Workforce and Family Program: Recent and Upcoming Events

Bringing Back Rural America

Kirsten Gilbert — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:15:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/12/2009 - 12:00pm

Thousands of small towns in rural America are being depopulated, or hollowed out. The brightest and most ambitious young people in many communities abandon the heartland for greater challenges and rewards in cities. This is a major policy problem that has largely escaped media and political attention. What are the implications of this exodus? What trends of "smallness" can help counter it? What policies should Washington be pursuing to support small communities? Come join the… more

The Scandal of Reform

Kirsten Gilbert — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/08/2009 - 12:00pm

Amidst speculation in some circles that the nation may be entering a new Progressive era, the New York experience offers a fascinating and cautionary lesson on the state of political reform. New York is home to the most generous campaign finance program in the country - and some of the least competitive elections. What do the experiences of New York and other cities teach us? What does a robust reform agenda look like in the 21st century? Come… more

This is Your Country on Drugs

Stephanie Gunter — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/10/2009 - 12:00pm

The summer saw new spikes in drug related violence in North America. The governmental responses ranged from President Obama's meeting with Canadian and Mexican leaders to pledge new vigilence to members of the California legislature proposing to close California's budget crisis by legalizing and taxing drugs. America has been engaging in a war on drugs for a generation now. What have been the results? What is working and what isn't working? What should America be doing and where… more

Flexible Work Arrangements and Low-Wage Work

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/08/2009 - 11:30am

Low-wage workers are some of America's most vulnerable workers. In addition to the problem of having low wages, many have little input into the hours that they work and many have unpredictable work schedules, with the timing and amount of work hours fluctuating from week to week. A cascade of negative consequences can flow from being unable to alter work schedules or know them in advance - including unstable child care; difficulty accessing work supports and job training;… more

The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Children

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:57:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/03/2009 - 11:30am

Virtually all the progress made in children's well-being since 1975 - particularly the improvements of the 1990s -- will be wiped out by the current recession, according to a report released on Wed., June 3, 2009 at the New America Foundation.

Supporting a Healthier American Workplace

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:25:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/20/2009 - 9:00am

Repairing the Republican Brand

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/27/2009 - 10:00am

On January 27, 2009, the New America Foundation hosted a panel of GOP thinkers and policymakers to discuss the current status of the Republican Party, the lessons of its defeat in the 2008 election and the challenges it faces in the years ahead. Featured speaker Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Senior Policy Advisor to McCain for President and former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, was followed by responses from New America

Social Policy After the Economic Crisis

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:45:00 -0500

A New America Event
12/05/2008 - 12:00pm

On December 5, 2008, the New America Foundation’s Next Social Contract Initiative hosted a three panel discussion about the future of social policy after the economic downturn. David Gray, Director of the Workforce and Family Program at New America, opened the event with preliminary remarks. Karen Kornbluh, formerly of the New America Foundation, policy director in the office of Senator Barack Obama and the primary author of the 2008 Democratic Party Platform, delivered the keynote address. She was followed by a series of

A Family-Based Social Contract

Communications — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/13/2008 - 12:00pm

On November 13, 2008, the New America Foundation’s Next Social Contract Initiative and Workforce and Family Program hosted a discussion around the release of, “A Family-Based Social Contract,” written by David Gray and Phillip Longman. In their paper, Gray, the Director of New America’s Workforce and Family Program, and Longman, Schwartz Senior Fellow and Research Director of the Next Social Contract Initiative, argue that policymakers should focus on supporting parents and children early in life. Gray and Longman were joined in the discussion by Reihan Salam,… more

Is Success Killing the Internet?

Communications — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:30:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/06/2008 - 3:30pm

Is the Internet as we knew it - an open platform for innovation - a victim of its own commercial success? In his important new book, Jonathan Zittrain argues that both the Internet and the PC are on a path to a lockdown, devolving into "tethered appliances" that reduce our freedom to innovate. Zittrain argues that the openness of PCs and the Internet spawned an abundance of connectivity and creativity, but have also brought us a… more

Anxious with Reason

Communications — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:15:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/14/2008 - 12:15pm

On October 14, 2008, the New America Foundation’s Next Social Contract Initiative and Workforce and Family Program hosted “Anxious with Reason: The Future of the American Worker.” The participating panelists offered compelling anecdotal and statistical evidence that American workers feel fundamentally insecure about a broad range of job-related issues. The event featured David Kusnet, a Visiting Fellow at the Economic Policy Institute; Dr. Cliff Zukin, Senior Faculty Fellow of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University; and Dr. Carl Van Horn, Director of the… more

Hope Matters

Communications — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/02/2008 - 12:00pm

There is renewed interest in the power and role of faith in America. We see candidates talking about it in campaigns. But how does it influence how public servants in the trenches think about their work?

For the past several years, John Calhoun has been on a cross-country quest to discover how faith motivates some of America's hardest-working public servants. The result? He selected 24 amazing people who pursue a range of innovative and ambitious plans to help their communities. Their accomplishments are impressive, deeply moving, and… more

Beyond Tolerance

Communications — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/11/2008 - 12:30pm

On September 11, we cannot help but think about the power of religion to shape our world. In the past few years, religion has had a revival in America. It has been catapulted to the front pages of our newspapers, splashed on our television screens and most recently, at the forefront of the presidential campaigns. Religion’s rise to the surface does not need to be a negative, divisive matter. Historically, the U.S. has always had a degree of pluralism,… more

Against Us

Communications — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/09/2008 - 3:45pm

In his first public event since the release of his book, Against Us: The New Face of America's Enemies in the Muslim World, ABC News' Senior Foreign Correspondent Jim Scuitto looks at how -- seven years after 9/11 -- anti-American extremism has become mainstream thinking in the Muslim world. In his book, Sciutto profiles people in eight different Muslim countries - to find that resentment extends far beyond the stereotype of wild-eyed religious fanatics, even to people… more

An Ounce of Prevention

Communications — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/09/2008 - 1:30pm

After peaking in 2002, child well-being in the United States has been stagnant for five years. Meanwhile, recent data from the Child Well-Being Index shows some disturbing upward trends in child obesity and youth violence, as well as a persistent academic achievement gap. To date, public policy has not sufficiently mobilized to combat these issues before they start to affect the nation’s children. The New America Foundation brought together key policy makers and experts involved in improving child well-being to… more

Education Policy in the Next Administration

Communications — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/24/2008 - 10:30am

The pending reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act will provide the next president an opportunity to substantially reshape federal education policy. To provide a preview of what that change may look like, the New America Foundation invited ducation advisers to the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates to speak about their candidates’ education policy agendas. Lisa Graham Keegan is a former Arizona superintendent of education who advises Sen. John McCain. John Schnur is former education adviser to President Bill… more

Are Today's Teens Better Off Than Their Parents?

Communications — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/22/2008 - 10:30am

On Tuesday, July 22, 2008, the Workforce and Family Program hosted the release of the 2008 Foundation for Child Development (FCD) Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI). The event featured highlights from the 2008 CWI, including a special focus comparing the well-being of “echo boomer” teens in this decade with the well-being of their “later boomer” parents when they were teenagers. The event also featured presentations by:

Dr. Larke Huang, Senior Advisor on Children, Substance Abuse and… more

Children in the Federal Budget

Communications — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/11/2008 - 10:00am

Please join us this Friday for an important briefing about the current spending trends on children in the federal budget. At the briefing, key findings from two new reports will be discussed. Kids’ Share 2008, the second annual report published by the Urban Institute and the New America Foundation, reveals that over the past several decades, the share of federal spending on children’s programs has steadily declined. The severity of this sad trend is further illustrated in Children’s… more

Workplace Flexibility and Religion

Communications — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/06/2008 - 10:00am

Current research reveals something that our personal experiences confirm - that there is a conflict between the structure of the workplace and the needs and priorities of American families. An MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below, while video is available at right. The ability to practice one's faith often runs into the way that work is organized. The desire of religious people to volunteer, be with family, and observe holy days is driving a conversation about how… more

Trends in the Well Being of Younger Children

Communications — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
04/25/2008 - 10:00am

How are the kids doing? Pretty well, according to a new report unveiled at the New America Foundation on April 25th, but experts still have significant concerns about the future. The report, "Trends in Infancy/Early Childhood and Middle Childhood Well-Being, 1994-2006," was authored by Dr. Kenneth Land of Duke University and funded by the Foundation for Child Development (FCD) and is part of an on-going series of events and reports hosted by the New America Foundation designed to… more