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The Latino Policy Institute

A proposal to the Rhode Island Foundation and the Board of Directors of Progreso
Latino, The Center for Hispanic Policy & Advocacy (CHisPA)

August 21st, 2000


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Introduction
Various initiatives have been under active discussion at CHisPA and Progreso Latino in
response to the need for a greater institutional involvement in the development of
information about the Latino community that will influence policy makers. A search for
the particular niche which policy institute could fill in service to local government,
business and nonprofit service delivery organizations, has focused on the development of
community leaders capable of breaking down barriers and changing perceptions in their
own backyards. In addition to providing valuable community learning experiences and
applied research opportunities for members of the Latino community, the idea of
establishing a public policy institute committed to empowering Latino stakeholders to
actually implement change has taken hold at the Center for Hispanic Policy & Advocacy
during the last year.

Specifically, a Latino Policy Institute that fully engages the interests and energies of
community-based organizations and their representatives in the identification of research
topics and resulting policy recommendations is proposed here. Additionally, the further
commitment to empower community participants with the requisite skills to effectively
advocate and implement change in government and private solutions to Latino problems.
The following narrative describes the core philosophy behind the Latino Policy Institute,
the operating strategy and budget implications of this initiative, and finally, an
underwriting profile which identifies the unique community participation objectives
served by this undertaking.

Philosophy
The Latino Policy Institute will be a freestanding, policy research organization which will
be destined to attain a reputation as the Rhode Island's "premier Latino think tank."
Through its strong capacity to conduct primary and secondary data analysis, The Latino
Policy Institute will be uniquely position to fill the void in information that exists among
policymakers and political leaders regarding the complexities that characterize the Latino
population--e.g. It’s heterogeneous composition, its bilingualism, and its diverse nativity.

The Latino Policy Institute will analyze issues of concern to Latinos, acts as a liaison to
the RI Legislature, the U. S. Congress and federal agencies, conducts seminars and
studies on topical issues, presents testimony to local governments and develops working
relationships with other advocacy groups.

The institute will prepare reports on issues that have an impact upon the social, economic
and political well being of Latinos in Rhode Island and the mainland United States. It
also will conduct analysis on public policies and legislative proposals in order to
empower Progreso Latino and CHisPA's constituency to participate in the formulation of
public policies.

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The core philosophy which infuses the Latino Policy Institute model, therefore, is to
create a decision-making environment characterized by a constant give-and-take
between researchers and community stakeholders. This means providing equal footing to
the institute and community-based participants from the identification of research
priorities through the interpretation of research results and the eventual implementation
of specific policy recommendations. In this way the work of the institute will remain
strategic to the interests of the community and the Institute will be fully engaged in and
stimulated by the analysis and resolution of contemporary Latino problems.

The mission of the Latino Policy Institute is strategic and qualitatively different from that
of other public policy institutes in that the research is primarily a vehicle for community
organizations and their representatives to gain a better understanding of and practical
skills to effect change in their own environment. Accordingly, the specific outcomes that
will distinguish the Latino Policy Institute include the following:

(1) Community-driven issues control the research agenda as a result of continuous


community outreach and carefully designed community participation procedures that
characterize all the Institute's activities;
(2) Community Organizations become policy setters by sitting on the main decision-
making board that determines research topics and translates research results into
formal policy recommendations; and
(3) Community residents become skilled advocates by being included in Institute-based
research teams and special field implementation units created to act on the Institute's
policy recommendations.

To ensure that these community participants outcomes are realized, the Institute will
follow clear policies governing, in respective order: regular community feedback
utilizing the capacity of the institute ant its partners; the provision of nonprofit
management training and legitimate policy-making opportunities in the conduct of the
affairs of the Institute; and the transfer of knowledge and skills associated with
undertaking applied research and advocating for policy change in local and state
government arenas. Furthermore, an objective evaluation of the community participation
elements of the Institute's activities will be incorporated into the annual auditing process
to verify both its mission performance and the fiscal integrity of this unique institution.

Operations
The Latino Policy Institute will follow convention in as much as it will focus on the
pressing Latino policy issues of the day and it will draw upon the expertise of the
Institute and its interdisciplinary resource capacity to employ standard applied research
techniques to better understand and recommend relevant public policy solutions. To this
end, representatives of Latino studies and technical research disciplines will play a vital
role in providing structure and rigor to the process of framing appropriate research
questions and ensuring that sound research technique is maintained.

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Less conventional will be the delegation of the authority for establishing the relative
problem- solving context and setting research agenda priorities within that context Rather
than providing the perspective on which Latino problems are most pressing and to what
end research results should be directed based on its own self-interest, the Institute will
conscientiously yield this discretion to the "native intelligence" of community-based
service delivery organizations and their representatives~ In other words, the Institute will
provide the essential form to the vital content identified by community stakeholders.

The job of fostering a decision-making environment characterized by a true give-and-take


between Institute-based researchers and community stakeholders will largely be in the
hands of the Institute's professional staff. While formal structures such as membership on
the Institute's governing board and participation on its research teams and its field
implementation units will provide the opportunity for community empowerment, the long
term goal of ensuring the actual transfer of policy know-how and effective advocacy
skills will require much more attention. Beyond the conduct of research, the constant
monitoring and mentoring of the quality of community participation and the performance
of individual participants will be the principle responsibility of the Institute's staff and the
litmus test by which the success of the Latino Policy Institute is ultimately judged.

The Latino Policy Institute’s Director and its Board of Directors will manage the overall
task of assessing the progress and the training needs of community participants. The daily
responsibility for recruiting and maintaining quality community participation will be in
the hands of a special Deputy Director for Community Outreach working in concert with
an Institute-based Deputy Director of Research. Another factor that will add to the
Institute's unique traits will be its affiliation with the University of Rhode Island, and
Brown University. Through these affiliations, The Latino Policy Institute will have
access to a network of nationally recognized scholars who carry out an array of research
projects under the direction of Institute leadership.

The budget
The budget requirement to operate the Latino Policy Institute is estimated at $250,000 in
Yr. 1, $300,000 in Yr.2, and $400,000 in Yr.3. This includes salaries and benefits for a
full time Director and Deputy Director of Community Outreach, Deputy Director of
Research, nominal stipends for research team leaders, and an overhead allowance (15%)
which assumes an in-kind contribution of office space from CHisPA and Progreso Latino
but full responsibility for maintaining a separate nonprofit status, expenses for equipment
and supplies, and an important consideration for hiring outside vendors to conduct
community capacity building for the Institute. Although the Latino Policy Institute will
have a separate legal status, its governance structure will be designed to ensure fiscal
accountability to Progreso Latino and the Center for Hispanic Policy & Advocacy and
their representation on the Institute's Board of Directors.

Underwriting Profile
The cause for more effective community participation in resolving contemporary Latino
problems has its roots in the grass roots political activism of the 60's and 70's, and is now

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manifest in the form of a variety of community-based organizations and initiatives
intended to enable Latino residents to resolve their own problems. Although federal
revenue sharing (i.e. Community Renewal and Community Development Block Grants)
and New Deal style social programs (i.e. The War on Poverty) have preached the gospel
of individual and community self-reliance, in practice, the administration of these vital
resources has too frequently failed to provide meaningful community participation and
policy-making opportunities, and as a result, true community-based problem solving is
the exception rather than the rule.

This failure to fully engage the residents of distressed Latino communities in the struggle
to revive our Latino economies has been tacitly recognized by a number of national
philanthropic organizations and foundations, who have begun to target their giving to
achieve a better understanding of ways to identify and measure effective community
participation techniques, and thereby to increase our success with community-based
problem solving. It is to this high purpose that the Latino Policy Institute is dedicated as
well.

The policy institute proposed here is committed to reaching out to the community to
identify research topics relevant to the interests of its residents, to providing specific
community organizations and representatives with legitimate authority to decide what to
do with the findings of this research, and to the transfer of practical skills to implement
the resulting policy recommendations. In this way, the Latino Policy Institute will
practice what it preaches. It will not only offer genuine participatory decision-making
training and experience, but it will also provide a laboratory for further understanding and
innovation in community-based problems solving.

The unique mission of the Latino Policy Institute will certainly be of interest to the
national philanthropic organizations and foundations that are on the cutting edge of
community participation and Latino problem-solving research. It will also be of great
interest to federal, state, and local government agencies charged with the administration
of revenues and grants intended to empower the residents of Latino communities and to
help rebuild their neighborhoods. And finally, it should be of growing interest to the
Providence-based corporate community in its search for charitable investment
opportunities to foster future civic leaders that will take responsibility for solving the
seemingly intransigent problems of today that will nevertheless predict the health of our
communities tomorrow.

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Center for Hispanic Policy and Research
Institute
The Latino Policy Institute will be a freestanding, policy research organization which will
be destined to attain a reputation as the Rhode Island's "premier Latino think tank."
Through its strong capacity to conduct primary and secondary data analysis, The Latino
Policy Institute will be uniquely position to fill the void in information that exists among
policymakers and political leaders regarding the complexities that characterize the Latino
population--e.g. its heterogeneous composition, its bilingualism, and its diverse nativity.

The Latino Policy Institute will analyze issues of concern to Latinos, acts as a liaison to
the RI Legislature, the U. S. Congress and federal agencies, conducts seminars and
studies on topical issues, presents testimony to local governments and develops working
relationships with other advocacy groups.

The institute will prepare reports on issues that have an impact upon the social, economic
and political well-being of Latinos in Rhode Island and the mainland United States. It
also will conduct analysis on public policies and legislative proposals in order to
empower Progreso Latino and CHisPA's constituency to participate in the formulation of
public policies.

The Latino Policy Institute critical strengths will be survey research--ranging from
questionnaire and sample frame development, to survey interviewing--which allows The
Latino Policy Institute will be to gauge the attitudes held by diverse Latino populations
vis a vis salient policy issues. Another factor that adds to the Institute's unique traits will
be its affiliation with the University of Rhode Island, and Brown University. Through
these affiliations, The Latino Policy Institute will have access to a network of nationally
recognized scholars who carry out an array of research projects under the direction of The
Latino Policy Institute leadership.

Potential Research Themes


Economic Well Being

Global Integration
One of the most distinctive features of globalization is the blurring of traditional
boundaries that have defined nations and states and the relations between them. As
immigration and the transnational links within the Americas increase, the foreign-born
component of America's Latino population gains significance. CHPRI's ambitious
research agenda explores the ways in which Latinos are responding to the new global
phenomena. Globalization has a particularly strong effect on foreign-born Latinos, since
it transforms not only their communities in the United States, but redefines their
relationship with their countries of origin. As part of its research in this area, CHPRI will

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examine the significant role Latinos play worldwide as their numbers grow and the
Americas become increasingly interdependent.

Today's economy is a dynamic field characterized by globalization, expansion, and


technological dependence. In an attempt to understand the effect that current economic
trends are having on the Latino community, CHPRI's projects will focus on shifts in the
work force, poverty and underclass issues, entrepreneurship and economic development.

Economic Development
Latino-owned firms are growing at phenomenal rates and represent a significant source of
employment and wealth creation across the country. Consider that the number of Latino-
owned businesses has doubled in size in the last 15 years; a clear indication of the
existence of a large and growing base of entrepreneurial talent within the Latino
community. As these enterprises reach a critical mass, it will be increasingly vital to
evaluate their sources of success so that policymakers and industry leaders can create
strategies to cultivate their continued growth.

CHPRI's approach to examining the economic viability of the Latino community will be
focused on determining the needs of businesses for certain skills and employee
commitment, and the types of abilities and perspectives presently found among residents
of Latino Latino communities. In this regard, the Institute will examine the
characteristics of the Latino workforce that positively contributed to the financial growth
of select firms, as well as conduct an in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of
Latino-owned businesses nationwide as documented but the U.S. Census Bureau.

The progress and future well-being of the Latino community largely depends on the
successful development of a strong and dynamic economic base. CHPRI's economic
research initiatives, combined with its analysis of the evolving global economy, will
serve to foster entrepreneurship, employment development and economic opportunities
for Latinos worldwide.
Access to Education

Aside from the intrinsic value of knowledge, education is often viewed as the strongest
route to economic well being. Our competitive global marketplace relies on education as
the means to uncharted opportunities. One constantly finds a need for adapting to an
evolving information-based society. For Latinos, a significant segment of America’s
labor force in the 21st century, the hope of a quality education may be thwarted by
structural, economic, and social obstacles. The Institute’s dedication to improving Latino
educational opportunities focuses on the examination of barriers to academic
achievement as well as the identification of policies and programs that afford educational
excellence.

Access to Quality Education


In their tenacious search for a quality education, Latino students may find themselves
with fewer role models in the school or in an academic environment not maximizing

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educational achievement. The Institute will address efforts to identify both the subtle and
obvious barriers Latino students, parents, and educators may encounter at school.

Some of the issues that may be examine by the Institute include school nutrition
programs in low-income minority school districts, bilingual education, access to post-
secondary education, the role of education and economic success, educational civil rights
issues, the use of SAT’s in college admittance, teacher preparation and recruitment,
parental participation, state educational ballot initiatives, and the equitable use of
advanced placement courses in college admittance. Many of these studies incorporated
national, state, and local issues. By focusing on access, equity, and excellence, the
Institute elevates the quality of education for all students, especially Latino students,
providing them with the tools necessary for personal and professional success.

Teacher Development and Recruitment


A subject of continuing Institute research is the examination of efforts to recruit and
develop Latino teachers. The positive influences of Latino teachers in the classroom have
been widely documented and are demonstrated by student improvements on standardized
test scores and decreased dropout rates. Interestingly, the percentage of Latino student
enrollment far exceeds the percentage of Latino teachers at every level – city, state, and
national.

One option offered as a means to diversify the nation’s classrooms is the use of
alternative teacher certification programs, an accelerated district internship for obtaining
teaching credentials. This is also seen as a viable alternative to emergency permitting
teachers to meet the burgeoning student enrollment currently experienced in many parts
of the country. Alternative certification has sparked debate on the qualifications of the
teacher it produces and has become a focal point of Institute research. Lauded as a means
to bring more Latinos, minorities, and subject matter specialists into the teaching
profession, the Institute continues to evaluate the effectiveness of the alternative teacher
certification movement.

Political & Social Issues


The increasing presence of Latinos in the demographic make-up of the United States
signals dramatic changes in both social and political climates, making this phenomena an
important area of study. CHPRI is striving to pioneer this field through objective research
focusing on the challenges facing Latinos in the search for integration.

Political and Civic Engagement


As the political climate reshapes, the Latino population is showing a renewed
commitment to demonstrating its political strength. The remarkable growth of the
population and the significance of the Latino electorate has undergone intense scrutiny
and become the subject of fiery debate across the nation. Policymakers and the public

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alike have voiced their need for a better understanding of the Latino community and the
significance and actuality of the Latino vote.

CHPRI seeks to fill this void by conducting in-depth analyses of Latino voting trends in
an effort to bring clarity to Latino perceptions and experiences in the electoral process.
Work of this nature enables CHPRI to give voice to the Latino community and allows
elected officials and civic leaders the opportunity to focus their efforts on those issues
that most concern their constituencies.

Social Integration
The Latino community is a complex, diverse body that often cannot be defined in
traditional terms. Knowing this, CHPRI strives to take innovative approaches to research
that will address a wide range of topics including affirmative action, crime and welfare
policies and examines their potential impacts on the social environment, subcultures and
dynamics of the Latino population. While attempting to address the challenges presented
by the social incorporation of Latinos into American society, CHPRI bears in mind the
important role of immigration in the Latino community. According to the 1992 Census
Bureau, 35 percent of all Latinos, and 40 percent of all Latino adults were foreign-born.
Given that immigrants represent such a large component of the Latino community,
policymakers need a precise understanding of the characteristics of both populations to
formulate sound public policies and programs that effectively address the problems
encountered by Latinos. To this end, CHPRI's social research is broad based, providing
essential information on the effects of policy decisions, changing demographics and the
progress of the integration of Latinos across the nation.

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