Urban Institute

About: Urban Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Medicaid & Population. The organization has 927 authors who have published 2330 publications receiving 86426 citations.

Getting Tough with Juvenile Offenders Explaining Support for Sanctioning Youths as Adults

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.

Revisiting the subprime crisis: The dual mortgage market and mortgage defaults by race and ethnicity

Abstract: The impacts of the foreclosure crisis have been widespread, catalyzing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and leading to dramatic declines in housing equity and wealth However,

The differential effects of repeating kindergarten

Abstract: We use the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to investigate national patterns addressing (a) who repeats kindergarten, and (b) the subsequent cognitive effects of this event. Using OLS regression techniques, we investigate 1st-time kindergartners who are promoted, 1st-time kindergartners who are retained, and children who are already repeating kindergarten. Boys, children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and children who enter kindergarten younger than typical age standards are consistently at risk for repeating kindergarten, but racial/ethnic patterns differ across the 2 cohorts of kindergarten repeaters. Evidence suggests that repeating kindergarten rarely leads to cognitive benefits in literacy or mathematics performance. On average, kindergarten repeaters continue to perform below their peers in terms of literacy skills both at the end of kindergarten and at the end of first grade (effect size [ES] = −0.20 and −0.24, respectively). In mathematics, the performance differentials are smaller but rema...

Are employability skills learned in U.S. youth education and training programs

Abstract: Skills are a central source of high productivity and economic well-being. But what do we mean by productive skills? Both with regard to measurement and policy, the primary focus in the U.S. has been on academic skills, as measured by tests of reading, writing and math abilities and by educational attainment, including degrees completed. However, a new consensus is emerging that an array of non-academic skills and occupational skills may be at least as important for labor market success. After reviewing the evidence on respective roles of various types of skills required by employers, this paper examines the skill-enhancing effects of several youth programs and demonstrations, with an emphasis on how well these efforts raise non-academic skills directly through purposeful activities or indirectly as a result of other employment-enhancing services.

How do stressful family environments relate to reported access and use of health care by low-income children?

Abstract: This study examines the effect of stressful family environments on children's access to and use of health care, using a sample of 9,854 low-income children from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. Indicators of stress included aspects of family structure, economic hardship, family turbulence, and parental ill health; these were combined into a composite family stress indicator. Having health insurance was the strongest predictor of health care access and use, but stressful family environments were significantly and inversely associated with parents' having confidence in the ability of family members to obtain health care, children having health care needs met, and children having any dental care in the previous year. The authors concluded that while enrollment in health insurance may be necessary to access and use health care, it is not sufficient. Stressful family environments also appear to influence the ability of parents to obtain care for their children.