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Housing Is Working Group 2023-2024 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 the mobility asthma project, trauma-informed approaches to housing, resident-focused racial equity work, out-of-school time, and how FCC grantees are supprting voucher holders.

View Calendar
 

Elements of a Successful Partnership

With generous support from the MacArthur Foundation, CLPHA developed an in-depth report on regional housing-education collaborations taking place at housing authorities across the Pacific-Northwest.

Read the Multimedia Report
 
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Community:
May 1, 2023
Federally funded Responsible Fatherhood programs work with fathers to promote healthy relationships and marriages, strengthen parenting practices, and help fathers attain economic stability. For programs to improve fathers’ outcomes, they need to be able to recruit fathers, engage them in services, and keep them actively participating in program activities. However, it is challenging for programs to achieve these participation goals. The Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs (SIRF) study was designed to strengthen programs and build evidence on promising practices to improve the enrollment, engagement, and retention of fathers in program activities. Fatherhood programs participating in SIRF iteratively implemented and assessed promising approaches to addressing implementation challenges, with the support of and in partnership with the SIRF team.

Authored by: Charles Michalopoulos, Emily Marano, Becca Heilman, Michelle S. Manno, Patrizia Mancini, Scott Cody for MDRC
Topics: Family engagement, Healthy homes, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Stability
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jun 1, 2023
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Community:
Jun 1, 2023
Every May, Ascend recognizes the importance of raising awareness about mental health and the multifaceted ways that it impacts family prosperity and well-being. Even as Mental Health Awareness Month comes to a close, we are committed every day to uplifting the drumbeat across our community that calls for an end to mental health stigma, making strides to ensure that families can access quality services, and advocating for policies that support families' unique mental health needs. Join us in the national movement to raise awareness about mental health by exploring some of our new resources and sharing them with your community of changemakers!

Authored by: Ascend and the Jed Foundation for Ascend
Topics: Depression, Dual-generation, Education, Legislation & Policy, Mental health, Research
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jun 1, 2023
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Community:
Nov 17, 2022
Homelessness is a traumatic experience with long-term consequences, particularly for infants and toddlers in their most critical stages of development. Yet homelessness among young children is hidden. Lack of shelter, fear of having children removed from parental custody, and restrictive eligibility criteria for housing programs mean that most young children experiencing homelessness stay in places that are not easily identified. To this end, SchoolHouse Connection and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan analyzed data from twenty states that have formed broad-based coalitions to move prenatal-to-3 priorities forward. This report describes the prevalence of homelessness among infants and toddlers in these twenty states; gaps in access to early learning programs; and recommendations for increasing enrollment and support.

Authored by: School House Connection
Topics: Child welfare, COVID-19, Early childhood, Education, Foster care, Homelessness, Legislation & Policy, Pre-natal, Racial inequalities, Research, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Nov 17, 2022

Infants and Toddlers Experiencing Homelessness: Prevalence and Access to Early Learning in Twenty States

Report
Nov 17, 2022
School House Connection
Homelessness is a traumatic experience with long-term consequences, particularly for infants and toddlers in their most critical stages of development. Yet homelessness among young children is hidden.
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Community:
Jun 27, 2022
We have an abundance of talent that is ready to reimagine early childhood and well-being in America for our youngest children and families, but we do not have an abundance of leadership experiences that nurture, propel, and position them as the dynamic leaders our country urgently needs. Leadership that reflects the full diversity and genius of our communities, sectors, identities, and lived experiences matters now more than ever. In Toward A More Equitable Tomorrow: A Landscape Analysis of Early Childhood Leadership, we uncover the essentials for future leadership investments that value and center equity—especially racial equity and inclusion—to surface new possibilities and equitable prosperity moving forward. Insights from stakeholders including state and federal cabinet directors, service providers, funders, and parents offer powerful perspectives to guide the future early childhood field, and guide those who seek to accelerate families’ well-being, educational success, and economic mobility. Ascend at the Aspen Institute is embracing this moment as a renewal, and also as a redoubling of our commitment to remake our systems and our society. This means centering children and families with a focus not simply on eliminating persistent inequities such as poverty, polarization, and racism, but on ensuring pathways to prosperity and well-being. With support from the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Bezos Family Foundation, Ascend undertook a robust landscape analysis of the early childhood field. More than 80 leaders—from research, practice, policy, philanthropy, and families with young children—shared their insights for this report. It was augmented by a review of 20 mission-aligned leadership efforts. Our inquiry was grounded in an intentional focus on racial, economic, and gender equity; respect for the advances made; commitment to innovation; and an open mind to new approaches, possibilities, and power.

Authored by: Ascend at the Aspen Institute
Topics: Advocacy, Asset building, Child welfare, CLPHA, Early childhood, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities, Research, Supportive housing, Sustainability, Youth
Shared by Karina George on Jun 27, 2022

Toward a More Equitable Tomorrow: A Landscape Analysis of Early Childhood Leadership

Report
Jun 27, 2022
Ascend at the Aspen Institute
We have an abundance of talent that is ready to reimagine early childhood and well-being in America for our youngest children and families, but we do not have an abundance of leadership experiences that nurture, propel, and position them as the dynamic leaders our country urgently needs.
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Community:
Jun 27, 2022
A robust research base indicates the importance of high quality early care and education in relation to a host of long term health, education, and employment outcomes. The concept of “quality” in these programs has been the focus of much attention and resources, particularly over the last decade. Most states have established definitions of quality through quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) and allocated accompanying resources to support early care and education providers to progress toward higher levels of quality. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, definitions of “quality” have been sorely lacking attention to equity and to the unique experiences that disproportionately affect children from historically marginalized communities. This report addresses a fundamental content flaw in QRISs by operationalizing equity indicators. These indicators are grounded and organized by the CEP’s 14 priorities to advance equity in early care and education systems, published in a 2020 report, in partnership with eight national organizations. States can use these indicators to inform QRIS redesign efforts to advance equity and improve transparency for families.

Authored by: The Children's Equity Project (CEP)
Topics: Advocacy, CLPHA, Communications, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Metrics, Racial inequalities, Research, Supportive housing, Sustainability
Shared by Karina George on Jun 27, 2022

Equity is Quality and Quality is Equity: Operationalizing Equity in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

Report
Jun 27, 2022
The Children's Equity Project (CEP)
A robust research base indicates the importance of high quality early care and education in relation to a host of long term health, education, and employment outcomes. The concept of “quality” in these programs has been the focus of much attention and resources, particularly over the last decade.
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Community:
Jun 20, 2017
Over the past year, the United States Conference of Mayors and the Brookings Institution, along with the Project for Public Spaces have worked together to capture a new model of growth that is emerging in cities and the particular roles that mayors can play. This handbook offers concrete strategies for mayors and their administrations to facilitate the rise of innovation districts—small geographic areas within cities where research universities, medical institutions, and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, accelerators, and incubators. They reflect profound market and demographic dynamics that are revaluing proximity, density, walkability, and accessibility—in other words, the natural strengths of cities.

Authored by: Julie Wagner for BROOKINGS
Topics: Community development, Legislation & Policy, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Oct 20, 2020

Advancing a new wave of urban competitiveness: The role of mayors in the rise of innovation districts

Report
Jun 20, 2017
Julie Wagner for BROOKINGS
Over the past year, the United States Conference of Mayors and the Brookings Institution, along with the Project for Public Spaces have worked together to capture a new model of growth that is emerging in cities and the particular roles that mayors can play. This handbook offers concrete strategi
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Community:
Jun 6, 2019
Trends in Housing Assistance and Who it Serves

Authored by: PAHRC
Topics: Community development, Disabilities, Education, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Research, Seniors, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Keely Stater on Sep 10, 2019
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Community:
May 1, 2019
Community eligibility allows high-poverty schools and school districts to offer free meals to all students, and it eliminates the need for household school meal applications. A key piece of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, community eligibility was phased in a few states at a time before it was made available to schools nationwide in the 2014–2015 school year.

Authored by: Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Out-of-school time, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 3, 2019
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Community:
Apr 25, 2019
Access to affordable child care can be a major barrier for low-income parents who want to participate in education and training activities to gain skills or obtain employment. Child care assistance from the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the federal block grant that funds states to provide child care assistance to low-income families, can help alleviate this barrier and make it easier for low-income parents to participate in activities that improve their skills and lead to stable employment with adequate pay. However, the CCDF eligibility requirements and priorities for service are set at the state level, and states make different decisions about how to allocate scarce CCDF resources, so access to and use of CCDF subsidies for parents seeking education and training varies across states.

Authored by: Semhar Gebrekristos and Gina Adams for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Education, Legislation & Policy, Post-secondary, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on May 30, 2019
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Community:
May 1, 2019
Child poverty is an urgent and preventable crisis. Solutions to child poverty already exist if we just expand and invest in them. Benefits like nutrition assistance, housing vouchers and tax credits helped lift nearly 7 million children out of poverty in 2017, but millions of children were left behind due to inadequate funding, eligibility restrictions and low wages. We can and must fix these problems to help more children escape poverty now.

Authored by: Children's Defense Fund
Topics: Child welfare, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on May 28, 2019
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Community:
In fact, Syracuse’s experience feels both unique and all too common for U.S. cities, particularly Great Lakes cities: federally sanctioned housing disinvestment; sprawling outward development; stagnating or declining and segregated population; fractured local government and school systems; and outdated infrastructure.

Authored by: Anthony Armstrong & Make Communities for The Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC)
Topics: Community development, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on May 10, 2019
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Community:
As the United States rapidly becomes both a more diverse and unequal nation, policymakers face the urgent challenge of confronting growing wealth gaps by race and ethnicity. To create a more equitable and secure future, we must shift away from public policies that fuel and exacerbate racial disparities in wealth. But which policies can truly begin to reduce our country’s expanding racial divergences?

Authored by: Demos and The Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP)
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 26, 2019
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Community:
Jan 31, 2019
The EMPOWERED study, conducted on behalf of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examines the use of performance measures, work requirements and child support cooperation requirements across human services programs. This issue brief is based on three case studies and provides local perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for aligning performance indicators across a variety of federal programs promoting self-sufficiency.

Authored by: Elizabeth Brown, Kara Conroy, and Gretchen Kirby for Mathematica
Topics: Legislation & Policy, Metrics, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 15, 2019

Aligning Federal Performance Indicators Across Programs Promoting Self-Sufficiency: Local Perspectives

Report
Jan 31, 2019
Elizabeth Brown, Kara Conroy, and Gretchen Kirby for Mathematica
The EMPOWERED study, conducted on behalf of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examines the use of performance measures, work requirements and child support cooperation requirements across human services programs.
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Community:
Apr 8, 2019
While the program has changed very little since its inception, the need for the program has increased. In 1975, the number of program grantees stood at 594. Today, the number of grantees stands at 1,268 as more communities qualify to receive direct program allocations. Based on a CDBG Needs Survey conducted by the CDBG Coalition (and discussed later in this report), CDBG grantees have delayed and canceled projects and reduced or permanently eliminated programs because of a lack of CDBG funds. CDBG is an important investment tool for communities and neighborhoods, but program funding must increase to meet local need to ensure CDBG grantee communities are healthy, vibrant and thriving.

Authored by:
Topics: Community development, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Research, Safety, Seniors
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 8, 2019

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program: Impact and Funding Need

A report of the CDBG Coalition

Report
Apr 8, 2019
While the program has changed very little since its inception, the need for the program has increased. In 1975, the number of program grantees stood at 594. Today, the number of grantees stands at 1,268 as more communities qualify to receive direct program allocations.
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Community:
Apr 1, 2019
Thoughtful and thorough preparations for the disruptive effects of global climate change can provide a range of options for communities and households that would respect their historical assets, current and potential levels of social cohesion, desires for their own life outcomes, and opportunities for collective action. In all cases, people and communities should exercise meaningful voice and power over decisions about where, how, and how much to adapt to local climate effects. Regardless of the combination of physical and social interventions communities adopt, inclusion and equity must be fundamental to both the process of selection and the outcomes of the options selected.

Authored by: The Urban Institute
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research, Sustainability
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 4, 2019

What would it take to make sure all families can live in a physically secure home and a stable community that's prepared for the effects of global climate change?

Report
Apr 1, 2019
The Urban Institute
Thoughtful and thorough preparations for the disruptive effects of global climate change can provide a range of options for communities and households that would respect their historical assets, current and potential levels of social cohesion, desires for their own life outcomes, and opportunities f
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Community:
Mar 25, 2019
Use of the $35 billion in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds for the 2017 hurricanes has been slow. Over a year after the first funds were appropriated, much of the money remains unspent because grantees in Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are still in planning phases. Also, the Department of Housing and Urban Development doesn't have the review guidance and monitoring plans it needs for good grantee oversight. We recommended ways to improve the oversight of disaster funding and better meet disaster recovery needs.

Authored by: U.S. Government Accountability Office
Topics: Community development, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research, Safety, U.S. Territories
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 26, 2019

Disaster Recovery: Better Monitoring of Block Grant Funds Is Needed

Report
Mar 25, 2019
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Use of the $35 billion in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds for the 2017 hurricanes has been slow. Over a year after the first funds were appropriated, much of the money remains unspent because grantees in Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the U.S.
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Healthy Housing for All: How Affordable Housing is Leading the Way explores the affordable housing industry’s achievements in creating healthier housing environments and translates them into lessons for the broader housing marketplace. The innovations in healthy affordable housing present an opportunity to replicate healthy housing successes, as well as to respond to market demand across the residential development industry.

Authored by: Urban Land Institute
Topics: Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019
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Community:
The strengths and abilities children develop from infancy through adolescence are crucial for their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, which in turn help them to achieve success in school and to become responsible, economically self-sufficient, and healthy adults. Capable, responsible, and healthy adults are clearly the foundation of a well-functioning and prosperous society, yet America’s future is not as secure as it could be because millions of American children live in families with incomes below the poverty line. A wealth of evidence suggests that a lack of adequate economic resources for families with children compromises these children’s ability to grow and achieve adult success, hurting them and the broader society.

Authored by: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Topics: Child welfare, Dual-generation, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 1, 2019
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Community:
The monthly benefits provided by SNAP enhance the food purchasing power of eligible low-income individuals and families. However, as described by many studies, including one by the Institute of Medicine, the greatest shortcoming of SNAP is that benefits for most households are not enough to get through the entire month without hunger or being forced to sacrifice nutrition quality. This limitation persists even in the face of overwhelming evidence on the gains from more adequate monthly SNAP benefits.This paper analyzes why SNAP benefits are inadequate, reviews the body of research showing positive effects from more adequate SNAP benefits, and concludes with some of the key policy solutions that can improve benefit adequacy.

Authored by: Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Topics: Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 1, 2019
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Community:
Welcome to the Food Research & Action Center’s winter issue of ResearchWire. This quarterly newsletter focuses on the latest research, reports, and resources from government agencies, academic researchers, think tanks, and elsewhere at the intersection of food insecurity, poverty, the federal nutrition programs, and health.

Authored by: Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Topics: Child welfare, Food insecurity, Funding, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 28, 2019
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Community:
Feb 1, 2019
In the summer of 2018, Ascend gathered more than two dozen state and national policy experts and other leaders in the fields of health and early learning at its Aspen Meadows Campus in Aspen, Colorado, to discuss the growing opportunity to leverage the 2Gen approach at the state level and determine how best to take promising new innovations to scale. This report offers a snapshot of specific things federal, state, and local leaders can keep doing, start doing, or stop doing to remove barriers and accelerate success.

Authored by: Ascend: The Aspen Institute
Topics: Dual-generation, Early childhood, Family engagement, Legislation & Policy, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 15, 2019

Aligning and Streamlining Systems to Secure Better Outcomes for Families

Report
Feb 1, 2019
Ascend: The Aspen Institute
In the summer of 2018, Ascend gathered more than two dozen state and national policy experts and other leaders in the fields of health and early learning at its Aspen Meadows Campus in Aspen, Colorado, to discuss the growing opportunity to leverage the 2Gen approach at the state level and determine
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Community:
Jan 16, 2019
This report identifies services that help low-income individuals and households achieve upward economic mobility and explores how affordable housing providers offer them. We begin by presenting key economic mobility concepts and definitions. We then discuss the research evidence on interventions across sectors and disciplines that help individuals and households to achieve upward economic mobility. In the third section of this report, we present our findings from interviews with leading organizations and initiatives in the field. Finally, we discuss challenges for affordable housing providers seeking to help their residents achieve economic mobility and opportunities for future research.

Authored by: Eric Burnstein, Megan Gallagher, and Wilton Oliver for the Urban Institute
Topics: Asset building, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 14, 2019

Economic Mobility Services for Affordable Housing Residents: Exploring Resident Services as a Vehicle for Economic Success

Report
Jan 16, 2019
Eric Burnstein, Megan Gallagher, and Wilton Oliver for the Urban Institute
This report identifies services that help low-income individuals and households achieve upward economic mobility and explores how affordable housing providers offer them. We begin by presenting key economic mobility concepts and definitions.
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Community:
Jan 15, 2019
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) together boosted the incomes of 29.1 million Americans in 2017, lifting 8.9 million above the poverty line and making 20.2 million others less poor, our analysis of new Census data shows.

Authored by: Jennifer Beltran for Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Asset building, Dual-generation, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 16, 2019

Working-Family Tax Credits Lifted 8.9 Million People out of Poverty in 2017

Report
Jan 15, 2019
Jennifer Beltran for Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) together boosted the incomes of 29.1 million Americans in 2017, lifting 8.9 million above the poverty line and making 20.2 million others less poor, our analysis of new Census data shows.
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Community:
Jan 10, 2019
There isn't federal data on food insecurity among college students nationally, so the GAO reviewed 31 studies on the topic, showing that most concluded that over a third of college students don't always have enough to eat.

Authored by: Elissa Nadworny and Clare Lombardo for NPR
Topics: Education, Food insecurity, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Post-secondary, Research, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 16, 2019
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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