Library
E-Bulletins
2009 E-Bulletin Archives: Click Here
2008 E-Bulletin Archives: Click Here
2007 E-Bulletin Archives: Click Here
2006 E-Bulletin Archives: Click Here
Newsletters (PDF)
Winter 2009
(INSERT for Winter 2009 Newsletter)
Summer 2008
Fall 2007
Spring 2007
2007 Initiatives Chart
Winter 2006–2007
Summer 2006
Winter 2005
Spring 2004
Fall 2003
Summer 2003
Spring 2003
Spring 2002
Media Lending Library
Making Connections Des Moines has a collection of over 50 programs on DVD and videotape that community groups can borrow to learn more about initiatives for change, explore a particular issue in greater depth, and help mobilize neighbors and friends for action. The collection includes both nationally and locally-produced productions. Programs cover topics such as:
- Aging out of the foster care system
- EITC
- Economic self-sufficiency
- Faith community and social change
- Fatherhood
- Incarceration and reentry
- Neighborhood transformation
- Racism
- Social networks
- Study circles
To learn more or to borrow a program, contact Tony Wilson, Neighborhood Health Initiative, 309-4797, wilsonar@ihs.org.
Reports
The Neighborhood Conditions Fact Sheets
This report
is a summary of the Urban Institute’s analysis of the 2005 cross-site survey data from the Making Connections neighborhood households in the areas of:
- Resident’s overall assessment of the neighborhood and its future
- Residents satisfaction with public services and amenities in their neighborhood (including police & EMS, libraries & recreation centers, sanitation & street repair)
- Residents’ perception of safety and problems in the neighborhood(including drugs, vacant building, racial incidents, and overall safety for kids)
Data are presented by site, race, and immigration status. The fact sheets describe neighborhood conditions based on wave 2 (2005-7) survey data, and point out instances of significant change in key indicators since wave 1 (2002-4).
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Attached are the Social Connections Fact Sheets
These reports are a summary of the Urban Institute’s analysis of cross-site survey data from the Making Connections neighborhood households in the areas of:
- Social Networks (including % giving or receiving help from neighbors or family, including childcare, job leads, financial and non-financial help; % familiar with children’s friends and % active church members)
- Civic Participation and Resident Leadership (including % volunteers, organizational officers, and %interacting with political officials around community problems)
- Preconditions for Community Mobilization (% that focus their civic participation and social networking specifically on the MC neighborhood)
Data are presented by site, race, and immigration status. The fact sheets describe neighborhood conditions based on wave 2 (2005-7) survey data, and point out instances of significant change in key indicators since wave 1 (2002-4).
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Lead Screening of Children in Polk County 2005-2007
This report
is an analysis by the Child Family Policy Center (CFPC) of lead screening data in Polk County from the Iowa Department of Public Health for the years 2005-2007. This is a follow-up analysis that was conducted earlier by CFPC which found wide variability by census tract in the proportion of screened children who had elevated blood levels.
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Profiles of Racial and Ethnic Segregation: Metropolitan Context for Local Making Connections Initiatives
This report outlines patterns of racial and ethnic isolation in the 10 Making Connections sites, including Des Moines. Each profile provides in graphs, charts, and bullets the most recent information available on residential and school segregation organized to answer these questions:
- What is the racial and ethnic mix of the metropolitan area – both the population as a whole and public school students?
- How large is the region’s immigrant population and when did most immigrants arrive in the U.S.?
- How segregated are the region’s neighborhoods and schools?
- How diverse are the neighborhoods in which different racial and ethnic groups typically live? How about the public schools?
- Are opportunities for small business ownership open to all racial and ethnic groups?
- Are mortgage loans equally available to homebuyers of all races and ethnicities?
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Making Connections Des Moines Statistical Report 2005
Produced by Iowa State University Extension, this October 2008 report outlines the findings from the 2005 Making Connections Cross-site Survey and gives a picture of socioeconomic development and quality of life for households in the 15 Making Connections Des Moines neighborhoods. Areas addressed include income and assets, employment, economic hardship and family services.
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Mortgage Lending and the Subprime Crisis in Casey Neighborhoods
September 2008 report The Urban Institute examines changes in mortgage market conditions in metropolitan areas and neighborhoods selected as a focus for support by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Data and analysis about Des Moines’ Making Connections neighborhoods are included. While information about conditions and trends in the late 1990s is included, the report primarily focuses on the period 2000-06.
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Making Connections Cross-Site Survey, Income and Employment in Making Connections Neighborhoods. 2008 report produced by The Urban Institute covers findings in key areas of work effort, joblessness and unemployment, employability, job quality, income levels and income sources. Compares data from neighborhood surveys conduced in 2002 and 2005 to gauge changes in results over time.
Data Trends and Influence in Polk County
The following PowerPoint presentation materials and summaries of presenters’ remarks and potential next steps are from the September 11, 2007, report to the community about the state of families and children in Making Connections neighborhoods as compared to the surrounding community. The meeting was sponsored by United Way of Central Iowa and Making Connections Des Moines.
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Iowa Employment Solutions Focus Group Report
In September 2007, Iowa Employment Solutions hosted a series of focus groups to gain insight into the strengths and weakness of services provided in the Des Moines area from those who use the services. The focus groups, funded in part by Making Connections Des Moines and conducted by the State Public Policy group, included 52 youth, adult and dislocated workers who received services funded by the Workforce Investment Act between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007.
Topics covered in the focus groups included workforce center process, Iowa Employment Solutions (IES) services, job preparedness and on the-job supports, employer and community knowledge and recognition, and round robin – identifying a single priority.
Child Lead Testing and Poisoning in Polk County by Neighborhood. 2005 report produced by the Child and Family Policy Center for the Local Learning Partnership examines data from the Iowa Department of Public Health and Polk County data by census tract for an indepth look at this critical health issue.
Predatory Financial Practices and Wealth Stripping. 2005 report produced by the Child and Family Policy Center for the Coalition Against Abusive Lending with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation describes three lending practices and their impact on families and legislative actions that help Iowans be protected from them.
United Way of Central Iowa Research. Reports are available on the following topics:
Past Making Connections Presentations, Reports and Surveys. Past PowerPoint presentations, accessor reports, focus group surveys, voter participation analysis, 2002 Making Connections cross-site survey results and more covering all Making Connections results areas are available upon request by contacting the Making Connections office, 282-3561, info@makingconnectionsdm.org.
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Other
Making Connections Pod Cast. Interview with Otis Henderson.
Listen to this interview and learn how one man's unease caused by the death of a client led him to ask, "How can the community help ex-offenders get treatment for their mental illness?"
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“In Sight and Within Reach: Residents Help Each Other Learn How to Land a Good-Paying Job.”
This essay shows how a grass-roots, resident-driven group is empowering low-income people to do the work needed to find and get a job that does more than get them by.
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“Why Are You Limping? How a Simple Tool Can Help a Community Find Out.”
This essay explores how African-American churches in Des Moines’ Making Connections neighborhoods are using the Family Measurement tool to help people take the steps necessary to strengthen their families and move from “at risk” to “thriving.”
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Making Connections Des Moines: Embracing a New Way of Working Together to Yield Results for Children, Families & Neighborhoods
Making Connections Des Moines’ report to the community tells how a new way of working together has improved the lives of children and families in our most challenged neighborhoods. It…
- Provides context about the work (when and why it started),
- Shows an overview of our strategy,
- Illustrates examples of change at work on three key levels (individual/neighborhood, programmatic, systems), and
- Explains what remains to be done to close the gap in results
It covers the time period 1999 until the end of 2007. The printed version is available through the Making Connections office, 282-3945.
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The Diarist Project. The Diarist Project is a new approach being used by Making Connections sites across the country, including in Des Moines, to learn from its work to strengthen families and transform struggling neighborhoods. Part of this work involves publishing stories of communities in action so other communities can apply that learning to their own situations. For reflections on Des Moines activity, see:
Diarist Project publications from all locations are available online and through Making Connections Des Moines, info@makingconnectionsdm.org, 282-3561.
Making Connections Des Moines Facts, 2005. 36-page booklet. Provides demographic information about the Making Connections neighborhoods and details where gaps exist in education, employment, housing and health between these neighborhoods and the rest of Polk County. Contact info@makingconnectionsdm.org, 282-3561
Re-enter: the Social Cost of Incarceration. 40-page booklet. Explores the issues surrounding prisoner re-entry in Iowa, with special focus on the Des Moines community and the impact on children and families. Contact info@makingconnectionsdm.org, 282-3561
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Through the Family's Eyes For approximately six months, 10 inner-city Des Moines families recorded their experiences in working to get ahead. They noted when and where they had sought help and became involved with public systems and what help they had received. They shared their experiences in trying to get what they needed to maintain their family economically and to raise their children successfully. Their stories reflect real-life experiences of how public systems function and help or fail to help families, as viewed through the family's eyes rather through the system's. Their stories were developed to offer a new picture of public services for Polk County policy makers and administrators, one based not on whether a particular service or program performed its responsibilities but whether the array of services and programs collectively helped meet the needs of those they served. En Espanol
See also Resources elsewhere in this site:
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