Suchergebnisse

To address the negative consequences of economic hardship, U.S. policymakers and practitioners rely on the official poverty rate in making decisions. Yet does it truly reflect economic condition, especially hardship? In line with an international movement to shift away from income and poverty lines and toward multidimensional measures including material deprivation, would information from community‐based non‐profits such as food pantries, often the first stop for people in need, provide a better understanding of local economic condition? This article presents original data on dramatic growth in demand at community‐level food pantries across North Carolina since the 1990s, and reflects on the resulting different perspective on economic condition. A call for additional research on the use of measures of material deprivation that include the non‐profit sector to reflect economic conditions in the United States is made.

North Carolina's experiment with local control of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families programs provides a unique example of the budget implications of state to local government policy devolution. County‐level expenditure data indicate that after state to local government devolution, only 45 of 100 counties met welfare maintenance of effort (MOE) budget requirements. Several important factors, including control over program eligibility and benefit levels, were significantly associated with MOE spending variation. Counties given more flexibility spent dramatically less than others. Many failed to meet MOE requirements without penalty, year after year. These issues raise serious questions about decentralization from both the budget and policy perspectives.

If citizen participation is considered a desirable aspect of good government, how should it be done? This article asks what method is most effective for regular citizen input into policy-making at the local government level from the perspective of government officials using the budget process as an example. City and county managers and budget staff across North Carolina were surveyed on this issue in 1998. While there was no consensus on a practice clearly to adopt or avoid, there was a clear theme concerning approach early and often. The method is found not to be as important as how it is applied. Recommendations for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

From the mid-1990s to 2000, there was a decline in the number of food stamp recipients. That trend has recently reversed itself. Over the same time, food bank output has consistently increased. Research has not shown whether hunger is decreasing or whether there is a change in how food security is provided. To address this question, this study examined the combined monthly food outflow patterns of 193 emergency food providers (EFPs) in central North Carolina from 1995 to 2000. Through surveys and regression analysis, the authors find that although administrators felt that increased EFP usage was due to economic stress and population growth, the data instead show an inverse relationship with the number of public assistance recipients and a positive relationship with food stamp recipients. Although these results cannot explain individual behavior, they raise continued concerns over the growing role of nonprofits in providing food security.