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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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Report
Community:
Jan 31, 2019
The EMPOWERED study, conducted on behalf of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examines the use of performance measures, work requirements and child support cooperation requirements across human services programs. This issue brief is based on three case studies and provides local perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for aligning performance indicators across a variety of federal programs promoting self-sufficiency.

Authored by: Elizabeth Brown, Kara Conroy, and Gretchen Kirby for Mathematica
Topics: Legislation & Policy, Metrics, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 15, 2019

Aligning Federal Performance Indicators Across Programs Promoting Self-Sufficiency: Local Perspectives

Report
Jan 31, 2019
Elizabeth Brown, Kara Conroy, and Gretchen Kirby for Mathematica
The EMPOWERED study, conducted on behalf of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examines the use of performance measures, work requirements and child support cooperation requirements across human services programs.
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Report
Community:
Feb 1, 2019
This annual report analyzes participation in the School Breakfast Program among low-income children nationally and in each state and the District of Columbia for the 2017–2018 school year. The report features best practices for increasing participation in the program, including breakfast after the bell models and community eligibility.

Authored by: Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Food insecurity, Metrics, Nutrition, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 1, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Jan 1, 2019
A healthy birth and positive experiences in early childhood can promote health and development. One approach that has improved outcomes for children and their parents is home visiting, which provides individually tailored support, resources, and information to expectant parents and families with young children. This brief summarizes recently published reports from two national studies of evidence-based early childhood home visiting: the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE) and MIHOPE-Strong Start.

Authored by: MDRC
Topics: Child welfare, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Home visiting, Metrics, Partnerships, Place-based, Preventative care, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 31, 2019
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Research
Community:
Mar 1, 2018
Medicaid coverage reduced the prevalence of undiagnosed depression by almost 50% and untreated depression by more than 60%. It increased use of medications and reduced the share of respondents reporting unmet mental health care needs by almost 40%.

Authored by: Katherine Baicker, Heidi Allen, Bill Wright, Sarah Taubman, and Amy Finkelstein for Milbank Memorial Fund
Topics: Depression, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Mental health, Metrics, Pacific Northwest, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 24, 2019

The Effect of Medicaid on Management of Depression: Evidence From the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment

Research
Mar 1, 2018
Katherine Baicker, Heidi Allen, Bill Wright, Sarah Taubman, and Amy Finkelstein for Milbank Memorial Fund
Medicaid coverage reduced the prevalence of undiagnosed depression by almost 50% and untreated depression by more than 60%. It increased use of medications and reduced the share of respondents reporting unmet mental health care needs by almost 40%.
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Publication
Community:
Jan 11, 2019
This short article expands on the press release issued last month by six national organizations. It explains why HUD’s data are so contentious, and why other data sources provide a more accurate picture of children, youth, and family homelessness.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Homelessness, Housing, Metrics, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 11, 2019
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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:
Nov 9, 2018
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was first developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1990 to assess the health risk behaviors of youth and adults in the United States. For the first time since the survey has been widely administered, the 2017 YRBS optional question list included two questions pertaining to homelessness. Using this YRBS data from 17 states (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin), we conducted an analysis of differences in seven self-reported risk factors and health outcomes between high school students experiencing homelessness and those not experiencing homelessness. The results were striking and heartbreaking.

Authored by: SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Metrics, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 29, 2018

Risk and Resilience: Differences in Risk Factors and Health Outcomes Between Homeless and Non-Homeless Students in 2017 YRBS Data

Research
Nov 9, 2018
SchoolHouse Connection
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was first developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1990 to assess the health risk behaviors of youth and adults in the United States.
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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.
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Research
Community:
Nov 5, 2018
Using multiple panels from the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, we find that participation in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or public health insurance reduces the number of hardships low-income families with children experience by 48 percent and reduces the share who experience food insufficiency by 72 percent.

Authored by: Signe-Mary McKernan and Caroline Ratcliffe for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Cost effectiveness, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Metrics, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 5, 2018

New evidence shows the safety net reduces Americans' material hardship by 48 percent

Research
Nov 5, 2018
Signe-Mary McKernan and Caroline Ratcliffe for The Urban Institute
Using multiple panels from the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, we find that participation in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or public health insurance reduces the number of hardships low-income families w
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Policy Brief
Community:
Oct 29, 2018
In this Focus on Unaccompanied Youth brief, we review data and information that help us answer the following questions: • What is the scale of youth homelessness? • What do we know about unaccompanied youth who experience homelessness? • What do we know about patterns of homelessness among unaccompanied youth? • What do we know about youths’ risks for experiencing homelessness? • What are the most significant gaps in available data and our current understanding of unaccompanied youth who experience homelessness?

Authored by: U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
Topics: Data sharing, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Metrics, Research, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 1, 2018
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Research
Community:
Oct 3, 2018
Using administrative data from Massachusetts, this study analyzes the health care use and Medicaid expenditures of families who experienced one or more homeless episodes between 2008 and 2015 to investigate how health care use is related to emergency housing experiences.

Authored by: Urban Institute
Topics: Asthma, Child welfare, Depression, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Metrics, Pre-natal, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Oct 4, 2018

Early Detection and Intervention Could Improve Health Outcomes for Homeless Families

Research
Oct 3, 2018
Urban Institute
Using administrative data from Massachusetts, this study analyzes the health care use and Medicaid expenditures of families who experienced one or more homeless episodes between 2008 and 2015 to investigate how health care use is related to emergency housing experiences.
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Research
Community:
Sep 19, 2018
Many social issues stem from a history of unstable, unaffordable, and poor-quality housing. Research shows that housing is the first rung on the ladder to economic opportunity for individuals and that a person’s access to opportunity is intrinsically linked with that of the community at large. As the gap between rents and incomes widens, it is critical that professionals in fields outside housing—including health, education, and economic development, among others—understand its central importance.

Authored by: Veronica Gaitan for Urban Institute
Topics: Community development, Education, Health, Housing, Low-income, Metrics, Partnerships, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Sep 20, 2018

How Housing Can Determine Educational, Health, and Economic Outcomes

Research
Sep 19, 2018
Veronica Gaitan for Urban Institute
Many social issues stem from a history of unstable, unaffordable, and poor-quality housing. Research shows that housing is the first rung on the ladder to economic opportunity for individuals and that a person’s access to opportunity is intrinsically linked with that of the community at large.
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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
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Research
Community:
Aug 1, 2018
We examined the impact of long-term (6 months or more) vacant housing and various durations of vacancy on a variety of health outcomes at the neighborhood level across three types of U.S. metropolitan areas (metros): (1) those that have experienced consistently strong growth, (2) those that have undergone weak growth, and (3) those hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis

Authored by:
Topics: Asset building, Asthma, Community development, Health, Housing, Low-income, Mental health, Metrics, Research, Safety, Transportation
Shared by Housing Is on Aug 1, 2018
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Research
Community:
Aug 1, 2018
Homelessness among children is correlated with developmental delays, fair or poor health, and high healthcare utilization. Associations of homelessness specifically among infants younger than 12 months, however, are unknown. This study evaluates homelessness during infancy as a risk for adverse infant and maternal health and hardship.

Authored by:
Topics: Child welfare, Depression, Disabilities, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Education, Family engagement, Food insecurity, Grade-level proficiency, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Metrics, Partnerships, Pre-natal, Research, School-readiness, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Aug 1, 2018
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Research
Community:
Aug 1, 2018
This study draws on qualitative interview data to examine transitions into rent-assisted housing as they relate to diabetes self-management behaviors.

Authored by:
Topics: East Coast, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Mental health, Metrics, Nutrition, Research, Stability
Shared by Housing Is on Aug 1, 2018
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Report
Community:
Jul 27, 2018
This report aims to provide the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and other health foundations with a perspective on the emerging intersection of social determinants of health (SDOH), health care systems, and social and other services. These fields intersect in how and what data are collected, and in ways the data are used to improve health and well-being and promote a Culture of Health.

Authored by:
Topics: Data sharing, Funding, Health, Medicaid / Medicare, Metrics, Nutrition, Partnerships, Place-based, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 27, 2018
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Research
Community:
Jul 24, 2018
Although public-private partnerships (PPPs) have attracted practitioner and academic interest over the last two decades, there has been no attempt to integrate the general and health management literature to provide a holistic view of PPPs in healthcare delivery. This study analyzes over 1,400 publications from a wide range of disciplines over a 20-year time period. It synthesizes formerly dispersed research perspectives into a comprehensive multi-dimensional framework of public-private partnerships, and in so doing, provides new directions for further research and practice.

Authored by:
Topics: Community development, Funding, Metrics, Partnerships, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 24, 2018
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Report
Community:
Jul 17, 2018
This final report on MDRC’s evaluation of Jobs-Plus describes the program’s impacts, that is, the difference it made for residents in Jobs-Plus developments in comparison with residents living in similar developments who did not receive the program. These findings offer important lessons to policymakers and program administrators about how to increase the economic self-sufficiency of public housing residents.

Authored by:
Topics: Asset building, Community development, Cost effectiveness, Legislation & Policy, Metrics, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 17, 2018
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Case study
Community:
Jul 17, 2018
The South Lincoln Health Impact Assessment (HIA) focuses on the redevelopment master plan for the Denver Housing Authority’s South Lincoln Homes community in downtown Denver. The rapid HIA and masterplan was a four-month process that began in April 2009. The HIA identifies potential health impacts and recommends changes to optimize positive and minimize negative health consequences for the South Lincoln neighborhood. This assessment includes community demographic and socioeconomic information, identified potential health issues, interviews available surveys, and limited body measurement data along with supportive evidence-based research and recommendations that informed the HIA and masterplan design.

Authored by:
Topics: Child welfare, Community development, Disabilities, Dual-generation, Health, Housing, Low-income, Mental health, Metrics, Nutrition, Preventative care, Research, Safety
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 17, 2018
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Research
Community:
Jul 12, 2018
To construct our taxonomy, we use data from the first National Survey of ACOs, fielded between October of 2012 and May of 2013. The survey sample included (1) ACOs participating in Medicare ACO programs; (2) ACOs participating in state Medicaid ACO programs; and (3) ACOs formed in partnership with commercial payers.

Authored by:
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Medicaid / Medicare, Metrics, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 12, 2018
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Research
Community:
Jul 11, 2018
A Research Review and Comment on Future Directions for Integrating Housing and Health Services

Authored by:
Topics: Affordable Care Act, Cost effectiveness, Data sharing, Exercise, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Mental health, Metrics, Nutrition, Obesity, Partnerships, Preventative care, Research, Supportive housing
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 11, 2018
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Case study
Community:
Jul 10, 2018
Reducing Pediatric Asthma through Home Improvements and Education

Authored by:
Topics: Asthma, Child welfare, Community development, Cost effectiveness, Data sharing, Early childhood, Education, Family engagement, Health, Healthy homes, Housing, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Metrics, Partnerships, Place-based, Preventative care, Research, Safety
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 10, 2018
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Interactive
Community:
Dec 21, 2017

Authored by: Domenick Lasorsa for the National League of Cities
Topics: Community development, Cost effectiveness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Metrics, Partnerships, Place-based, Research, Stability, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 5, 2018
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Research
Community:
Jan 1, 2018
A Promising Approach to Improving Student Outcomes

Authored by: Janet Quint and Barbara Condliffe for MDRC
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Funding, Mental health, Metrics, Place-based, Research, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 5, 2018