- "Housing as a Productive Family Asset"
- Richard S. Kordesh, with Berenice Alejo, examines how families creatively adopt their housing and land for productive uses in several urban and rural settings. The entire report is available for download in PDF format.
- "Empowerment and Community Planning"
- Dr. Elisheva Sadan, of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, presents a theory of empowerment and develops a practice of empowering community planning. The entire book can be downloaded at http://www.mpow.org/.
- "A Needs Assessment of School-Based Supports for New Hampshire's Substance Dependent Students"
- Sharyn J. Zunz, Ph.D. and Kelley Binette, MSW of the University of New Hampshire investigate what selected New Hampshire high school personnel are doing for substance dependent students and what they see as needed improvements. The entire report is available for download in PDF format (232 KB).
- "Balancing the Scales: Measuring the Roles and Contributions of Nonprofit and Religious Congregations"
- Independent Sector, a coalition of national nonprofit organizations, foundations, and corporate philanthropy programs, has released a new report that details the record-keeping, evaluation, and accountability practices of more than nine hundred nonprofits and religious congregations in a range of nonprofit subsectors. In an atmosphere of uncertainty characterized by growing distrust of business and increased scrutiny of nonprofits, the report, Balancing the Scales: Measuring the Roles and Contributions of Nonprofit and Religious Congregations, examines the efforts of nonprofits and religious congregations to measure their organizational effectiveness and accountability to stakeholders. An executive summary of this report is available at http://www.independentsector.org/PDFs/balancing_scales.pdf
- Community Development Financial Institutions
- Poor people and communities face significant barriers in accessing affordable financial services. One-fourth of low-income families have no banking relationship whatsoever. Offering responsible and affordable financial services to these communities are Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Today, some 800 to 1,000 community-based CDFIs operate in low-income communities nationwide, representing a multi-billion dollar industry. Now you can learn all about CDFIs -- the needs they meet, the kinds of products and services they provide, and the performance and impact they deliver. To download a free copy of the two reports on CDFIs, go to the Corporation for Enterprise Development's web site at www.cfed.org and select "Learn all about Community Development Financial Institutions" under "CFED News."
- Curriculum Innovations in Schools of Social Work
- Members of ACOSA describe new and innovative curriculum initiatives in community practice at their various institutions. The entire report is available for download in PDF format (168 KB).
- PEERS Report
- The story of the Prostitutes, Empowerment, Education and Resource Society (PEERS), founded in 1995, by and for sex trade workers in Vancouver, British Columbia. The report provides a guide for others who want to support women and men in the sex trade in their communities. The entire report is available for download in PDF format (1.59 MB).