Poverty

Utah Priorities Gubernatorial Survey: A Comparison of Candidates’ and Voters’ Top Priorities for 2012

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Utah Foundation recently released The 2012 Utah Priorities Survey, which provides a summary of the findings of a statewide Dan Jones & Associates survey assessing which issues are most important this election year and how voters feel about Utah’s economy, society and politics.  For the first time, Utah Foundation also requested that the gubernatorial candidates complete part of this survey.  All of the Republican and Democratic candidates and two of three third-party candidates completed the … Continued

The 2012 Utah Priorities Survey: The Top Issues and Concerns of Utah Voters for the 2012 Election

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In this election year, Utahns are more confident that the state is heading in the right direction than they were two years ago. However, they are still not as confident as they were in the 2004 and 2008 elections.  Their concerns about issues like jobs and the economy, public education, and healthcare remain strong.  Some issues that were important in the 2010 election, such as ethics of elected officials, states’ rights vs. the federal government, … Continued

United Way of Salt Lake Community Assessment 2010

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In 2009 and 2010, Utah Foundation worked as a consultant to the United Way of Salt Lake (UWSL) to assist with its Priority Area and Capacity Assessment Process. This work led to the publication by UWSL of this Community Assessment document which identifies and measures critical community needs in education, income, health, and basic needs. The assessment also helps UWSL focus its work in these critical areas to create community-level change.

Moving up the Economic Ladder: An Analysis of Economic Mobility in Utah

Written by: Shawn Teigen

The opportunity for upward mobility as the result of individual effort is viewed as one of the defining characteristics of the U.S. economy. However, data show Utah has been experiencing growing inequality since the 1980s. While inflation-adjusted income actually fell for the bottom four fifths of families in the first half of this decade, it increased by more than $6,000 for families in the top fifth.

United Way of Salt Lake Priority Area and Capacity Assessment

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

The purpose of this assessment is to prioritize the specific needs, objectives, and strategies on which UWSL will focus its community impact work. UWSL contracted with Utah Foundation to conduct this assessment, which is a year-long project involving focus groups, surveys, data collection, research, and analysis. During the first stage of the assessment, Utah Foundation held focus groups with UWSL’s Change Councils, main funders, and staff to determine and gain consensus about what the vision … Continued

2010 Economic Report to the Governor

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Each year, Utah Foundation writes a chapter on regional and national economic comparisons for the Economic Report to the Governor. This chapter compares Utah with other states, highlighting the Mountain states, covering population growth, wages, household income, employment and unemployment, and poverty rates. While Utah has fared somewhat better than its neighboring states, it has not been immune to the economic downturn. Utah had the fastest growing population in the nation in 2008, but like … Continued

2009 Economic Report to the Governor

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Each year, Utah Foundation writes a chapter on regional and national economic comparisons for the Economic Report to the Governor. This chapter compares Utah with other states, highlighting the Mountain states, covering population growth, wages, household income, employment and unemployment, and poverty rates. The data show a slowing economy but one where Utah was faring better than much of the nation.

Going for Broke: Utah’s Alarming Bankruptcy Problem

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

A wave of increasing bankruptcy rates has swept across the nation, causing economic, political, and social hardships. Utah has emerged in recent years as the number one state in terms of the number of bankruptcies compared to the number of households. Why would Utah fare worse in this national trend than other states, and how is this possible in a state that prides itself on responsible social behavior and self-reliance? What is unique about Utah’s … Continued

Utah’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP): How Well Are We Doing?

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In November of 2000, Utah Foundation released an initial analysis of the Children’s Health Insurance Program or CHIP. That report provided an overview of the program and its purpose as well as discussing first year results and health care reform in Utah. It concluded by detailing the state’s plan for operation as well as the measurement tools used to determine how successful CHIP was in reaching its goals.