Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first and most important step for students to receive their portion of the billions of grant aid dollars disbursed in federal student financial aid; however, every year many low income and community college students fail to complete the FAFSA. Over the past twenty years,…

The authors' of the previous January 2009 report "50+1: A Federal Agenda for New York City" suggested a wide-ranging urban policy agenda for an administration that, both by political inclination and the life experiences of its leader and many top officials, promised to be more sympathetic to the needs and priorities of cities than any…

We study how the employment effects of enterprise zones vary with their location, implementation, and administration, based on evidence from California. We use new establishment-level data and geographic mapping methods, coupled with a survey of enterprise zone administrators. Overall, the evidence indicates that enterprise zones do not increase…

Government programs and initiatives have inadequately addressed education's importance in juvenile detention facilities. Detained juveniles are not "throw-aways." Congress has inadvertently recognized this population through the Urban Education Program; such minors are "at-risk" but not hopeless. Adoption of program guidelines at juvenile…

This summary evaluates a federal demonstration program to reach "disconnected" youth not currently served by job training programs under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Disconnected youth are defined as those who have lost or never developed the traditional values of their communities, who do not participate in traditional…

The 1990 Summer Academic Skills Achievement Program in Columbus (Ohio) provided 160 hours of instruction in reading comprehension and language mechanics skills needed for entry-level employment to 123 Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) clients. The program used a "whole language" approach to grammar and composition instruction and also…

As the first awardees in the Student Community Service (SCS) program conclude their third and final year of funding and as SCS becomes an established part of ACTION's system of volunteer opportunities, it seems a proper time to evaluate the program. This evaluation examines whether the SCS has made a difference in the host communities served, and…

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (Simpson-Rodino Act) has many negative consequences for the city of New York (New York). Major provisions that will affect the city include the following: (1) sanctions on employers of illegal aliens; (2) an amnesty program for illegal aliens; (3) a 5-year limitation on newly amnestied aliens'…

In its second year, the Bilingual Program Resource and Training Center provided instruction in English as a second language (ESL), native language development, basic education, and job counseling to about 2,355 limited-English-speaking students at 15 sites in New York City. Most were recent immigrants without a high school education. About half…