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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:
Mar 28, 2018
Communities can leverage local housing and neighborhood policies to address gun violence through tools such as demolition, vacant property maintenance and reuse, foreclosure mitigation counseling, homeownership support programs, code enforcement, and zoning.

Authored by: Christina Plerhoples Stacy for How Housing Matters
Topics: Community development, Housing, Partnerships, Place-based, Safety
Shared by Housing Is on Dec 20, 2018
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Publication
Community:
Dec 17, 2018
Housing assistance plays a crucial role in stabilizing so many elements of a family’s daily life, including employment, education, and health. But despite its important role, our nation’s public housing program faces an uncertain future.

Authored by: Susan J. Popkin, Diane K. Levy, and Corianne Payton Scally for The Urban Institute
Topics: Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, RAD
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 17, 2018

America's public housing program faces an uncertain future

Publication
Dec 17, 2018
Susan J. Popkin, Diane K. Levy, and Corianne Payton Scally for The Urban Institute
Housing assistance plays a crucial role in stabilizing so many elements of a family’s daily life, including employment, education, and health. But despite its important role, our nation’s public housing program faces an uncertain future.
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Publication
Community:
Dec 17, 2018
In response to the heightened interest in the relationship between work and the health of individuals and communities, CMCS has clarified that Medicaid funds cannot be used to pay beneficiaries’ wages, but can pay for employment counseling as an optional benefit—to help people get jobs. Years of experience with work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and populations with disabilities have developed the evidence for what is needed to help different populations find and keep jobs.

Authored by: Christopher F. Koller for Millbank Memorial Fund
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Disabilities, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Research, Stability, Workforce development
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 17, 2018

To Work and To Love—Health in Theory and Practice

Publication
Dec 17, 2018
Christopher F. Koller for Millbank Memorial Fund
In response to the heightened interest in the relationship between work and the health of individuals and communities, CMCS has clarified that Medicaid funds cannot be used to pay beneficiaries’ wages, but can pay for employment counseling as an optional benefit—to help people get jobs.
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Publication
Community:
Dec 17, 2018
Stricter work requirement policies for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the federal level were left out of the recently passed farm bill, but state policymakers are still considering whether to expand or establish their own work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid, with the goal of incentivizing employment. There’s no question that good jobs help spur upward mobility. But if we are serious about helping people work, we have to get serious about helping people improve their skills.

Authored by: Gina Adams and Shayne Spaulding for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Cost effectiveness, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Stability, Workforce development
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 17, 2018

Work requirement policies must consider parents' need for child care

Publication
Dec 17, 2018
Gina Adams and Shayne Spaulding for The Urban Institute
Stricter work requirement policies for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the federal level were left out of the recently passed farm bill, but state policymakers are still considering whether to expand or establish their own work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid, with the goa
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Publication
Community:
Dec 14, 2018
Health and reentry are closely related, and chronic medical, mental health, and substance use problems make it harder for newly released people to seek employment, obtain housing, and avoid reincarceration. Compared with the general population, justice-involved people tend to be in poorer health and need access to physical and behavioral health services, as well as the know-how and motivation to get care.

Authored by: Rochisa Shukla and Kamala Mallik-Kane for Urban Institute
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Criminal justice, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 14, 2018
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Publication
Community:
Dec 1, 2018
Using a two-generation (2Gen) framework, Medicaid can be designed to support the social capital, health and well-being, educational attainment, and economic security of children and families, together, so they can maximize their health and thrive. This checklist outlines specific Medicaid policies and design choices adopted in Colorado to implement a 2Gen approach to improve the lives of children and families.

Authored by: Gretchen Hammer for Ascend: The Aspen Institute
Topics: Dual-generation, Early childhood, Family engagement, Health, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 13, 2018

Healthy Families Checklist

Publication
Dec 1, 2018
Gretchen Hammer for Ascend: The Aspen Institute
Using a two-generation (2Gen) framework, Medicaid can be designed to support the social capital, health and well-being, educational attainment, and economic security of children and families, together, so they can maximize their health and thrive.
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Publication
Community:
Apr 1, 2018
Shining a light on supportive approaches to noncustodial parenting, specifically by looking at Colorado’s successful CO-PEP program.

Authored by: Reggie Bicha and Roxanne White for Ascend: The Aspen Institute
Topics: Dual-generation, Early childhood, Family engagement, Partnerships
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 13, 2018
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Case study
Community:
Dec 1, 2018
In 2014, as part of the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) Ohio Demonstration, Lorain County Community College launched Students Accelerating in Learning (SAIL), a comprehensive student success program that is substantially improving persistence and graduation rates among low-income students. Given the program’s results, Lorain has committed to sustaining the program and expanding it to serve most of its low-income student population. If the college achieves this goal, it could close attainment gaps between low-income and more affluent students, markedly boost its overall graduation rate, gain revenue through increased tuition and performance-based funding, and, most important, significantly enhance the educational and career trajectories of its students. During early implementation, the college took several steps to fund and institutionalize SAIL that are now making it easier to sustain the program. This brief draws lessons from Lorain’s experience to shed light on how other postsecondary institutions may adopt and sustain similar programs to increase student success.

Authored by: Camielle Headlam for MRDC
Topics: Education, Low-income, Post-secondary, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 12, 2018

Steps Toward Sustainablity: A Case Study of Lorain County Community College's Comprehensive Student Success Program

Case study
Dec 1, 2018
Camielle Headlam for MRDC
In 2014, as part of the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) Ohio Demonstration, Lorain County Community College launched Students Accelerating in Learning (SAIL), a comprehensive student success program that is substantially improving persistence and graduation rates among low-income stud
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Case study
Community:
Dec 11, 2018
As the Trump Administration continues to encourage states to take Medicaid coverage away from people who don’t meet a work requirement, a new report describes Montana’s promising alternative: a workforce promotion program that targets state resources toward reducing barriers to work.

Authored by: Hannah Katch for Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Asset building, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Partnerships, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Dec 11, 2018

Montana Program Supports Work Without Causing Harm

Case study
Dec 11, 2018
Hannah Katch for Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
As the Trump Administration continues to encourage states to take Medicaid coverage away from people who don’t meet a work requirement, a new report describes Montana’s promising alternative: a workforce promotion program that targets state resources toward reducing barriers to work.
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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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Publication
Community:
Nov 14, 2018
In collaboration with Project for Public Spaces (PPS), the National Main Street Center (NMSC), and others, the Bass Center will examine the place needs of people and businesses and use that knowledge to help public, private, and civic sectors leaders develop new approaches to creating and supporting concentrations of economic activity that drive inclusive economic growth. The Center is premised on the idea that these “economic districts” represent the geographies in which leaders can have the most transformative impact—where they can build local trust and understanding, experiment safely, show results early and often, and measure impact against a place-centered vision and goals.

Authored by: Jennifer S. Vey for The Brookings Institution
Topics: Community development, Low-income, Mobility, Partnerships, Place-based
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 5, 2018

Why we need to invest in transformative placemaking

Publication
Nov 14, 2018
Jennifer S. Vey for The Brookings Institution
In collaboration with Project for Public Spaces (PPS), the National Main Street Center (NMSC), and others, the Bass Center will examine the place needs of people and businesses and use that knowledge to help public, private, and civic sectors leaders develop new approaches to creating and supporting
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Publication
Community:
Dec 5, 2018
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 provides a new incentive—centered around the deferral, reduction, and elimination of capital gains taxes—to spur private investments in low-income areas designated by states as Opportunity Zones. This provision is based heavily on the Investing in Opportunity Act (S. 1639) introduced by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). Given the significant interest among investors, it is possible that this new tax incentive could attract hundreds of billions of dollars in private capital, making this one of the largest economic development initiatives in U.S. history.

Authored by: Bruce Katz and Ken Gross
Topics: Community development, Funding, Legislation & Policy, Mobility, Place-based
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 5, 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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Publication
Community:
Nov 28, 2018
Housing instability among families and children can be detrimental to child welfare, health, economic, and other outcomes. Policymakers and service providers in these fields should consider weaving housing into their approaches. Treating instability at its roots can relieve the trade-offs and stress that emerge when no decent housing is affordable. Evidence indicates that affordable housing can improve a range of outcomes for families and—in combination with short-term or long-term services—help providers tackle complex challenges head-on.

Authored by: Aaron Shroyer for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Family engagement, Housing, Low-income, Stability, Supportive housing
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018
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Publication
Community:
Nov 20, 2018
People with mental health disabilities are vastly overrepresented in the population of people who experience homelessness. Of the more than 550,000 people in America who experienced homelessness on a given night in 2017, 1 in 5 had a mental illness. The proportion of people experiencing chronic homelessness with mental health disabilities was even higher—nearly 1 in 3. Despite this fact, the reality is that most people with mental illness fortunately do not experience homelessness: While about 20 percent of all adults in the United States have a mental illness, less than two-tenths of 1 percent of people in the country experienced homelessness on a given night in 2017.

Authored by: Heidi Schultheis for Center for American Progress
Topics: Depression, Disabilities, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mental health, Partnerships, Preventative care, Stability, Substance abuse, Supportive housing
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 20, 2018

Lack of Housing and Mental Health Disabilities Exacerbate One Another

Publication
Nov 20, 2018
Heidi Schultheis for Center for American Progress
People with mental health disabilities are vastly overrepresented in the population of people who experience homelessness. Of the more than 550,000 people in America who experienced homelessness on a given night in 2017, 1 in 5 had a mental illness.
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Case study
Community:
Oct 31, 2018
To encourage architects and planners to design built environments that promote physical activity, New York City offers an “active design” building incentive within the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults ages 18 to 65 engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (MPA) or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity (VPA) per week to reduce risk of disease and promote a healthy lifestyle, but in 2011, only 20 percent of Americans met these goals. Active design interventions provide an easy way for residents to increase their activity and meet these goals. This study analyzed the impact of the new design incentive on the activity levels of affordable housing residents at the Arbor House, a 124-unit development in the South Bronx that received the LEED credit.

Authored by: How Housing Matters, Preventative Medicine Reports
Topics: East Coast, Exercise, Health, Housing, Low-income, Place-based, Preventative care, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 1, 2018
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Publication
Community:
The health care system is transforming to deliver value and maximize health across a patient’s lifespan. In this new landscape, there is rapid adoption of health technology to deliver patient-centered, whole person care. This issue brief explores elements for technology applications emerging to “close the loop” between clinical and community services and presents accelerators and challenges to their adoption.

Authored by: Nemours Children's Health Systems
Topics: Child welfare, Data sharing, Early childhood, Health, Partnerships, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Oct 10, 2018
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Publication
Community:
Sep 1, 2018
This guide aims to provide resources and advice from the experiences of those in the NNIP network and other related organizations on developing a strong data governance program and protecting the security of confidential data.

Authored by: Leah Hendey, Amanda Gold, and Kathryn L.S. Pettit for National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership
Topics: Community development, Data sharing, Partnerships
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Oct 10, 2018
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Case study
Community:
Sep 25, 2018
Practitioners working on community safety have increasingly incorporated creative placemaking techniques into their work. Creative placemaking refers to the ways in which arts and culture change how people use the places they share.

Authored by: Mark Treskon for Urban Institute
Topics: Community development, Criminal justice, Low-income, Out-of-school time, Partnerships, Place-based
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Oct 10, 2018
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Publication
Community:
Young people are the workers of today and tomorrow. But those who become parents in their teenage years and early 20s, just as they are getting started in the world of work, are often confronted with a harsh reality: odds stacked against their ability to earn, learn and raise a family, which can threaten their children’s future as well as the strength of our communities.

Authored by: The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Topics: Early childhood, Education, Legislation & Policy, Post-secondary, Pre-natal, Research, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Oct 10, 2018
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Case study
Community:
Jun 25, 2018
The King County Housing Authority (KCHA), in partnership with the Highline School District and the nonprofit social service organization Neighborhood House, launched the Student and Family Stability Initiative (SFSI) pilot program in 2013 to provide housing and employment supports to homeless and unstably housed families with children enrolled in Highline elementary schools. In 2016, KCHA contracted with the Urban Institute (Urban) to conduct a process and outcome evaluation of the program’s first three pilot years. This evaluation documents how SFSI works, who it serves, and how well it helps participants achieve housing stability. This report synthesizes findings from data collection conducted over approximately 10 months that included document review, interviews with SFSI stakeholders, and analysis of program and other relevant KCHA administrative data.

Authored by: Martha M. Galvez, Amanda Gold, and Sara McTarnaghan
Topics: Attendance, Dual-generation, Education, Family engagement, Housing, Low-income, Pacific Northwest, Partnerships, Place-based, Research, Stability, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Sep 18, 2018

Evaluation of the Student and Family Stability Initiative

Case study
Jun 25, 2018
Martha M. Galvez, Amanda Gold, and Sara McTarnaghan
The King County Housing Authority (KCHA), in partnership with the Highline School District and the nonprofit social service organization Neighborhood House, launched the Student and Family Stability Initiative (SFSI) pilot program in 2013 to provide housing and employment supports to homeless and un
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Publication
Community:
Aug 9, 2018
Systems for Action (S4A) is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that aims to discover and apply new evidence about ways of aligning the delivery and financing systems for medical, social, and public health services that support a Culture of Health. This program, as well as RWJF’s other three signature research programs, Evidence for Action, Policies for Action, and Health Data for Action (launching April 19, 2017), are investigating the impact of different types of programs, policies, and health-related systems on health, equity and well-being.

Authored by:
Topics: Funding, Health, Housing, Partnerships, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Aug 9, 2018
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Publication
Community:
Aug 9, 2018
Introduction to supportive housing and notes from the field

Authored by:
Topics: Health, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Mental health, Partnerships, Supportive housing
Shared by Housing Is on Aug 9, 2018
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Case study
Community:
Aug 9, 2018
The Vita Health & Wellness District is a one-mile corridor in Stamford, Connecticut, that has positioned itself as a “health-themed neighborhood,” offering mixed-income housing, health care services, community farming, early childhood education programming, and supportive services to residents. Led by the city’s public housing authority Charter Oak Communities and Stamford Hospital, this collaboration of city agencies and community-based organizations has focused on building physical and social capacity in a distressed neighborhood, with an emphasis on leveraging collective investments to yield a positive impact on neighborhood health and well-being.

Authored by:
Topics: Community development, Education, Food insecurity, Funding, Health, Housing, Nutrition, Partnerships
Shared by Housing Is on Aug 9, 2018

Tapping into a Collective Vision: Emerging Strategies for Integrating Health and Housing

Case study
Aug 9, 2018
The Vita Health & Wellness District is a one-mile corridor in Stamford, Connecticut, that has positioned itself as a “health-themed neighborhood,” offering mixed-income housing, health care services, community farming, early childhood education programming, and supportive services to residents.
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Case study
Community:
Aug 9, 2018
Health care payment and delivery models that challenge providers to be accountable for outcomes have fueled interest in community-level partnerships that address the behavioral, social, and economic determinants of health.We describe how Hennepin Health—a county-based safety-net accountable care organization in Minnesota—has forged such a partnership to redesign the health care workforce and improve the coordination of the physical, behavioral, social, and economic dimensions of care for an expanded community of Medicaid beneficiaries.

Authored by:
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Cost effectiveness, Health, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Mental health, Metrics, Partnerships, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Aug 9, 2018

Hennepin Health: A Safety-Net Accountable Care Organization for the Expanded Medicaid Population

Case study
Aug 9, 2018
Health care payment and delivery models that challenge providers to be accountable for outcomes have fueled interest in community-level partnerships that address the behavioral, social, and economic determinants of health.We describe how Hennepin Health—a county-based safety-net accountable care org