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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:
Jan 1, 2019
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 26% of undergraduate students--about 4.8 million students--are raising dependent children. Students of color are more likely to be parents; additionally, about 70% of parenting students are women. These students are balancing many competing demands: attending classes, keeping up with schoolwork, and caring for children. College and child care are costly, with the average cost of child care ranging between $8,000-$35,000 each year. As a result, parenting students are more likely to experience food and housing insecurity than students who do not have children.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Dual-generation, Early childhood, Education, Housing, Partnerships, Post-secondary, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 16, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Jan 1, 2019
Postsecondary attainment is increasingly necessary to move out of poverty and homelessness and live a healthy, productive life. Yet youth experiencing homelessness face barriers in transitioning from secondary to postsecondary education, as well as barriers to financial aid, college retention, and college completion. This fact sheet summarizes existing data and information on the higher education experiences of homeless youth.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Education, Food insecurity, Homelessness, Housing, Post-secondary, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 16, 2019
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Report
Community:
Jan 7, 2019
When the school day ends, far too many children return home to empty refrigerators and bare cupboards. The federal Afterschool Nutrition Programs provide healthy meals and snacks to children to ensure they are fed after school (and on weekends and during school holidays). According to FRAC’s latest Afterschool Suppers: A Snapshot of Participation report, the District of Columbia had the highest participation in the nation of children in the Afterschool Supper Program, with a 31.6 percent increase in participation between October 2016 and October 2017.

Authored by: Paige Pokorney for Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
Topics: Child welfare, East Coast, Education, Food insecurity, Health, Low-income, Nutrition, Out-of-school time
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 16, 2019

Expanding the Reach of Afterschool Meals in the Nation's Capital

Report
Jan 7, 2019
Paige Pokorney for Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
When the school day ends, far too many children return home to empty refrigerators and bare cupboards. The federal Afterschool Nutrition Programs provide healthy meals and snacks to children to ensure they are fed after school (and on weekends and during school holidays).
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News Article
Community:
Jan 6, 2019
These programs, available at 10 Wichita middle and high schools so far, include extended serving times in cafeterias, grab-and-go breakfasts from carts or kiosks, and “second-chance breakfast,” in which students are offered breakfast after homeroom or first period.

Authored by: Suzanne Perez Tobias for The Wichita Eagle
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Food insecurity, Health, Low-income, Midwest, Nutrition, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 16, 2019

Lots of kids start the school day hungry. Here's how Wichita is trying to help

News Article
Jan 6, 2019
Suzanne Perez Tobias for The Wichita Eagle
These programs, available at 10 Wichita middle and high schools so far, include extended serving times in cafeterias, grab-and-go breakfasts from carts or kiosks, and “second-chance breakfast,” in which students are offered breakfast after homeroom or first period.
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News Article
Community:
Jan 10, 2019
The federally funded School Breakfast Program is critical to addressing childhood hunger and food insecurity. While most schools participate in the program, many students are reluctant to eat breakfast in the cafeteria before school starts — the traditional service delivery model for school breakfast. To combat this, four of the top organizations in education, food insecurity and school nutrition came together to form Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, with the support of the Walmart Foundation. The Partners, which include FRAC, the School Nutrition Foundation, the NEA Foundation and the National Association of Elementary School Principals, are working to address barriers to school breakfast consumption through an innovative solution: serving breakfast in the classroom.

Authored by: Etienne Melcher Pilbin for Medium
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Food insecurity, Health, Low-income, Nutrition
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 16, 2019
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Report
Community:
Jan 10, 2019
There isn't federal data on food insecurity among college students nationally, so the GAO reviewed 31 studies on the topic, showing that most concluded that over a third of college students don't always have enough to eat.

Authored by: Elissa Nadworny and Clare Lombardo for NPR
Topics: Education, Food insecurity, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Post-secondary, Research, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Jan 16, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Jan 10, 2019
Island School is one of 247 “community schools” in New York. These are regular public schools, with a twist. They have longer days and longer school years: Island stays open 12 hours a day, six days a week, including spring and winter breaks as well as the summer. A psychologist makes weekly rounds. A dentist comes by regularly. So does an optometrist, and students who need glasses get them free.

Authored by: David L. Kirk for The New York Times
Topics: Community development, Dual-generation, East Coast, Education, Family engagement, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Mental health, Metrics, Partnerships, Stability, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 10, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Jan 6, 2019
According to a new study, the Las Vegas metropolitan area’s share of voucher recipients with children living in low-poverty neighborhoods, one-third, is greater than the share of voucher-affordable rentals located in those same neighborhoods, one-fourth. That’s possible because affordable rentals far outnumber voucher recipients.

Authored by: Michael Scott Davidson for Las Vegas Review-Journal
Topics: Asset building, Education, Housing, Low-income, Mobility, West Coast
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 10, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Dec 1, 2018
A guide for youths who are or were homeless, or are at risk of experiencing homelessness

Authored by: U.S. Department of Education
Topics: Education, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Post-secondary
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 8, 2019
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Interactive
Community:
Through our conversations with King County, Seattle, Tacoma, and Vancouver Housing Authorities, as well as Home Forward, Portland’s housing authority, and partners from school districts, out-of-school time programs, and community-based organizations, we learned why they endeavored to better intersect housing and education, elements of a successful partnership, lessons learned, their challenges, and how the work can be replicated. We hope this will be a resource for other individuals and communities as they begin and strengthen partnerships of their own in order to improve life outcomes for low-income individuals and families.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: CLPHA, Education, Housing, Out-of-school time, Partnerships, Place-based
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 20, 2018
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News Article
Community:
Dec 1, 2018
When schools started back up this fall, many across the country witnessed something that’s become as common on the first day as new backpacks and freshly sharpened pencils: another surge of homeless and housing-insecure schoolchildren.

Authored by: Mattie Quinn for Governing
Topics: East Coast, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Pacific Northwest, Partnerships, Transportation, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 18, 2018
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Webinar
Community:
Dec 11, 2018
CLPHA’s Education Working Group hosts a webinar including presentations on efforts from the Chicago Housing Authority to work with residents on pursuing postsecondary opportunities, as well as an update from HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research on data collection around tracking and increasing FAFSA utilization.

Authored by: CLPHA
Topics: CLPHA, Cost effectiveness, Data sharing, Education, Funding, Housing, Housing Is Working Group, Low-income, Metrics, Midwest, Post-secondary, Research, Stability, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 12, 2018

CLPHA Housing Is Postsecondary Efforts and Data Webinar - December 11, 2018

Webinar
Dec 11, 2018
CLPHA
CLPHA’s Education Working Group hosts a webinar including presentations on efforts from the Chicago Housing Authority to work with residents on pursuing postsecondary opportunities, as well as an update from HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research on data collection around tracking and inc
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Research
Community:
Dec 1, 2018
ASAP is a comprehensive program that provides students with up to three years of financial and academic support and other support services to address multiple barriers to student success, with the goal of helping more students graduate within three years. MDRC’s random assignment evaluation of CUNY ASAP found that after three years, 40 percent of ASAP students graduated compared with just 22 percent of control group students. After six years, ASAP students continued to outperform the control group, with 51 percent of the program group earning degrees compared with 41 percent of the control group.

Authored by: MDRC
Topics: Education, Low-income, Midwest, Post-secondary, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 12, 2018

Doubling Graduation Rates in a New State: Two-Year Findings from the ASAP Ohio Demonstration

Research
Dec 1, 2018
MDRC
ASAP is a comprehensive program that provides students with up to three years of financial and academic support and other support services to address multiple barriers to student success, with the goal of helping more students graduate within three years.
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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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News Article
Community:
Dec 12, 2018
Lily, a character introduced seven years ago to address child hunger, returns. This time her family does not have a place to live.

Authored by: Nikita Stewart for The New York Times
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Stability, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 12, 2018
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Interactive
Community:
Dec 12, 2018
Using the story of Lily, a resilient, hopeful Muppet whose family is experiencing homelessness, Sesame Street developed a set of free, bilingual resources for children and families experiencing homelessness and the providers who serve them. Many different kinds of providers serve children experiencing homelessness, including school district homeless liaisons, early childhood programs, and homeless assistance and housing programs. To help these providers quickly and effectively leverage Sesame Street’s resources in the context of their specific work, SchoolHouse Connection has produced tip sheets organized by provider role.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 12, 2018
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Interactive
Community:
Activities and videos about homelessness for children and families

Authored by: Sesame Street
Topics: Education, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 12, 2018
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News Article
Community:
Dec 11, 2018
A mailer sent to low-income students with that promise led to a major jump in enrollment at the University of Michigan, according to a new study.

Authored by: Adam Harris for The Atlantic
Topics: Education, Funding, Low-income, Post-secondary, Research, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Dec 11, 2018
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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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Interactive
Community:
The 2018 Purpose Built Conference in Orlando, Florida from October 24 – 26 was a tremendous opportunity for thoughtful engagement and energetic conversations with Network Members and attendees from all across the country. Our panel of guest speakers represented a wide range of industries and brought unique perspectives and insights.

Authored by: Purpose Built Communities
Topics: Community development, Education, Health, Housing, Low-income, Mobility, Partnerships, Place-based
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 5, 2018
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Report
Community:
Sep 12, 2017
Broadband, especially wireline broadband in American homes, is the essential infrastructure for unlocking the internet’s economic benefits. However, broadband infrastructure is far from ubiquitous, both in terms of where it operates and who subscribes to it, and those deficits are not shared evenly across the country. As such, policymakers must understand how the national digital divide varies depending on the place.

Authored by: Adie Tomer, Elizabeth Kneebone, and Ranjitha Shivaram for The Brookings Institution
Topics: Broadband, Education, Low-income, Mobility, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 3, 2018
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Webinar
Community:
Oct 15, 2018
Each year, the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) recognizes the outstanding work done during the summer months on behalf of our nation’s youth. NSLA held a Summer Learning Awards Kick-off Webinar to discuss the 2019 application and answer any questions you might have about the process. We were joined by Lauren Kellner Rudolph, Managing Program Director of Breakthrough Miami, and winner of a 2018 Excellence in Summer Learning Award.

Authored by: National Summer Learning Association
Topics: Education, Low-income, Out-of-school time, Place-based, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018
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Research
Community:
Nov 27, 2018
Most states use an education funding formula to allocate state and local dollars to school districts. Most funding formulas attempt to account for student poverty, among other factors, in distributing funds. But there are several ways to count low-income students and even more ways to tie dollars to these student counts.

Authored by: Kristin Blagg for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Place-based, Research, Stability, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 27, 2018
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Report
Community:
Mar 14, 2018
There were 33,889 homeless schoolchildren in Florida during the 2007–08 school year, including children temporarily doubled up with others and children staying in hotels, motels, shelters, transitional housing, and unsheltered locations. By the 2015–16 school year, that number had risen to 72,601. This report suggests that the rise is because of the recession and foreclosure crisis, the state’s increasing shortage of affordable housing, and school districts training teachers, counselors, and other staff to identify students with no permanent housing.

Authored by: The Shimberg Center for Housing Studies and Miami Homes for All
Topics: Data sharing, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Research, South, Stability, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 21, 2018

How Does Homelessness Affect Educational Outcomes of Children in Florida?

Report
Mar 14, 2018
The Shimberg Center for Housing Studies and Miami Homes for All
There were 33,889 homeless schoolchildren in Florida during the 2007–08 school year, including children temporarily doubled up with others and children staying in hotels, motels, shelters, transitional housing, and unsheltered locations. By the 2015–16 school year, that number had risen to 72,601.
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Research
Community:
Nov 19, 2018
For decades, free and reduced-price lunch (FRPL) status has been used as a proxy measure for student poverty. Families filled out paper lunch forms, and these were the basis for allocating resources to schools, defining accountability goals, and conducting research. But recent changes to the National School Lunch Program mean that FRPL status is in decline as a measure of student need, and states are turning to alternatives.

Authored by: Erica Greenberg for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Food insecurity, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Metrics, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 19, 2018

New measures of student poverty solve some challenges - and create others

Research
Nov 19, 2018
Erica Greenberg for The Urban Institute
For decades, free and reduced-price lunch (FRPL) status has been used as a proxy measure for student poverty. Families filled out paper lunch forms, and these were the basis for allocating resources to schools, defining accountability goals, and conducting research.