California Counts, Report Educational Resources and Outcomes in California, by Race and Ethnicity By Deborah Reed Feb 23, 2005 Examines family and school resources, student outcomes, and public policy initiatives affecting California’s students from early childhood through university. Describes several factors potentially contributing to racial and ethnic gaps in college completion.
Occasional Paper, Report Demographic, Social, and Economic Trends for Young Children in California By Deborah Reed, Sonya Tafoya Oct 18, 2001 Prepared for presentation to the California Children and Families Commission, October 18, 2001.
Report Health Training Pathways at California’s Community Colleges By Shannon McConville, Sarah Bohn, Landon Gibson Dec 1, 2016 State and federal policymakers looking to improve economic mobility and meet workforce needs have renewed their focus on career technical education. Health training is of particular interest—California’s community colleges offer a range of health programs and credentials and demand is growing for health workers with some college training. Students who earn shorter-term health credentials tend to see relatively low wage gains, and relatively few return to school to pursue higher-level training. Targeted outreach and support could help more students move along pathways to higher earnings. This research was supported with funding from the ECMC Foundation and the Sutton Family Fund.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education By Mark Baldassare, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner, David Kordus Apr 20, 2016 Some findings of the current survey: Most Californians say that state funding for local schools is inadequate; solid majorities favor a Proposition 30 income tax increase extension and state and local school bonds. Democrats and Republicans are divided on the Common Core standards. Still, a majority of Californians are confident that Common Core will help prepare students for college and careers. While few Californians have heard of the Local Control Funding Formula, a solid majority are supportive after being read a short description of the policy. Californians are concerned about preschool affordability; most favor using some of the state budget surplus to fund early childhood education programs. Crosstabs: All Adults [PDF] Likely Voters [PDF] Time Trends: All Adults [PDF] Likely Voters [PDF] The survey was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment, the Silver Giving Foundation, and the Stuart Foundation.
Report Rethinking the State-Local Relationship: Child Welfare Services By Caroline Danielson May 18, 2011 Governor Jerry Brown’s January 2011 budget proposal sparked renewed interest in "realignment”—that is, in changing how the state and localities divide responsibility for programs and services. For child welfare services, successful realignment will depend upon state lawmakers finding ways to give counties discretion over funding—while helping them accomplish statewide goals. This report is part of a PPIC series on rethinking the state-local relationship. The other reports in this series include: An Overview of Realignment Corrections K-12 Education Local Economic Development This work is supported by funding from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and by contributions of unrestricted support to PPIC’s Donor Circle.
Report Understanding the Future of Californians’ Fertility: The Role of Immigrants By Laura Hill, Hans Johnson Apr 1, 2002 Current population projections indicate that California could add more than 10 million new residents over the next 20 years. Yet the population projections themselves are the subject of some uncertainty. This report seeks to inform the state's population projections by offering a fine-grained analysis of the state's fertility trends. It focuses on two questions: how much does fertility vary by immigrant generation in California, and what are the relationships between personal characteristics, neighborhood characteristics, and fertility rates among the state's immigrant population and their descendants? The report concludes that immigrant generation is not independently important once personal characteristics are controlled for, but that the predictive value of this factor is still useful for projecting fertility changes. It also suggests that current population projections for California may be too high because they do not consider declines in fertility as immigrants and their descendants adapt to life in this country.
California Counts, Report Poverty in California: Levels, Trends, and Demographic Dimensions By Deborah Reed, Richard Van Swearingen Nov 1, 2001 Investigates poverty trends in California, using three different measures. Explores the demographic dimensions of poverty by region of residence, race/ethnicity, place of birth (foreign-born or U.S.-born), family structure, age, and work status.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Renatta DeFever, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner Mar 25, 2015 Some findings of the current survey: Californians are worried about the water supply in their part of the state and say that people in their region are not doing enough to respond to the drought. Many share the governor’s concern about the state’s roads and bridges; fewer support tax increases to fund improvements. Most favor using state budget surpluses to restore higher education funding, but only if tuition and fees do not increase. Support for legalizing marijuana (53%) is at its highest point; more than half of Californians would not be bothered if a legal marijuana store opened in their neighborhood. Job Approval Ratings: President Obama [PDF] Governor Brown [PDF] California State Legislature [PDF] U.S. Congress [PDF] Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings: President Obama [XLS] Governor Brown [XLS] California State Legislature [XLS] U.S. Congress [XLS] Mood of Californians: General Direction of Things in California [PDF] Economic Outlook for California [PDF] General Direction of Things in the United States [PDF] Economic Outlook for the United States [PDF] Time Trends for the Mood of Californians: General Direction of Things in California [XLS] Economic Outlook for California [XLS] General Direction of Things in the United States [XLS] Economic Outlook for the United States [XLS] This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.
Report Sanctions and Time Limits in California’s Welfare Program By Deborah Reed, Caroline Danielson Apr 6, 2009 In an effort to boost the share of adults on welfare who work, the state has considered proposals to further reduce or eliminate payments to those receiving aid through CalWORKs—the state's welfare program for needy families—who don't work or seek work. This report examines possible effects of these stricter sanctions. The findings suggest that in general, the state's work participation rate could rise, the welfare caseload could shrink, and the poverty rate among children would not be greatly affected if stricter sanctions were adopted.
