IssueLab's Comprehensive News Feed

Demographics Loom Large in State Failure

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Earth Policy Institute. After a half-century of forming new states from former colonies and from the breakup of the Soviet Union, the international community is today faced with the opposite situation: the disintegration of states. Failing states are now a prominent feature of the international political landscape. ...

The Financial Conditions of Illinois Human Service Nonprofits

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. This document examines the financial conditions of Illinois human service nonprofit organizations. The first section examines median and aggregate data of all nonprofits and the second section examines the financial conditions of the various nonprofit sectors, including Mental Health and Crisis Intervention; Crime and Legal-Related; Employment; Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition; Housing and Shelter; Youth Development; and Other Human Services. ...

Food Systems Report

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. How will we continue to produce food and feed our population in 2040 while planning for population growth, transportation, homes, and commerce in the region? This is the question that frames this Food Systems Report for the Chicago metropolitan region. It builds upon two previously developed Illinois food strategies: one generated at the city level and the other by a statewide task force. It is an opportunity to reinforce food systems policy and planning for the Chicago metro area. It also offers a process for exploring food issues and links with other municipal and county governments throughout the sevencounty region. ...

Harnessing the Sun's Energy for Water and Space Heating

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Earth Policy Institute. The pace of solar energy development is accelerating as the installation of rooftop solar water heaters takes off. Unlike solar photovoltaic (PV) panels that convert solar radiation into electricity, these "solar thermal collectors" use the sun's energy to heat water, space, or both. ...

Health Report

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. This Plan for Health is an unusual undertaking in two respects. It is part of the Go To 2040 regional master plan along with other human services components that have, historically, been outside the purview of planners, who are usually more concerned with issues such as land use, transportation, and solid waste disposal. And the planning horizon covers three decades, providing a rare opportunity for health planners to engage in truly long range planning. Health is more than medical care: a variety of factors determine the health of individuals and a community. These "underlying determinants" include demographic composition, income and poverty, employment, social status, cultural beliefs and practices, level of educational attainment, environmental conditions, genetics, individual behaviors, and public health measures, in addition to the quality and utilization of health care services. Most planning efforts, which attempt to affect community health, deal only with public health and medical services delivery, even though the other factors are known to have a greater influence on community and individual health. This plan approaches the challenge differently; it focuses on the underlying determinants of health and moves beyond the narrower focus that health planners and public health officials traditionally take. This report identifies the connections that education, land use, transportation, food and hunger, civic engagement, workforce, and the economy have...

Human Relations Report

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. Any assessment of the state of human relations in the Chicago region needs to be multidimensional. At its most basic, such an assessment involves the quality of relationships, or relations, among individuals. Relations may manifest themselves in families, among friends, within neighborhoods, or in work, religious, educational, recreational or other social settings. There are no widely accepted measures of the quality of human relations, in part because different commentators view the subject differently. Quality human relations may have several outcomes: for people to be satisfied or experience a good quality of life; for people to be supportive and helpful to one another; or for people to treat one another fairly and equally. In some social settings, individuals with common characteristics share a common fate or have similar life experiences and opportunities. Other social settings are marked more by differences among groups than commonalities. Such differences can be readily observed in the cases of different racial, ethnic, age or language groups; among persons sharing a gender or sexual orientation; or among the disabled. These social groupings seem to have the most impact on people's condition and identity. ...

Hunger Report

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. In August 2008, as part of The Chicago Community Trust's and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's (CMAP) joint effort to develop a long-range plan for the Chicago region, a "hunger advisory committee" comprised of 20 individuals representing an array of community-based nonprofit organizations, government agencies and private corporations came together for the first of six meetings. The purpose of the advisory committee was to produce a planning document that would provide an overview of hunger in our region, identify the challenges and opportunities in responding to hunger, and identify strategies that would lead to the elimination of hunger and, in turn, create a stronger and healthier community. Over the course of nine months, the Hunger Advisory Committee defined a vision of equitable access to quality food, along with supporting principles that laid the groundwork for a set of recommendations that will redefine the way families and individuals access emergency and supplemental food within our region. While the Hunger Advisory Committee recognizes hunger as a symptom of poverty and, thus, is unlikely to be entirely eradicated in three decades, we also believe that an enhanced, streamlined system can ensure that all individuals in our region -- regardless of age, gender, race, economic circumstances, or citizenship status -- should and can have access to quality, nutritious food delivered in a dignified manner. ...

Latvia's Internal Devaluation: A Success Story?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research. Advocates of an economic strategy of "internal devaluation" have recently pointed to Latvia as an example of successful macroeconomic policy. The Latvian economy is projected to grow by four percent in 2011. They argue that the Latvian government, along with the European authorities (including the International Monetary Fund IMF), pursued the correct macroeconomic policies by maintaining Latvia's fixed exchange rate and implementing pro-cyclical fiscal policies (that shrunk the economy further) and sometimes pro-cyclical monetary policies. They argue that these were the best policies as opposed to counter-cyclical, expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, accompanied by devaluation designed to promote a rapid economic recovery. The data, however, contradict the notion that Latvia's experience provides an example of successful internal devaluation. This paper looks at the Latvian case and provides further evidence that this can be a very costly strategy and one that does not work. The social and economic costs in Latvia were enormous, and the loss of income much greater than most countries that had crisis-driven devaluations. Countries with crisis-driven devaluations also recovered vastly faster, on average, than did Latvia. Furthermore, net exports contributed little or nothing to Latvia's recovery, which seems to have been facilitated instead by the abandonment of pro-cyclical macroeconomic policies. This case study is relevant to the eurozo...

Legal Aid in Cook County

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. Cook County's pro bono and legal aid delivery system is designed to help low-income and disadvantaged Chicagoans obtain the protections of our civil legal system and is an integral piece of both our justice system and our community's safety net. Each day, over 30 organizations help thousands of low-income people resolve serious issues that threaten their safety and independence, including issues such as domestic violence, mortgage foreclosure and obtaining public benefits wrongfully denied. In the past 7 years, the pro bono and legal aid system serving Cook County has grown significantly. Thanks to increases in funding, improvements in efficiency and continued innovation, Cook County's pro bono and legal aid organizations are serving more than twice as many people as seven years ago, reaching almost 180,000 people in 2009. Funding from various sources -- particularly the legal community and foundations has increased during this time, though government's share of overall funding for legal aid has not kept pace. The advances made by the pro bono and legal aid system, however, are still not adequate to respond to the needs of the number of low-income people in Chicago and Cook County suburbs, which has grown during the same period. In 2009, over 25% of the County's residents were at or close to the poverty level, with the numbers of low-income people growing both in the city of Chicago and the suburbs of Cook County. Even prior to the economic downturn, pro bono and legal...

Maintaining and Improving Social Security for Direct Care Workers

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research. America's more than three million direct care workers (DCWs) -- a category that includes nursing assistants, home health aides, and personal and home care aides -- play a crucial role in maintaining the health and economic security of elderly retirees and people with disabilities. Yet, they are among the most poorly compensated and economically insecure workers in the United States. Only about one in every four direct care workers have employer-provided retirement benefits. When these workers themselves retire or become disabled, many of them will rely almost exclusively on modest Social Security benefits to keep a roof over their heads and meet other basic living expenses. Some recent proposals to cut Social Security would put the retirement security of direct care workers -- and millions of other workers in poorly compensated jobs -- at risk. Instead of cutting Social Security benefits, the federal government should strengthen Social Security in ways that increase retirement security, particularly for retirees who have worked in poorly compensated jobs and typically have little or no retirement savings outside of Social Security. This brief provides direct care workers and their allies with information they can use to become engaged in efforts to maintain and strengthen Social Security. After providing background on how Social Security works and why today's direct care workers can count on it being there for them when they retire, it details some troubling recent p...

Maintaining and Improving Social Security for Poorly Compensated Workers

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research. Millions of American workers are poorly compensated for the work they do. This is not because they do not work hard or deserve adequate compensation. Rather, it is due to a political failure to ensure that increases in economic growth and productivity over the last several decades have been fairly distributed. One consequence of this failure is that many working-class Americans do not enjoy the living standards they deserve either during their working years or when they retire. Without the earned benefits provided by Social Security, along with Medicare and related health insurance benefits for the elderly, these workers would see their already modest living standards in old age fall even further below typical ones. The federal government should strengthen Social Security in ways that increase the retirement security of middle and working-class Americans. Particular attention should be paid to improving the living standards in retirement of workers in poorly compensated jobs, who typically have little or no retirement savings outside of Social Security. Some recent proposals to cut Social Security would put the retirement security of workers in poorly compensated jobs at further risk. While it would be wise to shore up the long-term finances of Social Security, this can be done without cutting benefits for working and middle-class retirees. Finally, it is important to remember that Social Security by itself cannot be the sole vehicle f...

The New News: Journalism We Want and Need

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500

Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. Economic pressures on one hand and continuing democratization of news on the other have already changed the news picture in Chicago, as elsewhere in the U.S. The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times are in bankruptcy, and local broadcast news programs also face economic pressures. Meanwhile, it seems every week brings a new local news entrepreneur from Gapers Block to Beachwood Reporter to Chi-Town Daily News to Windy Citizen to The Printed Blog. In response to these changes, the Knight Foundation is actively supporting a national effort to explore innovations in how information, especially at the local community level, is collected and disseminated to ensure that people find the information they need to make informed decisions about their community's future. The Chicago Community Trust is fortunate to have been selected as a partner working with the Knight Foundation in this effort through the Knight Community Information Challenge. For 94 years, the Trust has united donors to create charitable resources that respond to the changing needs of our community -- meeting basic needs, enriching lives and encouraging innovative ways to improve our neighborhoods and communities. Understanding how online information and communications are meeting, or not, the needs of the community is crucial to the Trust's project supported by the Knight Foundation. To this end, the Trust commissioned the Community Media Workshop to produce Th...

Organization of American States in Haiti: Election Monitoring or Political Intervention?, The?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research. This paper has to do with a question that is important for the future of the Hemisphere: namely, what to do about the Organization of American States (OAS)? On February 23, 2010, heads of state from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean met in Cancún and formed a new organization: the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). It has the same membership as the OAS, but without the United States and Canada, and it includes Cuba. The new organization is expected to have another summit meeting in December, and this paper is written for that meeting. Although some have maintained that CELAC is not meant to displace the OAS, it will inevitably -- if it succeeds -- do that to some degree. This paper shows that an organization independent of Washington's influence is both necessary and desirable, especially for the furtherance of democracy in the Hemisphere. Although this paper is by its nature rather technical, the basic issues are not complicated. It calls into question, in a very serious manner, the conduct of the OAS in its unprecedented action that reversed the electoral result of the first round in Haiti's most recent election. As has been noted previously, this decision was not based on statistical inference from the electoral data. This paper goes further, and shows that the OAS decision was inconsistent with the electoral data. If the OAS decision was made for political reasons -- as appears to be the case -- it raises serious questions abou...

Politics Matter: Changes in Unionization Rates in Rich Countries, 1960-2010

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Center for Economic and Policy Research. Researchers have offered several explanations for the decline in unionization. Many emphasize that "globalization" and the technological advances embodied in the "new economy" have made unions obsolete. However, if the decline in unionization is the inevitable response to the twin forces of globalization and technology, then we would expect unionization rates to follow a similar path in countries subjected to roughly similar levels of globalization and technology. This paper looks at union membership and coverage for 21 rich economies, including the United States, and finds over the last five decades a wide range of trends in union membership and collective bargaining. The national political environment, not globalization or technology, is the most important factor driving long-run changes in unionization rates in the United States. ...

Public Safety, Crime and Justice Report

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. The advisory committee met on October 3, 2008 and January 30, 2009 to review information, data and reports compiled by staff to inform discussions centered on crime and justice issues in the seven-county Northeastern Illinois region that will warrant attention and resources between now and the year 2040. Between those two meetings, advisory committee members were asked to complete an on-line survey regarding the current conditions in their field of criminal justice and in their communities and the anticipated effects of projected changes in demographics on criminal justice goals and objectives for reaching a safe, equitable, efficient region by the year 2040. ...

A Quest for Equality: Breaking the Barriers for People with Disabilities

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. Over the past decade, significant advances in accessibility of infrastructure, public transportation, housing and public accommodations have positively impacted the lives of people with disabilities across the country. In Illinois, Chicago is fast becoming a national leader in opportunity, inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities. However, the Chicago Public Schools do not keep pace with the rest of the state in serving students with disabilities. Although some areas of the state have made great progress, Illinois significantly lags behind other states in the implementation of progressive policies and fiscal resources that ensure the true integration of individuals with disabilities into their communities. This report highlights key areas where Illinois' programs and policies require more serious attention: community living, education and youth transition, and employment. The report provides problem statements, illustrative statistics, goals and recommendations for each of these topics. Within each of the key topics, a target date of 2015 has been set for the implementation or achievement of the proposed goals. This date coincides with the 40th anniversary of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, two vital pieces of legislation in the disability rights movement. To uphold the promise of these important laws, this report discusses issues that are key to improving the qua...

Ready to Roll?: Executive Summary

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) use combinations of vehicle fuels and technologies to reduce the use of petroleum in on-road vehicles. These include low-carbon fuels (sometimes blended with petroleum), electricity, and hybrid technologies combining internal combustion engines with electric motors. DVRPC's "Ready to Roll?" report provides an overview for policy makers and citizens in the Greater Philadelphia region about the challenges and opportunities for expanded use of alternative fuel vehicles. The AFVs covered in this report include those most widely available today or likely to become available in the next 10 to 20 years....

Ready to Roll?: Overview of Challenges and Opportunities

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) use combinations of vehicle fuels and technologies to reduce the use of petroleum in on-road vehicles. These include low-carbon fuels (sometimes blended with petroleum), electricity, and hybrid technologies combining internal combustion engines with electric motors. DVRPC's Ready to Roll? Report provides an overview for policymakers and citizens in the Greater Philadelphia region about the challenges and opportunities for expanded use of alternative fuel vehicles. The AFVs covered in this report include those most widely available today or likely to become available in the next 10 to 20 years....

Regional Review of the ARRA for Northeastern Illinois

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of public policy intervention. Unprecedented strategies and investments were deployed to address the most severe recession since the Great Depression. The policy and programming solutions implemented by the ARRA were designed to not only stop economic decline, but also to build a stronger foundation for long-term economic prosperity. With over a year since the ARRA programs and policies came into effect, we can now assess initial progress, learn from accomplishments and challenges, and work to address obstacles to support better future success. It is critical we utilize this opportunity to ensure a successful recovery and lay the groundwork for effective future investments. To help our region capitalize on this opportunity and support long-term success, CMAP and the Chicago Community Trust convened the Regional ARRA Coordinating Council to develop targeted strategies for maximizing ARRA resources throughout the region, specifically for housing, energy, weatherization, and workforce development. The participating agencies include: The Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago Jobs Council, Community and Economic Development Association, Grand Victoria Foundation, Housing Action Illinois, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, Metropolitan Planning Council, Metropolis 2020, and the Recovery Partnership. Drawing on the insight and knowledge of these agencies, we are able to obt...

Renewing the Commitment: An ADA Compliance Guide for Nonprofits

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 has been hailed as one of the most significant civil rights laws since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Its intent is to ensure that people with physical and mental disabilities have equal access to, and equal opportunity to enjoy, the services and activities of state and local governments, as well as most private entities including most nonprofit organizations. This guide is just that -- a guide. It does not set standards for grantees of The Chicago Community Trust. It is not intended as legal advice. At times, this guide states the ADA's explicit requirements and identifies them as such. At other times, it makes suggestions that go beyond the minimum requirements of the ADA, providing guidance for improving access and adopting best practices. It is intended to give your organization information about compliance, along with tools that make compliance possible -- tools that you can use and adapt according to your size, activities and resources. ...

Restoring Shared Prosperity: Strategies to Cut Poverty and Expand Economic Growth

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Center for American Progress. This report from the Half in Ten campaign examines the economic challenges facing families in the United States and outlines a set of priorities for addressing these challenges. ...

RHOPI Action Plan: Addressing the Foreclosure Crisis in the Chicago Metro Area

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. The Regional Home Ownership Preservation Initiative (Regional HOPI) is the Chicago metropolitan area's integrated approach, dedicated to building capacity, galvanizing support, and expanding resources to exert a collective, measurable impact on the foreclosure crisis. Regional HOPI has attracted a broad base of support and participation from organizations across the region and across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The collaboration was channeled into four task forces examining foreclosed/vacant properties, financial products, counseling and legal services, and research -- to assess the problem on a regional scale and contribute to creating actionable solutions. From August to October 2008, the task forces of Regional HOPI convened to develop strategies and action plans. This process produced innovative ideas, encouraged greater regional collaboration, and created a solid platform from which to combat foreclosures. This document summarizes the progress of Regional HOPI and presents a Regional Action Plan to address foreclosures. Regional HOPI has transitioned from the planning stage to action. ...

Rising Meat Consumption Takes Big Bite out of Grain Harvest

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Earth Policy Institute. World consumption of animal protein is everywhere on the rise. Meat consumption increased from 44 million tons in 1950 to 284 million tons in 2009, more than doubling annual consumption per person to over 90 pounds. The rise in consumption of milk and eggs is equally dramatic. Wherever incomes rise, so does meat consumption. As the oceanic fish catch and rangeland beef production have both leveled off, the world has shifted to grain-based production of animal protein to expand output. With some 35 percent of the world grain harvest (760 million tons) used to produce animal protein, meat consumption has a large impact on grain consumption, and therefore global food security. ...

The Size of the Illinois Human Service Workforce

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. Human services cover a broad range of programs, services, and facilities provided to the public that are designed to enhance the quality of life and well-being of people and communities. In most cases, human services are provided by agencies at the community level and include programs and services such as affordable housing, child care, mental health and substance use treatment, and job training, as well as those targeting specific populations such as immigrants, seniors, or people experiencing homelessness. This paper outlines an approach to estimating the size of the human service workforce in Illinois. Quantifying the size of Illinois' human service workforce fills a knowledge gap; with such diversity among human service organizations, a total figure for the entire sector has not before been estimated. An estimate of workers employed in human service organizations gives a sense of how much of the workforce is dependent on human service jobs. Additionally, it gives context and illustrates the relative size of this portion of the workforce to examine cross state comparisons in terms of the number of human service workers to residents in each state. ...

Solar Power 2011 - Solar PV Breaks Records in 2010

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Earth Policy Institute. Solar photovoltaic (PV) companies manufactured a record 24,000 megawatts of PV cells worldwide in 2010, more than doubling their 2009 output. Annual PV production has grown nearly 100-fold since 2000, when just 277 megawatts of cells were made. Newly installed PV also set a record in 2010, as 16,600 megawatts were installed in more than 100 countries. This brought the total worldwide capacity of solar PV to nearly 40,000 megawatts -- enough to power 14 million European homes. ...

Troubling Health Trends Holding Back Progress on Life Expectancy

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Earth Policy Institute. People born today will live for 68 years on average, 20 years longer than those born in 1950. By the mid-twentieth century, industrial countries had already made major strides in extending lifespans with improvements in sanitation, nutrition, and public health. After World War II, rapid gains in life expectancy in developing countries began to narrow the gap between these nations and industrial countries. Although average life expectancy worldwide continues to increase, gains have come more slowly in the last few decades. Worryingly, life expectancy has actually declined in some developing countries, while a few industrial countries have stalled or made slow progress on this important indicator of human health and well-being. ...

U.S. Carbon Emissions Down 7 Percent in Four Years

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Earth Policy Institute. Between 2007 and 2011, carbon emissions from coal use in the United States dropped 10 percent. During the same period, emissions from oil use dropped 11 percent. In contrast, carbon emissions from natural gas use increased by 6 percent. The net effect of these trends was that U.S. carbon emissions dropped 7 percent in four years. And this is only the beginning....

Workforce Development Report

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Chicago Community Trust, The. The GO TO 2040 Project of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) provides a unique opportunity to step back and think about workforce development as a regional network or system and imagine how its role can be most effectively and efficiently deployed to contribute to the region's prosperity. While there are regional workforce development initiatives underway in the Chicago region, to our knowledge, "workforce development" as a system has not been analyzed for a regional plan for a metropolitan area the size of Chicago. It is also important to note that neither a defined regional workforce development political or administrative jurisdiction nor a regional administrative entity for workforce development has been a necessary precursor to any of the existing regional initiatives. The development of workforce development recommendations for the GO TO 2040 Project was intended both to build from current regional and local work, as well as to reorient the workforce system to play a stronger and more strategic role in the region. The workforce development system in the region does not have the same structures that other systems have. Moreover, the two groups of customers of the workforce development system -- individual jobseekers/workers and employers -- are neither homogenous categories nor do they respond to or interact with public policy or programs in a linear fashion. Trying to identify the strategies that n...

World Population Hitting 7 Billion

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:59:01 -0500
Contributing organization(s): Earth Policy Institute. The number of people in the world is expected to reach 7 billion by the end of October 2011. Our rate of increase continues to slow from the high point of over 2 percent in 1968. Still, this year's 1.1 percent increase means some 78 million people will be added to the global population in 2011. ...

Ready and Able: Addressing Labor Market Needs and Building Productive Careers for People with Disabilities through Collaborative Approaches

Wed, 25 May 2011 19:59:01 -0400
Contributing organization(s): Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. The report describes market-driven practices that increase hiring, retention, promotion and accommodation of people with disabilities through partnerships with employers. Approaches profiled in the research include: collaborations between major national employers and public sector agencies; models that focus on an industry or occupational sector; private and "alternative" staffing services that place people with disabilities; partnerships that expand opportunities for college students and graduates with disabilities; and local and regional hubs that connect people with disabilities and employers. The research also profiles two organizations where lead disability and employment partnerships act as catalysts. ...