Zoning rules dictate more than just how we can use and build on land. They also shape our communities and our lives. Land use laws determine where we can find housing, schools, and parks—and who has access to them.

This paper analyzes why SNAP benefits are inadequate, reviews the body of research showing positive effects from more adequate SNAP benefits, and offers key policy solutions to improve benefit adequacy.

How do you fix health inequity in the United States? The education and health-care communities as well as policymakers must consider what are known as the social determinants of health as an integral part of solving this dilemma.

A decade from now, most middle-income seniors will not be able to pay the rising costs of independent or assisted living.

Moving Health Care Upstream (MHCU) is based on the belief that health systems can address persistent and costly health inequities by moving “upstream”—beyond the walls of hospitals and clinics and into the communities, collaborating with community-based organizations to address the root causes of di

Until recently, efforts to improve the health of Americans have focused on expanding access to quality medical care. Yet there is a growing recognition that medical care alone cannot address what actually makes us sick.

In 2015, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) prevented 8.4 million people from living in poverty.

Could Housing Solutions be Funded by Avoidance of Excess Shelter, Hospital, and Nursing Home Costs?

The nation has large, pressing infrastructure needs, which are often felt most acutely in low-income communities due to decades of policy choices and lack of public and private investment.

Low-income immigrant mothers are skipping the chance to get nutritious foods and help for their infants from a federal program because they fear deportation, or the loss of their children, according to the agencies that distribute those benefits.

The proposed bill follows an NBC News investigation that found at least 11 public housing residents had died of carbon monoxide poisoning since 2003.

Child poverty in the U.S. could be cut in half over the next 10 years with a few simple steps, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The cost would be high — at least $90 billion a year.

We beef up law enforcement to attack crime, devote more funding to try and improve inadequate schools and tackle health disparities by getting more people to the doctor. But what if Baltimore could solve all of its persistent social problems by getting rid of poverty?

In a recently published report called “A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty” from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, its co-authors suggest policy changes that they claim could cut child poverty in half in just 10 years.

A glossary for the emerging Democratic health care debate.

While there are many examples of small-scale programs that have integrated care and financing for Medicare-Medicaid eligible individuals, implementation at large scale has been elusive, often limited by concerns that savings will not materialize.

Build success with effective enforcement. Someone who smokes where smoking is prohibited is violating the policy. Enforcement of the smoke-free policy is similar to enforcement of other building policies, like noise or pet restrictions. Be consistent, fair, positive, and pragmatic.

Build success by helping smokers comply with the policy. Some residents who smoke may not be ready or able to stop smoking, but you can work with them to help them comply with the policy.

Build success by supporting cessation among smokers for whom a smoke-free housing policy may provide motivation to quit.

Build success by partnering with local agencies and organizations. Community partners can advise during planning, education residents during implementation, and help support cessation.

Build success by training staff on how to effectively share information about the policy and the importance of consistent enforcement.

Build Success by engaging residents. Residents can be a strong asset in planning, communication, implementation, and compliance efforts.

Times are changing rapidly for families—our households, work and the workforce do not look like they did just a decade ago. Challenges and barriers for parents continue to grow – skyrocketing costs of health care and child care, lack of flexibility at the workplace, and less time at home.

Medicaid helps low-income seniors, children, people with disabilities, and families get needed health care. Medicaid coverage improves families’ financial security by protecting them from medical debt and helping them stay healthy for work.

A whole host of factors — such as friends, housing and transportation — affect a person’s health and how much they need the social safety net. It’s time the government’s big health insurance programs took this reality into account, some lawmakers and policymakers are starting to argue.