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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:
May 17, 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended life for children and families globally. The health, economic, educational and related stressors have contributed to mental health challenges for people of all ages, including our youngest and those who care for them. In a new report, the Children's Equity Project, in partnership with the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska and Yale University, highlights the mental health of the early care and education workforce and the children they care for using data collected over the course of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The report focuses on depression and elevated stress, including racialized stress in early educators, and provider reported increases in child externalizing, internalizing, and somatic symptoms. We provide national data as well as state profiles that highlight trends across state lines. We end with a set of recommendations for Congress, federal agencies, and states in prioritizing the mental health of children, families, and the early educators who care for them.

Authored by: Cinthia Palomino, PhD, Ayse Cobanoglu, PhD, Jennifer Oppenheim, PsyD, Evandra Catherinr, PhD, Shantel Meek, PhD, Walter Gilliam, PhD, Eric Bucher, EdD for Children's Equity Project
Topics: COVID-19, Early childhood, Education, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mental health, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on May 17, 2023

Examining the Mental Health of Early Childhood Professionals and Children Early in the Pandemic

Report
May 17, 2023
Cinthia Palomino, PhD, Ayse Cobanoglu, PhD, Jennifer Oppenheim, PsyD, Evandra Catherinr, PhD, Shantel Meek, PhD, Walter Gilliam, PhD, Eric Bucher, EdD for Children's Equity Project
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended life for children and families globally.
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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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Publication
Community:
Mar 2, 2023
Many students and families arrive in the U.S. from other countries without safe, stable housing, and experience homelessness and high mobility that can last for months. At SchoolHouse Connection, we recognize the crucial role that schools can play in providing stability and support to mitigate the disruption and trauma caused by homelessness. This page is dedicated to providing educators, policymakers, and advocates with valuable resources on how to best support these families and youth, and help ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed in school and beyond.

Authored by: School House Connection
Topics: Early childhood, Education, Grade-level proficiency, Homelessness, Housing, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy, School-readiness, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Mar 14, 2023
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Community:
Mar 1, 2023
We are delighted to share a new research report in partnership with Child Trends: Data on Families with Low Incomes Across America Can Inform Two-Generation Approaches. In this new analysis, research experts Elizabeth Wildsmith and Marta Alvira-Hammond paint a detailed picture of how families in households with low incomes in the United States have changed since 2011. The report highlights 10 key findings from their analyses of family economic and social conditions related to financial security and mobility, family structure and living arrangements, education and employment, parental health, and community health indicators (for example, rates of child poverty, violent crime, child care costs). A deeper understanding of families with low-incomes will inform our collective work and strengthen how our 2Gen policy and practice recommendations can prioritize health, education, employment, and economic assets to ensure families have access to the resources they need to build intergenerational prosperity and well-being.

Authored by: Elizabeth Wildsmith and Marta Alvira-Hammond for Child Trends in partnership with Ascend at the Aspen Institute
Topics: dual-generation initiative, Early childhood, Education, Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on Mar 2, 2023

Data on Families With Low Incomes Across America Can Inform Two-Generation Approaches

Report
Mar 1, 2023
Elizabeth Wildsmith and Marta Alvira-Hammond for Child Trends in partnership with Ascend at the Aspen Institute
We are delighted to share a new research report in partnership with Child Trends: Data on Families with Low Incomes Across America Can Inform Two-Generation Approaches.
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Report
Community:
Mar 1, 2023
At this time of year, pull up to a busy intersection or pass by some popular public gathering place in and around Durham, and there’s a good chance you might find a sign advertising “PreK for All.” January kicks off Durham PreK’s annual recruitment campaign for the approaching school year, and if you have a rising preschooler in your life, you may be wondering what it means to offer pre-k for all. The resulting report, “Toward Equity in Durham PreK: Addressing the Accessibility of Wraparound Care as a Barrier to Universal PreK in Durham,” details the findings, identifies key program participation challenges tied to wraparound care access and availability, and offers conclusions and recommendations for addressing these challenges now and in the future.

Authored by: Child Care Services Association (CCSA)
Topics: COVID-19, Early childhood, Education, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities
Shared by Sandra Ware on Mar 2, 2023

Toward Equity in Durham PreK: Addressing the Accessibility of Wraparound Care as a Barrier to Universal PreK in Durham,

Report
Mar 1, 2023
Child Care Services Association (CCSA)
At this time of year, pull up to a busy intersection or pass by some popular public gathering place in and around Durham, and there’s a good chance you might find a sign advertising “PreK for All.” January kicks off Durham PreK’s annual recruitment campaign for the approaching school year, and if yo
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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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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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Report
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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Report
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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Video
Community:
Jun 17, 2022
This panel discussion will examine the results of efforts to significantly expand the reach of HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program through partnerships between the nonprofit Compass Working Capital and the Boston and Cambridge Housing Authorities. Panelists will discuss their program model and its evaluation, how they have scaled up FSS, what results they have experienced to date, and where they plan to go from here. An FSS program participant will participate in the panel and share their perspective on how the program has benefitted them.

Authored by:
Topics: Advocacy, Asset building, CLPHA, Early childhood, Education, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research, Supportive housing
Shared by Karina George on Jun 17, 2022

CLPHA Housing Is Summit 2022: Taking FSS to Scale - Lessons from Compass' Partnerships in Boston and Cambridge

Video
Jun 17, 2022
This panel discussion will examine the results of efforts to significantly expand the reach of HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program through partnerships between the nonprofit Compass Working Capital and the Boston and Cambridge Housing Authorities.
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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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Research
Community:
Jun 5, 2019
A new report by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago finds that youth homelessness has its origins in early family experiences, including family homelessness. The findings make painfully clear that housing alone is insufficient to prevent and “end” youth homelessness, and that addressing youth homelessness alone, without explicit connections and fervent attention to family homelessness, will result in continued homelessness for all populations.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Early childhood, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 5, 2019
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Report
Community:
May 1, 2019
Protecting and improving the health of pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and young children is critically important. Those eligible for WIC — and frequently their communities and the nation — are facing levels of poverty, food insecurity, inadequate dietary intake, obesity, and ill health that are far too high. Research shows that WIC can help to alleviate these problems for children, mothers, and their families, and improve overall health and well-being. Yet the program is reaching far too few eligible people: only 3 out of 5. Increasing access to and strengthening WIC is essential to improving nutrition and reducing health disparities in this nation.

Authored by: Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Topics: Early childhood, Family engagement, Food insecurity, Funding, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income
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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Video
Community:
May 9, 2019
On May 9, the Brookings Institution hosted an event to discuss the subsequent report, “A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty.” The event featured comments from Greg Duncan, who served as Chair of the Committee on Building an Agenda to Reduce the Number of Children in Poverty by Half in 10 Years, as well as a panel discussion on the report, its recommendations, and barriers to implementation. A second panel highlighted national and state policy perspectives of the consensus study report.

Authored by: The Brookings Institution
Topics: Early childhood, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on May 13, 2019
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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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News Article
Community:
Apr 10, 2019
Senate Democrats, led by Sherrod Brown (OH), Michael Bennet (CO), Dick Durbin (IL), and Ron Wyden (OR), has introduced a new bill that would establish a child allowance for the first time in American history and substantially increase the size of the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income people.

Authored by: Dylan Matthews for Vox
Topics: Early childhood, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 10, 2019

Senate Democrats have coalesced around a big plan to expand tax credits

News Article
Apr 10, 2019
Dylan Matthews for Vox
Senate Democrats, led by Sherrod Brown (OH), Michael Bennet (CO), Dick Durbin (IL), and Ron Wyden (OR), has introduced a new bill that would establish a child allowance for the first time in American history and substantially increase the size of the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income people.
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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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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:
Mar 7, 2019
Democrats this week announced new legislation that would slash child poverty by paying low-income parents the kind of monthly allowance that is standard in other developed countries. But the lawmakers who introduced the bill, called the American Family Act, didn’t use the terms “child benefit” or “child allowance” at their Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday. Instead, they all called it a tax credit or a tax cut.

Authored by: Arthur Delaney for HuffPost
Topics: Child welfare, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Funding, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 12, 2019
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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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Research
Community:
Mar 8, 2019
The number of kids enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — two government health plans for the poor — fell by nearly 600,000 in the first 11 months of 2018, a precipitous drop that has puzzled and alarmed many health policy analysts, while several states say it reflects the good news of an improving economy.

Authored by: Michael Ollove for The Pew Charitable Trusts
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Child welfare, Early childhood, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Research, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 8, 2019

Child Enrollment in Public Health Programs Fell by 600K Last Year

Research
Mar 8, 2019
Michael Ollove for The Pew Charitable Trusts
The number of kids enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — two government health plans for the poor — fell by nearly 600,000 in the first 11 months of 2018, a precipitous drop that has puzzled and alarmed many health policy analysts, while several states say it refl
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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.