Official Organizational & Administrative Documents
The Good Shepherd Restoration Ministries, a non-profit, faith-based initiative gives access to many of our official organizational source documents via downloadable Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Some of these documents include our:
Articles of Incorporation
By-Laws
Aticles of Faith (Doctrinal Statement)
Letter of Determination for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3)
Formal Application Process for Recognition of Exemption [501(c)(3) Status]
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Useful Articles / Documents Related to Urban / Inner City Issues
The following are documents, reports and data referenced or incorporated in various pages within our site and can be downloaded as well:
 The CDC's Latest Report on AIDS and the African American Community
This CDC fact sheet discusses the statistics of HIV/AIDS among African Americans and the importance of increasing HIV prevention efforts among them. Reports released at the National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta show that the African-American community is being particularly hard hit by HIV and AIDS. Death rates from AIDS were 10 times higher for African Americans than for whites in 1998. In addition, the rate of new AIDS cases is 10 times higher for African Americans than for whites.
The CDC's AIDS Prevention Program for the African American Community
AIDS is the leading cause of death for African Americans between the ages of 25 and 44. Though African Americans form approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population, in 1997 over half (53 percent) of the total AIDS cases reported were among African Americans. That year, 76 percent of all women reported with AIDS were African-American, and African-American children accounted for 81 percent of all children reported with AIDS.
Prosecuting Juveniles in Adult Court: An Assessment of Trends and Consequences
Fear of out-of-control juvenile crime and a coming generation of “super-predators,”
compellingly if erroneously described publicly and to Congress in 1996, has undermined the
traditional practice of treating young offenders as different from adult criminals – less culpable
because of their age and more amenable to rehabilitation. In recent years, the focus has turned to
punishment and in particular to the transfer of increasing numbers of youthful offenders from
juvenile to criminal courts.
These “solutions” have been demonstrated to be doing more harm
than good. This policy paper provides information on changes in the juvenile justice system and
analyzes why the increased prosecution of juveniles in adult court is another failed “get tough”
policy which is unjust and harmful to children and does nothing to increase public safety.
Critical Choices: New Options in Juvenile Crime Policy As juvenile crime rates continue to fall, new policymakers in the 106th Congress and state
houses and legislatures nationwide have a valuable opportunity to reconsider legislative strategies
and funding priorities to support young people and their families and to increase public safety. This
paper provides an analysis of current trends in juvenile crime and reports on crime reduction
programs that have proven successful. The
The Crisis of the Young African American Male and the Criminal Justice System
In recent years policy attention regarding the crisis of the African American male has focused on
a variety of areas in which African American males have suffered disproportionately from social
ills. These have included education, housing, employment, and health care, among others.
Perhaps in no other area, though, have these problems been displayed as prominently as in the
realm of crime and the criminal justice system.
This paper will explore the current status of African American males within the criminal justice
system and consider projections for the future should current policies continue. It will also
assess the factors that have created such high levels of criminal justice control. Finally, it will
provide a set of recommendations for public policy that would help to alleviate the disastrous
circumstances that currently prevail while having a more constructive impact on public safety.
From Prison To Home: The Dimensions and Consequences of Prisoner Reentry We are pleased to present this monograph
on prisoner reentry. We hope it
can inform a broad set of discussions
about one of the most pressing issues
of our time—the challenge of reintegrating
record numbers of individuals
who leave prison and return home.
This challenge is felt differently by
different sectors of our society. Most
fundamentally, it is experienced by
nearly 1,600 men and women who
leave prison each day. In a monograph
such as this one, we cannot capture
their stories, yet their experiences give
meaning and richness to the data we
present in the pages that follow.
Prisoner Reenty in Perspective The massive increase in incarceration in the
United States that occurred during the past 20 years
has now turned public attention toward the consequences
of releasing large numbers of prisoners back
into society. Prisoner reentry has raised questions
about public safety, about how corrections systems
should manage the volume of releases, and about how
communities can absorb and reintegrate the returning
prisoners. Very little is known about these matters,
yet speculation is rife that the volume of returning
prisoners will result in more crime and in more
challenges for supervision, and that it will reduce the
capacity of communities to absorb ex-prisoners.
The Prison Payoff: The Role of Politics and Private Prisons in the Incarceration Boom The U.S. is currently engaged in the largest prison build-up in recorded history. Since 1980 we have more
than quadrupled our prison population. Nearly one in every 150 Americans is incarcerated today, at an
annual cost of $40 billion. During the same time period, crime rates have remained steady or decreased.
If crime is not on the rise, why are incarceration rates skyrocketing? It is well documented that the media
sensationalize crime and the public’s fear of crime (which is out of proportion with actual victimization
rates4 ). This propensity feeds and is fed by political opportunism that exploits the public’s fear for the sake
of political gain. Ever since the infamous Willie Horton ads were aired to discredit Democratic Presidential
candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988, politicians from both major parties have had a morbid fear of
appearing soft on crime.
But beyond the fears fanned by the media and self-interested politicians, what else is driving the U.S.
incarceration boom?
It is our conclusion that a major factor in the current incarceration boom is the influence of private prison
corporations with vested financial interests in increasing rates of imprisonment. Between 1987 and 1996,
the number of inmates in private prisons soared more than 2000 percent, jumping from 3,122 to 78,000.
By December, 1999, private prison beds in the U.S. numbered over 130,000.
This report documents two of the primary methods used by private prison corporations to wield influence:
political campaign contributions and ideologically-loaded model legislation shaped by the same private
interests who stand to profit from it.
A Bibliography of Academic Research on African American Youth and At-Risk Behaviors: How Does the Church Address these Issues? -- The contents of this bibliography was compiled by: The Religious Practices of American Youth: A Collection of Research Resources -- A Project of UNC, Chapel Hill.
Helping At-Risk Youth Through Community-Based Initiatives -- This report is designed to assist communities engaged in or contemplating initiatives focused on at-risk youth.
An Overview of the Effects of Welfare Reform to Date -- A policy brief produced by the Brookings Instute that outlines the results to date of the implementation of the Welfare Reform Act of 1995.
Addressing Regional Dilemmas for Minority Communities -- This essay examines the critical problems associated with the hollowing out of the urban core as a result of disparity in the apportionment of regional resources due to suburban sprawl.
"Children in Cities Have Uncertain Futures" -- This is an essay summary of a study conducted by the Brookings Institute, which concluded -- "a growing number of children are at risk of becoming another generation of poor adults and a disproportionate number of these children are located in our inner-cities."
Moving to Opportunity -- This issue of Poverty Research News looks at current findings from the Moving to Opportunity program. The MTO encourages families living in public housing to move to lower poverty neighborhoods with the help of vouchers to pay for housing. The project ultimately tests the assumption that neighborhood has an effect on the health and well-being of its residents, and moving to higher-income neighborhoods will improve opportunities for families. The program is being evaluated in five cities: Boston, Baltimore, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. This issue looks at the most recent evidence from each of those cities.
Fear in the Ghetto and Its Ramifications for Parents -- In high-poverty, inner-city neighborhoods, parents spend inordinate amounts of time protecting their children from crime and danger. That this vigilance may hinder mothers' efforts to further their own education or find work is one of the intriguing possibilities that emerged from in-depth interviews with families participating in the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) program.
A Review of Social Policy Changes: An Assessment of Recent Welfare Reform -- This issue of Poverty Research News looks broadly at social policy changes over the last decade. Two contributors examine what happens to children when their mothers go to work. Another article documents the changing material well-being of single-mother families over the past decade, and especially in the last five years since welfare reform. Moving beyond caseload counts, Evelyn Brodkin examines how welfare policy is playing out in the welfare offices. Given the softening economy, the final article considers the effectiveness of retraining programs for displaced workers.
The Initial Impacts of Welfare Reform on the Economic Well-Being of Single-Mother Families with Children -- A new study finds the income of some of the nation's poorest children and families declined in recent years despite strong growth in the economy, raising questions about the effects of welfare reform.
We may be aware of other documents or materials, which may be of interest to you but are not listed above, if so, please contact us and let us know how we may be of assistance to you in this area.
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