chang’s elab...
208 citations
TL;DR: Estimates of mortality, functional health, and active life expectancy for black and white adults living in a diverse set of 23 local areas in 1990, and nationwide, show that among urban residents, those in more affluent areas outlive those in high-poverty areas.
Abstract: We calculated population-level estimates of mortality, functional health, and active life expectancy for black and white adults living in a diverse set of 23 local areas in 1990, and nationwide. At age 16, life expectancy and active life expectancy vary across the local populations by as much as 28 and 25 years respectively. The relationship between population infirmity and longevity also varies. Rural residents outlive urban residents, but their additional years are primarily inactive. Among urban residents, those in more affluent areas outlive those in high-poverty areas. For both whites and blacks, these gains represent increases in active years. For whites alone they also reflect reductions in years spent in poor health.
195 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the employment transitions of young women focusing on the likelihood that women who turn to the welfare system for support will make the transition from low-paying to high-paying jobs.
Abstract: Conventional wisdom holds that women on welfare will be better off in the long run if they take a job, even if it means initially having less money to spend on their and their children's needs. Underlying this thinking is the belief that women who take low-paying jobs will eventually move up to higher paying jobs either with their current employer or by changing employers. This paper examines the employment transitions of young women focusing on the likelihood that women who turn to the welfare system for support will make the transition from low-paying to high-paying jobs. The data are drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Based on the experiences of women who never received welfare, an estimated one-quarter of young women who received welfare could be firmly established in jobs paying more than $9.50 an hour by ages 26 and 27. An additional 40 percent would work steadily but in low-paying jobs, and more than one-third would work only sporadically. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
134 citations
01 Apr 2001
TL;DR: Teenagers with more highly educated mothers, mothers who delayed their first birth beyond age 19 years, those from two-parent families, and those whose schooling was on schedule, were less likely to engage in sexual risk behaviors.
Abstract: This report presents national estimates of sexual activity and contraception among teenagers aged 15-19 years in the US Information are presented for the years 1988 and 1995 according to age race and other important demographic and social factors Descriptive tables of numbers and percents are presented and interpreted Data for females are from the National Survey of Family Growth and data for males are from the National Survey of Adolescent Males Highlighted are the results on sexual experience and activity contraceptive use and other aspects of sexual behavior About 175 million teenagers had sexual intercourse at least once in 1995 with 29% of females and 19% of males having unprotected recent sexual intercourse The condom remained the most popular method of contraception These results show that between 1988 and 1995 the overall level of teenagers sexual risk-taking appears to have declined These shifts in sexual and contraceptive behavior help explain declines over the past decade in teenage pregnancy and birth rates However not all teenagers have participated in the movement towards less risk-taking and long-standing racial differences persist These suggest the need to give special attention to the groups of teenagers who are lagging behind their peers
127 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The expansions in Medicaid lead to significant improvements in prenatal care utilization among women of low socioeconomic status, and the emerging lesson from the Medicaid expansions is that increased access to primary care is not adequate if the goal is to narrow the gap in newborn health between poor and nonpoor populations.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To conduct the first national study that assesses whether the Medicaid expansions for pregnant women, legislated by Congress over a decade ago, met the policy objectives of improved access to care and birth outcomes for poor and near-poor women. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Data on 8.1 million births using the 1980, 1986, and 1993 National Natality Files. We use births from all areas of the United States except California, Texas, Washington, and upstate New York. METHODS: We conduct a before and after analysis that compares obstetrical outcomes by race and socioeconomic status for the periods 1980-86 and 1986-93. We examine whether women of low socioeconomic status showed greater improvements in outcomes during the 1986-93 period compared to the 1980-86 period. We analyze two obstetrical outcomes: the rate of late initiation of prenatal care and the rate of low birth weight. DATA COLLECTION: Natality data were aggregated to race, socioeconomic status, age, and parity groups. RESULTS: During the 1986-93 period, rates of late initiation of prenatal care decreased by 6.0 to 7.8 percentage points beyond changes estimated for the 1980-86 period for both white and African American women of low socioeconomic status. For some white women of low socioeconomic status, the rate of low birth weight was reduced by 0.26 to 0.37 percentage points between 1986 and 1993 relative to the earlier period. Other white women of low socioeconomic status and all African American women of low socioeconomic status showed no relative improvement in the rate of low birth weight during the 1986-93 period. CONCLUSIONS: The expansions in Medicaid lead to significant improvements in prenatal care utilization among women of low socioeconomic status. The emerging lesson from the Medicaid expansions, however, is that increased access to primary care is not adequate if the goal is to narrow the gap in newborn health between poor and nonpoor populations.
125 citations
TL;DR: This article examined a population of United Way affiliated nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts to test hypotheses generated by previous research on relationships between government funding and specific nonprofit organizational characteristics, and compared differences in organizational characteristics between nonprofits receiving higher percentages of revenues from the United Way and from government sources.
Abstract: This study examines a population of United Way–affiliated nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts (1) to test hypotheses generated by previous research on relationships between government funding and specific nonprofit organizational characteristics, (2) to compare differences in organizational characteristics between nonprofits receiving higher percentages of revenues from the United Way and from government sources, and (3) to explore associations between government funding and United Way and underexamined characteristics, including use of commercial income and racial diversity of organizational membership. The study supports previous research on the relationship between government funding and nonprofit characteristics, with one notable exception—less administrative complexity was associated with higher percentages of government funding. The study also finds differences in organizational characteristics between nonprofits with higher proportions of government funding and those with higher percentages of United Way funding, including organization size, number of board members, administrative complexity, use of volunteers, and the racial diversity of boards, staff, and volunteers.
118 citations
TL;DR: The Moving to Opportunity demonstration program in Chicago as discussed by the authors explored changes for households moving from public housing to low-poverty neighborhoods with housing counseling assistance, and found dramatic improvements in neighborhood and housing conditions for all participating families.
Abstract: This article uses survey data from the Moving to Opportunity demonstration program in Chicago to explore changes for households moving from public housing. The focus is on two key areas: housing and neighborhood conditions, and labor force participation and employment of householders. The experimental design of the program allows the differences between comparison households, which moved with a regular Section 8 voucher, and experimental households, which moved to low‐poverty neighborhoods with housing counseling assistance, to be examined. The findings, based on interviews an average of 18 months after families moved, reveal dramatic improvements in neighborhood and housing conditions for all participating families; experimental families experienced even greater gains in terms of housing and especially neighborhood conditions. Labor force participation and employment increased for householders in both groups, likely fueled by the robust economy throughout much of the country and supporting simil...
114 citations
TL;DR: This paper uses a new Medical Expenditure Panel Survey file which links household and employer survey respondents, supplying data for both employer insurance takers and decliners, and finds worker price elasticity of demand to be quite low.
Abstract: Studying worker health insurance choices is usually limited by the absence of price data for workers who decline their employer?s offer. This paper uses a new Medical Expenditure Panel Survey file which links household and employer survey respondents, supplying data for both employer insurance takers and decliners. We test for whether out-of-pocket or total premium better explains worker behavior, estimate price elasticities with observed prices and with imputed prices, and test for worker sorting among jobs with and without health insurance. We find that out-of-pocket price dominates, that there is some upward bias from estimating elasticities with imputed premiums rather than observed premiums, and that workers do sort among jobs but this does not affect elasticity estimates appreciably. Like earlier studies with less representative worker samples, we find worker price elasticity of demand to be quite low. This suggests that any premium subsidies must be large to elicit much change in worker take-up behavior. (Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics 2001 September/December; 1(3/4): 305-325).
TL;DR: A conceptual framework of five drug court dimensions, each scorable on a range from low to high, lend themselves to a systematic set of hypotheses regarding the effects of structure and process on drug court outcomes and propose quantitative and qualitative methods for identifying such effects.
Abstract: Structural and process characteristics of drug courts may have a major influence on offender outcomes. However, despite the existence of dozens of outcome evaluations in the drug court literature, ...
TL;DR: It is found that Medicaid and privately insured low-income children appear to have fairly comparable access but that Medicaid-covered children are more likely to receive services and to have more visits when they receive care.
Abstract: In this paper we assess how access to care and use of services among low-income children vary by insurance status. Although 40 percent of low-income children rely on private health insurance, little is known about how this coverage compares with Medicaid coverage in meeting their health care needs. We find that Medicaid and privately insured low-income children appear to have fairly comparable access but that Medicaid-covered children are more likely to receive services and to have more visits when they receive care. Expanding public coverage may not be sufficient to ensure that all low-income children have access to comprehensive and high-quality care. It may require improvements in preventive and dental care for children with private coverage, an area in which states have limited influence.
TL;DR: State and local jurisdictions throughout the United States enacted a wide array of new juvenile justice policies in recent years as mentioned in this paper. Many of these policies were intended to make the juvenile justice system more efficient.
Abstract: State and local jurisdictions throughout the United States enacted a wide array of new juvenile justice policies in recent years. Many of these policies were intended to make the juvenile justice s...
TL;DR: In this paper, the complexity of adolescent health risk behaviors using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative study of students, was examined.
Abstract: This analysis examines the complexity of adolescent health risk behaviors using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative study of students. The current sample includes 12,955 students (6,626 females and 6,329 males) in grades 9 through 12. Cluster analysis was conducted separately by gender to examine the interrelationships among eight health risk behaviors: sexual activity, general alcohol use, binge drinking, cigarette use, marijuana use, other illicit drug use, fighting, and suicide. Four distinct clusters for females and males were identified based on their profiles of risk-taking behavior. Females and males both report low- and high-risk profiles, and a risk profile with high alcohol use and sexual activity. Females have two distinct risk profiles, one that is highest on every measure of risk compared to others and one that has high levels of fighting and suicide with little participation in substance use or sexual activity. Males have a distinct risk profile with particularly high rates of marijuana use and suicidal behaviors. Few distinctions exist between profiles based on sociodemographic characteristics.
TL;DR: The evaluation of the Washington, D.C., Superior Court Drug Intervention Program (SCDIP) as mentioned in this paper found that participants were significantly less likely to use drugs prior to sentencing, and, in the year after sentencing, were significantly more likely to be arrested and had significantly fewer arrests.
Abstract: The evaluation of the Washington, D.C., Superior Court Drug Intervention Program (SCDIP) compared drug felony defendants randomly assigned to either a docket offering structured graduated sanctions in combination with drug testing and judicial monitoring, or a docket using drug tests and judicial monitoring only. Assignment to the graduated sanctions docket was found to reduce drug use prior to sentencing. Program participants were significantly less likely to use drugs prior to sentencing, and, in the year after sentencing, were significantly less likely to be arrested and and had significantly fewer arrests. This paper describes characteristics of the sanctioning program that appear highly correlated with positive outcomes.
TL;DR: In "Do Teacher Certification Matter? Evaluating the Evidence " as discussed by the authors, Linda Darling-Hammond, Barnett Berry, and Amy Thoreson discuss the importance of teacher certification.
Abstract: In "Does Teacher Certification Matter? Evaluating the Evidence " (appearing in this issue of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis), Linda Darling-Hammond, Barnett Berry, and Amy Thoreson, com...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors test the hypothesis that the acquisition of existing property by the public housing authority and its subsequent rehabilitation and occupancy by subsidized tenants significantly reduced the property values of surrounding single-family homes in Denver during the 1990s.
Abstract: This study tests the hypothesis that the acquisition of existing property by the public housing authority and its subsequent rehabilitation and occupancy by subsidized tenants significantly reduced the property values of surrounding single-family homes in Denver during the 1990s. This assessment examined pre- and post-occupancy sales, while controlling for the idiosyncratic neighborhood, local public service, and zoning characteristics of the areas in order to identify which sorts of neighborhoods, if any, experienced declining property values as a result of proximity to dispersed housing tenants. The analyses revealed that proximity to a subsidized housing site generally had an independent, positive effect on single-family home sales prices. The most notable exception to this pattern occurred in neighborhoods more than 20 percent of whose residents were black. Proximity to dispersed public housing sites in these neighborhoods resulted in slower growth in home sales prices in an other-wise booming housing market and suggest a threshold within “vulnerable” neighborhoods whereby any potential gains associated with rehabilitating existing units are offset by the increased concentration of poor residents. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the retirement decisions of husbands and wives and how they interact with spousal health and employment, using data from the 1992-1998 waves of the Health and Retirement Study and found that both men and women are more likely to retire if their spouses have already retired than if they are still working.
Abstract: Husbands and wives often coordinate retirement decisions, as many married workers withdraw from the labor force at about the same time as their spouses. However, joint retirement behavior may differ for couples in which one spouse retires with health problems. In those cases, the able-bodied spouse may delay retirement to compensate for the earnings lost by the disabled spouse. This paper examines the retirement decisions of husbands and wives and how they interact with spousal health and employment, using data from the 1992-1998 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. The results indicate that both men and women are more likely to retire if their spouses have already retired than if they are still working. However, they are less likely to retire if their spouses appear to have left the labor force because of health problems, especially when spouses are not yet eligible for Social Security retirement benefits. There is no evidence that spousal caregiving demands affect retirement rates.
TL;DR: Although there is evidence that malpractice liability pressure was associated with greater prenatal care delay and fewer prenatal care visits, there is no evidence that such pressure negatively affected infant health.
TL;DR: This article examined the effect of minimum wage increases on the hours of work of teenagers (ages 16 to 19) using monthly data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and found that the elasticity of hours of teen labor demanded with respect to the minimum wage suggest that alternative estimates based on aggregate employment consistently understate the total impact of minimum-wage increases on teenage labor utilization.
Abstract: This paper examines the effect of minimum wage increases on the hours of work of teenagers (ages 16 to 19) using monthly data from the Current Population Survey. Our findings are consistent with the prediction from neoclassical theory that minimum wage increases have a negative effect on labor demand. However, the estimates we provide here for the elasticity of hours of teen labor demanded with respect to the minimum wage suggest that alternative estimates based on aggregate employment consistently understate the total impact of minimum wage increases on teenage labor utilization.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined dynamics specific to court-mandated programs such as drug courts and found that legal coercion applied via the threat of incarceration, coupled with ongoing court supervision, to motivate participants to succeed.
Abstract: Past research indicates that more time in treatment yields better post-treatment outcomes, with 90 days of treatment often identified as a minimum threshold for achieving positive results, thus making it important to identify factors that predict meaningful engagement in treatment and to devise policies to assist subgroups facing a high risk of dropping out. Although a literature currently exists on voluntary treatment programs, fewer studies examine dynamics specific to court-mandated programs such as drug courts. Those programs use legal coercion applied via the threat of incarceration, coupled with ongoing court supervision, to motivate participants to succeed. Results were analyzed at the Brooklyn Treatment Court. Analyses looked at retention for at least 90 days of treatment, and engagement, defined as completing four consecutive months of drug-free and sanction-less participation. Multivariate analyses revealed that the level of legal coercion measured by expected incarceration time in the ...
TL;DR: It was found that, through 1997, high market share/high burden SNHs lost service volume relative to non-SNHs, but did not undertake reductions in staffing levels and expenses or reduce UC.
Abstract: This paper contrasts changes that took place among urban safety net hospitals (SNHs) during the period 1990 to 1997 with changes that occurred at other urban facilities. We use data from American Hospital Association Annual Survey and define three groups of SNHs based on 1990 provision of uncompensated care (UC): those that provided a large share of UC in their market; those for which UC imposed a burden because it represented a large share of their expenses; and those meeting both conditions. We found that, through 1997, high market share/high burden SNHs lost service volume relative to non-SNHs, but did not undertake reductions in staffing levels and expenses or reduce UC. High market share only hospitals were similar to non-SNHs, but reduced their UC market share and were more likely to enter into a merger. High burden only SNHs were most likely to close, but those that remained open experienced growth in volume and maintained their financial position. (Health Affairs 2001 July/August; 20(4):159-168)
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the current balkanized system undermines the potential of the program to promote mixed-income communities and the deconcentration of poverty and that the voucher program should be administered regionally rather than locally in urban areas.
Abstract: Section 8, the federal government's primary program for addressing the housing needs of low‐income renters, is administered by thousands of local public housing agencies, most of which serve individual cities, towns, and counties. This article contends that the current balkanized system undermines the potential of the program to promote mixed‐income communities and the deconcentration of poverty and that the voucher program should be administered regionally rather than locally in urban areas. One strategy for achieving metropolitan administration would be to contract out responsibility for operating the voucher program to competitively selected regional organizations. In addition to describing how such a program could work, we suggest a series of incremental reforms for moving the Section 8 program in the direction of metropolitan administration. Moreover, other reforms—including an expansion of affordable rental housing in suburban communities—are also needed for housing vouchers to achieve thei...
TL;DR: The first question people typically ask about homelessness is, "How many people are homeless?" After that, questions usually turn to characteristics: "What are they like?" Basic demographic characteristics such as sex, age, family status and race have always been of interest, in part because the homeless population appears to be very different from the general public and even from most poor people who are housed with respect to these characteristics.
Abstract: The first question people typically ask about homelessness is, “How many people are homeless?” After that, questions usually turn to characteristics: “What are they like?” Basic demographic characteristics such as sex, age, family status, and race have always been of interest, in part because the homeless population appears to be very different from the general public and even from most poor people who are housed with respect to these characteristics. Often, because these differences are so dramatic, demographic characteristics are overinterpreted as representing the reasons for homelessness. But as various studies have documented, most demographic factors quickly disappear as proximate causes when other factors representing personal vulnerabilities are available for examination. The underlying causes of homelessness, the structural conditions of housing and labor markets that turn vulnerabilities into loss of housing, do not lie within individuals at all and are thus difficult to include in anal...
TL;DR: The roles that social desirability and personal responsibility have in people's judgments about transplant allocation are explored and the public's transplantation allocation preferences are influenced by whether patients' behaviors are said to have caused their organ failure.
TL;DR: The role of individual and contextual factors and legal interventions in reducing time to domestic violence revictimization is examined and hypotheses are deduced about the effects of these factors.
Abstract: This article examines the role of individual and contextual factors and legal interventions in reducing time to domestic violence revictimization. Drawing on current theory and research, hypotheses are deduced about the effects of these factors. Cox regression and survival analyses are employed to test the hypotheses using court, police, and census data from an urban jurisdiction in Texas. Prior drug use, race/ethnicity, and community-level income were associated with time to revictimization. However, there was little evidence either of interactive effects between race/ethnicity and community-level income or of differential effects of each of three types of legal interventions. Implications for theory, research, and domestic violence interventions are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper investigated short-term changes in neighborhood conditions for families moving from Chicago public housing as part of the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) demonstration program, focusing on five key aspects of family well-being: neighborhood conditions, feelings of safety, experiences with crime, opportunities and risks for teenagers, and access to services.
Abstract: This article investigates short-term changes in neighborhood conditions for families moving from Chicago public housing as part of the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) demonstration program. MTO features a controlled experimental design and thus may be better suited, in the long run, than recent survey-based studies to elucidate the effects of neighborhood conditions on family and children's well-being. We focus on five key aspects of family well-being: neighborhood conditions, feelings of safety, experiences with crime, opportunities and risks for teenagers, and access to services. All mover families experienced significant improvements on each measure, yet those that were required to move to low-poverty neighborhoods experienced the greatest improvements. The only drawback to these low-poverty moves appears to be the relative isolation of the destination, particularly concerning access to public transportation; however, more intensive housing counseling might help families choose neighborhoods with better ac...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined several neglected explanatory factors, including links between marital status, political orientation, and philosophy of punishment, and found that marital status and political orientation are consistently associated with support for adult sanctioning of youths when the offense involves any of three categories of offenses (selling illegal drugs, committing property crime, or committing violent crime).
Abstract: Despite recent “get tough” trends in juvenile justice, relatively little is known about support for sanctioning youths in adult courts. In response, this study examines several neglected explanatory factors, including links between marital status, political orientation, and philosophy of punishment. Analysis of data from the 1995 National Opinion Survey of Crime and Justice suggests that marital status and philosophy of punishment are consistently associated with support for adult sanctioning of youths when the offense involves any of three categories of offenses (selling illegal drugs, committing property crime, or committing violent crime). It also suggests that marital status conditions the effect of philosophy of punishment, an effect itself conditioned by political orientation when the offense involves selling illegal drugs. Research and policy implications are discussed.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Findings show that uninsured women faced larger access barriers and utilized fewer services, particularly preventive care services, than women with either public or private coverage, and expansions in coverage, either through Medicaid or through private options, could improve access to care for uninsured women.
Abstract: Data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) are used to analyze access to care and use of health care services for low-income women. Three groups of women are examined: those with Medicaid coverage, those with private coverage, and those with no insurance. Findings show that uninsured women faced larger access barriers and utilized fewer services, particularly preventive care services, than women with either public or private coverage. Access and use did not differ greatly between Medicaid and privately covered women. The results suggest that expansions in coverage, either through Medicaid or through private options, could improve access to care for uninsured women.