Housing Credits, MRBs, and HOME: Powerful Partnerships, Proven Results, available from the National Council Of State Housing Agencies, focuses on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and HUD's HOME program. It describes how the credit works, the broad support it enjoys in the Congress and across the country, and provides examples of successful properties it has financed for low-income families, elderly, and special needs populations. For information on obtaining copies, contact: NCSHA, 444 North Capitol Street, NW, #438, Washington, DC 20001; 202-624-77
Children & Their Families in Big Cities: Strategies for Service Reform, from the Cross-National Studies Research Program at the Columbia University School of Social Work, 1996. Topics include: neighborhood-based strategies for poverty-related social problems, effects of neighborhoods on families and children, and a look at New Community Corporation and the Urban Strategies Council. Available for $14 from Cross National Studies Research Program, Columbia University School of Social Work, 622 West 113 Street, New York, NY 10025; 212-854-5444.
Federal Compliance Issues for Nonprofits, an easy to read guide, helps nonprofit housing developers that receive federal funds cope with government spending regulations. Translates the requirements into simple language, gives advise on how to comply, and guides the reader through a self-assessment process to see how well their current procedures are working. Available for $10 from The Enterprise Foundation, Communications Dept., 10227 Wincopin Circle, Suite 500, Columbia, MD, 21044; 410-964-1230.
Housing NYC: Rents, Markets and Trends 96, a guide with more than 80 pages of text, includes detailed charts, graphs, appendices, and an index. New this year is an overview of the current rental market-a brief sample is enclosed. This year's findings include: rental revenues improved this year due to higher collections, while operating expenses remained stable leading to a surge in net operating income; the multifamily lending market continued to expand with lower interest rates, longer loan terms, higher loan-to value ratios, and additional lenders entering the market; and housing construction increased moderately, with 5,135 new units permitted in 1995, 28 percent more than in 1994. To subscribe to this annual research publication, contact: New York City Rent Guidelines Board, 51 Chambers Street, Suite 202, New York 10007; 212-349-2262; fax 212-385-2554; http://www.housingnyc.com
Homelessness in America, edited by Jim Baumohl, associate professor in the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research at Bryn Mawr College, for the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), features 20 essays on key policy-related issues by 37 leading researchers, advocates, and other specialists. Examines current public opinion and political developments and offers a historical interpretation of what homelessness means. Addresses the following questions, and more: How many people are homeless? What causes homelessness? Why is homelessness continuing to increase? How have local, state, and federal governments responded? What would it take to eliminate or stop its growth? Designed to be meaningful and accessible to members of the general public as well as practitioners. Statistics and an extensive bibliography included, along with an appendix listing additional resources and organizations. Available for $39.50 from Oryx Press, 800-279-6799, or http://www.oryxpress.com. A portion of the proceeds will benefit NCH.
Voter Registration: The Legal Rights of Homeless People, a 24-page legal memorandum from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, covers potential obstacles to homeless voter registration and discusses the effects of mobility of homeless people on registration efforts. Also outlines the constitutional and statutory bases of a homeless person's legal rights to voter registration and includes citations of case law and statutory law, such as the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Available for $3 donation from: Heather Fuller, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, 918 F Street NW #412, Washington DC 20004; phone: 202-638-2535; fax: 202-628-2737.
Downward Spiral: Homelessness and its Criminalization, by Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, appears in Vol. 14, No. 1, 1996, of Yale Law & Policy Review. The article provides information on the size, nature, and causes of homelessness; reviews local government' criminalization activities; reviews recent court rulings concerning the constitutionality of such activities; addresses public policy concerns; and identifies three types of city responses to court rulings. Available, for a small charge to cover copying and postage, from Heather Fuller, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, 918 F Street NW, Suite 412, Washington, DC 20004; 202-638-2535
Back to September/October 1996 index.