Rainey Memorial Institute, Cleveland Ohio.
Rainey Institute serves as a community anchor for the historic Hough neighborhood by providing arts programming for K-12 children. Using US Census data, Dr Dorer is examining social and economic characteristics of participants in Rainey programs. This work has been used for development and grant applications to support Rainey programs as well as being used for planning and evaluating Rainey Programs.
Brookline Senior Center,
Town of Brookline Massachusetts
The Brookline Senior Center serves as a home away from home for Brookline’s seniors. Dr. Dorer is analyzing American Community Survey Census data to provide insight into the lives of Brookline Seniors served by the Center. Examples of data available are age, race, marital status, and household income. The American Community Survey also contains information on disabilities such as hearing, vision, mobility and cognitive functioning.
American Community Survey Story
American Community Survey Guide
Assessment Of Poverty for Local Census Tracts
Using the US Census Supplemental Poverty Measure
Two Federal poverty measures, the Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines and the US Census Poverty Thresholds depend on family income and family size but not on local living expenses. These poverty measures are used to determine eligibility and benefits under most public assistance programs, for example the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The US Census Supplemental Poverty Measure, which is not yet used in Federal regulations, does depend on the local costs of rent and food as well as other expenses such as medical care. This measure provides a better picture of community needs.
The Census Bureau distributes “microdata” that consists of data records about individual characteristics of members of the community. The data is modified to protect confidentiality. Microdata can be used to produce custom tables for a Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA). A PUMA is an area with a population of 100,000 to about 250,000. These data tables provide additional information. However, to compute the Supplemental Poverty Measure for local census tracts (3,000 to 5,000 individuals), Small Area Estimation must be used.
Starting with large area PUMA datasets, Dr. Dorer is creating data for Virginia local census tracts that will be used by the staff of the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. These datasets will be used for a report to the Virginia state legislature on the effectiveness of public assistance programs in helping participants achieve self-sufficiency, including differences across localities
Analysis of Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Places Database
This project is planned for a local health department. Using “Small Area Estimation,” a statistical technique, the CDC has compiled a data base that provides health indicators and treatment utilization data down to the census tract level. For example, Brookline Massachusetts has 12 geographically defined census tracts. This analysis can be used to plan Health Department programs and outreach, and to monitor the health of the local population.
Photo Credit Clear Flour Bakery in Brookline Massachusetts by Ray Stafford © 2022 all rights reserved used with permission.
