The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between neighborhoods and nonprofit human service organizations (NHSOs) located within these neighborhoods. Specifically, this study focuses on examining how the capacity of NHSOs--the density of NHSOs and the NHSOs' expenditure per capita--in neighborhoods is related to neighborhood characteristics.

Based on a theoretical framework explaining need and supply for NHSOs, this study includes heterogeneity, disadvantaged population, neighborhood wealth, social capital and religious participation as factors related to NHSO capacity. In addition, this study also tests whether a specific segment of the population--child and youth population--is positively related with the capacity of NHSOs primarily serving this specific group of the population.

Combining a population NHSO dataset with two different neighborhood datasets in Los Angeles County, a series of regression analyses were conducted to test the above hypotheses. The key findings indicate that the less heterogeneous in age, more heterogeneous in education, more people in poverty, lower level of combined social support, social cohesion, and informal social control, and more religious residents within a neighborhood, the greater the density of NHSOs. In addition, the less heterogeneous in age, more people in poverty, lower level of combined social support, social cohesion, and informal social control, more residents' neighborhood organization participation, and more religious residents within a neighborhood, the greater the NHSOs' expenditure per capita. Particularly, regarding the NHSOs mainly serving child and youth population, this study also found that the smaller the share of the child and youth population within a neighborhood, the greater the density of child and youth NHSOs, and the greater the child and youth NHSOs' expenditure per capita.

These results suggest that while the theoretical framework can explain a part of the relationships between NHSO capacity and neighborhood characteristics, it cannot clearly demonstrate other associations. Considering that many neighborhood characteristics contain multiple or opposite meanings in terms of NHSO capacity, a more detailed theorization is needed to precisely understand the geographical distribution of NHSOs.

This dissertation will examine how street level bureaucrats (in this case, property managers) use their discretion to provide access to housing for permanent supportive housing facilities. Previous research has shown that there is a rate of 15-50% turnover in permanent supportive housing (PSH) facilities. What remains unknown is how decisions about client intake and eviction are made in such facilities. Case Study-qualitative methods such as field observations, unstructured interviews, and focus groups were utilized in order to understand the meaning of property manager discretion. Findings indicate that property managers' discretion is conditioned by policy context, task environment and organizational structure. Specifically, property managers evaluate whether or not to admit or evict residents based on agency expectations of them, which affect their working conditions. Agency expectations are constructed by organizational structures, which depend heavily on task environment and policy context. The social welfare implications to these findings are discussed.

Since 2008, a coalition known as the CLEAN Carwash Campaign has been organizing car wash workers in Los Angeles. How did CLEAN manage the divergent interests of its coalition members and strategize? What is it about CLEAN that led the labor-community coalition to achieve gains for carwasheros when conventional wisdom dictates that low wage immigrant workers were too vulnerable to be unionized? Given the dearth of empirical research into how social movement coalitions strategize and how campaign strategies link to outcomes, this dissertation seeks to add to the understanding of social movement strategies by examining the CLEAN Carwash Campaign to answer the following three questions:

� What are the strategies used by the CLEAN Carwash Campaign?

� How are CLEAN’s strategies determined?

� How do strategies relate to outcomes?

For the dissertation research, I conducted comparative case studies of four local campaigns undertaken by the CLEAN Carwash Campaign in two distinct regions of Los Angeles—the Westside and South LA. A two-by-two case study design across two victorious and two failed cases was used to understand CLEAN’s campaign strategy development and subsequent outcomes. Findings suggest that strategy setting is influenced by a complex array of structural factors including interaction with targets, workers, and allies that shape available tactical options. Outcomes of victories and losses demonstrate the challenges for campaign leadership in pursuing choices that take advantage of target vulnerabilities, foster worker ownership and commitment in organizing, rally community and coalition support, and capitalize contextual political opportunities.