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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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Policy Brief
Community:
Mar 1, 2023
Unfortunately, there are more youth experiencing homelessness than there are resources available. Up to 40% of youth experiencing homelessness identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+). Homelessness is often the result of multiple factors including historical and present systemic racism, discrimination, and socio-economic inequities. Learn more in our new policy brief.

Authored by: National Network for Youth
Topics: Criminal justice, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Mental health, Racial inequalities, Safety, Stability, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jun 8, 2023
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Policy Brief
Community:
Mar 28, 2023
Family separations and family detention have been used as part of immigration enforcement in the United States. These practices and policies are severely detrimental to child health and wellbeing and can cause lasting harm. This brief reviews the state of the research on the developmental, psychological, and physical toll of family separation and family detention on children and their caregivers. Grounded in this science, we provide a set of policy recommendations that protect child health and wellbeing.

Authored by: Kelly Edyburn, PhD & Shantel Meek, PhD for the Children's Equity Project
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Health, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy, Mental health, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Mar 30, 2023
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Infographics
Community:
Feb 7, 2023
An analysis of recent trends in child and youth homelessness that show the impact of the pandemic, including a disproportionate decline in enrollment and increase in chronic absenteeism.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection and University of Michigan
Topics: Attendance, COVID-19, Disabilities, Early childhood, Homelessness, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities, School-readiness, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Feb 21, 2023

The Education of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness: Current Trends, Challenges, and Needs

Infographics
Feb 7, 2023
SchoolHouse Connection and University of Michigan
An analysis of recent trends in child and youth homelessness that show the impact of the pandemic, including a disproportionate decline in enrollment and increase in chronic absenteeism.
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Communications
Community:
Oct 14, 2022
Medical debt is a critical challenge to Americans’ financial stability and well-being. People with medical debt are more likely to forgo needed medical care, have difficulty meeting basic needs, and face an increased risk of bankruptcy. Recent Urban research shows there are great disparities in who carries the most medical debt. Adults who live in communities where the majority of the population are people of color are more likely to have medical debt in collections reported on their credit reports. In particular, Black adults are more likely to have difficulty paying for family medical expenses. These inequities reinforce the racial wealth gap and contribute to disparities in health outcomes.

Authored by: Miranda Santillo, Breno Braga, Fredric Blavin, Anuj Gangopadhyaya for The Urban Institute
Topics: Asset building, Dual-eligibles, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on Oct 27, 2022
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Policy Brief
Community:
Dec 4, 2019
In California, more than 3.7 million students were eligible for free or reduced priced school meals in the 2017-2018 school year. For many of those students, school meals are the primary source of regular access to healthy food. When the bell rings at 3:00 or lets out for summer break, many of those students go home to nutritional uncertainty or high-calorie, low-nutrient foods. For many low-income families, the out-of-school-time food access gap increases family stress: limited budgets are stretched further to cover food, rent, utilities, transportation, medications, and chidcare costs. For very young children, food insecurity can negatively impact brain and physical development. For children of all ages, disrupted access to healthy food can impact behavior, increase risk of obesity, make it harder to concentrate, or exacerbate existing healthy conditions like type 2 diabetes. The impact is not limited to summer, and can lead to a rocky start to the school year, negatively impacting school attendance and students’ ability to effectively participate in school. Read the full brief to learn how public and affordable housing communities can address food insecurity for children and youth with the help of out-of-school-time USDA child nutrition programs.

Authored by:
Topics: Advocacy, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Health, Healthy homes, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Out-of-school time, West Coast, Youth
Shared by Linda Lu on Dec 4, 2019

Keeping Kids Healthy and Engaged When School is Out Through Public and Affordable Housing Communities

Policy Brief
Dec 4, 2019
In California, more than 3.7 million students were eligible for free or reduced priced school meals in the 2017-2018 school year. For many of those students, school meals are the primary source of regular access to healthy food.
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Policy Brief
Community:
Jun 4, 2019
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced its intention to roll back protections for transgender people experiencing homelessness. The newly proposed rule, which is in the early stages of the rulemaking process and has not yet been publicly posted to the Federal Register, would allow homeless shelters to discriminate based on gender identity, putting transgender people in danger of violence and further housing instability. This is part of a long string of attacks the Trump administration has directed toward the transgender community, such as implementing the infamous military ban, contributing to a pattern that legally perpetuates discrimination against transgender people in this country.

Authored by: Aastha Uprety for Equal Rights Center
Topics: Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 13, 2019
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Communications
Community:
Consider using the following tweets and images during the Thursday, May 16, 3:00 pm ET tweetstorm. Continue to periodically share these posts on social media until the July 9, 2019 comment deadline.

Authored by: National Low Income Housing Coalition
Topics: Homelessness, Housing, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 7, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
May 10, 2019
Policies such as those outlined in the draft proposed rule are having, and will continue to have a significant detrimental impact on survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault by deterring immigrant families, including those with U.S. citizen and Lawful Permanent Resident children, from accessing critical help when they need it. Housing assistance is a vital resource for survivors, giving them the security they need to leave abuse without having to fear that doing so will result in homelessness, as well as providing a safe environment to begin their recovery.

Authored by: Grace Huang for the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
Topics: Domestic violence, Homelessness, Housing, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 7, 2019

Advisory: How Do Recent HUD Proposed Rules About Verification of Immigration Status Impact Survivors of Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault?

Policy Brief
May 10, 2019
Grace Huang for the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
Policies such as those outlined in the draft proposed rule are having, and will continue to have a significant detrimental impact on survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault by deterring immigrant families, including those with U.S.
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Policy Brief
Community:
On May 10, 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a rule that would significantly change the agency’s eligibility requirements for federal housing assistance based on immigration status.

Authored by: National Housing Law Project and National Low Income Housing Coalition
Topics: Housing, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 7, 2019

HUD's Mixed-Status Rule

Policy Brief
National Housing Law Project and National Low Income Housing Coalition
On May 10, 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a rule that would significantly change the agency’s eligibility requirements for federal housing assistance based on immigration status.
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Communications
Community:
On May 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a proposed rule that would prohibit “mixed-status" families from living in public and other subsidized housing. Mixed-status families are households that include both members who are eligible and ineligible for housing assistance based on their immigration status. Both statute and regulation allow families to live together in subsidized housing even if one family member is ineligible so long as the housing subsidy is decreased to exclude the ineligible person from the assistance. Importantly, just because a household member is an “ineligible” immigrant, it doesn’t mean that they are undocumented. Immigrants can have legal status and still not be eligible for public housing and Section 8 programs.

Authored by: National Low Income Housing Coalition and National Housing Law Project
Topics: Homelessness, Housing, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy, Low-income
Shared by Housing Is on May 15, 2019

Keep Families Together

Communications
National Low Income Housing Coalition and National Housing Law Project
On May 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a proposed rule that would prohibit “mixed-status" families from living in public and other subsidized housing.
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Policy Brief
Community:
May 9, 2019
On May 9, the House Appropriations Committee passed its FY2020 appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The House bill includes $100 million in FY2020 funding for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. This represents a 7% increase over the FY2019 level; if enacted, it would represent a 30% increase in EHCY funding since FY2017.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Child welfare, Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Housing Is on May 15, 2019

House Committee Approves Funding Increase for Homeless Children and Youth

Policy Brief
May 9, 2019
SchoolHouse Connection
On May 9, the House Appropriations Committee passed its FY2020 appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The House bill includes $100 million in FY2020 funding for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program.
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Communications
Community:
May 10, 2019
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today published a proposed rule that would prohibit “mixed status families” from living in public and other subsidized housing. Mixed status families are households that include members who are eligible and others who are ineligible for housing assistance based on their immigration status. Currently, HUD allows families to live together in subsidized housing even if one family member is ineligible so long as the housing subsidy is prorated to exclude the ineligible person from the assistance. Importantly, just because a household member is an “ineligible” immigrant, it doesn’t mean that they are undocumented. Immigrants can have legal status and still not be eligible to receive housing assistance.

Authored by: National Low Income Housing Coalition
Topics: Housing, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Housing Is on May 10, 2019

Housing, Faith, Civil Rights, Social Justice, and Immigration Leaders Rally to Oppose HUD Rule That Would Separate Families or Evict Them

Communications
May 10, 2019
National Low Income Housing Coalition
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today published a proposed rule that would prohibit “mixed status families” from living in public and other subsidized housing.
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Policy Brief
Community:
May 2, 2019
Spring is in full bloom in Washington, D.C., and so are key pieces of legislation that FRAC is monitoring and weighing in on. Below is an overview of legislative proposals in the 116th Congress to look out for that would impact critical anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs.

Authored by: Lauren Badger for Food Research & Action Center
Topics: Asset building, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Nutrition, Seniors
Shared by Housing Is on May 6, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
May 1, 2019
Stable housing plays a vital role in people’s recovery from substance use disorders (SUDs). An inability to pay rent and the threat of losing housing can lead to stress that triggers substance misuse and relapse. People experiencing homelessness who also have SUDs typically find it difficult to address their substance use without a safe place to live, because they often use alcohol or drugs to cope with the dangers of life on the streets. In 2018, Congress passed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (known as the SUPPORT Act), which provided a variety of new programs and funding opportunities to help states and localities address the opioid epidemic and broadly help people with substance use disorders.

Authored by: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mental health, Research, Substance abuse
Shared by Housing Is on May 2, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
Congress has an important opportunity in 2019 to improve the health of millions of our nation’s children by passing a strong reauthorization that protects and strengthens the child nutrition programs. These successful, cost-effective federal nutrition programs play a critical role in helping children in low-income families achieve access to child care, educational, and enrichment activities while improving overall nutrition, health, development, and academic achievement.

Authored by: Feeding America and Food Research & Action Center
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Funding, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition
Shared by Housing Is on May 1, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
The Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2019 (H.R. 2001) is a bipartisan bill that removes barriers to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) homelessness assistance for children, youth and families in the following ways.

Authored by:
Topics: Early childhood, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 4, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
Mar 1, 2019
A brief to help state and local agencies identify opportunities to align and leverage policies, programs, and funding across the three laws to support the education-to-workforce pipeline; a workbook to facilitate cross-agency conversations to identify and plan for alignment opportunities across ESSA, Perkins V, IDEA and WIOA; and an interactive tool that identifies specific language in the laws that address college and readiness topics and help state education agencies and local education agencies find new or greater alignment opportunities in their plans.

Authored by: College & Career Readiness & Success Center
Topics: Asset building, Education, Legislation & Policy, Post-secondary, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Apr 2, 2019

Developing a College- and Career-Ready Workforce: An Analysis of ESSA, Perkins V, IDEA, and WIOA

Policy Brief
Mar 1, 2019
College & Career Readiness & Success Center
A brief to help state and local agencies identify opportunities to align and leverage policies, programs, and funding across the three laws to support the education-to-workforce pipeline; a workbook to facilitate cross-agency conversations to identify and plan for alignment opportunities across ESSA
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Policy Brief
Community:
Oct 1, 2016
Emerging health care financing models require much more sophisticated actuarial calculations than previous payment arrangements, often taking into account risk factors such as homelessness. Homelessness also has direct implications for clinical treatment decisions and integrated care models and should be noted in individual patient records. This policy brief provides a rationale for using the ICD-10-CM code for homelessness, outlines the challenges to maximizing this code, and offers strategies to consider to ensure health care providers ask about homelessness and record patients’ housing status. This data is highly relevant to clinicians and administrators at health centers, hospitals, state Medicaid systems, Medicaid managed care organizations, and public health departments.

Authored by: National Health Care for the Homeless Council
Topics: Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
This annotated resource compilation is intended to help state and local agencies access information and resources needed to better understand the federal legal protections and requirements associated with datasets collected by federal agencies or as part of a federally funded program.

Authored by: The Network for Public Health Law
Topics: Data sharing, Disabilities, Early childhood, Education, Health, Homelessness, Legislation & Policy, Post-secondary
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 20, 2019

Federal Privacy Laws

Policy Brief
The Network for Public Health Law
This annotated resource compilation is intended to help state and local agencies access information and resources needed to better understand the federal legal protections and requirements associated with datasets collected by federal agencies or as part of a federally funded program.
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Policy Brief
Community:
More than one-third of adult public housing residents in the US smoke—totaling approximately 400,000 smokers, putting other residents and staff at risk of negative health effects.

Authored by: Building Success
Topics: Asthma, Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Place-based, Smoke-free
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 4, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
Jan 30, 2019
Under the continuing resolution (CR) that provided the funding to reopen the government for three weeks, SNAP (food stamps) now is fully funded at least through March, even if the government shuts down again on February 15. Millions of families, however, face a longer-than-usual gap between their February and March benefits because the Agriculture Department worked with states to issue February benefits early during the shutdown, and that could further strain household budgets, the emergency food network, and other community resources.

Authored by: Dottie Rensbaum for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Food insecurity, Funding, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 30, 2019

SNAP Can Cover Full Benefits Through March, But Participants Face Big Gaps Between February and March Benefits

Policy Brief
Jan 30, 2019
Dottie Rensbaum for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Under the continuing resolution (CR) that provided the funding to reopen the government for three weeks, SNAP (food stamps) now is fully funded at least through March, even if the government shuts down again on February 15.
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Policy Brief
Community:
Jan 30, 2019
NLIHC stands ready to work with all members of Congress to seize the opportunity to address the full scope of affordable housing challenges for families with the greatest needs. In the memorandum below, we provide our recommendations on steps Congress can take—whether through an infrastructure spending package, the appropriations process, housing finance reform, or other legislative avenues—to make the critical investments in the affordable housing our nation needs to help the economy, our communities, children and families thrive.

Authored by: National Low Income Housing Coalition
Topics: Child welfare, Community development, Criminal justice, Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mobility, Racial inequalities, Safety
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 30, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
Jan 18, 2019
This memo provides an overview of the impact of the shutdown on tenants in the various federally-assisted housing programs, including ways you can talk to clients about their legal rights. Importantly, there is currently only a relatively small group of tenants in HUD and RD project-based rental assistance properties that face an immediate risk due to contracts between owners and HUD or RD that expired starting in December.

Authored by: National Housing Law Project
Topics: Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 22, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
Dec 12, 2018
In many US cities and towns, housing costs are increasing faster than incomes. Americans who rent their homes have been hit especially hard: nearly half of renters shoulder unaffordable housing costs. A forthcoming report by the New York University Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy shows that between 1970 and 2016, the share of rent-burdened households went up in the 100 largest metropolitan areas nationwide.

Authored by: Ingrid Gould Ellen and Mark A. Willis for How Housing Matters (Urban Institute)
Topics: Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 13, 2018

Rent Regulation and Housing Affordability: Context, Evidence, and Program Design

Policy Brief
Dec 12, 2018
Ingrid Gould Ellen and Mark A. Willis for How Housing Matters (Urban Institute)
In many US cities and towns, housing costs are increasing faster than incomes. Americans who rent their homes have been hit especially hard: nearly half of renters shoulder unaffordable housing costs.