A Trump administration “public-charge” rule expected to be unveiled soon could create the potential to significantly reshape family-based legal immigration to the United States—and reduce arrivals from Asia, Latin America, and Africa—by imposing a de facto financial test that 40 percent of the U.S. born themselves would fail, as this commentary explains.

The first years of a child’s life are a time of immense growth, and exposure to trauma—if left unaddressed—can have significant, lifelong effects. This issue brief examines how young children of refugees and other immigrants may be affected by trauma, and what early childhood education and care programs, health-care providers, and others can do to mitigate its adverse effects.

During this webinar, speakers provide an overview of an MPI policy brief that seeks to raise awareness of the intersection of trauma and early childhood development, and how U.S. early childhood programs could more effectively address this trauma in young children in refugee and immigrant households. The participants discuss efforts to integrate trauma-informed approaches into early childhood systems and how home visiting services can effectively address trauma and mental health through a two-generation approach.

With the children of immigrants a growing share of all U.S. children, and federal immigration enforcement and other policies undergoing significant change, some state and local child welfare agencies are developing new ways to improve how they work with immigrant families. This report examines key cultural, linguistic, and legal challenges, and how agencies are adjusting staffing, training, placement, and other policies to tackle them.

The public-charge rule issued by the Trump administration in August 2019 will have profound effects on future immigration and on use of public benefits by millions of legal noncitizens and their U.S.-citizen family members. Complex standards for determining when an immigrant is likely to become a public charge could cause a significant share of the nearly 23 million noncitizens and U.S. citizens in benefits-using immigrant families to disenroll, as this commentary explains.

Home visiting programs for young families are growing in popularity across the United States, and have demonstrated their effectiveness in supporting maternal health and child well-being. At the same time, more infants and toddlers are growing up in immigrant families and households where a language other than English is spoken. Why then are these children under-represented in these programs? This brief explores common barriers, ways to address them, and why it is important to do so.

A new Trump administration action requiring intending immigrants to prove they can purchase eligible health insurance within 30 days of arrival has the potential to block fully 65 percent of those who apply for a green card from abroad, MPI estimates.

Latinos and immigrants are at least twice as likely to lack health insurance coverage as the overall population in the Kansas City metropolitan area. This gap that has significant implications for the region, as Latinos and immigrants will form an ever-growing share of the area’s labor force and tax base amid anticipated declines in the native-born, non-Latino population.

On this webinar MPI experts discuss their estimates of the populations that could be deemed ineligible for a green card based on existing benefits use. They also discuss the broader consequences of the public-charge rule implemented in February 2020, through its "chilling effects" and imposition of a wealth test aimed at assessing whether green-card applicants ever would be likely to use a public benefit in the future. 

While the Trump administration public-charge rule is likely to vastly reshape legal immigration based on its test to assess if a person might ever use public benefits in the future, the universe of noncitizens who could be denied a green card based on current benefits use is quite small. That's because very few benefit programs are open to noncitizens who do not hold a green card. This commentary offers estimates of who might be affected.

On this webinar, MPI experts discussed the public-charge rule and released estimates of the populations that could be deemed ineligible for a green card based on existing benefits use. They examined the far larger consequences of the rule, through its "chilling effects" and imposition of a test aimed at assessing whether green-card applicants are likely to ever use a public benefit in the future. And they discussed how the latter holds the potential to reshape legal immigration to the United States. 

In a time of critical shortages of U.S. health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, retired doctors are being called back to work and medical students are graduating on a fast track. There is another important pool that could be tapped: Immigrants and refugees who have college degrees in health fields but are working in low-skilled jobs or out of work. MPI estimates 263,000 immigrants are experiencing skill underutilization and could be a valuable resource.

As millions of U.S. workers lose jobs and the health insurance associated with them, Medicaid and similar programs are increasingly important for people seeking COVID-19 testing and treatment. Yet many low-income uninsured noncitizens, including green-card holders, are excluded from such programs because of their immigration status, as this fact sheet explores.

By Scott T. Allison This blog post is excerpted from: Allison, S. T. (2019). Heroic consciousness. Heroism Science, 4, 1-43.   The philosopher Yuval Noah Harari (2018) recently described consciousness as “the greatest mystery in the universe”. What exactly is heroic consciousness? It is a way of seeing the world, perceiving reality, and making decisions … Continue reading Heroic Consciousness: What it is and How to Acquire it →

Allison, S. T. & Goethals, G. R. (2020). The heroic leadership imperative: How leaders inspire and mobilize change. West Yorkshire: Emerald. Our next book describes a new principle that we call the heroic leadership imperative. We show how leaders who fulfill the imperative will inspire followers and initiate social change.   The imperative consists of … Continue reading The Heroic Leadership Imperative →

By Scott T. Allison William James, who authored the first psychology texbook, was taken and moved by the quiet heroism in everyday working people. He noticed “the great fields of heroism lying round about” him. He was mesmerized by small, seemingly inconsequential everyday acts that, in effect, exemplified unsung heroism in everyone. Before the COVID-19 … Continue reading COVID-19 Pandemic Turns Heroism Upside-Down →

By Scott T. Allison In any tragedy or crisis, you will see many people standing out and stepping up to save lives and make the world a better place. These heroic individuals can range from leaders of nations to ordinary citizens who rise to the occasion to help others in need. During this COVID-19 pandemic, … Continue reading 10 Examples of Heroism Arising From the COVID-19 Pandemic →

By Scott T. Allison Devs is the ideal TV mini-series for people to sink their teeth into, for many reasons: (1) It’s both science and science-fiction; (2) it’s brilliant mix of psychology, philosophy, religion, and technology; (3) it tantalizes us with the mysteries of love, life, death, time, and space; and (4) it features a … Continue reading The Miniseries ‘Devs’ Delivers a Delicious Dose of Heroism and Villainy →

Heroism Science: Call for Papers, Special Issue The Heroism of Whistleblowers Edited by Ari Kohen, Brian Riches, and Matt Langdon Whistleblowers speak up with “concerns or information about wrongdoing inside organizations and institutions.” As such, whistleblowing “can be one of the most important and difficult forms of heroism in modern society” (Brown, 2016 p. 1). … Continue reading Heroism Science: Call for Papers, Special Issue: The Heroism of Whistleblowers →

The November 2019 issue of College & Research Libraries is now freely available online. Visit the C&RL website for complete contents from 1939 to the present and follow C&RL on Facebook and Twitter for updates and discussion. Note: The November 2013 issue was the final print issue of College & Research Libraries. The journal began an online-only publication model in January 2014. [...]

The January 2020 issue of College & Research Libraries is now freely available online. Visit the C&RL website for complete contents from 1939 to the present and follow C&RL on Facebook and Twitter for updates and discussion. Note: The November 2013 issue was the final print issue of College & Research Libraries. The journal began an online-only publication model [...]

The March 2020 issue of College & Research Libraries is now freely available online. Visit the C&RL website for complete contents from 1939 to the present and followC&RL on Facebook and Twitter for updates and discussion. Note: The November 2013 issue was the final print issue of College & Research Libraries. The journal began an online-only publication model in [...]

The April 2020 special issue of College & Research Libraries, highlighting the projects of ACRL Academic Library Impact research grant recipients, is now freely available online. Visit the C&RL website for complete contents from 1939 to the present and followC&RL on Facebook and Twitter for updates and discussion. Note: The November 2013 issue was the [...]

The May 2020 issue of College & Research Libraries is now freely available online. Visit the C&RL website for complete contents from 1939 to the present and followC&RL on Facebook and Twitter for updates and discussion. Note: The November 2013 issue was the final print issue of College & Research Libraries. The journal began an online-only publication model [...]

Massachusetts' new performance assessment for teacher candidates helps boost readiness.

Research findings on the implementation of a new teacher candidate performance assessment in Massachusetts inform the development of additional supports for educator preparation programs.

Relying on newly available data under ESSA, a local advocacy group found several districts that spend more money on wealthy students than poor students, despite the state's intentions.

This Quality Counts 2019 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.

The state, which earned a B-plus, led the nation in K-12 achievement rankings and outperformed other states in several key academic indicators, but fell short on funding equity.

The political landscape for updating school finance systems won’t be any easier in the 2020 legislative season, despite a surging economy, state flexibility under ESSA, and single-party control in many states.

A collection of short news stories from this week.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten endorsed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign Saturday, acting in her personal capacity.

A businessman, Patrick served two terms as governor of Massachusetts and has credited education with his own dramatic rise to success.

Massachusetts ranks high in laying the groundwork for moving through its educational system, but officials are keenly aware that children in poverty, those with special needs, and English-learners can fall short.

The state's "Influence 100" project includes a leadership development program that will give aspiring district leaders a hands-on opportunity to work through an equity issue in their home districts.

I recently talked with Carrie Conaway, Harvard lecturer and former Massachusetts state administrator, about the challenges coronavirus presents for state ed. departments.

Too often, teachers are asked to use SEL practices without enough training and ongoing support, tanking the effectiveness.

This Quality Counts 2020 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.

School districts are competing against each other for purchases of digital devices as remote learning expands to schools across the country.

Keeping up with students’ growing mental-health needs was a concern for districts long before the pandemic began. It’s even harder now, educators and psychologists say.

Massachusetts is the fifth state to join the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority created through the Every Student Succeeds Act, which allows states to experiment with new forms of testing.

School buildings in Massachusetts will remain closed through the end of the academic year, but remote learning will continue, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday.

Arguments before North Carolina's supreme court centered on whether lawmakers overstepped by giving more authority to the state's elected superintendent and taking it away from the state school board.

The state's two virtual charter schools have earned poor marks from the state's accountability system in the few years they've been operating.

A sea of red-clad teachers took to the streets around North Carolina's legislative building in Raleigh to fight for higher pay and more school funding. See photos from the event.

A new study published in the Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis journal found that there is potential for 1-to-1 technology programs to increase achievement in the short term, but more so in the medium term.

In Florida, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, Republicans are arguing that candidates for local and state school boards should run on party tickets.

This Quality Counts 2020 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.