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THRIVE FROM THE START

Every infant and toddler deserves a safe, stable, and nurturing start in life. That’s why Housing Is has joined forces with  Prevent Child Abuse America, SchoolHouse Connection, and ZERO TO THREE to launch Thrive From The Start—a cross-sector effort dedicated to addressing homelessness among infants, toddlers, and expectant parents. Visit thrivefromthestart.org to learn more and explore how you can be a part of the solution. 

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Housing Is Working Group 2024-2025 Calendar

Join the Housing Is Working Group to discuss special topics related to cross-sector initiatives and programmatic considerations particularly focused on the intersections of housing, health, and education.

This year’s public webinars cover topics such as child welfare and housing, leveraging Medicaid resources for housing services, out-of-school time, and digital connectivity in a post-ACP world. 

View Calendar
 
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Publication
Community:
Dec 1, 2018
With collectively more than 100 years of policy expertise and values-based leadership between us, Ascend at the Aspen Institute and the Housing Opportunity and Services Together initiative at the Urban Institute partnered to develop a set of recommendations on how to harness assisted housing and public-private housing partnerships for better outcomes for families.

Authored by: The Urban Institute and ASCEND: The Aspen Institute
Topics: Dual-generation, Early childhood, Education, Family engagement, Health, Housing, Low-income, Place-based, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 6, 2018

Place Matters: A Two-Generation Approach to Housing

Publication
Dec 1, 2018
The Urban Institute and ASCEND: The Aspen Institute
With collectively more than 100 years of policy expertise and values-based leadership between us, Ascend at the Aspen Institute and the Housing Opportunity and Services Together initiative at the Urban Institute partnered to develop a set of recommendations on how to harness assisted housing and pub
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Interactive
Community:
People living just a few blocks apart may have vastly different opportunities to live a long life in part because of their neighborhood. Unfortunately, significant gaps in life expectancy at birth persist across many United States cities, towns, ZIP codes and neighborhoods. The latest estimates of life expectancy at birth reveals differences down to the census tract level. Explore how life expectancy in America compares with life expectancy in your area, and resources to help everyone have the opportunity to live a longer, healthier life.

Authored by: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Topics: Health, Housing, Low-income, Place-based, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 5, 2018
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Report
Community:
Sep 12, 2017
Broadband, especially wireline broadband in American homes, is the essential infrastructure for unlocking the internet’s economic benefits. However, broadband infrastructure is far from ubiquitous, both in terms of where it operates and who subscribes to it, and those deficits are not shared evenly across the country. As such, policymakers must understand how the national digital divide varies depending on the place.

Authored by: Adie Tomer, Elizabeth Kneebone, and Ranjitha Shivaram for The Brookings Institution
Topics: Broadband, Education, Low-income, Mobility, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 3, 2018
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News Article
Community:
Nov 30, 2018
Despite their fearsome reputation, a new study finds most low-income housing projects aren't magnets for crime. What makes some more dangerous?

Authored by: Michael Friedrich for CityLab
Topics: Housing, Low-income, Research, Safety
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 30, 2018
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Publication
Community:
Nov 30, 2018
The uninsured rate among children rose in 2017 from 4.7 percent to 5 percent, a new report from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families finds — the first increase since Georgetown began producing this annual report a decade ago.

Authored by: Jesse Cross-Call for Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Child welfare, Health, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 30, 2018
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Research
Community:
Nov 28, 2018
Public housing residents are more likely than urban residents not living in public housing to have high rates of obesity and smoking and low rates of physical activity. This study assesses whether adding environmental interventions at public housing developments affects residents’ health-related habits and body mass index.

Authored by: BMC Public Health
Topics: Exercise, Health, Housing, Low-income, Obesity, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018
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Research
Community:
Nov 9, 2018
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was first developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1990 to assess the health risk behaviors of youth and adults in the United States. For the first time since the survey has been widely administered, the 2017 YRBS optional question list included two questions pertaining to homelessness. Using this YRBS data from 17 states (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin), we conducted an analysis of differences in seven self-reported risk factors and health outcomes between high school students experiencing homelessness and those not experiencing homelessness. The results were striking and heartbreaking.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Metrics, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018

Risk and Resilience: Differences in Risk Factors and Health Outcomes Between Homeless and Non-Homeless Students in 2017 YRBS Data

Research
Nov 9, 2018
SchoolHouse Connection
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was first developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1990 to assess the health risk behaviors of youth and adults in the United States.
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Research
Community:
Nov 27, 2018
Most states use an education funding formula to allocate state and local dollars to school districts. Most funding formulas attempt to account for student poverty, among other factors, in distributing funds. But there are several ways to count low-income students and even more ways to tie dollars to these student counts.

Authored by: Kristin Blagg for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Place-based, Research, Stability, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 27, 2018
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Report
Community:
Mar 14, 2018
There were 33,889 homeless schoolchildren in Florida during the 2007–08 school year, including children temporarily doubled up with others and children staying in hotels, motels, shelters, transitional housing, and unsheltered locations. By the 2015–16 school year, that number had risen to 72,601. This report suggests that the rise is because of the recession and foreclosure crisis, the state’s increasing shortage of affordable housing, and school districts training teachers, counselors, and other staff to identify students with no permanent housing.

Authored by: The Shimberg Center for Housing Studies and Miami Homes for All
Topics: Data sharing, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Research, South, Stability, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 21, 2018

How Does Homelessness Affect Educational Outcomes of Children in Florida?

Report
Mar 14, 2018
The Shimberg Center for Housing Studies and Miami Homes for All
There were 33,889 homeless schoolchildren in Florida during the 2007–08 school year, including children temporarily doubled up with others and children staying in hotels, motels, shelters, transitional housing, and unsheltered locations. By the 2015–16 school year, that number had risen to 72,601.
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Report
Community:
Oct 3, 2018
More than a third of homeless people are part of a family, most of which are headed by women with at least one child. Homeless families are different from single homeless people, and their needs differ. But limited research focuses on these families. This study aims to fill the gap by exploring longitudinal health service use and expenditures for homeless family members before and after entering an emergency shelter.

Authored by: Robin Clark, Linda Weinreb, Julie Flahive, and Robert Seifert for the American Journal of Public Health
Topics: Family engagement, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Preventative care, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 21, 2018

Early Detection and Intervention Could Improve Health Outcomes for Homeless Families

Report
Oct 3, 2018
Robin Clark, Linda Weinreb, Julie Flahive, and Robert Seifert for the American Journal of Public Health
More than a third of homeless people are part of a family, most of which are headed by women with at least one child. Homeless families are different from single homeless people, and their needs differ. But limited research focuses on these families.
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Podcast
Community:
How should policymakers address the long-standing youth unemployment problem in Puerto Rico, which only worsened in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria? After natural disasters, the government tends to focus its recovery efforts on infrastructure repairs and mental health services. But employment and economic security are equally important. With support from the W. T. Grant Foundation, MDRC partnered with Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud, or the Youth Development Institute, to develop recommendations that can create pathways into the workforce for young people and that are supported by evidence-based and promising practices relevant to the current situation in Puerto Rico. Join Katie Beal as she talks to John Martinez, Director of Program Development at MDRC, about the recommendations we made to facilitate and support training and employment opportunities for young people in Puerto Rico, and the challenges of implementing those recommendations.

Authored by: MDRC
Topics: Low-income, Research, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 19, 2018
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Report
Community:
May 1, 2018
The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD), funded by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, tested seven transitional jobs programs that targeted people recently released from prison or low-income parents who had fallen behind in child support payments.

Authored by: MDRC, OPRE, and Employment and Training Demonstration
Topics: Asset building, Cost effectiveness, Criminal justice, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Stability, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 19, 2018
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Interactive
Community:
Resources for integrating resiliency, hope, and wellness in schools

Authored by: Treatment and Services Adaptation Center
Topics: Child welfare, Low-income, Partnerships, Place-based, Research, Safety
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 19, 2018
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Research
Community:
Nov 19, 2018
For decades, free and reduced-price lunch (FRPL) status has been used as a proxy measure for student poverty. Families filled out paper lunch forms, and these were the basis for allocating resources to schools, defining accountability goals, and conducting research. But recent changes to the National School Lunch Program mean that FRPL status is in decline as a measure of student need, and states are turning to alternatives.

Authored by: Erica Greenberg for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Food insecurity, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Metrics, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 19, 2018

New measures of student poverty solve some challenges - and create others

Research
Nov 19, 2018
Erica Greenberg for The Urban Institute
For decades, free and reduced-price lunch (FRPL) status has been used as a proxy measure for student poverty. Families filled out paper lunch forms, and these were the basis for allocating resources to schools, defining accountability goals, and conducting research.
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Report
Community:
Oct 1, 2018
Studies have consistently documented high rates of obesity and tobacco use among individuals with serious mental illness. In recent years, Medicaid programs have enrolled individuals with serious mental illness into managed care plans, which are responsible for ensuring that their members receive preventive care. Despite the movement to managed care, not much is known about whether this population receives routine screening and follow-up care for common comorbid health conditions and health behaviors.

Authored by: Jonathan Brown, Junquing Liu, and Sarah Hudson Scholle for Mathematica
Topics: Disabilities, Health, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Mental health, Preventative care, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 16, 2018
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Report
Community:
Oct 18, 2018
A program called Find the Fit, which combines personalized planning materials and text messaging for students, and training webinars for advisors, increased the number and selectivity of colleges to which students apply. This report, the first from a six-year study, determined that Find the Fit led to some changes in the advising within Upward Bound and in students’ actions related to enrolling in a more selective college.

Authored by: Alina Martinez, Tamara Linkow, Hannah Miller, and Amanda Parsad for Mathematica
Topics: Education, Low-income, Post-secondary, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 16, 2018

Study of Enhanced College Advising in Upward Bound: Impacts on Steps Toward College

Report
Oct 18, 2018
Alina Martinez, Tamara Linkow, Hannah Miller, and Amanda Parsad for Mathematica
A program called Find the Fit, which combines personalized planning materials and text messaging for students, and training webinars for advisors, increased the number and selectivity of colleges to which students apply.
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Report
Community:
Nov 1, 2018
These 65 million older households are highly diverse in their living situations, financial resources, health and functional abilities, and life stages, and thus require different types of housing to meet their needs and preferences. Affordable, accessible housing located in age-friendly communities and linked to health supports is in particularly short supply. Demand for these units will only increase when the baby boomers start to turn 80 in less than a decade. And whether they own or rent, millions of older households struggle to pay for their housing and other basic necessities, and their numbers are rising. Households now in their 50s to mid-60s are especially at risk of having insufficient resources to manage rising healthcare and housing costs in their later years.

Authored by: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
Topics: Health, Housing, Research, Seniors
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 14, 2018

Housing America's Older Adults (2018): A Supplement to the State of the Nation's Housing Report

Report
Nov 1, 2018
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
These 65 million older households are highly diverse in their living situations, financial resources, health and functional abilities, and life stages, and thus require different types of housing to meet their needs and preferences.
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Report
Community:
Public schools identified more than 1.3 million children and youth experiencing homelessness and enrolled in school at some point in the 2016-2017 school year.1 These numbers do not reflect the total number of children and youth who experience homelessness in the United States.

Authored by: Katie Brown and Barbara Duffield for SchoolHouse Connection, Caitlyn R. Owens for North Carolina State University
Topics: Education, Homelessness, Housing, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 14, 2018

Risk and Resilience: Differences in Risk Factors and Health Outcomes Between Homeless and Non-Homeless Students in 2017 YRBS Data

Report
Katie Brown and Barbara Duffield for SchoolHouse Connection, Caitlyn R. Owens for North Carolina State University
Public schools identified more than 1.3 million children and youth experiencing homelessness and enrolled in school at some point in the 2016-2017 school year.1 These numbers do not reflect the total number of children and youth who experience homelessness in the United States.
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News Article
Community:
Nov 2, 2018
Public health officials have known for decades that where you live greatly influences how long you can live. Residents who live in neighborhoods free of violence with good housing and schools and with close access to quality medical care, food and parks live longer than those who don’t. Now a recently released report — called the United States Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates Project, or USALEEP — shows in obvious, color-coded terms the range and proximity of that disparity.

Authored by: Christian Hill for The Register-Guard
Topics: Community development, Health, Low-income, Pacific Northwest, Place-based, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 8, 2018

New map shows disparity in life expectancy among Eugene-Springfield neighborhoods

News Article
Nov 2, 2018
Christian Hill for The Register-Guard
Public health officials have known for decades that where you live greatly influences how long you can live. Residents who live in neighborhoods free of violence with good housing and schools and with close access to quality medical care, food and parks live longer than those who don’t.
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Research
Community:
Nov 7, 2018
Does a screening requirement for homeless families seeking shelter create unintended costs? In 2012, Massachusetts passed a law requiring homeless families seeking shelter to prove that they had recently stayed somewhere not meant for human habitation. Hospital emergency department discharge paperwork can provide such proof. This study explored the trends of emergency department use for shelter by homeless youth before and after the eligibility criteria was passed into law and to measure the financial impact it had on the health care system. Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of deidentified medical records of homeless children and young adults from birth to age 21 seeking shelter at a pediatric emergency department in Boston from 12 months before the eligibility rule to four years after the rule went into effect. They analyzed the number of visits, length of stay, insurance claims, and hospital charges before and after the policy change. Researchers found a significant increase in emergency department use for homelessness after the policy change. The results indicate that policymakers should consider the potential unintended health care costs of shelter eligibility policies and identify housing strategies that can prevent emergency department visits by families experiencing homelessness.

Authored by: American Journal of Public Health
Topics: Cost effectiveness, East Coast, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 8, 2018
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Research
Community:
Nov 1, 2018
We undertake the first rigorous evaluation of financial coaching using a randomized controlled trial at two sites. We estimate both treatment uptake and treatment outcomes, including intent to treat estimates and complier average causal effects.

Authored by: Brett Theodos, Christina Plerhoples Stacy, and Rebecca Daniels for The Urban Institute
Topics: Asset building, Low-income, Mobility, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 7, 2018

Client led coaching: A random assignment evaluation of the impacts of financial coaching programs

Research
Nov 1, 2018
Brett Theodos, Christina Plerhoples Stacy, and Rebecca Daniels for The Urban Institute
We undertake the first rigorous evaluation of financial coaching using a randomized controlled trial at two sites. We estimate both treatment uptake and treatment outcomes, including intent to treat estimates and complier average causal effects.
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Research
Community:
Oct 18, 2018
In this report, we examine how housing code enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, could prioritize public health as a key outcome and better coordinate with public health agencies, community health nonprofits, and other health care institutions. We use both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis to explore how housing code enforcement works and how it might expand to address public health as a key outcome.

Authored by: Urban Institute
Topics: Health, Place-based, Research, Safety
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 7, 2018
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Research
Community:
Nov 1, 2018
Are families prioritizing their housing payments by jeopardizing their health and well-being, missing utility payments, skipping meals, or failing to keep up with medical needs or medical bills? And are renters less able than homeowners to weather a financial emergency, such as an unexpected medical expense? Our research suggests this may be the case.

Authored by: Corianne Scally and Dulce Gonzalez for The Urban Institute
Topics: Asset building, Child welfare, Food insecurity, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 7, 2018
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Research
Community:
Oct 26, 2018
Researchers often have valuable insights for program leaders and policymakers. However, their research is typically presented in formats and contexts that don’t speak directly to those who can make the best use of it. With these short videos (about 3 minutes long each), we seek to bring relevant, timely research to everyone interested in reducing poverty and increasing family stability in the United States. Each video offers a few critical messages. Our hope is that these videos, and this viewer’s guide, provoke your thinking, expand your dialogue, and give you ideas for how to strategically advance your work.

Authored by: Scott W. Allard, Greg Fabiano, Colleen Heflin, Jodi Sandfort, and Valerie Uccellani for Mathematica
Topics: Family engagement, Low-income, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 6, 2018

Researchers Speak: Insights about Family Stability and Self-Sufficiency, A Viewer's Guide

Research
Oct 26, 2018
Scott W. Allard, Greg Fabiano, Colleen Heflin, Jodi Sandfort, and Valerie Uccellani for Mathematica
Researchers often have valuable insights for program leaders and policymakers. However, their research is typically presented in formats and contexts that don’t speak directly to those who can make the best use of it.
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Research
Community:
Oct 25, 2018
Many low-income families in the United States face challenges associated with unemployment, health, and education disparities. To help overcome these challenges, several federal programs aim to assist these families with employment, self-sufficiency, healthy relationships, and individual well-being. Understanding the effects of these programs, including whether they meet the needs of those they intend to serve, requires a strong partner. Mathematica’s team of seasoned experts has worked closely with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) to uncover the insights practitioners and policymakers need to make informed decisions.

Authored by: Mathematica
Topics: Asset building, Child welfare, Dual-generation, Family engagement, Low-income, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 6, 2018