Legislation Reform Domestic Abuse

The purpose of human services legislation is to provide assurance and protection to clients quality of life, remove barriers, and expedite services. For instance, under the Rehabilitation Act, individuals with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have access to facilities and services without discrimination. Sometimes, however, the effect of enacted legislation differs from the intention. When the outcome is undesirable, experts often suggest legislation reform to improve practices or delivery of human services. Evidence derived from research and legislative summaries are two ways to get others to support legislation reform.

For this assignment, you suggest reforming a piece of local, state, or federal legislation that affects human services in your area of interest.

The assignment: (3??"4 pages)

Complete a legislative summary in which you recommend the reform of a piece of legislation that affects human services. In your summary be sure to include:


A description of the piece of legislation that affects human services in your area of interest
An explanation of why it should be reformed. Include the pros and cons of reforming the legislation, based on evidence from the literature
Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation.
Customer is requesting that (writergrrl101) completes this order.

Please keep as seperate questions

Chapter 22: Federal Legislation and Impact to the Real Estate
Chapter 22 introduces four major pieces of federal legislation that has impacted the real estate industry and links federal involvement in housing to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is widely accepted that the federal, sate and local governments have a vested interest along with the constitutional obligation to promote fair housing and equal access. Do you agree or disagree with this position that the federal governments obligation to regulate the housing industry and real estate is linked to the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights? Justify your response. Which piece of federal legislation do you consider to be the most critical law that protects the public? Why? In addition, during the past 18 months or so, Congress has aggressively passed legislation to protect homeowners from foreclosure. Is that appropriate?

Chapter 23: Condominiums and Timeshares
Condominiums and timeshares area growing segment in the housing market particularly in urban and resort markets. What are some of the major issues/concerns that buyers should be aware of when investigating the condo/timeshare market for housing? Is there an active condo/timeshare market in your current location?

Chapter 24: Property Insurance
Chapter 24 is a straight forward discussion of the very basics of property insurance. Why do lenders require property insurance and, more to the point, what type of insurance do lenders normally require? What are some of the possible consequences should a home owner allow the policy to lapse? (Hint: this is NOT a discussion of the role PMI plays in the purchase of a home but rather casualty insurance.)

After having read and examined the Constitution and the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions construct an argument for which level of government, state or federal, decides the constitutionality of federal legislation

There are multiple educational achievement gaps. Can you develop a strategy to address one or more of the achievement gaps?

Federal legislation plays an important role in how all students are educated here and around the world. What educational legislation or practice holds the most potential for improving Americas educational outcomes?


Each question will require a 300-500 word response

Select two policy areas or three such as welfare reform, education reform and the NCLB legislation, and health insurance reform, Write an essay in which you (1) identify three general points about the policy making process that are part of the multiple streams framework or the advocacy coalition framework and that you consider particularly interesting, and (2) use the two or more policy examples to illustrate how these points are supported or contradicted by the facts in these cases.

(WELFARE REFORM)

??????Of the 9.7 million uninsured parents in the United States, as many as 3.5 million living below
the federal poverty level could read-
ily be made eligible for Medicaid under current law.
?URBAN INSTITUTE
Brief 24, April 2012
Welfare Reform
What Have We Learned in Fifteen Years?
Sheila R. Zedlewski

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is the only federal means-tested cash safety net program for poor families with children.1 TANF was created in 1996 to replace Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), in effect for 60 years.2 Its passage was part of the sweeping Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, designed to improve the lives of low-income families.
During its 15-year history, TANF has oper- ated in good and bad economic times. What have we learned since its passage? Has the caseload changed substantially? Has the program increased family self-sufficiency? Do we know how to move families into jobs and how to provide critical train- ing and education for disadvantaged parents? How does the program work within the larger safety net? What do we know about family outcomes associated with TANF? What dont we know?
This brief draws primarily from a set of research briefs that address these questions
(box 1).3 The briefs extract lessons for state
and federal policymakers from the best avail- able research. This synthesis, augmented by the research briefs, provides the required background for those interested in the program, as well as ideas for how to strengthen it.
What Is in the TANF Legislation?
Most elements of the original TANF legislation remain in place today. The program was reauthorized only once through the 2005 Deficit Reconciliation Act (DRA), and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) enacted emergency funds to shore up states programs during the Great Recession.
The key provisions of TANF include giving states primary responsibility for TANF design
within broad federal requirements (table 1). Federal rules require states to meet work partici- pation rates (or face financial penalties), prohibit using federal dollars to fund a familys cash assis- tance for more than five years (with some excep- tions), and provide federal block grant funding fixed in 1996 with a maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement for states. Elimination of federal eligibility for documented immigrants in the United States less than five years was a funda- mental part of the legislation.
The TANF reauthorization strengthened the original work requirements by more narrowly defining allowable work activities and specifying the number of hours that could be spent in each activity. While the new requirements restricted states flexibility by defining the types of activi- ties and the hours certain activities can count, the final federal rules helped states meet their new obligations by allowing them to count hours rather than days of participation and expanding the types of assistance credited toward MOE requirements. The DRA also required states to apply work participation requirements to more of their caseloads, and it updated the basis for credits that can reduce states required work participation rates.
The ARRA provided $5 billion in emergency federal funding for states with a 20 percent match requirement. Funds could be used for cash benefits, emergency assistance, subsidized jobs programs, or supports to help families find work. ARRA also modified the basis for calculating caseload reduc- tion credits, temporarily ameliorating states work participation requirements.
State program rules vary considerably within broad federal rules, leading to extreme variation in the size and make-up of caseloads across the country. Generally state TANF programs can be

??PERSPECTIVES ON LOW- INCOME WORKING FAMILIES
?An Urban Institute Program to Assess Changing Social Policies
?BOX 1. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ProgramResearch Synthesis Brief Series
All briefs are available at http://www.urban.org/welfare/TANF.cfm.
?1. TANF Recipients with Barriers to Employment, Dan Bloom, Pamela Loprest, and Sheila Zedlewski.
2. Disconnected Families and TANF, Pamela J. Loprest.
3. TANF Child-Only Cases, Olivia Golden and Amelia Hawkins.
4. TANF and the Broader Safety Net, Sheila Zedlewski.
5. TANF Work Requirements and State Strategies to Fulfill Them, Heather Hahn, David Kassabian, and Sheila Zedlewski.
6. Improving Employment and Earnings for TANF Recipients, Gayle Hamilton.
7. Facilitating Postsecondary Education and Training for TANF Recipients, Gayle Hamilton and Susan
Scrivener.
8. The TANF Caseload, Pamela J. Loprest.
These briefs were funded through a contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation of the Administration for Children and Families, and can also be found on their web site.
?states: 30 percent of the national TANF caseload lives in California.
TANF program rules, the economy, and other safety net programs affect caseloads. Studies document that declining unemployment and the strong economy in the late 1990s contributed to the post-TANF caseload decline. TANF policy explained roughly 20 percent of the decline. Changes in other policies, primarily expansion of the earned income tax credit (EITC), also reduced caseloads. While there has been little rigorous study of caseload trends during the most recent recession, most experts believe that TANF is less responsive to an economic downturn than its predecessor.
Research also shows that specific TANF poli- cies can significantly affect caseloads. In fact, most TANF changes have tended to reduce caseloads, including declining real benefits, mandated work activities, and diversion policies that require sub- stantial evidence of job search or offer a one-time payment in lieu of enrollment. Sanctions either eliminate a case or create a child-only TANF unit. Time limits reduce caseloads, although so far only modestly, since most do not stay on long enough to reach the limit. On the other hand, policies that allow TANF recipients to retain more of their earn- ings and still receive a benefit increase caseloads.
The caseload decline reflects both an increase in the number of families leaving welfare (exits) and a decrease in the number entering (entrants). Studies show that declining TANF entries play
an important role in caseload decline, although
?characterized by shrinking real benefits, strate- gies that divert families from enrolling, sanctions that penalize families for failing to meet program requirements, and benefit time limits. For exam- ple, 30 states paid maximum TANF benefits at less than 30 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) in 2008, compared to 17 states in 1996.4 Only one states benefit exceeded 50 percent of the FPL in 2008, compared with 10 states in 1996. Diversion strategies, not part of the pre- TANF entitlement program, were used in
42 states in 2008 to provide short-term assistance or simply discourage enrollment. States also use sanctions amply. For example, 22 states now impose full family sanctions (elimination of the entire benefit) the first time a family fails to meet program requirements. Such a sanction was not allowed in the AFDC program.
How Has the Caseload Changed?
Caseloads have declined dramatically since passage of TANF (figure 1). The steepest decline occurred shortly after passage of TANF during a period of strong economic growth. In her TANF research brief, Pamela Loprest explains that caseloads have increased somewhat following the 2007 recession, although the number of familis receiv- ing assistance remains below prerecession levels. Caseload trends have varied across the states; some declined more than 80 percent between 1997 and 2010 and others, only 25 percent. As
a result, the caseload is concentrated in a few
??2
?An Urban Institute Program to Assess Changing Social Policies
?TABLE 1. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program: Federal Legislation
Legislation Purposes Key provisions
?Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
of 1996, establishing TANF through 2002
Provide assistance so children could be cared for in own homes or homes of relatives.
End parental dependence on government benefits by pro- moting job preparation, work, and marriage.
Discourage pregnancies outside of marriage.
Encourage formation and mainte- nance of two-parent families.
Strengthen work requirements. Increase family self-sufficiency. Improve reliability of work par-
ticipation data and program integrity.
Emergency funding for state TANF programs in response to recession beginning in 2007.
Give states primary respon- sibility for program design.
Set state work participation rates within 12 categories of activities. Set minimum hours/week to count as participating.
Award caseload reduction credit allowing states to reduce requirement by % of caseload reduction since 1995.
Set time limits on federal benefits.
Fund fixed block grants and require state maintenance of effort (MOE).
Grant bonuses for reducing illegitimacy, achieving high performance.
Define 12 work activities. Define methods for report-
ing and verifying work. Include all families in work
participation requirement. Change the caseload reduc-
tion credit by moving base
year to 2005 from 1995. Broaden expenditures that
count toward MOE. Eliminate bonuses and
establish grants for healthy marriage.
Award $5 billion with state 20% match required.
Increase TANF assistance. Increase short-term benefits. Subsidize employment.
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, extending TANF through fiscal 2010
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, effective through fiscal 2010
?Sources: Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, Pub. L. No. 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105, (1996); Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-171, 120 Stat. 4 (2006); American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Pub. L. No. 111-115, 123 Stat. 115 (2009).
of adults on welfare in 2009 had been on for four years or more. We know little about how many not currently on TANF have accumulated years toward their time limits. We also know little about rates of return to welfare. Some evidence shows that returns declined somewhat between 1997 and 2002 after a two-year period of exiting, but we dont know whether this has continued during a weaker economy.
??increasing exits explain most of the decline in the programs early years. TANF take-up rates, defined as the share of eligible families that enroll, have declined from 79 percent in 1996 to 36 percent in 2007 (the latest data available).
Similar to patterns found in studies of AFDC, the time spent on welfare remains fairly short for most families with adult recipients. For example, administrative data indicate that only 12 percent
??3
?An Urban Institute Program to Assess Changing Social Policies
?FIGURE 1. TANF Caseload and Composition: Millions of Families, Selected Years 4.6
???69.2%
7.7% 23.1%
Single-parent family Two-parent family Child-only cases
?2.3
2000
61.5%
4.0% 34.5%
2.0
2004
54.0%
2.5% 43.6%
1.7
2009
47.3% 4.5% 48.1%
?????????????????1996
Source: Table 3, Characteristics of TANF Active Cases, Various Years. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/character/.
?Child-Only TANF Cases
As shown in figure 1, in 2009 child-only cases, those without a parent eligible for benefits, make up about half of the TANF caseload, compared with about one in five just prior to TANF imple- mentation in 1996. Only 800,000 adults received TANF cash assistance in 2009. Two-parent fami- lies remain a small share of the caseload5 per- cent in 2009 compared with 8 percent in 1996. While the large increase in child-only cases can be attributed to declining numbers of parent families on TANF, it is critical to understand that in half of TANF cases only the children receive benefits.
Olivia Golden and Amelia Hawkins explain that child-only cases have generated little research given their importance to TANF. About 4 in 10
of these families do not include a parent, and two-thirds of children in nonparental cases live with a grandparent. The 6 in 10 child-only TANF families with parents present include parents ineligible due to citizenship rules (42 percent), par- ents receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and therefore ineligible (34 percent), and sanctioned parents (10 percent).5 The child-only shares of cases and the share in each subcategory vary widely across states. Some variations can be explained by state policy or demographic charac- teristics, but no systematic analysis exists.
Golden and Hawkins describe important connections between nonparental child-only units and the child welfare system. State-specific
?studies have documented that one-third to one- half of these cases involved child protective ser- vices to some degree. Studies have also suggested particular concerns about these childrens well- being. Federal and state policies affect how these TANF cases form by whether local agencies seek kin to care for maltreated children and whether kin can be licensed as foster parents who receive caregiver subsidies as permanent guardians or adoptive parents. These subsidies would typically make them ineligible for TANF.
Child-only units created through parent ineligibility present different questions. Children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants are automatically citizens and eli- gible for TANF if their parents resources are low enough to qualify. (Some states also fund ben- efits to the parents.) In most states, parents who receive SSI disability payments are not themselves eligible for TANF (because the SSI benefit is too high), but their children may be. And states that sanction parents but not their children for some or all rule violations create child-only units. Unlike parents in other child-only cases, sanctioned par- ents may count as work eligible and be included in states work participation calculations.6
Characteristics of Parents Receiving TANF
The characteristics of adults receiving welfare have changed little since passage of TANF. Pamela Loprest reports that some state-specific studies
??4
??application requires extensive documentation of disabilities and, sometimes, multiple hearings. States may connect recipients to legal services
or other providers to help them through the process. A few TANF programs have their own medical assessments that mimic those used by SSI to ensure applicants have a high probability of eligibility. States typically exempt TANF recipi- ents applying for SSI from work activities, which could jeopardize their approval. However, federal rules count SSI applicants in states work partici- pation rate calculations. Some states move SSI applicants into separate state-funded programs so they do not count in the participation rate, and so the applicants waiting time does not count against the TANF time limit.
How Do States Meet the Work Participation Requirements?
In most states, work is TANFs primary focus.
Heather Hahn, David Kassabian, and Sheila Zedlewski describe how most states have met the DRA requirements, despite the weakening econ- omy. States adopted multiple strategies, such as creating more unpaid work opportunities, keep- ing working families in the caseload longer, and moving some families into solely state-funded programs (SSFs) outside of TANF.
Since its inception, TANF has required states to engage at least half of all TANF families with a work-eligible individual and at least 90 percent of two-parent TANF families with two work-eligible individuals in work or work activities. Nearly
all TANF adult recipients are classified as work eligible.7 While states can exclude certain groups from these requirements, ederal regulations require states count all work-eligible adults in the participation rate.
With a couple of exceptions, work-eligible TANF recipients must participate in work activi- ties for at least 30 hours a week, including at least 20 hours in a core activity (including employ- ment) and the remaining hours in core or non- core activities (such as education). Single parents with children under age 6 must participate for
a total of 20 hours per week, and teen parents count as participating as long as they are attend- ing school. The DRA carefully defines allowable core and noncore activities and in some cases limits the amount of each activity that can count. Post-DRA regulations allow states to count hourly equivalents toward these requirements. Many states had to set up new systems for reporting and verifying hours of participation to meet the new requirements.
?find evidence of increases in health problems, and administrative data show small increases in the Hispanic and Native American shares of recipi- ents. The share of noncitizen cases has declined.
When TANF first passed, many hypoth- esized that parents in the program would become an increasingly hard-to-employ group as the more work-ready recipients moved into jobs. Yet, the share of the TANF adult caseload with barriers to employment has remained fairly constant.
Dan Bloom, Pamela Loprest, and Sheila Zedlewski report that, generally, studies find most adults receiving TANF have at least one barrier to employment, including low educa- tion, limited work experience, mental or physical health challenges, and caregiving responsibilities for special needs children. Nationally representa- tive and state-specific studies generally find that about 4 in 10 adults on TANF have multiple barriers. Most barriers are associated with lower employment, and the likelihood of work declines as the number of barriers increases.
Programs that identify and serve TANF recipients with barriers to employment are com- plex. States often provide a range of services apart from work supports, including intensive case management, rehabilitative services, job coach- ing, support groups, and referrals. Many create individual plans geared to overcoming multiple, varied challenges.
The literature shows that some services help move these recipients to work. Interventions
that have been tested and rigorously evaluated fall along a continuum of service strategies, from models focused on work experience to those focused on treatment. Evaluations of eight post- TANF interventions conclude that most achieved at least some positive impacts. For example, pro- grams focused on employment that include a mix of job preparation and work experience show small increases in employment, sometimes last- ing for several years. Programs focused primarily on treatment succeed in their immediate goal
of increasing participation in substance abuse
or mental health services. However, increases in treatment participation do not typically translate into better health or employment outcomes. Some evidence suggests that expensive, intensive case management models that include small caseloads and a home visiting component hold promise.
As part of states strategies for serving the hard-to-employ, many help TANF recipients apply for SSI, the federal program for low-income persons with disabilities severe enough to pre- vent work. The complex, time-consuming SSI
??
??Caseload reduction credits can lower the required participation rates. Credits can be earned either by reducing the TANF caseload relative
to a base year or by contributing more than the required MOE on TANF-related activities. The DRA changed the base year from 1995 to 2005, substantially reducing this avenue for achieving credits since most of the TANF caseload declined in the years just after TANF passed. However, excess MOE credits have increased. A state can deduct from its participation requirement the number of cases that could be funded with excess MOE dollars.8 This has allowed many states to earn enough credits to meet their work participa- tion rates. Just prior to the DRA, 17 states met their rates through caseload reduction credits alone, compared with 21 states in 2009.
States employ numerous strategies to achieve these work participation rates. Most states count a combination of job-related education and train- ing and employment activities. Creative strategies include keeping working families in the caseload and removing nonworking families. More gener- ous earned income disregards or small monthly supplements for families with earnings high enough to otherwise disqualify them increase
the share of the adult caseload with earnings.
Full family sanctions cut nonworking families from the caseload. Moving hard-to-employ and two-parent families into SSFs also reduces the nonworking part of the caseload. Diversion strat- egies that offer a short-term cash payment in lieu of enrollment or that require substantial proof of employment search before enrollment also keep nonworking adults off the caseloads.
The national all-families work participa- tion rate has ranged between 31 and 35 percent for most of TANF history.9 Individual states all-families rates ranged from 10 to 68 percent in 2009. Yet, most states were able to meet the fed- eral requirements by combining these work par- ticipation rates with caseload reduction credits.10
What Employment and Education Programs Increase Self Sufficiency?
Policymakers often want to know what strategies would help TANF parents or those with similar characteristics move into employment and long- term self-sufficiency. Gayle Hamilton synthesizes a large body of evidence evaluating such strate- gies, and Gayle Hamilton and Susan Scrivener describe the effectiveness of initiatives to increase postsecondary education and training.
Employment models. Rigorous research shows that both work-first and education-first strategies
?can increase work and earnings compared with having no program, even after five years. But mandatory job search gets people into jobs sooner, and education-first strategies do not ultimately increase likelihood of holding a good job or even more jobs. Mixed strategies that combine high-quality program services (such as training, case management, and support services) delivered by community colleges with a strong employment focus work best. The literature shows a clear role for skills enhancement, partic- ularly when credentials are earned, but job seek- ing and work along with education and training are important.
Other research examines the effectiveness
of subsidized work models that use public funds to create or support temporary work opportuni- ties. These experiments have typically targeted very disadvantaged individuals. The results sug- gest these programs have boosted employment
in the short run but rarely in the longer term. Transitional jobs programsdefined as providing a temporary, wage-paying job with support ser- vices and some case managementmay also cre- ate useful work opportunities and reduce welfare receipt. However, the one available rigorously- evaluated program did not improve longer-term unsubsidized employment or earnings.
Other interventions focus on sectoral training initiatives that connect employment programs
to specific businesses and industries through integrated skills training. One study that rigor- ously tested the effects of such training for low- income individuals (all of whom had completed high school or GED) showed promise based on increased employment and earnings in a two-year follow-up period.
Many studies show that supplementing low-wage workers earnings can promote employ- ment, and longer-lasting effects may be attain- able. Effects are larger when these incentives are combined with job search services. These studies also show that wage supplements can affect work hours since individuals can work less and still maintain income, suggesting an important trade- off in designing incentives.
Other initiatives seek to increase job reten- tion. Current and former TANF recipients have trouble maintaining employment and consistentlyearning wages. Programs such as job search assis- tance after a job loss, job coaching, and assistance in accessing work supports such as food stamps and child care may increase employment reten- tion and earnings. Evaluation results have been mixed. Numerous programs have lacked proven impacts, but others showed success. Financial incentives for employment retention along with
??
??promise. Low-income parents in such programs were more likely to attend college full time, earn better grades, and earn more credits. They also registered for college at higher rates.
What Other Services Does TANF Provide?
All discussions about hard-to-employ TANF recipients, work participation rates, and initia- tives to increase employment or education miss
a large part of the TANF program. In fiscal year 2009, states spent 73 percent of TANF funds (federal and state MOE) for purposes other than cash assistance, compared with 30 percent in fis- cal year 1997 (U.S. GAO 2011, 8). This non- assistance includes spending that furthers TANF goals, such as child care, transportation, refund- able tax credits, short-term assistance (including diversion payments), and employment programs. Some spending directly helps current and for- mer TANF cash assistance recipients and some
is directed to a broader population that never received TANF.
A large share of states nonassistance spend- ing (about 30 percent in 2009) gets categorized as other on federal reporting forms, and states were required to provide additional detail on this spending in 2011 (U.S. DHHS 2011). The early results indicate that most goes toward child wel- fare payments and services (25 percent). Other spending is divided across a wide range of activi- ties, including emergency assistance, domestic vio- lence, and mental health and addiction services.
Many low-income families served through the TANF block grant are not reflected in the caseload counts. There is a wide range of non- assistance spending across states: California spent 62 percent of expenditures on assistance for TANF recipients (including cash payments, child care, and transportation), compared with only 20 per- cent in Wisconsin.
How Does TANF Fit with the Broader Safety Net?
Sheila Zedlewski shows how TANF often serves as a portal to other safety net benefits for low- income families with children. Families that enroll in TANF typically get enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid automatically, and work- ing recipients receive child care subsidies. Most families receive these benefits when they transi- tion off TANF, although rules vary across the states. As noted, TANF programs may help those with significant disabilities apply for SSI.
?job coaching, and close ties between providers or staff and employers seem to work best.
Education models. Whether TANF should promote increased education, particularly post- secondary education, to help recipients to reach self-sufficiency is a long-standing debate. As noted above, the DRA limited how much educa- tion can be counted as a work activity, consistent with results showing that education before job placement does not work better than job place- ment alone. DRA limited vocational training to 12 months for a given recipient, and training and education directly related to employment can only count when combined with 20 hours in a core work activity.
Arguments for increasing education derive from evidence showing more education leads
to higher earnings. Over the last 25 years wages have increased for those with college or more, wages for high school graduates have remained stagnant, and wages for high school dropouts have fallen. People with an associates degree or who completed a certificate program earn more than those with only a high school diploma or GED. Since only one-third of low-income work- ers with children have more than a high school diploma and one-third are high school dropouts, many seek to increase education among this population.
Gayle Hamilton and Susan Scrivener con- clude that the evaluations of models focused on increasing postsecondary education for low-wage workers contradict the broader evidence that more education increases earnings. Initiatives that aim to increase postsecondary education and train- ing typically test whether training occurs and whether the increased education increases earn- ings. Results for recent models that target TANF recipients by combining referrals to community college or training with at least 20 hours a week
of paid work are not encouraging. For individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent, add- ing education to mandated work when compared with a typical work-first program had little or no effect on participation in education or training
or completion of certificates or diplomas. On the other hand, sector-based training models that tar- get individuals with specific aptitudes for specific occupations (such as health care or information technology) and assist with job matching did increase those who began and completed train- ing. Sector-based training programs also increased earnings, although gains were generally modest.
Other programs aim to help those already enrolled in community college stay in school. Performance-based scholarship programs that pay students if they meet academic benchmarks hold
??
??TANF itself represents a relatively small part of the safety net. Medicaid, SSI, SNAP, and the federal EITC expenditures (even considering only the portion focused on families with chil- dren), far exceed spending on TANF. In 2009, 81 percent of TANF families also received SNAP, 98 percent received Medicaid, and 16 percent received SSI. Nonetheless, TANF families com- prise relatively small shares of these programs. They make up about 19 percent of all SNAP households with children and 14 percent of the SSI awards to nonelderly individuals.
Other important parts of the safety net
for TANF families include child care subsidies, Workforce Investment Act (WIA) services, and child support enforcement. TANF parents who work are guaranteed subsidies for child care; other low-income parents not on TANF may also qualify. Rules vary tremendously across states. The latest administrative data indicate that 9 percent of all TANF cases receive child care subsidies. (Since only half of TANF cases have a work- eligible adult and about 30 percent of them engage in work activities, the share requiring child care is relatively small.)
WIA provides employment services (job search and preparation, training and education) that are typically available to low-income indi- viduals outside of TANF. Some states have strong connections between their TANF and WIA programs to create a more streamlined employ- ment support system, while others simply refer TANF clients to WIA agencies. In general, few low-income workers receive WIA employment services owing to limited and declining funds ($3 billion in 2009).
The Office of Child Support Enforcement funds programs to locate parents, establish paternity and support orders, and collect sup- port payments. These services are available automatically for families receiving TANF assis- tance and for other families upon request. The program distributed $26 billion in child support payments in 2009, an important source of sup- port for custodial parents. In 2009, 14 percent of TANF parents received some child support income.
A small share of unemployed TANF parents receives Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. When TANF first passed, many hoped that more low-income parents with children would qualify for benefits as they gained more work experience. UI benefits would then reduce the need for cash welfare benefits. While the share of unemployed single parents receiving UI benefits has increased, it is still only 30 percent (Nichols and Zedlewski 2011).
?Studies show that low-income families rarely receive all of the safety net benefits for which they are eligible. Complex program rules and inter- actions often make it difficult to learn about eli- gibility and access services, and participation rates vary across programs. Studies documenting pst- TANF coordination of benefits show that some states use several structures such as colocation
of services, but service delivery in most states is uneven. Studies document that the complexity of forms and regulations, hassles and hurdles to get on and stay on the rolls, and unfriendly offices all contribute to low participation.
How Have Families Been Affected?
Most research on the effect of TANF on family and child outcomes concludes it has had few measureable effects. A 2009 book edited by James Ziliak summarizes these findings: Rebecca Blanks chapter outlines what we know about work and welfare participation (see above in the discussion of caseload decline), health and health insurance, child outcomes and child care usage, and family composition and fertility. One caveat is that most reviewed studies reflect only data through 2000 and 2002; in two cases, data carry through 2004.
Blanks review of the evidence concludes that welfare reform reduced health insurance coverage, but the effects on single women were quite small. Also, any evidence of the impact of insurance changes on health outcomes is limited.
Blank also concludes that childrens outcomes do not appear to be significantly affected by wel- fare reform. Some evidence suggests that young children do slightly better if child care subsidies allow newly working parents to place children
in formal child care settings. One motivation of welfare reform was the hope that moving moth- ers into work would increase childrens aware- ness of the value of education and the need to prepare for work, but little evidence supports or refutes these claims. Evidence of any effects of welfare reform on marriage is also quite weak. Cohabitation has increased, but this is likely because single mothers have more need to share incomes. Research continues to show minor effects of welfare reform on fertility.
More recent attention has focused on dis- connected families, a potentially negative effect of welfare reform. As Pamela Loprest explains, many pointed to caseload declines and increases in working single parents as evidence of TANFs success. Yet national and state studies also began to note that a significant minority of former
??
??recipients did not leave welfare with employment. Coupled with declining TANF enrollment, con- cerns were raised about families disconnected from the labor market and cash public assistance (TANF or disability benefits).
One national study estimates that one in five recipients who left TANF in the past two years were disconnected. Among all low-income single mothers, estimates range from 17 to 26 percent. While incomes are low, child support is one important source of income. Many also receive SNAP or housing assistance.
Studies also show that disconnected families are more disadvantaged than other low-income single-mother families. They have a high rate of barriers to work, such as physical and mental dis- abilities. Many live with other adults (about one- third with a cohabiter and one-third with relatives and friends) and one-third live alone. Studies that include cohabiters income show that these families typically still have incomes below poverty.
While the evidence on the length of time spent as a disconnected family is scant, some research indicates that many families move in and out of this state, but a substantial minority are dis- connected for long times For example, one study finds 17 percent of disconnected single-mother families were disconnected for an entire year.
Summing Up
TANF is a very different program than its pre- decessor that primarily paid cash benefits to very low income parents with children:
1. The nature of the caseload and focus of spend- ing have changed dramatically.
???? Only half the TANF caseloadabout
800,000 familiesincludes parents receiving benefits. Child-only units
make up the rest. While 6 in 10 of these families include ineligible parents (due to receipt of disability benefits, immigration status, or sanctioned status), 4 in 10 do not. Children in these families live with relatives (mostly grandparents) or legal guardians.
???? Over 7 in 10 TANF dollars pay for services that do not count as assistance or affect
the caseload counts. Low-income families with children may receive emergency cash intended to divert them from enrolling, child care or transportation assistance, or even a refundable state EITC. In some states TANF dollars help fund child welfare programs.
?2. TANF programs usually focus on moving par- ents who receive benefits into employment.
???? Federal regulations require states to meet
work participation rates of 50 percent
for all families. States employ numerous strategies to count adult recipients in work activities, including incentives that allow parents to keep some TANF benefit when working and penalties that remove nonparticipating families from the case- load. States, on average, only reach a
30 percent work participation rate. The remainder of the requirement is met through credits earned through caseload decline and monies spent on services for low-income families in excess of states MOE requirement.
???? About 8 in 10 parents on TANF have at least one barrier to employment, and 4
in 10 have multiple barriers (poor mental or physical health, lack of a high school diploma, limited work experience, or care of a disabled family member). States often have specialized services for the hardest to employ, although effective solutions seem illusive.
3. Strong evidence is scarce on strategies that move families to self-sufficiency.
???? Rigorously evaluated programs to increase
employment or education among TANF recipients or similar populations have not held much promise, especially in terms of long-term employment or earnings increases.
???? Evaluations of both types of interventions suggest that models combining work with skills training and targeting specific indus- try needs work best.
4. TANF serves as a portal for access to other safety net programs.
???? While TANF families do not make up
large shares of other safety net programs, they do tend to receive other benefits, especially SNAP and Medicaid, to aug- ment TANF.
???? Despite increased labor market experience among single mothers over the last decade, few qualify for UI.
???? While some studies conclude that connec- tions across safety net programs should
be better coordinated, TANFs assistance with access to disability benefits, SNAP, subsidized child care, and employment and child support services fills a critical need for low-income families.
??
??When Congress finally tackles the next reauthorization of TANF (originally due in 2010), it needs to recognize that TANF does not provide much regular cash assistance. Instead, the program lives up to its name of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Families in need are more likely to receive a helping hand than what many think of as a welfare check. The programs nature leads to concerns, especially in a weak economy, about parents who cannot find a job or who have a disability and do not qualify for other income supports. The share of low-income single par- ents classified as disconnected from work and cash assistance will likely continue to increase without new reforms.
We could strengthen the safety net through proposals to expand UI coverage for more job losers, offer broad support for specialized training connected to employer needs, subsidize jobs with targeted support services, and guarantee regular, but temporary, cash assistance for families that have no other income. ARRA funded subsidized jobs programs, and states showed they could quickly gear up effective programs. The DRA focused states resources on counting work activities rather than developing and testing programs that effectively move parents into jobs. TANF reauthori- zation should learn from these experiences.
Rep. Gwen Moore (DWI) has introduced the Rewriting to Improve and Secure an Exit Out of Poverty Act (the RISE Act) to overhaul TANF. The bill includes numerous improvements such as updating and indexing of the block grant funds, eliminating time limits on types of work prticipation (such as education), and eliminat- ing full family sanctions. These proposals, along with other ideas based on 15 years of experience, should be debated to strengthen TANF and the safety net for vulnerable families.
Notes
1. The other means-tested cash assistance program, Supplemental Security Income, serves individuals with serious disabilities.
2. AFDC was created in 1935 through Title IV of the Social Security Act.
?3. The research briefs were developed under contract to the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
4. This summary of rule changes is taken from Zedlewski and Golden (2010).
5. The numbers do not add to 100 percent because 14 per- cent of these families cannot be categorized.
6. States may disregard an adult penalized for refusal to work in that month, unless the adult has been penalized for more than 3 of the last 12 months (U.S. DHHS 2011).
7. At state option, single parents of children under age 1 may be excluded. Child-only families are not included.
8. The excess MOE credit is deducted from the number of cases required to participate in work activities.
9. The two-parent rate has averaged between 40 and 50 percent.
10. In 2009, eight states failed to meet the all-families rate but nearly all avoided penalties by providing reasonable cause or submitting corrective compliance plans to HHS.
References
Nichols, Austin, and Sheila Zedlewski. 2011. Is the Safety Net Catching Unemployed Families? Perspectives on Low-Income Working Families brief 21. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. http://www.urban.org/url. cfm?ID=412397.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. 2011. Engagement in Additional Work Activities and Expenditures for Other Benefits and Services. A TANF Report to Congress. Washington, DC: Administration for Children and Families.
U.S. Government Accountability Office. 2011. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Update on Families Served and Work Participation. GAO-11-880T. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Zedlewski, Sheila, and Olivia Golden. 2010. Next Steps for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Perspectives on Low-Income Working Families brief 11. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. http://www.urban.org/url. cfm?ID=412047.
Ziliak, James, ed. 2009. Welfare Reform and Its Long-Term Consequences for Americas Poor. New York: Cambridge University Press.
??
??????????Nonprofit Org. US Postage PAID Easton, MD Permit No. 8098
??????????2100 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20037-1231
Return Service Requested
??This brief is part of the Urban Institutes Low-Income Working Families project, a multiyear effort that focuses on the private- and public-sector contexts for families success or failure. Both contexts offer opportunities for better helping families meet their needs.
The Low-Income Working Families project is currently supported by The Annie E. Casey Foundation.











(EXAMPLE 2)

(No Child Left Behind)Required reading: Andrew Rudalevige, No Child Left Behind: Forging a Congressional Compromise, in Paul Peterson and Martin West, eds., No Child Left Behind? (Brookings Institution, 2003)


Richard Kahlenberg, editor, Improving on No Child Left Behind, Century Foundation Press, 2008, Chapter 1.




Adolino and Blake, Comparing Public Policies, Chapter 10.
Additional Optional Readings: Paul Mann, Collision Course: Federal Education Policy Meets State and Local Realities, CQ Press, 2011.


??Required reading: John Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies, Epilogue, pages 231-248.


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SUBDOMAIN 610.2 - GOVERNANCE, FINANCE, LAW, & LEADERSHIP FOR PRINCIPALS



Competency 610.2.6: Legal and Fiscal Operational Procedures - The graduate applies in practice knowledge of procedures for the operation of school organizations in compliance with legal and fiscal guidelines.

Objectives:
610.2.6-01: Analyze the impact of specified major court decisions on PK??"12 school leadership.
610.2.6-02: Analyze the impact of specified federal legislation on PK??"12 school leadership.
610.2.6-03: Analyze the impact of specified state legislation on PK??"12 school leadership in a school organization.
610.2.6-04: Propose a leadership solution or action for a given PK??"12 situation based on appropriate legislative and/or judicial action.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction:

Judicial activity has produced a sizable body of school law that educators should be familiar with if they wish to conduct themselves in a legally defensible manner. Those educators who fly by the seat of their pants or who act on the basis of what they think the law should be may be in difficulty if sufficient thought is not given to the legal implications and ramifications of their policies or conduct (LaMorte, 2008, p. xxv).

School principals have, as one of many areas of responsibility, leadership over fiscal and legal compliance within the school building. As such, major court decisions and legislation have an impact on the daily operations and practices of school instructional team leaders.

Task:

Note: You should refer to your case study school setting as you complete this task.

Write a brief essay (suggested length of 3??"5 pages) in which you:


A. Analyze the impact of New Jersey v. T.L.O. (469 US 325, 1985) by doing the following:

1. Explain the court decision in this case.

2. Analyze the impact of the court decision on the responsibilities of school principals.



B. Analyze the impact of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by doing the following:

1. Explain the major premises of this federal legislation.

2. Analyze the impact of this federal legislation on the responsibilities of school principals.


C. Identify one example of your states legislation regarding public education.

1. Analyze the impact of this state legislation on the responsibilities of school principals.


D. Discuss the issues of tort liability on the part of school administrators for activities conducted in the school building by doing the following:

1. Explain what standard of care is owed students during the school day.

2. Propose a reasonable and legally defensible action for a school administrator to take regarding supervision of students before school hours.


E. Include all in-text citations and references in APA format.


Note: Please save word-processing documents as *.rtf (Rich Text Format) files.

Note: For definitions of terms commonly used in the rubric, see the attached Rubric Terms.



Note: When using outside sources to support ideas and elements in a paper or project, the submission MUST include APA formatted in-text citations with a corresponding reference list for any direct quotes or paraphrasing. It is not necessary to list sources that were consulted if they have not been quoted or paraphrased in the text of the paper or project.


Note: No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from outside sources, even if cited correctly. For tips on using APA style, please refer to the APA Handout Web link below.

Reference List:



Note: This reference list refers only to direct citations in the task above and may be different than those you need to complete the task. Consult your Course of Study for a list of suggested learning resources.



LaMorte, M. (2008). School law: Cases and concepts (9th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.



Rubrics:
1. LGT1 - 610.2.6-01-04
Web Links:
1. APA Handout PLEASE READ!! GUIDELINES TO APA FORMATTING.
2. Rubric Terms

Evaluation Method
A rubric is used in this Evaluation.
Name of rubric: LGT1 - 610.2.6-01-04 [View rubric]
Final scoring method: Score is automatically computed based on rubric criteria scores

Select a piece of federal legislation from the last 30 years which addresses an issue of importance to women. I chose the child support distribution act (child support). Fully research this policy in order to answer the following questions: 1. what is the official (and non official, if applicable) name of your chosen policy? 2. how does this policy impact women? does it have a disparate impact on particular groups of women? which ones and why? 3. what was/is the legislative history of this bill/law? who sponsored this bill? why did they introduce it? how did it fare in the congressional process of becoming law (committees, etc.)? who were its major supporters and detractors? why did they hold that position? what was the ultimate outcome for the legislation? 4. what is the current status of this policy? that is, has it been removed by the supreme court or amended by congress? if not, are there any existing attempts to remove or undermine this policy?

This paper must include a work cited page and include citations in the body of the paper

Thesis Statement:
Even though, marijuana is an illegal drug it has many advantages and disadvantages for medical purposes, but because of the legal status surrounding the use of the drug, there are only several states that legalize marijuana for medical use.

First Body Paragraph:
Marijuana is an illegal drug it has many advantages and disadvantages for medical purposes. First, understanding what marijuana is can be describe as a mixture of the leaves and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant also called Cannabis sativa, (New World Encyclopedia, 2002). Over the years there has been controversy of marijuana for medical use. Before there was not enough medical research to support the use of marijuana relieving symptoms of most sever diseases. For instance, the advantages of the use of marijuana are effective in relieving nausea, vomiting, acute pain, and improve appetite in people with HIV-related disorders. (CMAJ 2008). For what the public has been told marijuana (cannabis) is still an illegal drug, but is becoming more aware of the acceptance of the treatment. In 2001, the Canadian government responded to demands to allow marijuana for medical use if authorized by a doctor, for patients with server symptoms related to cancer, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy. The controversy to legalize the drug is a disadvantage of the use of marijuana. Cultivating hemp for marijuana is illegal but a few countries under the federal Control Substance Act (1970) is listed as a Schedule I substance. (New World Encyclopedia 2002). Because of the many issues related to the medical purpose of marijuana use understanding the cause and effects of the drug.



Running Head: Medical Marijuana








Outline of: Medical Marijuana: ?The Use of Marijuana for Medical Purposes?
Konette Davis
Kaplan University
CM 109-22










Medical Marijuana: The Use of Medical Marijuana for Medical Purposes
I. Introduction
II. Marijuana is an illegal drug it has many advantages and disadvantages for medical purposes.
A. First, understanding what marijuana is can be describe as a mixture of the leaves and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant also called Cannabis sativa, (New World Encyclopedia, 2002).
B. Before there was not enough medical research to support the use of marijuana relieving symptoms of most sever diseases. For instance, the advantages of the use of marijuana are effective in relieving nausea, vomiting, acute pain, and improve appetite in people with HIV-related disorders. (CMAJ 2008).
C. In 2001, the Canadian government responded to demands to allow marijuana for medical use if authorized by a doctor, for patients with server symptoms related to cancer, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy.
D. The controversy to legalize the drug is a disadvantage of the use of marijuana. Cultivating hemp for marijuana is illegal but a few countries under the federal Control Substance Act (1970) is listed as a Schedule I substance. (New World Encyclopedia 2002).
III. Because of the legal status surrounding the use of the drug, there are only several states that legalize marijuana for medical use.
A. State and federal legislation are conflicting over to legalize marijuana for medical use.
B. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has no role in the manufacture, composition, labeling, or purity of the final product. (ASHSP 2007)

IV. Conclusion

files for order uploaded to fax/file board.

Please conduct a literature review and analyze research finding about this topic (Federal legislation enacted in the past few years has unfairly benefited homeowners who should not have bought such expensive houses and taken on so much debt)

here is more explanation about the statement:

most homeowners continued to pay on their mortgages throughout the latest recession. But those who imprudently borrowed too much to buy houses that were too expensive were bailed out by the federal government and some of the banks. This is grossly unfair, because it rewards speculative and unsound financial behavior. Those who had no money down on their house purchases were 10 times more likely to default on their mortgages than those who put down a normal down payment. No one could have predicted the latest recession, or at least its magnitude. Therefore, many hard working Americans bought homes in anticipation of keeping their jobs. It is times like these that the federal government should step in with programs that help out those who can no longer make their mortgage payments. Moreover, many individuals were pushed into buying homes they could not afford by unscrupulous mortgage agents.

tO done by researcher BruinJDS

500 Words

Where does Cheif Justice Marshall ground the right of the Supreme Court to judicially review federal legislation? is such a right narrow or broad, according to the Marbury decision?

In 5-10 sentences each answer the following:

KEEP NUMBERED

CLO #1: Describe what is entailed in property rights.
CLO #2: Explain a legal description.
CLO #3: List the legal requirements of deeds and leases.
CLO #4: Explain a real estate contract.
CLO #5: Explain a real estate appraisal.
CLO #6: Describe the contents or a mortgage or deed of trust.
CLO #7: Define property insurance requirements.
CLO #8: Describe the impact of federal legislation on fair housing
CLO #9: Describe the impact the real estate market has on the economy

This is 3 pages the first page should answer Question 1 in essay format the second page should answer question 2 in essay format and the third page should answer question 3 the questions should not be incorporated into one paper. Each page should answer each individual question. Each page should have at least two references and its ok to include all the references on one page.


1. Identify one of the challenges to American democracy noted by Hudson and how interest groups have contributed to either the evolution of this problem, or to the resolution of the dilemma.



2. To what extent have interest group lobbying diminished or increased over the last two presidential administrations? Discuss the basis for your impressions.



3. Should interest group activity be curtailed by federal legislation? To the degree that this is practicable and constitutional, would diminishing the power of public interest groups be beneficial for American democracy?




Recommended:



Lopipero, P., Apollonio, D. E., & Bero, L. A. (2007). Interest Groups, Lobbying, and Deception: The Tobacco Industry and Airline Smoking. Political Science Quarterly, 122(4), 635-656.



Calvert, C., Allen-Brunner, W., & Locke, C. M. (2010). PLAYING POLITICS OR PROTECTING CHILDREN? CONGRESSIONAL ACTION & A FIRST AMENDMENT ANALYSIS OF THE FAMILY SMOKING PREVENTION AND TOBACCO CONTROL ACT. Journal of Legislation, 36(2), 201-248.



Prinz, A. (2009). The political economy of smoking regulation and taxation. Public Choice, 141(3/4), 291-303. doi:10.1007/s11127-009-9452-9. Studlar, D. T. (2008). U.S. Tobacco Control: Public Health, Political Economy, or Morality Policy?. Review of Policy Research, 25(5), 393-410. doi:10.1111/j.1541-1338.2008.00343.x











Recommended Web Links


i. General Public Opinion Site

1. http://www.publicagenda.org/

2. http://www.gallup.com/Home.aspx

3. http://www.pollingreport.com/

select one state or federal legislation that addresses the needs of the vulnerable populations in the us. compare and contrast the impact the policy has had on a select population.( References need to be peer reviewed, and must be within the last 5 years.)

C. Social Policy and Federal Representative

Part 1. Start this project by identifying current state or federal legislation focusing on a topic of interest from this course (Gay and Lesbian Abuse and the military Dont Ask Dont Tell Policy). You can obtain this information on-line as you did above, by calling your Representative in the State government or the Federal government, or from your local library. Locate media commentary on the legislation in newspapers, magazines (Congressional Record), or books. Prepare an analysis of the social policy using information from the text. Does the legislation include a definition? Are any theories referenced and used to support the need for the legislation There may be one or more bills being presented that deal with the issue in family violence that you have chosen. Note, the current policy may be a modification of an existing piece of legislation. You can discuss the issues with your classmates on-line. You should write a 3 to 5 page summary of the issue using the resource material to criticize or support the legislation.


If your project requires you to do research, such as newspaper articles, use APA style.

This paper is explanatory synthesi of gay marriage. This is to explain about gay marriage.
It is not a paper to argue.
My paper should follow the format below;
1 introduction; introduce issues of gay marriage.
2.Background / History: i.e.) what is the state of gay marriage in the United states Today? How many states, for example, allow gay marriage? Prohibit gay marriage? How many recognize civil unions? What has been the position of the federal government over the past fifteen years? What kinds of states and federal legislation have been passed (or debated) in recent years, and what kinds of decisions have been made by state and federal courts in response? What do recent polls about the subject reveal? Based on your findings, do you believe that the social and political climate for gay marriage is improving or deteriorating?
3.For (pros)
4.Against
5.conclusion.

***You should use easy and simple English because I speak English as a second language.****
**You must use 3 sources. I sent you 2 sources****you must read sources I send you to write my paper.
***You must use at least these 3 sources as support with citations**** please use these three sources to make citaions.
1.For Gay Marriage Andrew Sullivan (sent by PDF file)
2. Against Gay Marriage WILLIAM J. BENNETT (seny by word file)
3.http://www.balancedpolitics.org/same_sex_marriages.htm.
(go to www.balancedpolitics.org and find section for same sex marriage if you can not find website at once) you must have one source from this website.

Just use 3 sources as I mentioned above.

**the citations must lend support to the issue not just put in as extra words***


This is how my paper is going to be graded
Intro-10
Background/History of the issue 10
The For side 10
The against 10
Conclusion 10
works cited page, done correctly 10
use at least 3 sources as support with citations. 10
the citations must lend support to the issue not just put in as extra words.15
Readability 15
Turn it in 10

You can write less than 3 pages. Do not write useless things to just fill up the pages. It can be just 2 and half pages. It is up to you but do not please write down any useless things also please follow the format.

You must follow format given
1 introduction; introduce issues of gay marriage.
2.Background/history: i.e.) what is the state of gay marriage in the United states Today? How many states, for example, allow gay marriage? Prohibit gay marriage? How many recognize civil unions? What has been the position of the federal government over the past fifteen years? What kinds of states and federal legislation have been passed (or debated) in recent years, and what kinds of decisions have been made by state and federal courts in response? What do recent polls about the subject reveal? Based on your findings, do you believe that the social and political climate for gay marriage is improving or deteriorating?
3.For (pros)
4.Against
5.conclusion.
Do not miss any one of five. Also, do not forget to use easy English.

There are faxes for this order.

Course: English Composition II

Topic: Create a research proposal (Childhood Obesity in America)

Requirements: Topic: My thesis statement: We need to pass legislation to fight solving the problem of childhood obesity in America. I believe we need to do something now about the problem of child obesity before it?s too late.

Here is where I need help writing:
A research paper that is at least 500-600 words in length in an APA format.

Possible Academic topic:
? We need to fight the causes of childhood obesity in America; our children are dying too soon.
? The FDA needs to speed up the approval process for pharmaceutical products.
? In order to fight the epidemic of obesity in our children there needs to be a mandatory requirement for 60 minutes of a physical fitness exercise program in every school.
? There should be federal legislation mandating required classes at every educational level K-12 teaching children on habits to keeping our children healthy and within their ideal weight
There must be in-text citation in the research proposal.

1. Cover page and APA formatting:

2. Purpose:
? What is your rationale for this project? Passing congressional legislation to support a program to educated everyone about the issue in America facing childhood obesity.
? What do you hope to learn from the project, or what to do you want to see happen as a result of it? A funded program to fight childhood obesity
? Who is your audience for this project? United States Congress of state level
? What role will you play in this project? Advocate

3. Statement of qualification:
Address the following questions as they are applicable to your project.
? What is your investment in the topic? Health Care and educational program for overweight children
? What personal experience do you bring to the topic? Very little, but I have seen many overweight children who suffer so much in life because they are so overweight. Parents need government assistance in the fight to help their children to lose weight.
? What special qualities do you bring to the project? None
? How might your investment, experience, and special qualities make you particularly apt at developing this project? My investment is to educate and bring this issue to the fore front of America

4. Tentative argument:
Your final Research Paper for this course will be an argumentative, research-based, academic paper. While it is unlikely that you will have a concrete idea of what your entire argument will be at this point in the writing process, it is necessary for you to articulate your argument as you understand it to be right now. Address the following questions.
? What is the context surrounding your topic? In other words, is there some event that was a catalyst for bringing your topic into the public eye? (Optional)
? What is your explanation or definition of the topic?
? What is your analysis of the specific issue surrounding your topic?
? What is your tentative thesis statement or hypothesis?

5. References: Include a references list as the last page of your Research Proposal. Five resources are required for this project. No textbooks.


This is my short proposal from unit I:

This research paper is aimed at discussing the idea of child obesity in the U.S. and potential strategies, the authorities could use towards the purpose of controlling this concept. By addressing the matter directly and by developing educational institutes designed for both children and educators, the government would have more chances to reduce the prevalence of the condition. If one wants to be able to actually understand the degree to which obesity in children affects the United Sates, we would have to look at serious maladies triggered by the condition. (1) High blood pressure and type II diabetes are just two of the many diseases that are likely to appear in children who suffer from obesity. Also, (2) obesity can also have a significantly negative effect on a child?s thinking, as it affects him or her on a psychological level as a consequence of the attitudes society as a whole takes on with regard to the child. In order for the authorities to be able to address the problem directly, they would have to design programs meant to inform parents of children about the attitudes they need to take with the purpose of combating the condition. (3) By promoting healthy eating habits and by making it possible for these groups to comprehend the importance of physical exercise, the government can effectively fight the condition.

References:

?Childhood Obesity Facts?, Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm

?Overweight in Children?, Retrieved from:
https://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/HealthierKids/ChildhoodObesity/Overweight-in-Children_UCM_304054_Article.jsp

this research paper is supposed to be argumentative. my point of view is that DNA profiling should be required for all convicted criminals. Thesis: Federal Legislation should be passed mandating that all convicted criminals be required to submit a DNA sample for analysis (or something to that effect)
I need all copies of source material cited and it must be current (no earlier than 2008)
I will send the essay guidlines thru email
There are faxes for this order.

Part 1.

Write four (4) page paper on upcoming legislative trends or new laws that will have an impact on the information technology culture in 2011-2012.

Part 2.

As the CISO of the Boston Red Sox, you are instructed by the CEO John Henry to find out how to ensure the Boston Red Sox IT infrastructure is in compliancy of applicable state and federal legislation. Mr. Henry asked that you do the research and provide the analysis in a one-page white paper.

Write a one-page (1) white paper on approach to evaluating infrastructure to ensure state and federal legal compliancy. What are the initial steps that you must consider? What tools are available? What resources are available to help you ensure compliancy?

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/546/01/

Thank you.

Customer is requesting that (jonsmom2) completes this order.

1. APA format
2. Please include running head: PRESIDENTIAL FITNESS TESTING

The paper is on Presidential Physical Fitness Testing and the improvement of scores.

The paper needs the following steps:

National Significance
Local Significance
Research Question
Hypothesis
Review of Literature
Methods
Population
Instruments
Procedure of data analysis
References

This is the sample paper provided by the instructor(obviously different topic):

Introduction

National Significance

As recently as a generation ago, there were few classrooms in the United States that included students with special needs. Before then, as many as one million students with special needs did not even attend school; and if they did, they were segregated from the general population and placed into a special class or a different school altogether.
But all of that changed in 1975 with the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its subsequent amendments in 1997 and 2004. Students with special needs were now moved from segregated classrooms into general education classrooms because of this legislation (Ward, Montague, and Linton, 2003). IDEA mandated that students with special needs be educated in the least restricted environment (LRE); in other words, the same environment as students without disabilities, and thus, inclusion was born.
For all students in the classroom to be successful, paying attention to the curriculum to meet state standards, strategies in instruction delivery, and the classroom environment must all be given careful attention by the teacher. This means differentiating instruction to meet individual learning needs of all students in a heterogeneous environment. No longer can there be a "one size fits all" attitude if inclusion is to be successful, so it is important to research if such a shift is beneficial or detrimental to any portion of the student population.
Local Significance

The purpose of this proposal is to compare achievement scores of students with special needs in a heterogeneous classroom environment to those who remain in a self-contained special education classroom. The sixth through eighth grade classrooms are part of a school district that uses a hybridized middle school concept in central Illinois. While there are no gifted programs, this school district tracks students by offering accelerated classes in math, literature, and language arts. There are also self-contained special education classes in grades six through eight with some students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP) being pushed into general education classrooms depending on their abilities as stipulated in the IEPs. The district has not made a formal school-based decision to place all self-contained students into general education classes. Currently, any such placements are a result of collaboration by the general education and special education teachers. This study will examine how using inclusion of students with special needs into a heterogeneous classroom will affect achievement scores on standardized tests as compared to students who remain in a self-contained environment.
Research Question

The purpose of this proposal is to explore whether students with special needs, when placed into general education reading and mathematics classrooms, can achieve higher scores on standardized tests than if they remain in a self-contained special education classroom. Results of these scores will be used as one variant to determine if all students from a self-contained learning environment should be placed into a general education classes during the next academic year. Does the placement of students with special needs into general education classes versus self-contained classes increase scores on achievement tests?


Hypothesis
Students with special needs who are placed into a general education reading and mathematics classrooms will achieve higher than similar students who are not placed into these classes.






































Review of Literature

While conducting this descriptive research project, Patterson and Graham (2000) studied the interactive relationship between a teacher's thoughts while teaching in an inclusive classroom and his subsequent actions, both of which affect student learning. Five junior high teachers who taught in inclusive classrooms, three in a large city in Canada and two in rural towns in Australia, volunteered to participate in this study because they could articulate their in-flight thoughts experienced while teaching. Triangulated data were obtained from: (1) semi-structured interviews, (2) stimulated in-flight thoughts while viewing videotaped lessons, and (3) researcher field notes. The first step in conducting this study included the researchers visiting the teachers to discuss details of the study while also becoming familiar with the perspective into the participant's teaching style. During the second step, researchers conducted two semi-structured interviews with each participant to identify the principles that guided their teaching. In the third step, a complete lesson, presented to the target class, was videotaped by the researcher. Five minutes later, the teacher was shown the videotape and asked to recall his thoughts during a stimulated recall interview.
Results of this study indicated that experienced teachers, during their in-flight thinking, could predict students' actions and thoughts. Another finding in four of the five teachers was related to a teacher's awareness and ability to express feelings and emotions.
This study also concluded that inclusive classroom teachers treat students according to their individual characteristics, not because they have a predetermined categorization of those students. These findings suggest that teachers should focus more on the individuality of all students rather than focusing on whether or not a student has a disability.
Luster and Durrett (2003) conducted an exploratory study to analyze whether placement of students with disabilities in a general education classroom compared to separate special education classrooms would increase student achievement on state assessments and also increase graduation rates. Student achievement in grades four and eight in all 66 school districts in a Southern state were analyzed. Comparison of the eight most and eight least inclusive districts which represented approximately 25 percent of the 66 school districts was made using a visual examination of the data. Data, using a one-tallied correlation analysis, included: (1) graduation rates for students with disabilities, (2) language arts and math scores for grades four and eight, (3) on-level test participation by students with disabilities, (4) group performance scores for the subgroup of students with disabilities, and (5) district performance scores. Results were positive for all correlation coefficients with the exception of on-level test participation for fourth grade test performance. This study is important because it shows positive relationships between greater inclusion and student results. However, it should be noted that effective instructional practices may have had a larger impact on these positive results than inclusion alone.
According to Martin, Ireland, and Claxton (2003), success in the inclusionary classroom for students with disabilities requires that all stakeholders agree and focus on key factors. Educators appear to be the most resistant because of the extra time required to modify the curriculum to make accommodations for this group of students (Brown, 1997). Short and Martin (2005) conducted a case study to address the attitudes and perceptions of inclusion held by: (1) students, (2) general education teachers, and (3) special education teachers. A rural high school in a Midwest state was the setting and the population included: (1) high school students, (2) general education teachers, and (3) special education teachers. To be eligible for the study, students with disabilities had to have classes in both an inclusionary setting as well as self-contained. General education students had to be in classes where both inclusion existed and did not. Special education teachers had to co-teach with a general teacher in an inclusive class as well as teach self-contained classes. General education teachers had classes that were both inclusive and only general education. The sample size for this study included: (1) 29 students with disabilities, (2) 43 students without disabilities, (3) seven special education teachers and (4) 13 general education teachers. Student population included 32 males and 40 females; while teacher population included 5 males and 15 females. This mixed design study included: (1) conducting observations, (2) Likert-type surveys, and (3) interviews with the sample population.
Results showed that special education teachers, students with disabilities, and general education students felt that socialization was the greatest benefit to inclusion while general education teachers ranked it as one of the lowest benefits. All four groups ranked feeling comfortable in the inclusionary classroom as one of the lowest benefits. General education did not see a benefit to inclusion. Special education teachers had a more positive toward inclusion than did the other three groups. Differences in attitudes toward learning more in the inclusionary classroom and class size with the addition of students with disabilities also were found to be significant. This study is important because it shows general education teachers attitudes and perceptions about inclusion. While overall positive, there is still great concern for (1) time allocation, (2) the addition of support services, and (3) additional training to be better prepared to teach students with disabilities.
Cole, Waldron, and Majd (2002) reported on a study that compared the effects of inclusive programs on the achievement success of students without disabilities and those with mild disabilities. In each of six school corporations/special education cooperatives in the state of Indiana, two inclusive elementary schools and two elementary schools that used the resource-pullout model were chosen. There was a sample size of 428 students with mild disabilities with 234 of those being taught in special education resource classes and 194 students being taught in inclusive classrooms. Thirty-six classrooms from the same schools were randomly chosen with the same proportion of general education students. Each school identified the classrooms as either inclusive or non-inclusive. The instrument used was the Basic Academic Skills Samples (BASS) that assesses in the areas of math and reading. The BASS was given to participants in fall, 1998, and spring, 1999. Results showed that 60.7% of students without disabilities in inclusive schools made progress in math compared to 37.5% in general education classes. Results in reading for the same sample showed progress at 53.6% and 45.9%, respectively. Results in math for students with disabilities in an inclusive setting showed that 43.3% made comparable or greater progress than students without disabilities. In the resource setting 35.9% made comparable or greater progress than students without disabilities. This same sample made 45.9% and 41.9%, respectively, in reading. The biggest gain in achievement came with students identified with mild mental handicaps. In math, these students placed in an inclusive setting made progress at 50.0% compared to 37.7% in a resource setting. In reading, their scores were 40.0% and 29.5%, respectively. This study indicates that an inclusive setting makes a strong argument for inclusion.





















Methods
Population

Currently the targeted middle school does not have any self-contained students with disabilities in general education mathematics and reading classes. There are approximately 55 students in self-contained (homogeneous) classes in grades six through eight who are taught those subjects by highly qualified special education teachers. The independent variable would be the placement of these students into an inclusionary classroom. The control group would be the students in the self-contained classroom. All students, no matter what their placement, would be taught using a cooperative learning model that focuses on differentiated instruction. In the inclusionary classroom, all students, regardless of ability, would work together on assignments. A special education teacher will co-teach with the general education teacher and both would provide accommodations such as modified assignments, preprinted notes, graphic organizers, etc., to those students with IEPs. In the self-contained classroom, the special education teacher would teach the same curriculum to the students who remain in the homogeneous class.
Instruments

All students whose IEPs have designated them as having deficits in reading and math and who would traditionally remain in a self-contained classroom for those subjects will be given the ISAT Grade Level Sample Achievement Tests (Illinois State Board of Education). An experimental design using a randomized pretest-posttest control group design would be followed. During the first full day of school, the pretest would be administered by the special education teacher. Once these practice tests are scored, students would be divided into two groups: those who met or exceeded the standards and those whose scores were below standard benchmarks or who would be considered on academic warning. Since reading and mathematics are both designated deficits on these students' IEPs, there may not be many students who meet or exceed the standards. For this reason, the mean of all the scores in each subject would be determined. At this point, students would be assigned to either an inclusive (intervention) classroom or remain in a homogeneous (control) classroom using stratified random sampling based on an equal number of students above and below the mean of the scores. Since the sample is not very large, stratified random sampling is used because it "increases the likelihood of representativeness," according to Frankel and Norman (2003, p.100). The control group and the intervention group would each have approximately 10 students at each grade level. The posttest would be administered in late spring and their scores would be compared to the pretest scores in reading and mathematics.
Procedure of data analysis

Currently, all students are tested every spring in the subjects of reading and mathematics using the instrument known as the Illinois Standardized Achievement Test (ISAT). The scores on these tests are used to measure a school's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in those subjects (Illinois State Board of Education). It is expected that student achievement should improve every year with additional instruction. Federal legislation known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) created strategies and accountability standards that school districts must follow to help improve student achievement (Ward, et al., 2003, p. 1).
The ISAT Sample Test scores are the dependent variable in this study and the results of the posttest will be compared to those of the pretest in both the heterogeneous classroom and the homogeneous classroom. If the increase in the average scores in reading and mathematics in the intervention group is greater than those of the control group of students, then the intervention of the inclusive classroom would be considered successful and the hypothesis could be supported. A recommendation of inclusion for all students would be considered for the following school year based on the data.
Limitations to this study would include the mean scores of this pretest-posttest design being too low for the intervention group. Even if posttest scores of the intervention group were higher than the scores of the control group, they still may not be close enough to meeting the standards on ISATs. Students would have to be evaluated on an individual basis to determine how successful they would be in future inclusive environments. Other considerations would include behavioral issues, especially an increase in inappropriate behavior.














References

Brown, D.L. (1997). Full inclusion: Issues and challenges. Journal of Instructional

Psychology, 24, 24-28. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from PsychINFO database.

Fraenkel, J. R. & Wallen, N. E. (2003). How to Design and Evaluate Research in

Education, (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.

Illinois State Board of Education (n.d.). Assessments. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from
http://www.isbe.net/assessment/default.htm
Luster, J. N. & Durrett, J. (2003). Does educational placement matter in the performance

of students with disabilities? Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of Mid-

South Educational Research Association, Biloxi, MS. ERIC

Document Reproduction Service No. ED482518.

Paterson, D. & Graham, L. (2000). Inclusive teaching from the inside: What teachers
think. Paper presented at the International Special Education Congress 2000, Manchester, England. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from http://www.isec2000.org.uk/abstracts/papers_p/paterson_1.htm
Martin, B.N., Ireland, H. & Claxton, K. (2003). Perceptions of teachers on inclusion in

four rural midwest school districts. The Rural Educator. 24(3), 3-9.

Short, C. and Martin, B. N. (2005). Case study: Attitudes of rural high school students

and teachers regarding inclusion. The Rural Educator. 27(1), 1-10.

Ward, M.M., Montague, N, & Linton, T.H. (2003). Including students with disabilities
and achieving accountability: Educators' emerging challenge. Corpus Christi: Texas A & M University. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED481111.

(Financial Planning)

1. Discuss the steps involved in formulating a strategic plan within health care organizations.

2. Discuss how health care organizations benefit from financial planning.

3. Discuss how scenario analysis and scenario planning differ from traditional methods of planning in health care organizations.

(Reading material)
In today's volatile healthcare environment, traditional planning tools are inadequate to guide financial managers of provider organizations in developing managed care strategies. These tools often disregard the uncertainty surrounding market forces such as employee benefit structure, the future of Medicare managed care, and the impact of consumer behavior.
Scenario analysis overcomes this limitation by acknowledging the uncertain healthcare environment and articulating a set of plausible alternative futures, thus supplying financial executives with the perspective to craft strategies that can improve the market position of their organizations. By being alert for trigger points that might signal the rise of a specific scenario, financial managers can increase their preparedness for changes in market forces.


Managed care plans and providers face tremendous uncertainty regarding the future of the industry, as a variety of healthcare policy scenarios are being offered by candidates in this year's presidential election campaigns. Health care's loss of stability demands that new strategic-planning tools that determine the potential impact of uncertainty on financial performance be implemented.

Scenario planning is a tool that can be used to explore the impact of different possible futures for health care. a Scenarios provide a structured framework for imagining and assessing uncertainty, allowing the distillation of complex market interactions into a limited number of plausible alternatives that can be used to determine an organization's most appropriate strategic initiatives.

Managed Care Market Forces

Scenario planning is especially useful for analyzing the current healthcare climate, which is characterized by a significant level of uncertainty regarding critical market forces. These market forces include:

Collective bargaining for physicians. To what degree will physicians legally be able to negotiate collectively with payers?

Consolidation of health plans. Will health plans continue to consolidate until only a handful of payers compete in each market, or will new plans aggressively enter markets, leading to fragmented healthcare coverage across many payers?

Employee benefit structure. Will employers continue to provide employees a defined benefit that allows them to choose from a limited number of health plans, or will they shift to a defined-contribution approach that allows employees free rein to determine how to spend a fixed sum?

Federal healthcare reform and universal access. Will health coverage continue to be provided through fragmented channels, or will there be a shift to universal coverage guaranteed by the Federal government?

Medicare managed care. Will the number of Medicare beneficiaries covered by managed care plans significantly increase or decrease?

Healthcare inflation. What will be the relationship between the increase in healthcare costs as measured by the medical price index (MPI) and overall economic inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI)?

Health plan models. Which health plan model will emerge as the dominant structure?

Impact of consumerism. Will consumers continue to play a relatively passive role in healthcare decision making, or will they become more active, demanding more information about provider prices and quality of care?

Provider payment structure. What will be the primary payment mechanism for hospitals and physicians?

Physician practice structure. Will the majority of physicians participate in multispecialty or singlespecialty group practices, or operate solo practices? Will group practices be large or small?

For purposes of scenario analysis, planners should select from among the identified market forces two forces that are anticipated to have a great potential impact on the organization. These forces should be used to form a matrix that presents four plausible futures, or scenarios. These four scenarios represent the extreme outcomes of the market forces at work.

Scenarios and Strategies

In Exhibit 1, two opposing possible developments in healthcare inflation (the magnitude of the MPI vs. the CPI) and the role of the healthcare consumer (active vs. passive) are combined to construct a matrix illustrating four possible managed care scenarios. These four possible scenarios can be called the Two-Tiered System, Freedom of Choice, Flashback to the Mid-1990s, and Healthcare Reform Revisited. Exhibit 2 illustrates the strategic implications of each scenario for hospitals and physicians.

Two-Tiered System. In this scenario, the increase in medical costs greatly exceeds general inflation, and the consumer chooses to takes an active role in healthcare decision making. Employers would move to a defined-contribution approach to health coverage and providing employees with a fixed dollar amount every month. Consumers would make their own decisions regarding the purchase of insurance and healthcare services, seeking value from hospitals, physicians, and insurers. The combination of individual purchasing discretion and greater demand for information would lead to new models of contracting. The Internet may emerge as the low-cost channel for individuals to use to purchase insurance and healthcare services either on their own or as part of a group.

As new purchasing channels emerge, providers would need to develop relationships and redefine contract parameters with another set of payers. Branding and product differentiation would become important strategies for providers. Scoring well on public "report cards" would be crucial. Direct consumer evaluation of the price/quality trade-off would reward "value" providers. Additionally, hospitals and physicians would need to more closely evaluate strategies traditionally used to sell consumer goods, such as pricing, discountcoupon distribution, and product bundling.

Freedom of Choice. The Freedom of Choice scenario reflects an active consumer and medical inflation that generally is in line with the nation's inflation rate. Because employer healthcare costs would not be growing significantly faster than general inflation, companies would continue to offer their employees a choice of plans and providers with a defined benefit. Consumers would take an active role in making healthcare decisions within the defined limits of their coverage. Although freedom of choice would exist, the market forces of supply and demand would serve to ration care and access.

Enlarge 200%
Enlarge 400%

EXHIBIT 1:
EXHIBIT 2:


Consumer-driven choice and low inflationary pressure have several strategic implications for hospitals and physicians. Participation on every managed care panel would not be essential. Consumers would migrate to their provider of choice, increasing provider leverage with payers. Consumer watchdog groups, employer coalitions, and payers would attempt to define and measure quality. If these attempts were unsuccessful, consumers would make choices based on their perceptions of quality, causing many providers to put greater emphasis on market visibility and brand recognition.

Flashback to the Mid-1990s. The third scenario, Flashback to the Mid1990s, combines relatively low increases in medical costs with consumer passivity. In this scenario, managed care payers would be the dominant market force, setting contracting and coverage parameters and, thus, making the greatest profits. In an attempt to define and measure provider quality, payers would require providers to submit information that would allow quality evaluation to occur. Because of consumer indifference to choice among healthcare providers, there would be a shift from open-access products to closed-panel models presided over by gatekeepers. Federal legislation would wane because employers would be content with the relatively low rate of medical inflation, and consumers would not demand government intervention because perceived problems would be minor.

Hospitals and physicians would consider aggressive responses to the payers' strong market position. Hospitals would consider consolidation in an attempt to increase their bargaining power. Physicians would renew their interest in independent practice associations (IPAs) or group practices as their primary contracting organization. Providers faced with the daunting choice of major rate concessions or exclusion from panels would refuse to enter into contracts with payers who would not pay minimally acceptable rates.

Healthcare Reform Revisited.

High medical cost inflation and passive consumers create the fourth scenario, Healthcare Reform Revisited. Concerned with the high rate of medical inflation, the Federal government would pass a series of reforms that would establish active Federal oversight and regulation of both providers and payers. Faced with increased Federal scrutiny, providers would focus a significant portion of their resources on corporate compliance and policy development. Risk would be shifted from payers to hospitals and physicians primarily through capitation.

Hospitals and physicians would reevaluate the role of the integrated delivery system to optimally match their organizational structure with the industry's risk-based payment system. Hospitals would reconsider purchasing primary care physician practices to link with their hospital services. IPAs and physician-hospital organizations (PHOs) would be revived as contracting organizations. Risk-management skills and information technology would become essential as providers would be asked to develop risk-sharing, incentive-based systems. Additionally, hospitals would develop quality-measurement systems to meet Federal regulations.

Using Scenario Analysis

Each of the four scenarios given above examines a different possible future for health care brought about by the interactions of critical variables. Healthcare finance executives can use scenarios to identify strategies that would be successful under various future conditions and those that would be especially valuable in a specific scenario. By being alert for triggers that might indicate the onset of a particular scenario, financial managers can begin to adjust strategy to prepare for a shift in the healthcare marketplace. For example, if major purchasers of health care lobby Congress to regulate health care more closely, the Healthcare Reform Revisited scenario might be on the horizon.

Scenario planning and analysis provide a systematic method to recognize and address the major uncertainties facing healthcare organizations. It is most useful when a high degree of uncertainty exists around critical market forces, such as government reform or policy changes, competitor consolidation or expansion, and changing attitudes of the healthcare consumer. By identifying and discussing the implications of each scenario, healthcare financial executives will be able to develop a set of robust and adaptable strategies that allow their organization to stay one step ahead of the market. *

Overview
Community health nursing can improve access to care for the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups in any country. The community health nurse should combine knowledge of major indicators of health, social factors that contribute to declining health status, and public programs designed to address problems of health care. Efforts should encompass all levels of prevention (primary, secondary, tertiary) and should address the needs of the individual, family, aggregate, and community.
This assignment is 100 points, or 30% of your final grade.

Directions for the case study/final paper.
You are a community health nurse within your community and encounter a family of four that is homeless. They are recent documented immigrants (in the US via legal measures) and speak very little English. The adults possess a high school education, however are unemployed. The family consists of a 25 year old pregnant mother (5 months), her 27 year old husband who has a history of depression, their five year old son who should be starting kindergarten and was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and a seventy-two year old grandmother who was recently diagnosed with COPD. They have no resources or family. Visit or interview representatives from various agencies to develop your responses. Please respond to the following:
A. Where do you refer them for shelter, food, clothing, and health care. Briefly describe the agencies and criteria required to obtain assistance. (10 points; 2 each)
B. What legal-ethical issues exist? (10 points; 5 each)
C. Identify local, state, and federal legislation applicable to this situation. (15 points; 5 each)
D. Apply an upstream perspective to design an evidence-based plan for health promotion and illness prevention for each member of the family. You must include the three levels of prevention in your plan. (60 points; 15 for each family member).
E. Utilize APA format and provide a reference list. (5 points)
Module #5 Final Assignment: Evolving local & global community health concerns

Local and state laws must refer to Cook County (Chicago) and the state laws are Illinois.
Websites can be used for references. Aunt Martha's (community service) should be used because they offer a lot of services that would apply to this family.

Please email me with any questions. This is a community/public health nursing class for a BSN program.

Please do not put in essay format, keep in seperate question format

Chapter 11: Mortgage Loans
Chapter 11's primary focus is the financial aspects of the real estate transaction. And, as we are painfully aware, the mortgage industry and its related lending practices led to an exceptionally serious and damaging economic crisis (2008-2009) in the housing industry that had a huge ripple effect throughout the US Economy. This chapter highlights the fact that the vast majority of mortgage loans are 30 year, fixed rate loans. Discuss the pros and cons of a 30 year, fixed rate loan. In addition, should Congress and state legislatures more closely monitor and regulate the mortgage industry in light of the mortgage collapse of the last 2+ years?



Chapter 13: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Many economists link the 2008-2009 mortgage crisis and housing market slump to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lending practices that started in the mid 2000s. Others linked the crisis to inadequate oversight by federal regulators. And, still others attempted to connect this crisis to federal legislation passed under the Clinton Administration that aggressively promoted low income loans. Comment and justify your comments. Furthermore, there has been increasing level of political debate that Frannie and Freddie should be abolished. What are your thoughts?

Chapter 14: ARMs and other Creative Mortgages
During the past 5 years or so, the mortgage industry, in partial response to escalating housing prices, developed a number of financing instruments (3 and 5 year renewable ARMs, 80/20 loans, stated income loans, NINJA loans) to enable home buyers to purchase a home with initial low down payment and low early years monthly payments. The 2008-2009 mortgage crises proved that strategy to be foolhardy and clearly put the US Economy at serious risk of collapse. Overly creative mortgages have proven the adage of "no free lunch". Do you agree or disagree? Justify. Should there be limitations placed by Congress and state legislatures on the use of ARMs and other creative mortgage schemes.

Topic: The future of unions. Challenges that unions face in the 21st century.

The purpose of this project is to apply your critical-thinking skills to address the following concepts in a comprehensive paper. Do not simply respond to these items, but provide a fully reviewed paper about the future of unions. The items below provide guideline points:

* What changes are needed for unions to maintain support from their membership, the community, and the employers?
* Labor unions are experiencing a decline, which includes political influence and membership.
* Describe how generational aspects (i.e., baby boomers, Generation X, Generation Y) have influenced labor unions and continue to do so.
* What other external dynamics are impacting labor unions? For example, how does the global workforce impact union strategies?
* Where they were, where they are, and where they need to go to remain or regain an active and viable organization in the 21st century.

***Below is my Outline, please follow. I've also included my introduction which may be modified to best fit.

Paper Outline
1. (Introduction) Labor unions began forming in the mid-19th century, but because of their large scales and poor organization, soon collapsed. At its peak membership and power in the 1970's, private sector union membership sill continues to decline. Careful consideration on the necessity of union support in relation to union decline, influential generational aspects, and also external impacts as well as direction are detrimental in the success of unions in the 21st century.
2. Changes needed to maintain union support from members, community, and employers
a. Advocating new federal legislation
i. Develop messages and campaigns that tap the hearts and minds of their audiences
ii. Union representation by signing a support card
b. Employer opposition
i. Intimidation and coercion of workers
ii. Employers use of 45 to 90 day period to conduct anti-union campaigns
3. Decline in labor unions (political influence, membership)
a. Political influence
i. Political parties role in determining union strength
ii. Favoring the Democratic party
b. Membership
i. Election process
ii. Removing secret balloting
4. How generational aspects influence labor unions
a. Baby boomers
i. Supporting idea
ii. Supporting idea
b. Generation X
i. Supporting idea
ii. Supporting idea
5. External dynamics impacting labor unions -how does the global workforce impact union strategies
a. Changes in union density
i. Fluctuations of business cycles
ii. Unemployment rates and inflation
b. Formation of new unions
i. Affects of globalization
ii. Strategies to limit globalization and promote international labor regulations
6. Where unions were/are/need to go to remain or regain an active and viable organization in the 21st century
a. Role in politics
i. Transnational labor regulations
ii. The cost of labor agreements
b. AFL-CIO and global trade issues
i. 2008 Economic Crisis
ii. Disadvantages to foreign companies
7. CONCLUSION
a. Summary of major points
b. Concluding statement
There are faxes for this order.

You are to write a 3-page paper. Read the article below. After reading the article, answer to discussion questions. State the question first and then continue to answer. *Do Not Use Outside Sources.*

Discussion Questions
1.From Horton's perspective, what is the purpose of adult education?
2.How does Horton and the Highlander philosophy view the learner, the role of the teacher, and the community?
3.Is what Highlander does "really" adult education? Why or why not?

An Exploration of Myles Horton's Democratic Praxis: Highlander Folk School
Introduction
Highlander Folk School is an adult education center located in eastern Tennessee that was formed in 1932 by Myles Horton and continues today.1 My les Horton (1905-1990) hoped to create an independent adult learning center where people could come together and address their problems. He wanted to create a public space where people could learn from each other and use education as a means to challenge the unjust social systems affecting their lives. Highlander was built on principles of democracy ; however, Horton resisted definitively defining democracy throughout his lifetime. In The Long Haul, he tells us people get angry with him for not carefully defining what he means by democracy, but he says, "I've never been able to define democracy. ... it's a growing idea."2 Horton began Highlander Folk School by relying on Dewey's concept of a democratic society as "a society which makes provisions for participation in its good of all its members on equal terms and which secures flexible readjustment of its institutions through interaction of the different forms of associated life."3 A democratic society is one with shared interests and fullness and freedom of interaction within the group as well as with other groups.
Great changes have happened in political philosophy and in societies at large since Dewey was writing and Horton was organizing. We live in times that Nancy Fraser describes as "postsocialist."4 Today, key underlying assumptions of democratic theory are being questioned and dismissed. Dewey's liberal democratic theory focused on individual freedom and autonomy, even as he offered us the possibilities of moving beyond individualism, with his theory of social transaction; and, he assumed an Enlightenment-type of rationalism, even as he showed us how to move beyond this rationalism in his arguments for truths as warranted assertions.5 Enlightenment rationalism and the idea of a unitary subject have come under serious criticism by postmodernists, feminists, and critical theorists. Fraser says we live in times when group identity has supplanted class interests and when the need for recognition overshadows the need for redistribution. She suggests we live in times when no credible vision of an alternative to the present order is available, that the visions we have lack the power to convince because they bracket questions of political economy. The visions she refers to include: radical democracy, multi-culturalism, political liberalism, and communitarianism/1
Highlander Folk School did not bracket questions of political economy; rather it sought to address those questions head-on. It also did not bracket questions of recognition; instead, it embraced diversity with open arms. While Horton began with Dewey's concept of a democratic society, he worked for close to sixty years on further developing this "growing idea," based on what he learned from his experiences through Highlander during the socialist times of labor union organizing, the anti-racist times of the Civil Rights Movement, and beyond. Unlike Paulo Freire, who worked as an academic and wrote many scholarly publications about his ideas for academic audiences, Myles Horton wasn't worried about trying to reach an academic audience. Horton preferred to spend his time helping people come together and learn how to organize and work toward "replacing, transforming, and rebuilding society so as to allow forpeople to make decisions that affect their lives."7 He wrote next to nothing about his ideas, not trusting the written word as a medium for expressing living ideas that are contextual to specific settings and change over time. Horton preferred to rely on oral transmission to share his ideas, so he shared them through the meetings he attended, the stories he and others told and the protest songs they sang. Fortunately, many others have written about Horton' s ideas as well as captured them in interviews and on film. Also, he talked about his philosophy of education at length with Paulo Freire for a "talked book" project they completed together right before Horton died.8 Still, I am surprised at how little Horton's work in adult education is discussed today, given the incredible success the staff and stu dents attending Highlander have enjoyed over the years. We seem to have a new generation of academics and teachers who do not even recognize the names of My les Horton and Highlander Folk School. It is my position that there is much we can learn today from Horton's work at Highlander as we continue to consider the concept democracy in post-socialist times. I want to suggest that Horton and Highlander offer us a credible vision of an alternative to the present liberal democratic order, though Horton would be the first to say that vision must continue to grow and develop and be critiqued, as times change.
In this paper I want to explore how My les Horton was able to take Dewey's concepts of democracy and education and further develop these as he attempted to live them through the daily practice of his pedagogy and curriculum at Highlander Folk School. I want to consider what Myles Horton and Highlander can teach us today about a democracy always-in-the-making,9 as I seek to further develop a relational, pluralistic democratic theory that moves beyond liberal democracy and closer toward achieving social justice and caring. A relational view of democracy does not begin with an assumption of individualism, as classical liberal democracy does, but starts with Dewey's concept of transactional relationships, that individuals affect others and others affect individuals, for we are all selves-in-relation-withothers. A pluralistic view of democracy emphasizes identity and differences without falling into the trap of thinking there is a unitary subject, and without embracing extreme pluralism that emphasizes heterogeneity and incommensurability.
Horton always said you must begin with practice and move to theory, he tried it the other way around and it didn't work with his students. I will follow his advice and begin by giving a historical background to Highlander and describing what Myles and his staff did as teachers, trying to tell the story in a style similar to Horton's. Then I will explore some of the theoretical implications their practice has to teach us about a relational, pluralistic democratic theory. Of course, we can not really separate theory and practice anymore than Horton was able to. In fact, Horton advised that we get theory and practice together, so I will follow that advice as well. There will only be room to do some exploring here, for this is a very rich example that I will be exploring in a variety of ways for some time to come.10 Taking a close look at Horton's philosophy of education is a good place to start in my own efforts to further contribute to helping us move beyond liberal democratic theory and consider how to translate a relational, pluralistic democratic theory into the daily practice of education in public schools in countries like the USA. I will conclude by highlighting some recommendations for public schools, as potentially relational and pluralistic democratic social institutions.
Highlander Folk School
Myles Horton wanted to find ways to help poor, rural people in the South, and particularly in Tennessee, become empowered to think and act for themselves and change their lives. He knew these people very well and had a great deal of love and respect for them, for he grew up in rural Tennessee with the mountain folks of the Appalachians. He knew that these people were suffering from the violence of poverty, due to lack of employment, because his own family suffered as well. Horton was raised in a Christian family, by a grandfather who taught him a strong biblical sense of the differences between rich and poor, by parents who taught him the value of an education, and by a mother who taught him the importance of love and servic e, and that education is meant to help you be able to do something for others. Myles took these lessons to heart and sought to use his education to help his neighbors find ways to improve their lives. His focus was on social justice. He sought to help make America a more democratic nation through an adult education center.
As a young adult, Myles Horton had only a vague idea of how to go about creating an adult learning center that fostered democratic citizenship. He knew he did not want a regular, traditional school, and he did not want a vocational school. He did not want to offer therapy for people; he wanted to teach people to be social activists. He wanted to create a place where people could come to think and plan and share knowledge. Horton believed that people gained knowledge through their experiences, especially work-related experiences. He also believed strongly "that nobody should have their rights interfered with as long as they are attending to their own business."" He was raised in a family that was outspoken and independent, co ming from an individualistic frontier tradition.
Horton sought to sharpen his vision of what kind of adult learning center he wanted to create by reading various scholars' works, by attending universities and seeking out other students and teachers to talk to about his ideas, and by visiting various school sites, Utopian communities, and settlement houses. He attended college at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee (1924-1928), as a literature major, where he says he learned to educate himself due to the lack of good teachers. While at Cumberland University he began testing out organizing ideas on campus and in the summer with his Bible school classes in Ozone, Tennessee, which he extended into evening adult community meetings about social problems. To his surprise, Horton discovered that the people of the Ozone, Tennessee area would walk miles to come to these meetings, and they didn't care if he had the answer to their problems either. They gained a great deal from hearing that others had similar problems and finding out that they could help each other solve some of them.
The next year, Horton worked as Student YMCA secretary for Tennessee and he traveled around and visited Utopian communities. Horton learned that he did not want an adult learning center that was isolated and separated from society, as Utopian communities tend to be. With the advice of his minister friend from Cumberland County, Rev. Abram Nightingale, he went to Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1929, to, as he put it, "try to figure out how to get social justice and love together."12 There he met several students who later came to Tennessee to work with him. He had the good fortune of having Reinhold Niebuhr as a teacher who also became a friend and mentor, and later helped to raise funds for the school. Niebuh r introduced Horton to other socialist scholars in the city, in particular John Dewey and George Counts, at Columbia University and Teachers College, who also supported Horton's efforts through the years. During this time, Horton explored the ideas of pragmatism and progressive education, Marx and Lenin, attended rallies and observed labor strikes in the area, and joined the socialist party.
In 1930 Horton went to the University of Chicago to study sociology with Robert Parks, where he learned about group problem solving and how to use conflict and contradictions to promote learning. In Chicago he also had the opportunity to become acquainted with Jane Addams and her work at Hull House. Through Addams, Horton gained introductions to settlement house directors throughout the country who became staunch supports of Highlander Folk School through the years. Horton realized he did not want what Addams's settlement house had become, but he wanted something like what she had begun with. He wanted a school that was kept from getting too organized and too set in its ways. He wanted a school that would continue to adapt a nd change based on the needs of its students. In Chicago he met two Danish ministers who encouraged him to visit the Danish folk high schools, and so after a summer earning the money to travel to Europe, Horton spent the fall of 1931 in Denmark studying these schools as another possible model for his adult learning center. From Denmark he gained the ideas of having a school that was free from state legislation and did not have a standard curriculum or examinations. The school needed to be one where students and teachers live together and sing together, where there is much opportunity for peer learning, including through social interaction in informal settings. The school needed to have clear principles and a highly motivated purpose. By Christmas, 1931 Horton realized he had all the book learning and examples he could use, that he needed to come home to Tennessee and get started. In 1932, Myles Horton began Highlander Folk School, and during the next 60 years, until his death in 19 90, Highlander became a major catalyst for social change. It still seeks to serve that role.
Horton began Highlander with Don West as a fellow teacher who was recommended to him by Dr. Will Alexander in Atlanta. They had one student in residence. Two students from Union Theological Seminary who later joined the staff were James Dombrowski and John Thompson. Horton wanted the school to be located on a farm, surrounded by beauty, where people would be able to find solitude. Once again, his friend Rev. Nightingale came to his aide and suggested he talk to Dr. Lilian Johnson. "Dr. Johnson was a wonderful educated person, one of the first women in the South with a Ph.D., a former college president who had been a student of John Dewey before the turn of the century." '3 Dr. Johnson had 200 acres of land and a home in Grun dy County that she wanted to donate to educational support for people in Tennessee. She offered her property to Horton and West on a one-year trial basis, and eventually deeded the property to Highlander in 1935. The school remained at this location until its charter was revoked and the property and supplies were taken by the state of Tennessee in 1961 due to its anti-racist activities and accusations of being a communistic school. The Highlander staff relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee, and renamed the school Highlander Research and Education Center, which is the name it still retains today. Highlander remained located in Knoxville until 1972 when it moved to a farm 25 miles east of Knoxville to New Market, Tennessee, on a hillside overlooking the Smoky Mountains, which is its current location.
We can see easily that Highlander did not bracket questions of political economy but instead sought to address these questions head-on just by looking at their beginning years. When West and Horton began their work at Highlander they were hoping to train local leadership for "a southern labor movement that was barely stirring."14 1932 was a time when people were in desperate economic situations. Grundy was among the eleven poorest counties in the United States. The Highlander staff decided that their first task was to get to know their neighbors in the community of Summerfield, Tennessee (and Monteagle), in hopes of building a trusting relationship with them. Myles informally interviewed the residents and invited people to H ighlander for discussions of whatever they wanted to discuss. Horton served as a host and fellow discussant. The center held meetings that were as much social as they were problem-oriented. The people's ideas and interests shaped Highlander. The center started with social evenings because that is what the local people wanted. They needed a place where they could sing, dance, share food and stories, talk, and get to know each other. The people needed a place where they could overcome their individualism and the isolation that resulted from it, and begin to work together as a community.
Horton believed that his job was to learn as much as he could about his students. This meant the staff had to learn a new language, body language, and to watch people's eyes, for the people of Summerfield were not used to talking. The staff also had to learn not to ask certain questions for the people of the community were private people who wanted their privacy respected. Horton demonstrated that he genuinely respected the ideas of the people of the community and that he trusted them, and slowly they learned to trust him. The staff of Highlander found that their biggest stumbling block to getting people talking was their own academic backgrounds. They had to unlearn their years of schooling and stop trying to be experts so the people would not turn to them for advice, but would turn to each other. Horton strongly believed that people learn to make decisions by doing it, that people have the capacity to govern themselves but they need to exercise that capacity. He wanted the staff to let the people run the school so they could learn how to make their own decisions and develop leadership skills. He believed the teacher's role is one of helping empower students to think and act for themselves.
Between 1933-1939, Highlander developed a countrywide educational program for the mountain poor. As he had first learned in Ozone, Tennessee, Horton rediscovered that he did not need to know the answers to peoples' problems; amongst the people attending Highlander, there were lots of answers available if people pooled their knowledge together. Myles didn't try to solve their problems, he helped to raise questions, and sharpen them, and get people discussing them. The first classes offered at Highlander were based on requests the local community made: child psychology, cultural geography, and economics. As much as he could, Myles would get the working people themselves to teach the classes students wanted, for he found that h is students made the best teachers. Depending on who was in residence in the school at the time, and who was on the staff, this effected what was taught: gardening, fiddling, drama, piano. The teaching staff received only living expenses and they participated with students in the work of maintaining the school. They grew their own food and lived as a socialist-co-operative community. The money they raised was used to develop educational programs
Horton never aimed to have Highlander become a large adult education center. He wanted to work with a small number of people and trust that they would multiply. As he puts it, he believed that if he could make the concept of education yeasty enough, it would grow.15 The early Highlander staff thought there would be Highlander schools in every state, but this did not happen. There is just the one started by Myles, in Tennessee. Highlander sought students who already showed signs of being grassroots leaders, students who wanted to change society. The staff learned to invite to Highlander only those who were learning to define their interests and who were already committed to struggle against oppression. The staff or former stu dents would personally invite students to attend workshops or residential sessions, for the students they sought were not people who would normally come to a school. They were poor people who had to be persuaded to leave their homes, and they needed sponsoring in order to be able to attend.
The first strike the Highlander staff was involved in was with Wilder mining company. When a strike was called the Highlander staff went to help by bringing food and clothing. For this support, someone attempted to bomb Highlander, Myles was arrested, and the leader of the strike was shot in the back. The strike failed. The next strike the Highlander staff participated in was the Grundy County bugwood cutters strike in the summer of 193 3. Bugwood was used for wood alcohol and cutters were paid seventy-five cents per day to cut. Again Highlander helped with food and clothing for the strikers, and again the strike failed. However, the people were beginning to learn more about how to handle their daily problems and to show the ir power and strength by organizing. The next projects Highlander got involved in were the starting of a co-operative nursery school and a co-operative canning and gardening project. The staff at Highlander learned with the local people how to put together grant proposals, and after several denials they won a federal grant for $7,000.00 fortheir co-operatives. However, when the local politicians in Tennessee complained to the federal government that they were giving money to a communist institution, the grant was rescinded. This action resulted in the Highlander staff and people of Grundy County learning they needed a broader affiliation base and they began to work to get people supportive of their causes elected into political offices.
Through local strikes and walkouts, the people began to learn how to act as an organization, how to help themselves and co-operate and work together. The Highlander staff and the students visited and participated in strikes and union meetings as a field method of staff development, and as hands-on experiential learning for the students. Staff and students formed close relationships with the strikers and their families. There were times in the labor movement years where the school's program took place mainly in the field, and there were times when the school offered intensive residential terms. Weekend workshops were often offered too. The staff also sought to continually broaden the social objectives and perspectives on the labor movement. They often invited guest speakers from various organizations to help stimulate concern with larger problems and issues affecting society and the labor movement.
Highlander became the main center for worker's education in the South until the CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations) began running their own programs in 1947. Mary Lawrence, a Highlander staff person, helped develop the educational programs for the unions in the south. She used the union meetings as her place to work/teach and she would invite promising union leaders to Highlander for residential workshops. Eventually Mary left Highlanderto work for the CIO. Aimee Horton tells us that when the CIO took over the Educational Programs for the labor movement, Highlander pulled out because it did not want "to compromise its broad goals for political and social as well as economic democracy in the South."16 Myles suggests th at Highlander's work was done, they had accomplished what they set out to do.17 He never intended to stay in the business of running educational programs for the CIO, he just wanted to help people get organized until they could run their own programs. However, he adds to the story by telling us that when the CIO insisted that Highlander put in its charter an anticommunist clause, Highlander refused. This was during the Cold War and Red Scare period, after WWII, and the school was opposed to silencing anyone from participating in the unions. During the late 194Os and the early 1950s Highlander tried to help farmers organize co-operatives so they would be given a voice in the market place. This organization activity was not as successful as their union organizing, or what was to come.
We can see easily with the example of Highlander's significant contribution to union organizing in the South that Highlander did not bracket questions of political economy in its concept of democracy, thus meeting Eraser's criterion that a postsocialist democratic vision needs to address political economic questions in order to have power. Her second criterion, that a democratic theory needs to address questions of recognition, is also something Myles and Highlander addressed. We can see an indication of Highlander's commitment to diversity and to addressing questions of recognition with their refusal to silence anyone from participating in the unions including communists or Blacks. Highlander sought to include African Ameri cans in its educational efforts from its very beginning. In fact, Myles organized an integrated conference for students during the year he worked as Student secretary of the YMCA, in 1929, when it was illegal to do so. Professor Daves and his wife, both African Americans, were invited to teach a course at Highlander in 1934, and by 1942 Highlander had distinguished Black scholars on its Board, the first being Dr. Lewis Jones. In 1940 Highlander informed the unions it served that it would no longer hold workers' educational programs for unions that discriminated against Blacks. During the textile strike in North Carolina, Horton was able to get Blacks a doubled pay raise that brought their salary up to the same level as the Whites by convincing all the workers to stick together and threaten to strike if the Blacks were fired for costing as much as White workers. It was 1944, though, before Horton was able to convince Black students to risk attending Highlander workshops with White s tudents, in defiance of the law and custom, in order to achieve economic advantage. In 1944, Blacks and Whites studied, worked, and played together at Highlander, a new experience for those attending.
Between 1953-1961 Highlander developed 3 major educational programs to encourage and strengthen Black Southerners' efforts to achieve their full rights as citizens. In 1953, in anticipation of the Supreme Court's ruling to desegregate schools, Highlander began having workshops on school desegregation. In the same year, at the urging of Esau Jenkins and Septima Clark, Highlander applied for and won a three year grant to study the need for night schools on St. Johns Island to help Blacks become voting citizens. My les set up a school in Jenkins store, in back, with no books or curriculum, and he didn't use regular teachers. He figured out the unsuccessful programs were embarrassing and humiliating to the citizens; their dignit y as adults and their reason for wanting to learn how to read was being ignored. The teacher had to be a peer. They talked Septima Clark's niece, Bernice Robinson, a seamstress and black beautician, into being the teacher. Bernice had a lot of status in the Black community because she was an independent business person who didn't need Whites. The first school was a great success. Illiterate Blacks learned how to read and write so they could pass the citizenship tests and qualify to register to vote.
The Citizenship Schools were run by African Americans from the very beginning, at very low cost ($8.00/pupil). The teachers were trained at Highlander. The people who attended Highlander during this time-frame included: Septima Clark, Rosa Parks, Bernice Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Esau Jenkins, and Andrew Young, people who sparked the Civil Rights Movement. In 1960 Highlander also began to sponsor workshops related to the Southern Student Movement, and these were the students who began lunch counter protests in restaurants that refused to serve Blacks. Like what happened with the union organizing education, when Septima Clark, director of education for Highlander, and Andrew Young went to work for Martin Luther King' s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1961, Highlander transferred the Citizenship School Program over to them. Again, the Highlander staff felt that they had done their job and the people directly involved and effected should keep the work alive. By 1965 over 50,000 African Americans successfully registered to vote and in 1970 Clark estimated 100,000 had learned to read and write through the Citizenship Schools. Highlander's work was so successful it triggered the closing of the school by racist Southerners who did not want to give up their racist ways.
By 1964 Myles was trying to get Highlander out of the Civil Rights movement and back into Appalachia, the nation's poor, as part of the national War on Poverty. Later the school got involved in helping people protest environmental destruction that was occurring in poor areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, where large manufacturing companies were dumping toxic wastes into land fills in their mountainous areas and poisoning the water, etc. More recently, under the directorship of its first woman, Suzanne Pharr, Highlander has been involved in gay rights issues and women's issues, and has worked with Mexican migrant workers to help them organize.
As we can see from this review of Highlander's history, Myles Horton was an idealist who remained dedicated to the goal of a "new social order" based on political and social democracy. Like Dewey, he believed strongly that education is one of the instruments for bringing this new social order into being. Throughout Highlander's long, often strident history, Horton and Highlander "remained steadfast in [their] espousal of radically democratic social-educational goals."18 Horton and Highlander offer us a example of democracy-always-in-the-making that does have the power to convince us in these postsocialist times we are living, for they offer us a model that seeks to directly address the need for recognition as well as the nee d for redistribution.
Getting Theory and Practice Together
I want to turn now to exploring some of the theoretical implications of Myles Horton's and the Highlander staffs practice, and see what we can learn from them toward the further development of a relational and pluralistic democratic theory. In particular I want to consider what caused Horton to move away from his earlier assumptions of individual freedom and autonomy in the direction of a view of individuals-in-relation-to-others. This change that Horton made helps move the concept of a democratic society beyond classical liberal democracy in the direction of a more relational view of a democracy that views individuals embedded within larger social contexts, where the way to help individuals is to address the health and well -being of their larger social contexts. Horton's move away from an assumption of individual freedom and autonomy toward a connected, pluralistic, social view is a key reason why I think Horton and Highlander have things to teach us today about democracies-always-in-the-making. Horton's move away from individualism and autonomy is a central reason why I turn to Myles for assistance as I seek to further develop a relational, pluralistic democratic theory that is based on a more transactional view of individuals-in-relation-to-others, the roots of which can be found in Dewey's work. I will explain what I mean, as I go.
When we look closely at Horton' s younger years we find that his early concept of democracy was very much rooted in individualism. He learned this value of individualism from his family, whose ethnic roots were seeped in Scottish individualism, and he found this value strongly reinforced by the mountain folks of his home region area of Appalachia. These folks represent the American ideal of mountain men and frontiersmen who helped to settle the wild west, people like Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone who were adventuresome loners, staunch individuals who would continue to move further west as soon as folks moved in and began settling.
The valuing of individualism can also be found in classical liberal democratic theory, upon which American democracy is based. Liberal democracy takes on a variety of forms, from Locke's emphasis on man's ability to reason, to Rousseau's focus on the natural development of a self-made man, to Mill's description of man seeking to maximize his pleasures and minimize his pains.19 Still, in all these descriptions man is described as an individual who must decide whether to join up with others, or not, based on the benefits others offer to the individual (e.g. protection from enemies and sharing of resources) weighed against the costs (loss of individual freedom and autonomy). The classical liberal described social groups as hind rances to man's individual freedom. For classical liberal political philosophers the role of government/the state is to protect individuals from others, and otherwise to stay out of individual's lives and allow them to live as they freely choose. It is an argument for the primacy of the individual over the state, with the state serving a patriarchal kind of role that can be changed as individuals' needs change. Early liberalism depended on a conception of individuality as something ready-made, already possessed, and needing only the removal of certain legal restrictions to come into full play.
More recent development of liberal thought, since the mid-19"' century according to Dewey,20 expanded the patriarchal role of the state beyond protection from invasion and the breaking of laws to include a benefactor role of helping those in need who cannot help themselves. The idea developed that the state should be instrumental in securing and extending the liberties of individuals. Thus we find in the late 180Os arguments for why the government should help pay for the education of children whose parents could not afford to educate their own children. Doing so will benefit everyone for putting poor children in schools will get them off the streets and keep them from defacing property and being public nuisances. Educating l ower income children will help them become better citizens and neighbors, therefore improving living conditions for all of us. Liberal democratic theory agrees with the paternal role of government to help those who cannot help themselves. However, the classical liberal, and more evolved liberal democratic views bracket very important questions of equity and distribution of economic resources, as well as questions concerning culture and power. Because of the assumption that individuals develop on their own, naturally, they are able to avoid seeing the embedded social context within which individuals develop, and the need to address the health and well-being ofthat larger social context (social institutions like: families, communities, schools, churches, and the economy).
Horton began to suspect that individualism may be a value that gets in the way of democracy through his studies and travels. While still an undergraduate student at Cumberland University, the people of Ozone, Tennessee showed him that they would walk miles at the end of a hard day's work in order to meet with others and talk over their problems. They sought a way to overcome their isolationism. In New York City, while studying at Union Theological Seminary, Horton was exposed to Marx' s and Lenin' s socialist political theory and learned more about workers' needs to fight for equity and better working conditions. He participated in union strikes and learned about union organizing. He also was exposed to the ideas of Niebuhr, Dewey, and Counts. Horton was in New York City during the later years of Dewey's writings, long after Dewey wrote Democracy and Education (1916).
Already in Democracy and Education, we can find Dewey working out a democratic theory that begins to move away from a strong individualistic focus toward a more transactional view. Dewey, for example, was greatly influenced by Mead's social theory and his description of individuals developing out of social settings, where social groups are not described as hindrances to individual development, but as the foundational base and source for individual development.21 Dewey's definition of democracy recognizes the interactive, interrelational, interdependent qualities of individuals in relation to others. He describes societies that need to make sure all their members are able to interact and communicate with each other and have t he chance to develop shared interests, as well as make sure that the society as a whole interacts with other societies so that they do not become isolated and insular. His description pointed Horton in a relational direction. So did Jane Addams, with Hull House. And, when Horton traveled to Denmark and saw schools where the students and teachers lived together and therefore had much opportunity for informal social interaction and peer learning, he once again was exposed to an example of a social community model for democratic theory, not an individualistic model.
However, we can still see the values of individualism influencing Horton when he decided where to locate his adult education center, for he did not choose to be located in a major city, and seek the anonymity, plurality, and diversity that Iris Young thinks an "unoppressive city" offers.22 Whereas Dewey and Addams sought to be located in Chicago and then Dewey moved to the even larger city of New York, Horton sought a farm in the hills of eastern Tennessee where people would be able to find solitude. In fact, he built a one-room cabin for himself in the woods of the two hundred acres farm that was isolated and removed from the main building and activities on the farm, so that he could find even more solitude. Horton only mov ed closer to the main building of the farm after he married Zilphia Mae Horton and their children, Thorsten (1943) and Charis (1945), were born and their safety became a concern.
Yet we can find an emphasis on creating a space where people could come together and get to know each other in how the actual school at Highlander was designed, and still is designed today. In Horton's days the staff hosted square dances and sing-a longs, and these continue to be a regular offering today. The center was furnished by simple, used living room furniture that was meant to put people at ease. Today there is a central room in the main building that holds around fifty people and is circular in design, with many windows that look out of a gorgeous view of the Smokey Mountains. The central room is furnished with rocking chairs with padded seat cushions, and they are arranged in a large circle, with more chairs along the wall, so that the number of chairs can be adjusted to the needs of the group size. In fact, a rocking chair has become the symbol of Highlander and is used on their flyers and stationary. In Horton's time, the staff at Highlander lived in the same conditions as the students and cooked, washed dishes, and gardened together. Still today, there are bedrooms at the center that are like simple dormitory-type rooms, with single beds and chests of drawers, and there is a kitchen and dining area for cooking and eating, as well as a play area for children, indoors and out. When people come for weekend workshops they can board at the school.
Even more important than Horton and his staff designing Highlander so that it is a place that welcomes people to come together and creates comfortable ways for them to interact with each other, is the position Horton developed and the Highlander staff continue to maintain concerning how they view individuals and their problems. Myles and Highlander learned to view individual problems as being community-wide problems, as well as state and federal problems, as problems of ideology and beliefs, not due to individual character flaws or bad luck. Myles started his work with a deep love and respect for the people of the Appalachian area, and that love and respect helped him not pass judgment on them as individuals. He did not blam e their problems on the troubled people who sought out Highlander to learn how to change their oppressive conditions; he blamed their problems on oppressive social conditions. While liberal democratic theories blame the individual for their own failures, due to lack of hard work, or lack of education, or character flaws such as dishonesty, Myles's more relational democratic theory described individual problems as embedded within a larger social, cultural, economic, and political context. Horton saw problems such as poverty, not earning a living wage, or dangerous working conditions as social problems not as problems due to individual laziness, carelessness, or lack of ambition. Horton and the Highlander staff learned to see the problems of unequal pay and denial of the right to vote as problems that are embedded within a larger social, cultural, economic, and political context that is racist, sexist, and dependent on cheap labor (capitalism), to name a few qualities of that context .
Horton's work in labor organizing and in dealing with racial conflicts convinced him that it was only by overcoming individualism that Highlander was going to be able to help people solve their problems and improve their living conditions. Horton learned that individualism keeps people isolated and separated from each other; "individualism is a dead end." He learned that it is only by joining forces and working together that people can hope to be effective in changing oppressive social conditions in their lives. "(T)he path to freedom grows from cooperation and collective solutions."23 Later in his career Horton realized that individualism was a privilege for Whites that was denied to Blacks, and that with individualism Blac ks were forced to become like Whites in order to be free. Individually, people could easily be absorbed into an oppressive institution; it was only as a collective group that the poor or Black had a chance of actually changing oppressive social institutions rather than just being exploited and changed by them. Like Myles, the students attending Highlander learned to let go of their individualism too, for their individualism kept them isolated and trapped in their own ideas. They needed a place where they could experience what it was like to work together as a community and Highlander offered them this place. For many, this was the first time they had the chance to experience what a democratic community might be like.
In this section I explored some of the theoretical implications of Horton's philosophy of education and Highlander's practice as a democracy always-in-the-making. We learned that Horton began Highlander with a strong assumption of individualism, placing his democratic theory clearly within the realm of liberal democracy. Still, even before he began his work in 1932 he already was exposed to seeds of change in his democratic theory due to his exposure to socialist theory and Dewey's and Addam's pragmatism. By the time Horton met Dewey, Dewey had already been influenced by Mead's social theory, and he was already developing a transactional view of selves-in-relation-to-others. Once Highlander was started, Horton allowed himsel f to remain open to others' influences. He had an uncanny ability to place himself in the background of a discussion and serve as a facilitator and welcoming host, instead of positioning himself as the expert authority. He didn't present himself as the charismatic leader or strong individual that he could have been, and in fact people at times tried to insist he be. Horton tells stories about having a gun pointed at him while angry strikers yelled at him to tell them what they should do.24 He didn't comply, but instead insisted he did not know what they needed to do, they had to figure that out among themselves. Myles did not let himself or Highlander's staff dominate and take over the workshops and classes offered at the education center. Rather, right from the start he insisted that the students make significant contributions and lead the discussions and be the teachers and decisionmakers.
My argument is that Horton learned to overcome his individualism and the isolation that results from it, and embrace a more transactional view of selves-inrelation-with-others. He overcame the either/or logic in which he was raised, one that all Americans are immersed in still today, either the individual or the group. He learned to see the world through a both/and logical frame that recognizes we are both individuals and members of a social group, greatly affected by our social context but also greatly affecting that larger social context as well. Consequently, he helped to develop an adult education center that serves as an excellent example of a democracy always-in-the-making.
I would like to conclude by considering some possible advice Horton and Highlander might offer public schools and their teachers, in a country such as the USA, which claims to embrace democratic values. What would Horton recommend toward helping teachers and students learn how to overcome their individualism and understand themselves to be transactionally related in a democratic society of their own making?
Living What You Believe
I must begin this final section by reminding us that Horton decided he did not want to try to create folk schools for democratic citizenry at a mass level, and he did not want to work with children. Horton wanted to work with people who would be able to make decisions for themselves and be responsible for their own actions. He did not want to start a school that would have to answer to state or federal legislation and he did not want to have a curriculum that was standardized and/or subject to examinations. Any discussion of what Horton would recommend for public school education must begin with the large caveat that he did not think his ideas would work in state controlled schools.
Many times I think Myles was right, what he accomplished with Highlander cannot be done in public schools with children. I write this article during the controversy of President Bush attacking Iraq due to fears of "weapons of mass destruction." My son attends a public middle school where little to no discussion of this very controversial decision to attack is occurring. Instead the children in his middle school are preparing for proficiency exams. However, I was observing in an urban alternative high school that is 53% Native American, with the rest of the students representing a diverse mixture of minority students, the week that the war with Iraq broke out, and that is all the students and teachers could talk about there. Questions concerning culture and power were debated all week, including who is in the military serving and what are the dangers they face, and whose interests are being served through this "preemptive strike?" When I think about those students, ones who failed out of public high schools in their city but found a home in a small partnership high school that modeled Native American values, while not denigrating other cultural values, I cannot give up on our public schools. Like Dewey, I think public education is one of the instruments for bringing about a more caring, more equitable and more just society. 1 do not think we can afford to wait until our children grow up to teach them how to be politically and culturally aware citizens if our country will ever have the chance of being a democracy-someday. I do not think we can continue to bracket questions of political economy or recognition and pretend that schools are not political spaces where issues about culture and power continual ly surface and must be dealt with one way or another. Even if we accept the need for state legislation and curriculum standards in our pubic schools for children in grades K-12, there is much room for improvement over what exists that will help us move closer to structuring our schools to support relational, pluralistic democratic goals. There is much we can do to help us overcome the strong individualism assumed in liberal democratic theory and embrace a more transactional view of selves-in-relation-to-others who are embedded within a larger social context.
I limit myself here to implications that focus directly on helping students overcome their isolation and begin to see themselves as contributing members of pluralistic communities that are embedded within a larger social, political, and economic world. Other recommendations will have to wait for other opportunities. Based on what we have learned about Highlander, I believe Horton would advise:
* Schools should be comfortable, welcoming places that put students at ease and offer places for them to interact with each other and teachers in informal, social ways.
* Schools should be kept small enough in size that it is possible for staff and students to get to know each other. The staff and students need space and time to get to know each other and share experiences together.
* At the same time, wider vistas need to be opened up for students and they need exposure to a variety of perspectives. Schools should seek to be diverse in enrollment and staffing and should bring in outsiders and encourage disagreement. Making people uncomfortable will help them grow in their understanding and critical consciousness. All objections must be heard. Local problems need to be connected to larger social problems so as to help enlarge students' and staffs' views and stretch their imaginations.
* Teachers should serve as facilitators and welcoming hosts/hostesses, instead of as expert authorities. The students should be encouraged to make significant contributions and lead the discussions and be teachers too.
* The curriculum needs to address questions of equity and recognition. Students need to learn that social problems are embedded within a larger cultural, political, and economic context, instead of treating them as isolated individual problems due to lacking individual qualities. Social problems need to be discussed through the lens of culture and power.
There are many examples of private schools that meet these recommendations in the USA, however, the best examples I am aware of, of public schools that are small, welcoming, open to student input, offer a curriculum that embraces cultural and political issues and addresses questions of redistribution and recognition, are schools that have historically been underfunded and marginalized.27 Often they are alternative schools for students who have failed out or dropped out of our public schools, like the Native American urban school I had the good fortune of visiting. In the poorest schools in the USA, filled with the most minority students, we can find lots of examples of teachers and students talking together about their condi tions in comparison to the other schools they play sports against, where they perform music and dance, and that they must compete against for academic recognition. In these schools social problems are examined within larger social, political, and economic contexts, through a lens of culture and power. Here students are recognized for their efforts and their talents, but always within the context of their supportive families and communities that help them grow and achieve. Here students are encouraged to work hard and strive to succeed, but always with an understanding that they can only succeed when they help others do so too. Here students are challenged to take responsibility for their actions, but not to blame themselves or others for what is beyond their control. Instead they are taught that it is only by working together that they will have opportunities to change things for the better.
The urban high school I visited during the week that war broke out between the USA and Iraq has no more than one hundred students with seven teachers. I saw an average of around ten students per classroom, which may sound low, but these are students who had a history of chronically missing school. The students and teachers all know each other, and are on a first name basis in this smaller, more personalized school. The size of the school makes it possible to adapt to students' needs, consider their interests, and adjust curriculum to make it relevant to their lives. It has been a lifesaver for these students, helping them return to school and graduate. It is also a school that seeks to empower the students so that they will become the next generation of "war ponies" who will be able to continue to work for a democracy that will someday include them. Just going to school each day exposes these students to tremendous levels of diversity. Pluralism is all around them. Still, they seek even more diversity, through their research projects and community service work. At the same time, they come together daily for a group meeting that reminds them all they have in common. As these students struggle to keep a roof over their heads and clean clothes on their backs, questions of equity and recognition are never far from their minds.
As I said at the beginning, Myles Horton's Highlander Folk School offers us a very rich example of a democratic school always-in-the-making and it will offer much for us to think about for years to come. In this article I have turned to the staff and students of Highlander to teach us the lessons they learned about letting go of their individualism in order to overcome their isolation and work together collectively to help solve their problems. After reviewing the history of Highlander, especially during Horton's lifetime, and exploring ideas upon which Highlander was built, I turned to considering the assumption of individualism in classical liberal democratic theory, and how Horton learned to let go of this assumption and adopt a more relational democratic theory. I have argued that individuals exist in relation to others, at an intimate level as well as at a generalized level. There is a direct relation between our individual subjectivity and our general sociality, for personal relations are embedded and embodied within larger social contexts. The relationship between individuals and others is a transactional relationship relying on a both/and logic that describes individuals affecting their social groups and social groups affecting their individuals, for we are all selves-in-relation-with-others

Write an essay to answer all four (4) questions. Each of the four (4) questions should be answered in no less than 300-500 words each. Please utilize verifiable and renowned academic journals and/or books as sources (Do not cite other college papers or theses). Please label individual questions and answers within the essay (example: Question 1 (Q1) Answer 1 (A1))

4-1. How an abuse/neglect case is handled plays a significant role in how the child is able to cope. Interviewing children requires a unique set of skills to accurately assess but at the same time, not re-traumatize the child. Discuss some of the finer points in interviewing a child. What must be considered to insure that the material uncovered will be helpful to the case? As you formulate your response, be sure to include ideas you may have from your outside research and/or life experiences.

4-2. Intervention in a child maltreatment case can often put the family into crisis. Child victims and siblings may feel divided loyalties, parents may feel a mixture of emotions and cultural values will effect the degree and type of reactions. Describe the major intervention steps from the time the case is reported until the family receives treatment. What special considerations should be made in dealing with the family?

4-3. Numerous other professionals often become involved in the intervention process-each playing his/her unique role. It is important that we not subject a child from a dysfunctional, feuding family to a dysfunctional, feuding helping system. What is meant by a team approach? Describe in brief the roles of professionals on that team and how they could work together effectively. Be specific. As you formulate your response, be sure to include ideas you may have from your outside research and/or life experiences.

4-4. The intent of the intervention process is to stop the current abuse and/or neglect, support families through treatment services and protect the child from future harm. Unfortunately, the very same helping process often adds further trauma to the child victims. We continue to seek out new strategies to address this issue. Compare and contrast Differential Response and Concurrent Planning. Briefly describe each. In what ways do you see them as similar and different? What are the pros and cons of each? Conclude your answer by sharing your view on whether we should continue pursuing these strategies and explain your rationale.

5-1. There are various types of court intervention for child maltreatment cases, all falling into two, distinctly different ideologies: juvenile court and criminal court. Describe the major distinctions between juvenile and criminal court as they relate to responding to child abuse and neglect cases. Include in your discussion: what do you see as the advantages and disadvantages to each? If you could change anything about the current structures, what would you change, and why?

5-2. After completing your module readings, viewing of videos and other resources you may have looked at, reflect upon the impact on children being involved in the intervention and legal process for child abuse or neglect. In your view, what event(s) in the process do you see as having the most potential to re-traumatize a child victim of abuse? Explain. Will the strategies toward a trauma-informed system alleviate those? What other ideas might you have?
5-3. Sex offender (SO) registration is a concept that has been the subject of much controversy. Devised as a result of the July 29, 1994 murder of New Jerseys 7 year old Megan Kanka by a known sex offender, on May 17, 1996 President Clinton signed federal legislation-Megans Law-mandating public notification and SO registration across all 50 states. Before responding, complete your review of Megans Law on the Klass Kids website (http://www.klaaskids.org/pg-legmeg.htm). What is your opinion of this law? Do you feel it is an appropriate strategy? How does it impact the public (positive? negative?). How might it impact the offender? Should offenders be protected? Finally, review the uploaded resource (entitled Meganslaw) on Megans Law and its impact in the state of New Jersey (where it all started!). It looks at data 10 years before and 10 years after the laws implementation. Focus on pages 1-9, and pages 41-46 of this uploaded resource. After reading these pages in this report: Briefly summarize the findings of this research. Do the results of this study change your opinion of Megans Law? Defend your view either way.
There are faxes for this order.