Being "a neighborhood guy before being a neighborhood guy was cool".

We can't help but smile and be proud when someone else shines a spotlight on our history and our founding director, Tom Joe.  A great post on the Building Neighborhoods blog by our friends at United Neighborhood Centers of America reminds us of Tom's prescient words:

Instead of looking at what the whole family needs and how the individual pieces can work together toward those goals, we’ve built up this crazy collection of categorical programs that have little or nothing to do with the family’s real needs.

The Center for the Study of Social Policy has spent 30 years living up to Tom's challenge of integrating services where families live. That place-based focus continues with our work on Promise Neighborhoods, together with our work on systems reform and results-based public policy. Our thanks to Patrick Lester over at UNCA for the shout out.