Research Reports

February 15, 2002

Dramatic demographic changes in the U.S. population, evidenced by the 2000 census, have generated a lot of excitement about the potential for multicultural community building.

October 15, 2001

How Zero Tolerance Policies and High Stakes Testing Subvert Academic Excellence and Racial Equity.

May 15, 2001

Welfare Privatization. This report examines the beneficiaries of the privatization of welfare: the corporate elite and other small but growing businesses. The report also looks at the efficacy and failures of the privatization of welfare.

Download this report in PDF format.

March 15, 2001
An Examination of Racial Discrimination in U.S. Public Schools. Executive Summary.
February 15, 2001

This report examines seven principles that laid the groundwork for the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act that ended the government guarantee of welfare assistance to low-income families. The report provides an overview and history of each fallacy used to support welfare reform as well as the actual result of the policies.

Download this report in PDF format.

February 15, 2001

This report looks at model welfare policies being promoted by various advocacy groups. Many of the policies are a direct result of actions taken due to the adverse affects that TANF and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act had on families.

Download this report in PDF format.

February 15, 2001

This report is the result of a survey that included 1500 people in 13 states who had contact with the welfare system in the four years after 1996 welfare reform. The report details discrimination in the operation of the new welfare programs based on four factors: race, gender, language, and national origin.

To download this report in PDF format, complete the form on this page.

January 15, 2001

This report attempts to address questions of quality of life for welfare leavers who were forced into TANF that are often ignored by welfare researchers. The report also suggests important questions welfare researchers could ask to uncover the realities of welfare reform.

Download this report in PDF format.

November 29, 2000

By Mark Toney. From 1966 until 1975, the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO) made history by organizing tens of thousands of welfare recipients to demand income, clothing, food, and justice for their families. Full article available on ColorLines here.

October 15, 2000

California School Vouchers Will Increase Racial Inequality. by Tammy Johnson, Libero Della Piana and Phyllida Burlingamea. October, 2000. Executive Summary.

August 15, 1999

How California Teaching Policies Aggravate Racial Inequality in Public Schools. © Applied Research Center, August 1999. Principal Researchers: Terry Keleher, Libero Della Piana & Manijeh Fat. Executive Summary.

June 23, 1999

A Racial Justice Report Card. A school administrator wants to know if Latinos have the same educational opportunities as other students in the school district. Latino graduation rates are low, but what do the numbers really mean?

May 15, 1999

...Welfare Rights and Improvements in Welfare and Related Programs. This report discusses the opportunities and challenges that legal advocates and low income groups would confront in considering litigation to challenge welfare reform policies and practices after 1996. The report examines the role of the courts, issues that arose from key income support programs, access and privatization of welfare, and developing legal resources for litigation.

Download this report in PDF format.

February 15, 1999

Testing, Tracking, and Students of Color in U.S Public Schools. © Applied Research Center, February 1999. Principal Researchers: Rebecca Gordon & Libero Della Piana. Additional research by: Phyllida Burlingame, Akilah Monifa & Oliver Wan. 

June 20, 1997

Abstinence-Only Curricula in California Public Schools by Phyllida Burlingame, 1997.