IASP Director Tom Shapiro has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct research in South Africa during the first six months of 2011. His project concerns "The Wealth Gap: Reconciliation and Transformation in South African and the United States?" Shapiro will be situated at the University of Cape Town's Center for Social Science Research.
The South African Research Project examines the process of confronting history and reconciliation, with particular emphasis on the patterning of race and wealth accumulation and post-Apartheid legal, administrative, and policy measures to redress wealth inequality. South Africa has constructed a legal and policy framework for redressing the economic imbalances of the past. This project will analyze the capacities, limitations, and effectiveness of that effort because of its relevance for societies confronting severe historical economic discrimination. South Africa provides the best (and only) case study capable of exploring pivotal dynamics of reconciliation and transformation.
During Dr. Shapiro's absence, Janet Boguslaw, IASP Associate Director, will serve as Acting Director of the Institute. She can be reached at (781)736-3738 or boguslaw@brandeis.edu.
The Fulbright Program, America's flagship international educational exchange program, was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, operates in more than 155 countries. Since its inception, the program has provided nearly 300,000 individuals the opportunity to observe one another's political, economic, educational and cultural institutions, exchange ideas, and embark upon joint ventures of mutual interest.
IASP will expand its work on long-term economic security and risks for seniors, focusing on vulnerable households such as seniors of color and women. This work entails enhancing IASP's Senior Financial Stability Index with more recent survey data, and qualitatively illustrating vulnerable sectors' economic circumstances through personal interviews. This multi-year project is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies.
For more information, contact Tatjana Meschede, IASP Research Director, at (781)736-8678 or meschede@brandeis.edu.
IASP Research Director Tatjana Meschede's dissertation research on chronically homeless street dwellers is published in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) publication, Collaborating for Change: Partnerships to Transform Local Communities. This article details interviews with project partners and the research's programmatic and policy impacts.
The new model of Prevention, Diversion, Triage (instead of shelter) and Stabilization for housing families in Massachusetts began in September of 2009. To date, more than 160 families have been successfully placed in permanent housing. IASP will evaluate the program provided by Father Bill's & Main Spring, a large homeless service provider for the South Shore. The goal of this two-year evaluation is to inform the agency about the successes and challenges of their Housing First for Homeless Families program by integrating perspectives of all stakeholders (administrators, service providers, program participants, community members) and analyzing data collected for the program.
IASP has teamed up with the Massachusetts Association for Community Action (MASSCAP) to increase asset formation opportunities for low-income families across the state. The latest report for the Asset Formation Initiative examines the integration of services at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites beyond promotion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by using the provision of free tax preparation as a vehicle to increase access to other financial and support services. IASP researched current practices nationally, and surveyed and interviewed participating tax filers and program directors locally to identify effective strategies. The results are outlined in the report VITA -- More than Tax Prep: Community Action Agencies Promote Asset Formation by Integrating Additional Services with the EITC at Volunteer Tax Assistance Sites.
Keynote at Aging Conference
IASP's Research Director Tatjana Meschede was invited by Senior Service America to speak at the Closing General Session at the national n4a (Advocacy, Action, Answers on Aging) conference in St. Louis, MO. Drawing from findings of three IASP studies, she spoke about economic challenges faced by seniors of color at the session titled, "Economic Insecurity among Older Americans: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times?" In her presentation, Dr. Meschede shared findings from the Senior Financial Stability Index, the Racial Wealth Gap, and preliminary data from a field study. Discussion with conference participants focused on the implications for older adults and the agencies that serve them.
Assessing the wealth holdings of the same families for 23 years (1984-2007) shows that the wealth gap between whites and African Americans increased more than 4 times, from $20,000 in 1984 to $95,000 in 2003. This gap persisted for African Americans and white families in the same income range. For example, middle-income white households had greater gains in financial assets than high-income African Americans; by 2007, they had accumulated $74,000, whereas the average high-income African American family owned only $18,000. At least 25% of all African American families had no assets to turn to in times of economic hardship.
View Research Brief
View Press Release
View CNN coverage of this research
Listen to the webinar and view webinar slides
In an op-ed in the Root, an online magazine exploring daily news from black perspectives, IASP Director Tom Shapiro introduces The Racial Wealth Gap Increases Fourfold, explores its policy implications, and examines its importance to society at large. According to Dr. Shapiro, "We should care about extreme wealth inequality because small amounts of financial resources can touch and transform the lives of families and communities."
This new report in the Living Longer on Less series, released by IASP and Demos finds that 91% of both African American and Latino seniors face financial vulnerability. Lack of assets and housing expenses are the leading causes for the high financial insecurity among seniors of color. These findings reveal that African Americans and Latinos are particularly at-risk of poverty and financial instability in their later years. This report identifies policy action for comprehensive reforms that support working age adults and help families prepare for retirement.
View report
View press release
IASP Research Director, Tatjana Meschede's dissertation research is published in the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Volume 20, Issue 2, 153. In the article, "Accessing Housing: Exploring the Impact of Medical and Substance Abuse Services on Housing Attainment for Chronically Homeless Street Dwellers", Dr. Meschede details the service use of a group of homeless street dwellers in Boston over a three year period and analyzes the impact of these services on housing outcomes. Supported by the MA Department of Public Health and HUD, this research creates a unique database that points to a number of critical factors increasing the odds of leaving the streets.
For more information please contact Tatjana Meschede at (781) 736-8678 or email at meschede@brandeis.edu
View abstract
IASP is starting a new project "Leveraging Mobility" to understand the importance of assets in families' lives over the last ten years. Of particular interest is understanding how assets have impacted families' social, educational and economic decisions. The project will involve IASP staff interviewing 180 families who were originally interviewed in 1998 and 1999 in Boston, Los Angeles and St. Louis. Funding is provided by the Ford Foundation.
For more information please contact Hannah Thomas at (781) 736-3819
or by email at hthomas@brandeis.edu
IASP's Hannah Thomas was invited by the Ohio State University Kirwan Institute's Future of Fair Housing initiative to write a paper, An Ethnographic View of Impact: Asset Stripping for People of Color, describing the impacts of foreclosure on families in Boston. This work is based on in-depth interviews with families in foreclosure in 2007 and 2008 and points to the ways that foreclosure can lead to asset stripping for people of color.
View report
IASP's Director, Thomas Shapiro, served as a consultant to the initiative and its report Fair Credit and Fair Housing in the Wake fo the Subprime Lending and Foreclosure Crisis that emerged from a series of meetings around the country to look at the global credit system and the current subprime crisis.
View report
© 2012, Institute on Assets and Social Policy, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University. All rights are reserved.
