Our summer cover story, by Michael Schmidt, introduces the concept of child-impact statements, documents that were created after the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and that scrutinize public and private investment proposals in light of potential harm to children. A relatively new concept for the United States, it meshes with the Boston Fed's longstanding interest in helping lower-income families.

Other intriguing articles include Claire Greene's on an invented currency that encourages Berkshire residents to shop locally. And Gloria LaBrecque writes about owners of a critical island business deciding to help their employees establish a co-op. There's an article by Anthony Price on the federal Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative for boosting economic development in struggling cities and one by Daniel Wallace, Julia Harper, and Deborah M. Burd on how a collaborative food council is improving life for lower-income communities in Maine. Nancy Hoffman and Amy Loyd provide insights on helping high school students prepare for careers.

We also learn from Alicia Woodsby why Connecticut is close to ending homelessness for veterans and people with disabilities. Meanwhile, Francesca Forrest explains how assessing cases individually can keep women who have no bail money from unnecessary pretrial detention. Kaili Mauricio's map looks at student debt in the six New England states. And research by D. James Greiner, Dalié Jiménez, and Lois R. Lupica about helping low-income people appear in court to defend themselves offers surprising insights into the kinds of training materials that work best psychologically.

We love hearing from you, so please keep in touch.

Caroline Ellis

Managing Editor
caroline.ellis@bos.frb.org