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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:
Nov 15, 2023
People experiencing homelessness disproportionately face systemic barriers to employment, which make finding and keeping a job neither simple nor easy.

Authored by: Maureen Sarver for Urban Institute
Topics: Advocacy, Homelessness, Low-income, Stability, Workforce development
Shared by Molli Caite Hughes on Nov 15, 2023
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Report
Community:
Nov 4, 2022
The 2021 National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, Implementing High-Quality Primary Care: Rebuilding the Foundation of Health Care defined a need for coordinated primary care leadership at the federal level. n a new Milbank Memorial Fund report, the Center for Professionalism and Value in Health Care’s Robert L. Phillips, Jr., Milbank Memorial Fund’s Christopher F. Koller, and Covered California’s Alice Hm Chen expand on NASEM recommendations and call for congressional support to establish an Office of Primary Care at the federal level to coordinate existing primary care services and provide oversight to initiatives focused on workforce training, behavioral health integration, clinical comprehensiveness, and payment. According to the authors, creating a robust investment in federal leadership in primary health care that includes a triad of a US Health and Human Services Secretary’s Council on Primary Care, a Primary Care Advisory Committee, and an Office of Primary Care will be essential to addressing the country’s four most important public health challenges: health inequities, pandemic response and resilience, the opioid epidemic, and access to mental health services.

Authored by: Robert L. Phillips Jr, Christopher F. Koller, and Alice Hm Chen for The Milbank Memorial Fund
Topics: COVID-19, Health, Low-income, Mental health, Substance abuse, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Sandra Ware on Nov 8, 2022

The Path to Coordinated Federal Leadership to Strengthen Primary Health Care

Report
Nov 4, 2022
Robert L. Phillips Jr, Christopher F. Koller, and Alice Hm Chen for The Milbank Memorial Fund
The 2021 National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, Implementing High-Quality Primary Care: Rebuilding the Foundation of Health Care defined a need for coordinated primary care leadership at the federal level.
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Report
Community: Postsecondary
May 20, 2021
Higher education offers millions of people the opportunity to improve their financial well-being. However, higher education is prohibitively expensive and can saddle people with insurmountable debt. Costs beyond tuition—such as housing, food, child care, and transportation—are large, essential components of the cost of attending college for students. In order to better understand how these living costs add up and vary, this report offers estimates of costs beyond tuition for older students between the ages of 25 – 45, who make up roughly one-third of college students and face unique barriers to college access and completion. The report shows that the real cost of college for older students is higher than commonly understood, examines older students’ challenges with financial aid and public benefits programs, and offers policy recommendations to address costs beyond tuition and improve college access and success for older students.

Authored by: Vincent Palacios, Casey Goldvale, Chris Geary & Laura Tatum for GEORGETOWN LAW
Topics: Attendance, Community development, Education, Housing, Post-secondary, Stability, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on May 20, 2021

Obstacles to Opportunity: Increasing College Success by Understanding & Addressing Older Students’ Costs Beyond Tuition

Report
May 20, 2021
Vincent Palacios, Casey Goldvale, Chris Geary & Laura Tatum for GEORGETOWN LAW
Higher education offers millions of people the opportunity to improve their financial well-being. However, higher education is prohibitively expensive and can saddle people with insurmountable debt.
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Policy Brief
Community: Postsecondary
Nov 1, 2020
Colleges support students with advising, counseling, or coaching in academics and other skills they need to succeed in school. Some colleges enhance those services through reduced adviser caseloads and more comprehensive, frequent guidance, which can improve students’ semester-to-semester retention and average credits earned. This overview describes important lessons on designing and implementing those services. College leaders and administrators committed to designing, building, managing, and continually supporting enhanced advising services can consult this checklist of recommendations as they redesign or enhance these services — as stand-alone services or as part of multifaceted interventions.

Authored by: Andrea Vasquez & Susan Scrivener for MDRC
Topics: Attendance, Child welfare, Community development, Education, Grade-level proficiency, Post-secondary, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 4, 2021
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Report
Community:
Jun 20, 2017
Over the past year, the United States Conference of Mayors and the Brookings Institution, along with the Project for Public Spaces have worked together to capture a new model of growth that is emerging in cities and the particular roles that mayors can play. This handbook offers concrete strategies for mayors and their administrations to facilitate the rise of innovation districts—small geographic areas within cities where research universities, medical institutions, and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, accelerators, and incubators. They reflect profound market and demographic dynamics that are revaluing proximity, density, walkability, and accessibility—in other words, the natural strengths of cities.

Authored by: Julie Wagner for BROOKINGS
Topics: Community development, Legislation & Policy, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Oct 20, 2020

Advancing a new wave of urban competitiveness: The role of mayors in the rise of innovation districts

Report
Jun 20, 2017
Julie Wagner for BROOKINGS
Over the past year, the United States Conference of Mayors and the Brookings Institution, along with the Project for Public Spaces have worked together to capture a new model of growth that is emerging in cities and the particular roles that mayors can play. This handbook offers concrete strategi
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Report
Community:
Sep 27, 2017
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that from 2014-2024, employment in healthcare occupations is projected to grow by 19 percent and add about 2.3 million jobs. Yet, these workers often do not earn enough to live in communities they serve. The report, which focuses on the affordability challenges faced by healthcare workers, highlights five fast growing healthcare occupations: dental assistant, emergency medical technician, home health aide, licensed practical nurse and physical therapy aide.

Authored by: Kaitlyn Snyder for NATIONAL HOUSING CONFERENCE
Topics: Funding, Legislation & Policy, Stability, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Oct 20, 2020
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Report
Community: Postsecondary
Jan 28, 2020
The nation’s community colleges play a central role in producing a more educated workforce and promoting social mobility. They serve about 40 percent of all college students and, not surprisingly, they serve a disproportionate number of low-income and underrepresented students. But most students who enter these colleges do not graduate — only about a third of entering students earn a degree or certificate within six years. Among the many programs that have attempted to increase graduation rates, one program stands out. Developed by the City University of New York (CUNY), the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) is a comprehensive program that provides students with up to three years of financial and academic support and other support services. Along with those services and other forms of support comes an obligation to attend full time and participate in essential program services. An experimental evaluation of CUNY ASAP found that the program nearly doubled graduation rates after three years. This report presents findings through three years from a replication of the ASAP model at three community colleges in Ohio.

Authored by: Cynthia Miller for MDRC
Topics: Attendance, Education, Post-secondary, School-readiness, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Oct 6, 2020

Increasing Community College Graduation Rates with a Proven Model: Three-Year Results from the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) Ohio Demonstration

Report
Jan 28, 2020
Cynthia Miller for MDRC
The nation’s community colleges play a central role in producing a more educated workforce and promoting social mobility. They serve about 40 percent of all college students and, not surprisingly, they serve a disproportionate number of low-income and underrepresented students.
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Podcast
Community: Postsecondary
May 28, 2020
Community colleges graduation rates remain low. Some studies have shown that students who enroll in summer courses are more likely to stay on track and graduate, yet despite these benefits most college students do not attend during the summer. So why don’t students attend, and how can colleges encourage more of them to enroll in the summer? To answer these questions MDRC launched the Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment — or EASE — project in partnership with the Ohio Association of Community Colleges and 10 community colleges in Ohio. MDRC designed, implemented, and tested two interventions to encourage summer enrollment, using insights from behavioral science, a study of how people make decisions. Both interventions worked to increase enrollment, and both could be operated at a relatively low cost

Authored by: Leigh Parise for MDRC
Topics: Attendance, Education, Post-secondary, School-readiness, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Oct 6, 2020
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Report
Community: Postsecondary
May 28, 2020
Bridge-to-college programs aim to help people complete high school and enroll in postsecondary education. This evaluation of one such program at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay finds that it helped more students earn their GEDs and enroll in college courses.

Authored by: Louisa Treskon for MDRC
Topics: Education, Post-secondary, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Oct 6, 2020
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Report
Community:
Jun 6, 2019
Trends in Housing Assistance and Who it Serves

Authored by: PAHRC
Topics: Community development, Disabilities, Education, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, Research, Seniors, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Keely Stater on Sep 10, 2019
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Report
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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Video
Community:
May 21, 2019
On May 21, 2019, the Center for Universal Education and the Future of the Middle Class Initiative at Brookings co-hosted a symposium titled “Building the workforce of the future: Resilient people and places.” Policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and thought leaders from the government, corporate, and nonprofit sectors convened to discuss education and economic development strategies that can provide locally relevant solutions to enhance economic and social mobility.

Authored by: The Brookings Institution
Topics: Asset building, Low-income, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on May 28, 2019

Building the workforce of the future: Resilient people and places

Video
May 21, 2019
The Brookings Institution
On May 21, 2019, the Center for Universal Education and the Future of the Middle Class Initiative at Brookings co-hosted a symposium titled “Building the workforce of the future: Resilient people and places.” Policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and thought leaders from the government, corporat
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Report
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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Report
Community:
May 21, 2019
Although today’s U.S. labor market is strong and unemployment is low, many working-age American remain marginalized. As communities across the country grapple with the challenges of an ever-evolving labor market, this report provides a framework for local leaders to grow good jobs through industrial development strategies that are based on their regions’ unique capabilities.

Authored by: Marcela Escobari, Ian Seyal, Jose Morales-Arilla, and Chad Shearer for The Brookings Institution
Topics: Asset building, Community development, Legislation & Policy, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on May 24, 2019
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Webinar
Community:
Mar 1, 2017
This webinar explored strategies for leveraging data to support college and career readiness and success (CCRS) goals for all students, with special emphasis on students in foster care. With access to quality data, education and child welfare agencies can work together to improve educational outcomes and promote CCRS for students in foster care. Presenters discussed a set of emerging practices that serve as examples of how states can use and link data to support CCRS. As states work to fulfill the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), this webinar also aims to provide concrete strategies to leverage the data collection and reporting requirements related to students in foster care to achieve CCRS goals.

Authored by: American Youth Policy Forum
Topics: Asset building, Foster care, Post-secondary, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on May 21, 2019
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Report
Community:
Dec 11, 2018
This report highlights the development and implementation of a mentoring program for college students in foster care in New York City through a strategic partnership that was forged among New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services, Goldman Sachs and Casey Family Programs. The program is designed to expose youth to professional and experiential opportunities through a series of one-on-one meetings and group workshops. Students have the opportunity to become familiar with the Goldman Sachs corporate environment, understand various business sectors and explore the roles and responsibilities of different jobs, as well as receive hands-on support with job applications and interviewing.

Authored by: Casey Family Programs
Topics: Child welfare, Foster care, Partnerships, Research, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on May 21, 2019

A public-private mentoring partnership to build a better tomorrow for youth in foster care

Report
Dec 11, 2018
Casey Family Programs
This report highlights the development and implementation of a mentoring program for college students in foster care in New York City through a strategic partnership that was forged among New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services, Goldman Sachs and Casey Family Programs.
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News Article
Community:
Apr 11, 2019
A New Hampshire-based college with a large online enrollment plans to open a new operations center in downtown Tucson in early 2020 that will eventually employ up to 350 people.

Authored by: David Wichner for Arizona Daily Star
Topics: Asset building, Post-secondary, Workforce development
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Apr 18, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Apr 3, 2019
The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a proposed rule Wednesday to improve its Section 3 Program, which requires funding recipients to employ low-income people and business.

Authored by: Jessica Guerin for Housing Wire
Topics: Asset building, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Metrics, Place-based, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 8, 2019
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Policy Brief
Community:
Mar 1, 2019
A brief to help state and local agencies identify opportunities to align and leverage policies, programs, and funding across the three laws to support the education-to-workforce pipeline; a workbook to facilitate cross-agency conversations to identify and plan for alignment opportunities across ESSA, Perkins V, IDEA and WIOA; and an interactive tool that identifies specific language in the laws that address college and readiness topics and help state education agencies and local education agencies find new or greater alignment opportunities in their plans.

Authored by: College & Career Readiness & Success Center
Topics: Asset building, Education, Legislation & Policy, Post-secondary, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Apr 2, 2019

Developing a College- and Career-Ready Workforce: An Analysis of ESSA, Perkins V, IDEA, and WIOA

Policy Brief
Mar 1, 2019
College & Career Readiness & Success Center
A brief to help state and local agencies identify opportunities to align and leverage policies, programs, and funding across the three laws to support the education-to-workforce pipeline; a workbook to facilitate cross-agency conversations to identify and plan for alignment opportunities across ESSA
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Research
Community:
Mar 28, 2019
Federal safety net programs are intended to protect the most vulnerable Americans—such as the elderly, people with severe disabilities and young children. Housing assistance plays a critical role in the safety net, providing decent, safe, and affordable housing for millions of extremely low-income and vulnerable families—though, because it is not an entitlement like other federal safety net programs, the assistance available falls far short of the need. Housing subsidies free families to spend on other essentials like healthy food, education, and health care.

Authored by: Susan J. Popkin for Journal of Housing & Community Development
Topics: Asset building, Dual-generation, Education, Housing, Mental health, Mobility, Partnerships, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Apr 2, 2019
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Research
Community:
Jan 31, 2019
Because mental health conditions can negatively affect employment, people with these conditions make up a large share of federal disability program participants. Federal agencies have tested supported employment (SE) interventions designed to help those with mental health conditions keep or obtain employment and reduce their dependence on public programs. This brief describes the characteristics of adults with mental health conditions who participate in the federal disability programs and reports evidence from three recent studies of longer-term impacts of SE on the employment of people with mental health conditions. The findings indicate that, although a large share of disability program participants with mental health conditions report that they want to work, many face barriers, including being discouraged by failed past work attempts.

Authored by: Mathematica Policy Research
Topics: Asset building, Disabilities, Mental health, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 18, 2019
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Research
Community:
Jan 25, 2019
The employment social enterprise (ESE) model can provide an opportunity to create a financially viable business that helps individuals with employment barriers become integrated into the labor force. This research studied eight ESEs. Findings suggest that by applying private‐sector business principles to a workforce development programs, social enterprises can provide participants with meaningful and valuable work experience, while offsetting program costs. Analysis identified four promising practices that social entrepreneurs should adopt when setting up a new enterprise. Enterprises should (a) provide soft‐skill training and social services to participants; (b) operate at a size that allows for economies of scale in production and the provision of support services; (c) have few occupational skill requirements; and (d) hire supervisors with both industry knowledge and the capacity to support individuals with employment barriers.

Authored by: Mathematica Policy Research
Topics: Asset building, Low-income, Research, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 18, 2019

Doing Good While Doing Business Using Financial Viability to Enhance Employability for the Disadvantaged

Research
Jan 25, 2019
Mathematica Policy Research
The employment social enterprise (ESE) model can provide an opportunity to create a financially viable business that helps individuals with employment barriers become integrated into the labor force. This research studied eight ESEs.
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News Article
Community:
Mar 15, 2019
The venture is a small yet innovative player in a growing number of nonprofits developing new models for work force training. Their overarching goal is upward mobility for low-income Americans and the two-thirds of workers without four-year college degrees.

Authored by: Steve Lohr for The New York Times
Topics: Asset building, Broadband, Low-income, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 15, 2019

Income Before: $18,000. After: $85,000. Does Tiny Nonprofit Hold a Key to the Middle Class?

News Article
Mar 15, 2019
Steve Lohr for The New York Times
The venture is a small yet innovative player in a growing number of nonprofits developing new models for work force training. Their overarching goal is upward mobility for low-income Americans and the two-thirds of workers without four-year college degrees.
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News Article
Community:
Jan 22, 2019
In 2016, the health system teamed with Spartanburg Community College and the National Center for Construction Education and Research, a nonprofit that provides global training and certification. Together, the three entities began offering construction skills training to area residents.

Authored by: Alan Jenkins and Melinda Young for Discover Health
Topics: Asset building, Health, Low-income, Partnerships, Workforce development
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019

Building a Community

News Article
Jan 22, 2019
Alan Jenkins and Melinda Young for Discover Health
In 2016, the health system teamed with Spartanburg Community College and the National Center for Construction Education and Research, a nonprofit that provides global training and certification. Together, the three entities began offering construction skills training to area residents.
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Podcast
Community:
One out of every 10 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 is neither working nor in school. These “disconnected” young people face an uphill battle finding work and are at risk of economic hardship well into adulthood. Although there are many programs that aim to reconnect young people to education and employment, findings from evaluations of these programs have been mixed. The evidence base has grown substantially in the past several months, though, as studies of three pro­grams — YouthBuild, Year Up, and New York City’s Young Adult Internship Program (YAIP) — have released new findings. MDRC’s Dan Bloom and Cynthia Miller recently wrote a brief that discusses findings from the new studies and their implications for youth programs.

Authored by: MDRC
Topics: Asset building, Low-income, Mobility, Research, Workforce development, Youth
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 8, 2019