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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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Report
Community:
Feb 17, 2023
The findings from a Syracuse University study linking universal school meal policies with improved school attendance for young students provides a strong case for expanding free school meals, according to school nutrition and attendance experts.

Authored by: Anna Merod for K-12 DIVE
Topics: Attendance, Early childhood, Education, Food insecurity, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Feb 23, 2023
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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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Publication
Community:
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 disease. The various areas of work within MHCU share a common focus-supporting hospitals and community stakeholders in testing and spreading strategies to move upstream, and sharing “what works” to inform the field and accelerate the upstream movement in the field as a whole. Policy Learning Labs are one example of MHCU’s work to spread knowledge and accelerate action in the field.

Authored by: Nemours, Moving Health Care Upstream, and Change Lab Solutions
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Green, Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Nutrition, Partnerships, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on May 1, 2019

Policy Learning Lab Compendium of Research & Technical Assistance Memos

Publication
Nemours, Moving Health Care Upstream, and Change Lab Solutions
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
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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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Research
Community:
Apr 23, 2019
Sweeping changes designed to make the food more nutritious in a federal assistance program for low-income families reduced the risk for obesity for 4-year-olds who had been on the program since birth, according to new research.

Authored by: UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Topics: Early childhood, Food insecurity, Low-income, Nutrition, Obesity, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 29, 2019

UCLA-Tulane study finds improved WIC food packages reduced children's risk for obesity

Research
Apr 23, 2019
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Sweeping changes designed to make the food more nutritious in a federal assistance program for low-income families reduced the risk for obesity for 4-year-olds who had been on the program since birth, according to new research.
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News Article
Community:
Mar 20, 2019
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.

Authored by: Alfred Lubrano for The Inquirer
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Health, Legislation & Policy, Nutrition
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019

More moms and kids withdrawing from nutrition program because of deportation fears, administrators say

News Article
Mar 20, 2019
Alfred Lubrano for The Inquirer
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.
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News Article
Community:
Feb 28, 2019
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. But the National Academies report warns that the price of not doing anything would be far greater.

Authored by: Pam Fessler for NPR
Topics: Child welfare, Criminal justice, Early childhood, Education, Food insecurity, Funding, Health, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 12, 2019
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Report
Community:
Feb 1, 2019
This report looks at school breakfast participation and policies in 76 large school districts across the country to evaluate successful practices in reaching more low-income children with school breakfast. This is a companion report to the School Breakfast Scorecard. Also check out our interactive school breakfast participation map.

Authored by: Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Education, Food insecurity, Low-income, Nutrition
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 1, 2019

School Breakfast: Making it Work in Large School Districts, 2017-2018 School Year

Report
Feb 1, 2019
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
This report looks at school breakfast participation and policies in 76 large school districts across the country to evaluate successful practices in reaching more low-income children with school breakfast. This is a companion report to the School Breakfast Scorecard.
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News Article
Community:
Feb 14, 2019
This week, the Food Research & Action Center in Washington, D.C., published its annual School Breakfast Scorecard, analyzing school breakfast participation throughout the country for the 2017-2018 school year. Here are six things to know from the report.

Authored by: Benita Gingerella for Food Service Director
Topics: Early childhood, Education, Food insecurity, Health, Nutrition, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Feb 25, 2019

6 thins to know about the state of school breakfast participation

News Article
Feb 14, 2019
Benita Gingerella for Food Service Director
This week, the Food Research & Action Center in Washington, D.C., published its annual School Breakfast Scorecard, analyzing school breakfast participation throughout the country for the 2017-2018 school year. Here are six things to know from the report.
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Policy Brief
Community:
Oct 9, 2018
This brief highlights evidence on nutrition supports for families with young children and proposes a policy-focused research agenda designed to address knowledge gaps in two areas: (1) understanding disparities in participation in nutrition supports and (2) assessing strategies to increase access to nutrition supports and reduce nutrition disparities.

Authored by: Mathematica
Topics: Child welfare, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Low-income, Nutrition, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Oct 22, 2018

Nutrition Supports for Families with Young Children: An Equity-Focused Policy Research Agenda

Policy Brief
Oct 9, 2018
Mathematica
This brief highlights evidence on nutrition supports for families with young children and proposes a policy-focused research agenda designed to address knowledge gaps in two areas: (1) understanding disparities in participation in nutrition supports and (2) assessing strategies to increase access to
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Publication
Community:
Jul 12, 2018

Authored by:
Topics: Child welfare, Dental, Early childhood, Education, Exercise, Family engagement, Health, Housing, Medicaid / Medicare, Mental health, Nutrition, Partnerships, Place-based, Preventative care, Seniors, Vision
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 12, 2018
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Report
Community:
Jul 12, 2018
We examined the influence of maternal health literacy on child participation in social welfare programs. In this cohort, 20% of the mothers had inadequate or marginal health literacy. Initially, more than 50% of the families participated in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Food Stamp Program, and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, whereas fewer than 15% received child care subsidies or public housing. In multivariate regression, TANF participation was more than twice as common among children whose mothers had adequate health literacy compared with children whose mothers had inadequate health literacy

Authored by:
Topics: Child welfare, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Education, Family engagement, Food insecurity, Health, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Nutrition, Pre-natal, Preventative care, Research, Stability
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 12, 2018
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Case study
Community:
Jul 12, 2018
In Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Housing Authority, Boston Public Health Commission, the city’s Inspectional Services Department, the Boston Foundation, and local universities and medical institutions have come together over the last decade-plus to address the intersection of health and housing. Motivated by a desire to improve the lives of Boston’s most vulnerable residents, these organizations began collaborating to address asthma and, more recently, to prioritize housing and health needs for pregnant women. By bridging anchor institutions, foundations, and city agencies around health and housing initiatives citywide, Boston has made strides toward providing healthier housing options and integrated health management and referral systems. This case study highlights how a variety of key stakeholders within one city can collaborate to address the health and housing needs of its vulnerable residents.

Authored by:
Topics: Asthma, Child welfare, Dual-generation, Early childhood, East Coast, Exercise, Family engagement, Funding, Health, Home visiting, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Nutrition, Obesity, Partnerships, Pre-natal, Preventative care, Research, Smoke-free
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 12, 2018

A City Takes Action: Emerging Strategies for Integrating Health and Housing

Case study
Jul 12, 2018
In Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Housing Authority, Boston Public Health Commission, the city’s Inspectional Services Department, the Boston Foundation, and local universities and medical institutions have come together over the last decade-plus to address the intersection of health and housing.
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News Article
Community:
May 25, 2018
Community organizations are improving health equity by tackling the cycle of poverty in urban neighborhoods.

Authored by: Jacqui Cook
Topics: Asthma, Child welfare, Community development, Early childhood, Exercise, Family engagement, Health, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Midwest, Nutrition, Obesity, Out-of-school time, Partnerships, Preventative care, Racial inequalities, Research, Safety, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 11, 2018