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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 1, 2023
Federally funded Responsible Fatherhood programs work with fathers to promote healthy relationships and marriages, strengthen parenting practices, and help fathers attain economic stability. For programs to improve fathers’ outcomes, they need to be able to recruit fathers, engage them in services, and keep them actively participating in program activities. However, it is challenging for programs to achieve these participation goals. The Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs (SIRF) study was designed to strengthen programs and build evidence on promising practices to improve the enrollment, engagement, and retention of fathers in program activities. Fatherhood programs participating in SIRF iteratively implemented and assessed promising approaches to addressing implementation challenges, with the support of and in partnership with the SIRF team.

Authored by: Charles Michalopoulos, Emily Marano, Becca Heilman, Michelle S. Manno, Patrizia Mancini, Scott Cody for MDRC
Topics: Family engagement, Healthy homes, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Stability
Shared by Sandra Ware on Jun 1, 2023
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Video
Community:
Jun 17, 2022
The Vancouver Housing Authority collaborated with a Federally Qualified Health Center and a homeless crisis response system to develop a network of scattered-site and site-based supportive housing. This moderated discussion will cover how VHA paired Housing Choice Vouchers and public housing with a Medicaid-funded supportive housing benefit to serve people identified by the community’s Coordinated Entry as needing supportive housing. Speakers will also discuss the challenges faced through the process, model adjustments made, and evaluation of the work through matching housing data and Medicaid utilization data.

Authored by:
Topics: Advocacy, CLPHA, Data sharing, Family engagement, Health, Healthy homes, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Stability, Sustainability
Shared by Karina George on Jun 17, 2022
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Report
Community: Postsecondary
May 2, 2019
Innovative public housing authorities (PHAs) are collaborating with college access partners and community colleges to increase postsecondary educational achievement for low-income residents and college students experiencing homelessness. This report elevates 11 shared learnings from a recent convening of these five pioneering PHAs and their postsecondary collaborators, and offers a series of recommendations to policy makers, PHAs, and philanthropic organizations seeking to develop emerging cross-sector collaborations between housing and education organizations. The report also includes an overview of the federal policies that support and limit postsecondary achievement for students served by PHAs, and profiles of the five partnerships: CHA and partners City Colleges of Chicago and One Million Degrees; CMHA and partner Columbus State Community College; HACLA and partner Southern California College Access Network (SoCal CAN); LMHA and partner Family Scholar House; and THA and partner Tacoma Community College.

Authored by: Abra Lyons-Warren for CLPHA
Topics: CLPHA, Education, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Post-secondary, Stability
Shared by Abra Lyons-Warren on Oct 6, 2020

Eliminating Barriers to Postsecondary Success: Cross-Sector Collaborations to Improve Postsecondary Achievement for Students Served by Public Housing Authorities

Report
May 2, 2019
Abra Lyons-Warren for CLPHA
Innovative public housing authorities (PHAs) are collaborating with college access partners and community colleges to increase postsecondary educational achievement for low-income residents and college students experiencing homelessness.
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Research
Community:
Aug 5, 2019
CLPHA developed a general data sharing template that public housing authorities (PHAs) and their health partners can customize to suit their data sharing and collaboration needs. Please feel free to comment to share any uses/modifications your organization made to implement into a partnership.

Authored by:
Topics: Affordable Care Act, CLPHA, Community development, Cost effectiveness, Data sharing, Dental, Depression, Dual-eligibles, Funding, Health, Healthy homes, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare, Mental health, Metrics, MTW, Nutrition, Obesity, Partnerships, Place-based, Preventative care, Racial inequalities, Research, SAMHSA, Smoke-free, Stability, Substance abuse, Supportive housing, Sustainability, TA
Shared by Steve Lucas on Aug 5, 2019

CLPHA Data Sharing Template for PHAs and Health Organizations

 

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or question. Use of this template, including its exhibits and attachments, does not create a relationship or any responsibilities between CLPHA and the user.

Research
Aug 5, 2019
CLPHA developed a general data sharing template that public housing authorities (PHAs) and their health partners can customize to suit their data sharing and collaboration needs. Please feel free to comment to share any uses/modifications your organization made to implement into a partnership.
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Publication
Community:
Jun 11, 2019
The Trump Administration is publicly weighing plans to gradually lower the official poverty line by applying a smaller cost-of-living adjustment each year. Doing so would be unjustified for several reasons.

Authored by: Arloc Sherman and Paul Van de Water for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Child welfare, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Stability
Shared by Housing Is on Jun 11, 2019

Reducing Cost-of-Living Adjustment Would Make Poverty Line a Less Accurate Measure of Basic Needs

Publication
Jun 11, 2019
Arloc Sherman and Paul Van de Water for The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Trump Administration is publicly weighing plans to gradually lower the official poverty line by applying a smaller cost-of-living adjustment each year. Doing so would be unjustified for several reasons.
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News Article
Community:
Mar 5, 2019
Disasters are becoming more common in America. In the early and mid-20th century, fewer than 20 percent of U.S. counties experienced a disaster each year. Today, it's about 50 percent. According to the 2018 National Climate Assessment, climate change is already driving more severe droughts, floods and wildfires in the U.S. And those disasters are expensive. The federal government spends billions of dollars annually helping communities rebuild and prevent future damage. But an NPR investigation has found that across the country, white Americans and those with more wealth often receive more federal dollars after a disaster than do minorities and those with less wealth. Federal aid isn't necessarily allocated to those who need it most; it's allocated according to cost-benefit calculations meant to minimize taxpayer risk.

Authored by: Rebecca Hersher and Robert Benincasa for NPR
Topics: Community development, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 7, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Feb 27, 2019
Over the past two decades, criminal justice reform has focused on evidence-based interventions to prevent arrests and incarceration and to facilitate community reintegration. These initiatives represent a movement toward a less punitive, more holistic approach to public safety, targeting critical social factors that lead to and perpetuate criminal justice involvement. Because housing problems are often a key underlying factor for people’s involvement with the criminal justice system, there are ways housing interventions can help lessen criminal justice involvement. Decriminalizing homelessness, for example, can reduce rates of initial arrest and incarceration, especially for people with low-level, nonviolent offenses. A sufficient supply of affordable housing and supportive services could help people stabilize after their release from jail and reduce the likelihood of recidivism. Policymakers, advocates, and practitioners in housing and criminal justice systems can partner to promote and evaluate housing strategies that divert people from the criminal justice system.

Authored by: Kimberly Burrowes for How Housing Matters (Urban Institute)
Topics: Criminal justice, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 28, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Feb 12, 2019
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gave the green light for San Diego County to apply for up to $125 million in state funding to help people get off the streets and receive mental health treatment.

Authored by: Alexander Nguyen for Times of San Diego
Topics: Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mental health, Stability, Substance abuse, West Coast
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Feb 14, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Jan 24, 2019
Affordable housing campaigns are not new, of course, but what is unprecedented and transformative about Opportunity Starts at Home is the scope and diversity of the partners that are joining forces to advocate for more robust and equitable federal housing policies. The campaign is advised by a Steering Committee including leading national organizations representing a wide range of interests that are working shoulder-to-shoulder to solve the affordable housing crisis.

Authored by: Opportunity Starts at Home
Topics: Asset building, Child welfare, CLPHA, Community development, Early childhood, Education, Food insecurity, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mobility, Out-of-school time, Partnerships, Racial inequalities, Safety, Seniors, Stability, Substance abuse, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 24, 2019

Within Reach: Ambitious Federal Solutions to Meet the Housing Needs of the Most Vulnerable People

Publication
Jan 24, 2019
Opportunity Starts at Home
Affordable housing campaigns are not new, of course, but what is unprecedented and transformative about Opportunity Starts at Home is the scope and diversity of the partners that are joining forces to advocate for more robust and equitable federal housing policies.
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Publication
Community:
Oct 9, 2018
Women with children, especially, stay hidden in fear of losing custody of their children. As a result, we will never see them camping in tents or in downtown parks.

Authored by: Mary Ellen Mitchell for SchoolHouse Connection
Topics: Early childhood, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Safety, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Jan 11, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Apr 10, 2018
State and local governments are debating and adopting new landlord-tenant laws and pilot programs, such as expanded legal representation and just-cause eviction requirements. Yet, few housing experts understand evictions well enough to channel the demand for change into clarity about specific eviction problems and potential solutions. Now is the time for policymakers and advocates to get smart. Here are five strategies for policymakers to consider as they address America’s eviction crisis.

Authored by: Maya Brennan for Urban Institute
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 21, 2018
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Publication
Community:
Dec 1, 2018
New York City’s UAC has generated substantial interest as other jurisdictions across the U.S. consider or implement similar programs. In June 2018, San Francisco voters approved a ballot initiative requiring the city to establish, fund, and run a program to provide legal representation to all tenants facing eviction regardless of income. The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion in August 2018 instructing the housing department to develop recommendations for a new eviction defense bill or program.

Authored by: Vicki Been, Deborah Rand, Nicole Summers, and Jessica Yager for NYU Furman Center
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 21, 2018
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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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News Article
Community:
Nov 30, 2018
The city and county of Durham, GoTriangle and the Durham Housing Authority are committed to enhancing opportunities for existing low-income families as well as to increasing the production of affordable housing. The light-rail project is critical to the success of these goals, and the success of these goals is critical to the light-rail project.

Authored by: Anthony Scott and John Tallmadge for The Herald Sun
Topics: Community development, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, South, Stability, Transportation
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Dec 3, 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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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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Report
Community:
May 1, 2018
The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD), funded by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, tested seven transitional jobs programs that targeted people recently released from prison or low-income parents who had fallen behind in child support payments.

Authored by: MDRC, OPRE, and Employment and Training Demonstration
Topics: Asset building, Cost effectiveness, Criminal justice, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Stability, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 19, 2018
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Research
Community:
Oct 16, 2018
The evidence on how homelessness affects children suggests policymakers should be doing everything possible to prevent homelessness and, when families who do lose their housing, to help them exit homelessness and stabilize in housing quickly. Rapid re-housing (RRH) can help homeless families in crisis.

Authored by: Mary K. Cunningham for The Urban Institute
Topics: Child welfare, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Nov 5, 2018
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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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Research
Community:
Oct 1, 2018
Although the rental assistance programs varied, key themes emerged, including (1) most programs, recognizing the impact of housing stability on health outcomes, targeted populations served by state or local health and human services programs; (2) most programs served a growing number of households over time; (3) funding generally increased over time and most of it came from general revenue; and (4) programs involved collaboration between the housing and health and human services agencies to ensure clients’ needs were comprehensively met.

Authored by: Anna Bailey, Peggy Bailey, and Douglas Rice for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Topics: Funding, Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Place-based, Research, Stability
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Oct 9, 2018

Innovative Approaches to Providing Rental Assistance: States and Localities Seek to Support Health and Human Services Goals

Research
Oct 1, 2018
Anna Bailey, Peggy Bailey, and Douglas Rice for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Although the rental assistance programs varied, key themes emerged, including (1) most programs, recognizing the impact of housing stability on health outcomes, targeted populations served by state or local health and human services programs; (2) most programs served a growing number of households o
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Research
Community:
Aug 9, 2018
For almost two decades now, cities around the country have been demolishing traditional public housing and relocating residents to subsidized private market rental housing. In this paper, we examine sense of place, consisting of both community and place attachment, among a sample of Atlanta public housing residents prior to relocation.

Authored by:
Topics: Asset building, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mental health, Mobility, Research, South, Stability
Shared by Housing Is on Aug 9, 2018
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Report
Community:
Aug 1, 2018
Through the hard work of communities around the country, we now have proof of something that we didn’t before—that ending homelessness is achievable. Home, Together builds upon what we have learned from states and communities over time, and lays out the strategies we know we must advance at the federal level in order to support and accelerate state and local progress.

Authored by: United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
Topics: Cost effectiveness, Data sharing, Disabilities, Dual-generation, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mental health, Partnerships, Preventative care, Racial inequalities, Stability, Substance abuse, Supportive housing
Shared by Housing Is on Aug 7, 2018
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News Article
Community:
Dec 11, 2017

Authored by: Elizabeth A. Harris for The New York Times
Topics: Attendance, Child welfare, East Coast, Education, Grade-level proficiency, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Metrics, Out-of-school time, Racial inequalities, Research, School-readiness, Stability, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Jul 5, 2018