Report What If California’s Drought Continues? By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle ... Aug 19, 2015 California is in the fourth year of a severe, hot drought—the kind that is increasingly likely as the climate warms. Although no sector has been untouched, impacts so far have varied greatly, reflecting different levels of drought preparedness. Urban areas are in the best shape, thanks to sustained investments in diversified water portfolios and conservation. Farmers are more vulnerable, but they are also adapting. The greatest vulnerabilities are in some low-income rural communities where wells are running dry and in California’s wetlands, rivers, and forests, where the state’s iconic biodiversity is under extreme threat. Two to three more years of drought will increase challenges in all areas and require continued—and likely increasingly difficult—adaptations. Emergency programs will need to be significantly expanded to get drinking water to rural residents and to prevent major losses of waterbirds and extinctions of numerous native fish species, including most salmon runs. California also needs to start a longer-term effort to build drought resilience in the most vulnerable areas.
blog post “The Central Valley Needs a New Narrative” By Ellen Hanak May 18, 2015 In conversation with water-law expert Dan Dooley on the future of agriculture in the Central Valley.
Report Policy Priorities for Managing Drought By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle ... Mar 16, 2015 State, federal, and local water managers have worked diligently to reduce the economic, social, and environmental harm from the current drought. But as the drought continues, the challenges will grow more acute. California can learn from experiences to date—and from Australia’s response to its Millennium Drought—to better prepare both for the year ahead and for future droughts. State leaders should address weaknesses in four areas of drought preparation and response, by: 1) improving water use information, 2) setting clear goals and priorities for public health and the environment, 3) promoting water conservation and more resilient water supplies, and 4) strengthening environmental management.
blog post No-Stakes Testing By Patrick Murphy Mar 12, 2014 March 18, California’s schools will pilot a new type of standardized test for students in grades three through eight and grade eleven.
Report California’s Changing K-12 Accountability Program By Paul Warren Jan 17, 2013 California recently joined a number of other states in adopting the Common Core State Standards, which establish new criteria for what students should learn in school. It also joined a consortium of states to develop new tests based on those standards. The new standards are ambitious, and some teachers are concerned they are not prepared to convey the higher-level skills and concepts they contain. The new tests will allow the state to measure gains in each student’s achievement, creating new options for how the state ranks schools. The change will also prompt the state to reassess the value of state tests in high school and its options for holding secondary schools accountable. More changes to the state’s accountability program are likely when Congress reauthorizes the federal education law, and the way the state addresses these current issues will influence the shape of its future accountability program.
California Counts, Report Second-Generation Immigrants in California By Hans Johnson, Karthick Ramakrishnan May 18, 2005 Examines the demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, and geographic location of second-generation immigrants in California – i.e., U.S.-born individuals with at least one foreign-born parent. Finds that over half (54%) are children and that a majority live in Los Angeles County. As these children age over the next decades, they could dramatically transform California’s adult population with their increasing presence in the state’s colleges, labor force, and voting population.
press release Special Survey on Orange County: What A Difference A Decade Makes! Ten Years After Bankruptcy, The OC Loves Government Dec 1, 2004
Report The Socioeconomic Well-Being of California’s Immigrant Youth By Laura Hill Jul 22, 2004 California’s immigrant youth often make transitions to adulthood in different orders, at different paces, and with different levels of success than their native-born counterparts. Given the large size of this population, these differences have far-reaching consequences for households, communities, and public policy. In The Socioeconomic Well-Being of California’s Immigrant Youth, Laura Hill profiles the educational attainment, workforce participation, household arrangements, and parenting rates of this population. Finding that immigrants who arrive before age ten have outcomes very similar to those of their native-born counterparts, she concludes that many policies addressing the needs of second- and third-generation youth are also likely to help immigrant youth who attend school. However, immigrant youth who are not in school must be reached through their employers or their children’s schools.
