Policy Briefs

When measured relative to median income, poverty in the United States, at 16.3 percent, is much higher than in many industrialized, democratic countries. To explain this, scholars, politicians, and the public often focus on the risks of poverty. Risks are characteristics more common among the poor than the non-poor, like low education, unemployment, single motherhood, or young age of the head of household. In a study I conducted with David Brady and Sabine Huebgen, we found that the cause of relatively high poverty in the U.S.

Each year, over 1.5 million Americans rely on homeless programs for overnight shelter.[2] These programs provide beds and services, and they act as a last resort for many of the most impoverished individuals and families in the U.S. In a new study, I found that a higher level of federal funding successfully shelters those who would otherwise be unsheltered, with little evidence that it increases the total of individuals in the homeless population. However, homeless families move to communities with more generous programs, so non-residents also benefit from local funding. This fact may affect local government incentives to fund programs and services.

In recent years, for-profit colleges have seen sharp increases in enrollment despite public community colleges being much cheaper. In a recent study,[1] we sent almost 9,000 fictitious resumes of young job applicants who recently completed their schooling to online job postings in seven major U.S. cities across six occupational categories to track employer callback rates. We find no evidence that employers prefer applicants with resumes listing a for-profit college relative to those whose resumes list either a public community college or no college at all.

Direct health care support and personal care jobs have the largest projected growth in the next decade. Immigrants make up growing percentages of workers in these fields, and having a better understanding of their range of experiences in these occupations will help attract and retain them. My new research finds that African immigrant direct health care workers often experience prejudice based on both their race and African backgrounds. They also see their jobs as lacking opportunities for advancement, and often struggle to meet basic needs with their incomes.

Discussions of the safety net available to families in poverty overwhelmingly focus on government assistance programs. An additional component of how many families make ends meet is with support from their private networks, especially from parents, grandparents, or extended family. For some, this “private safety net” can support material needs not sufficiently met though earnings and public assistance.[1] However, some individuals may lack connections to family members who can provide such support. Understanding how access to a private safety net varies by group is key to assessing kin support’s role in alleviating material hardship.

Despite a near-continuous decline over the past 20 years, the teen birth rate in the United States continues to be higher than in other developed countries. Many have advocated for long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), which are more effective at preventing pregnancy than more commonly used contraceptives. In a new study, we analyze Colorado’s Family Planning Initiative, the first large-scale policy intervention to improve access to LARCs in the U.S. We find that the program reduced the teen birth rate by about five percent, and these effects were concentrated among Colorado counties with higher rates of poverty.

Children are removed from their families for different reasons, but poverty and disconnection from financial support such as employment or public benefits are associated with referrals to child welfare and children being placed outside the home. Our new research[1] suggests that efforts to minimize the negative financial impact of child placement for parents have the potential to improve both the financial lives of vulnerable families and their chances for reunification.

In the United States, food assistance programs have been established to improve the well-being of poor and low-income children. The School Breakfast Program is a federal program that offers breakfast to any student who attends a participating school. In a new study, I evaluate the impact this program has on student achievement in elementary schools nationally using variation across states that require schools to participate in the program. The results suggest that state mandates for the School Breakfast Program are effective at increasing academic achievement among low-income students by improving nutrition.

Where children grow up has a striking effect on where they live as young adults. Our new study examined an experimental federal housing voucher program from the 1990s to learn what factors may contribute to children living in higher-income neighborhoods as young adults. We find that housing assistance helps the next generation to exit concentrated poverty. We also found that a family’s finances, ties to neighborhoods and the housing market all play roles, but a family’s desire to live in higher-income, more integrated neighborhoods is also important.

In 2010, an estimated 2.7 million children and one in nine African-American children had an incarcerated parent.[1] Incarceration creates challenges for inmates’ families. Resources that inmates had contributed are removed, while incarceration introduces new expenses. Children with incarcerated fathers have worse educational outcomes[2] and poorer mental health[3] than otherwise comparable children. Employment assistance and less restrictive visitation rules may mitigate the economic and emotional effects incarceration has on families.

Truancy in California is a pervasive problem that disproportionately impacts children in high-poverty schools. Our study examined how school safety and connectedness relate to truancy in California’s high-poverty middle and high schools.[1] We found that children who perceive their schools to be unsafe and feared being in fights were more likely to skip school.[2] Students who reported that they were more closely connected to their schools, particularly students who reported having a teacher or adult who cared about them, were more likely to attend. School-wide initiatives enhancing both school safety and connectedness may lead to improved school attendance at California’s most disadvantaged schools.

California health advocates are increasingly aware of the hazards of Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis), a disease caused by a fungus spore living in semi-arid regions of the west and southwest U.S. California has the most associated deaths despite only representing about 31 percent of all U.S. cases.[1] Policy makers can reduce its impact on low-income communities and save millions of dollars in treatment each year by addressing the circumstances of infection, as well as the difficulties low-income populations face in accessing care.

Intensified violence and poverty in the Northern Triangle countries of Central America have spurred migration[1] among youth who seek to either reunite with family or to support families who remain abroad. Policies to protect these youth would promote their holistic integration into U.S. society, enforce safety and well-being along the U.S. southern border and help strengthen the youths’ countries of origin socially, economically and politically.

Domestic violence is a significant problem in the U.S. It leads to serious medical and emotional costs for victims and their children, but also has important negative spillovers. Our new work finds that exposure to a higher proportion of peers experiencing domestic violence during primary school leads to lower academic achievement in the long-run, even after moving to schools with a mixed peer composition. 

Public insurance can provide needed medical coverage for those who cannot afford it. Considering that private insurance is often bound to employment, a public option could have an impact on the labor market if it reduces incentives to work.