The 1997 Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies National Opinion Poll is a national survey of 1,702 adults, conducted between March 21 and April 20, 1997. The survey's questions cover a broad range of topics, including race relations, politics, devolution, social policy, and children. The survey has three components: a sample of 850 adults from the national population, a sample of 850 adults from the national African American population, and an oversample of 100 Hispanics. The survey methodology is described in an accompanying appendix.

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With the November elections fast approaching, the Joint Center's just-released 2002 National Opinion Poll results on politics reveal both continuity with earlier polls and a few surprises in African American viewpoints.The questions in this survey of 1,647 adults (850 African American) covered a wide range of issues, including domestic politics and party loyalty, the 2002 midterm elections, and policies on education, foreign affairs, and terrorism.

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Significant groups of Americans remain unaware of the approaching 2000 Census, and among those who are aware, nearly half are not sure about the merits of statistical sampling according to the Joint Center's 1999 Opinion Poll. Those most likely to report being unaware of the census and the least likely to report seeing ads or being contacted about the census were low-income and less well educated persons - historically an undercounted population.

Among African American respondents, 27% of those earning less than $15,000 and 20% of those with less than a high school education had not seen any ads or been contacted. While the majority of respondents reported that they would participate in the 2000 Census, blacks younger than 36 years, and those with less than a high school education were the least likely to state that they would complete the census form. The survey findings also lend more support for President Clinton's and the Democrats' position on census sampling than for the Republican position.

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More blacks than whites believe their local public schools are getting worse, according to the 1999 National Opinion Poll results on education. Overall, both blacks and whites identified education as the most important national problem, but there were differences in views across age, income, and ideological lines. Both blacks and whites supported school vouchers and raising school spending, and both groups reported fewer incidents of violence at their local schools than the previous year. Both groups also supported statewide standards and tests, but more blacks than whites believed that such standards and tests are unfair to minorities.

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Black churches have been major institutions in African American communities, providing focus for charitable giving, social support, and civic engagement, as well as spiritual strength. This may make them logical beneficiaries of the federal government's Faith-based and Community Initiative. But little is actually known about their level of engagement in this program, their interest in being involved, or their capacity to perform. This report summarizes major findings from a Joint Center study on black churches views toward and interest in the federal program. It provides insights for government policymakers, churches who are interested in participating in the FBCI, and the general public. 

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Date Published: September 2006

The federal FBCI is based on executive orders, the regulatory process, and other administrative actions. The FBCI's goal is to achieve equal participation of faith-based organizations in federally financed social welfare programs by creating neutrality in the awarding of government grants to secular and faith-based organizations. Four principles define that goal.

The first principle is that faith-based organizations have an equal right to compete for funding under any federal social welfare program for which an analogous secular service provider would be eligible to compete. The second principle is to protect the religious character of participating faith-based organizations in their places of service and forms of governance. The third principle is that faith-based organizations providing services financed by the government keep their exemption under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which permits them to exercise religion-based discrimination. The fourth principle is the accommodation of religion, or a commitment to the accommodation of religion within social service programs. Accommodations may be either mandatory created by courts in order to address violations of a religious individual's or organization's free exercise rights or permissive created by statute or regulation, and encompassing a wider range of religious practice than might be required by the Free Exercise Clause.

The FBCI represents an extension of Charitable Choice, which was enacted as part of the 1996 welfare reform legislation and later extended to Community Services Block Grants and substance abuse prevention and treatment services. The core components of the FBCI are the Compassion Capital Fund, which was started in fiscal year 2002 with an appropriation of $30 million, and the Regional and National Technical Assistance meetings.

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Date Published: May 2007

Between January 1998 and January 1999, the number of black elected officials (BEOs) in the U.S. increased by 68, from 8,868 to 8,936, a 0.8 percent increase (Table 1). In 1970, the first year in which the Joint Center collected data on BEOs, there were 1,469 BEOs. The 1999 total of 8,936 black elected officials represents a historic high. The largest categorical increase in BEOs between 1998 and 1999 was in municipal office, where the total increased by 153 positions, a 3.6 percent rise. In all other major categories of office, except state, there were declines, although these changes were largely insignificant. If one overlooks the increase in municipal offices, all other categories represented a decline of 85 BEOs.

Date Published: 2000
 

Since last year, when the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies published Black Elected Officials: A Statistical Summary, 1993-1997, the number of black elected officials (BEOs) in the United States increased by 212, from 8,658 to 8,868, a 2.4 percent increase over the previous year (Table 1). In 1970, the first year in which the Joint Center collected data on these officials, there were 1,469 BEOs. The 1998 total represents a historic high. The largest categorical increase in BEOs was at the municipal level, where there was an increase of 162 positions, a 3.9 percent rise. The other category where increases occurred was in education, with 55 more positions (a 2.8 percent rise). In all other categories, the changes in the numbers were insignificant. Since the increase in the total number of BEOs was 212, and municipal and education offices increased by 217, all other categories of office had a net decline of five black elected officials between 1997 and 1998.

Date Published: 1999
 

The 1997 Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies National Opinion Poll is a national survey of 1,702 adults, which was conducted between March 21 and April 20, 1997. The survey's questions cover a broad range of topics including race relations, politics, devolution, social policy, and children's issues. The following analysis concerns survey findings on children's issues.

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The first edition of Black Elected Officials: A National Roster was published 32 years ago, when it was reported that there were 1,469 black elected officials (BEOs) in the United States. This newest edition of Black Elected Officials (which covers officials in office as of January 31, 2000) reports 9,040 BEOs, a more than six-fold increase. Growth over this period is especially impressive at the state level (see Appendix A). In five southern states, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas, the total increase between 1970 and 2000 was over tenfold. In 2000, Mississippi and Alabama together had more black elected officials (1,628) than the entire nation had in 1970. In 1970, the 10 states with the highest number of BEOs collectively had 821, while in 2000 the top 10 states had 5,887.

Date Published: 2001