Last updated: 3/8/05
Table of Contents
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General Resources: Catholic Social Teaching...Think
Tanks...Government Websites...Data
Banks
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Partner Organizations
Sisters of
the Good Shepherd
North American Sisters of the Good Shepherd
Home page
of the North American province of the Congregation of the Good Shepherd, providing a look at who the Sisters are and what
they do in their variety of ministries and initiatives. Includes detailed information about Good Shepherd agencies through
the country, with links to their websites when available.
Handcrafting Justice
This project
of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd “works in cooperation with women struggling for economic justice and independence
in the developing world.” Their impressive new website includes an
online catalog, a page about their new fair-trade school uniform project, and in-depth information about the
people they partner with around the world.
Coalitions
Coalition on Human Needs
A broad
coalition of organizations advocating for public policy that addresses the needs of low income and other vulnerable populations. The website provides background and updates on the wide variety of human needs issues.
Faith-based Partners
NETWORK
NETWORK,
“a Catholic Social Justice Lobby,” educates, lobbies, and organizes to influence federal legislation. Their site offers a variety of resources for understanding legislation and elections from the perspective
of Catholic Social Teaching and enabling anyone to get involved in legislative advocacy.
US Conference of Catholic Bishops
The US
bishops’ site provides the text of many of their documents on social and political issues, such as Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility, as well as their frequent letters to Congress
and other parties regarding specific issues.
Catholic Charities USA
Catholic
Charities member agencies provide social services to people in need throughout the US. In addition to information about
the services they provide, their site includes information on their advocacy efforts and social justice education initiatives.
Pax Christi USA
Pax Christi,
“the national Catholic peace movement,” advocates against war and for economic and social justice that leads to
peace. Their periodic newsletters are available online, as well as other news
and commentary and information about how to get involved.
Bread for the World
BFW is a
Christian voice for ending hunger, with 50,000 members nationwide involved in advocacy and a policy institute engaged in research
and education. Basic information on hunger and how to end it are available online,
as well as other educational and research resources such as the annual Hunger Report.
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General Resources
Catholic Social Teaching
Office for Social Justice – Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
An excellent
resource for Catholic Social Teaching, providing links to original documents, notable quotations grouped by subject, succinct
answers to common questions, teaching resources, and suggestions for further reading.
Think Tanks
Brookings Institute
A think-tank
with more than 140 scholars, devoted to research and public education with an emphasis on economics, foreign policy, governance,
and metropolitan policy. Their website provides access to the full range of their
articles and reports.
Urban Institute
A policy
research and educational organization of over 120 experts examining the social, economic, and governance problems facing the
nation. Their research on a variety of issues and projects is available online.
Government
Websites
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
Thomas - Legislative Information on the Internet
Comprehensive
information on current bills, committee activity, and the full text of the Congressional
Record, reporting everything said and done on the House and Senate floors.
White House
Data Banks
Child Trends Data Bank
Continuously
updated data on child health, social development, education, assets/work, demographics, and family and community.
ChildStats.gov
Access to
federal and state statistics and reports on children and their families, including international comparisons.
US Census Bureau
Population,
housing, economic, and geographic data.
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Access to Healthcare
Covering
the Uninsured
Kaiser Family Foundation
The Foundation
provides facts and analysis regarding major health care issues to policy makers and the public. Comprehensive coverage of current situations and policy proposals are available online.
Families USA
Families
USA is dedicated to affordable health
care for all. A variety of publications are available online, including tools
and other resources geared specifically to advocates.
Mental
Healthcare
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
The
Bazelon Center
advocates for people with mental disabilities through public policy and precedent-setting litigation. Access to reports, news, and other resources is provided online.
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
NAMI
advocates for people with severe mental illnesses through public education, support for increased funding for research, and
working to achieve equitable services. Their website provides a range of policy
guides and timely news updates for advocates.
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Budget Fairness
Budget/Tax Fairness
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Center conducts research
and timely analysis to inform the public debate around budget and tax policies, with an emphasis on the impact of policies
on low-income Americans. The resources provided online are abundant and effective.
Economic Policy Institute
EPI is an economic think
tank with an emphasis on real world analysis and a concern for the living standards of working people. A large variety of issue guides and other resources are available online, including their biennial The State of Working America report.
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Social Safety Net/ Economic Security
Affordable
Housing
National Low-Income Housing Coalition
NLIHC organizes,
advocates, and educates for affordable housing. Their site provides frequent
updates on political developments and comprehensive reports concerning housing issues and housing policy.
National Alliance to End Homelessness
NAEH is
centered around a 10-year plan to actually end homelessness. The site offers
a variety of resources concerning homelessness and their multi-faceted approach to ending it.
National Coalition for the Homeless
NCH works
to end homelessness through organizing, advocacy, education, and technical assistance.
The site offers a variety of educational materials, including personal stories of homelessness.
Welfare/TANF
Welfare Information Network
WIN is an
information clearinghouse for policy analysis and research related to welfare and workforce development.
Center for Law and Social Policy
CLASP conducts
research, technical assistance, and advocacy on issues related to economic security for low-income families with children. Their frequent publications on a variety of issues are available online.
MDRC
A social
policy research organization with extensive research and policy recommendations available online concerning welfare, work,
and other issues affecting children and families.
Children’s
Issues
Building Blocks for Youth
This initiative’s
goals are to reduce the overrepresentation and disparate treatment of youth of color in the juvenile justice system and promote
fair and effective juvenile justice policies. The site provides resources regarding
a variety of juvenile justice issues, as well as state-by-state information.
Child Welfare League of America
The objective
of CWLA, with it’s more than 1,100 member child-serving agencies nationwide, is “Making Children a National Priority”
through advocacy, education, and collaboration. The site provides detailed information
for advocacy on a wide variety of issues.
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Foundation
works to foster public policies and other reforms that meet the needs of disadvantaged children and their families. A wealth of resources are available on the web-site, including the KIDS COUNT Data Book with state-by-state
profiles.
National Center for Children in Poverty
The NCCP
is a policy research organization at Columbia University known for policy analysis and academic research aimed at promoting understanding
of family economic security and its effect on children. Their analysis is made
available on the web site in the form of both detailed reports and helpful fact sheets.
Children’s Defense Fund
With the
mission to “Leave No Child Behind,” CDF advocates for America’s
children and educates the nation about the needs of children. Their site provides
striking facts and abundant, up-to-date information about a variety of issues affecting children.
Job Training/Education
Workforce Alliance
TWA advocates
for “federal policies that invest in the skills of America’s
workers.” Their website provides analysis of current and proposed federal
policies related to job training and education, with an Advocacy Clearinghouse for the state/local level in the works.
National Employment Law Project
NELP advocates
on behalf of low-wage workers, the unemployed, and others that face barriers to employment and government systems of support. Access to their various publications is available online.
See also: Women Work! and Wider Opportunities for Women
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Women's Issues/ Human Security
General
Center for Women Policy Research
CWPS works to stimulate
and engage important debates from a feminist and multiethnic perspective through policy research and advocacy. Their site provides free access to many of their publications on subjects such as domestic violence, but
some are available in print only.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
IWPR is a policy research
organization focused on issues of critical importance to women and their families. Most
of their wealth of reports are available online, including their comprehensive “Women’s Economic Status in the
States” report.
Women Work!
Women Work! is dedicated
to empowering women to achieve economic self-sufficiency through education and training programs. Their website provides timely advocacy information for related legislative issues such as funding for job
training and child care.
Wider Opportunities for Women
WOW works for economic independence
and equality of opportunity for women by providing job training and technical assistance.
Information about their programs and advocacy is available online.
Human Trafficking
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Office of the US Department
of State responsible for human trafficking issues. The website provides information
about human trafficking, including the comprehensive Trafficking in Persons Report.
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
CATW works internationally
against the sexual exploitation of women, through research, education, advocacy, and supporting alternatives for women who
have been exploited. Their website provides a library of resources and a country-by-country
factbook.
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Immigration
General
National Council of La Raza
NCLA is an organization
working to “improve life opportunities for Hispanic Americans” through policy analysis and advocacy, public information,
and other projects. Their website provides research articles and fact sheets
concerning immigration and other issues.
National Immigration Law Center
NILC is dedicated to promoting
the rights of low-income immigrants through policy analysis, litigation, and other activities.
They share their expertise in immigration law and access to social services on their website, providing research articles
and community education materials.
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Global Justice/Peace
Peace
Initiatives
Center for Defense Information
CDI monitors defense spending
and works for strengthening security by taking a more comprehensive approach: increasing international cooperation, reforming
the military establishment, and lessening reliance on unilateral power and nuclear weapons. They provide high-quality
analysis on a wide range of military issues.
Department of Peace Campaign
Rep. Dennis Kucinich has
introduced a bill for creating a Department of Peace, which would use 2% of the current military budget to pro-actively
promote peace both internationally, through peaceful conflict resolution and addressing the root sources of conflict, and
domestically, addressing issues such as domestic violence and child abuse. The web site provides full details, answers
to common criticisms, and advocacy guidance.
SOA Watch
SOA Watch seeks to
close the US Army School of the Americas (SOA), which has a scandalous record of graduating Latin American soldiers who
go on to become torturers and terrorists. The SOA was recently renamed, but the training of known human rights abusers
continues. More information is available online.
See al
so:
Pax Christi USA
Economic
Justice/Fair Trade
InterAction
The largest coalition of
US-based development and humanitarian organizations, InterAction coordinates its members to influence policy and debate on
issues related to global poverty. They provide introductory guides and up-to-date information on policy developments related
to humanitarian and development assistance.
US Millenium Development Goals Campaign
The US agreed in 2000 to
the UN Millenium Development Goals for the year 2015, including getting all kids in school, halting the spread of major
disease, and significantly reducing hunger. The Campaign website provides further details, including ideas
for how you can demand that our government do its part to ensure that people in developing nations can
develop the tools they need to become self-sufficient in the future.
Jubilee USA Network
The Jubilee Network calls
for debt cancellation for countries whose international debt is illegitimate or an obstacle in meeting the basic needs of
their people. Their website provides an introduction to the debt crisis and other
resources.
50 Years is Enough
The U.S. Network for Global
Economic Justice, founded on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the World Bank and IMF, is committed to transforming
these institutions to make them more accountable and responsive to the needs of the poor.
Fact sheets, articles, and news updates are available online.
See also: Handcrafting Justice
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