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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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News Article
Community:
Mar 20, 2019
Low-income immigrant mothers are skipping the chance to get nutritious foods and help for their infants from a federal program because they fear deportation, or the loss of their children, according to the agencies that distribute those benefits.

Authored by: Alfred Lubrano for The Inquirer
Topics: Child welfare, Early childhood, Food insecurity, Health, Legislation & Policy, Nutrition
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019

More moms and kids withdrawing from nutrition program because of deportation fears, administrators say

News Article
Mar 20, 2019
Alfred Lubrano for The Inquirer
Low-income immigrant mothers are skipping the chance to get nutritious foods and help for their infants from a federal program because they fear deportation, or the loss of their children, according to the agencies that distribute those benefits.
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News Article
Community:
Mar 21, 2019
Reauthorization of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 has been stalled since 2015. Even though the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee reported their respective bills, the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016 (S. 3136) and the Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016 (H.R. 5003), neither was acted upon by the full House and Senate. Instead, these programs were extended as part of the FY2016 omnibus appropriations law.

Authored by: Marshall Matz and Roger Szemraj for AgriPulse
Topics: Child welfare, Food insecurity, Funding, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Moves Forward

News Article
Mar 21, 2019
Marshall Matz and Roger Szemraj for AgriPulse
Reauthorization of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 has been stalled since 2015. Even though the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee reported their respective bills, the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016 (S.
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Policy Brief
Community:
Oct 1, 2016
Emerging health care financing models require much more sophisticated actuarial calculations than previous payment arrangements, often taking into account risk factors such as homelessness. Homelessness also has direct implications for clinical treatment decisions and integrated care models and should be noted in individual patient records. This policy brief provides a rationale for using the ICD-10-CM code for homelessness, outlines the challenges to maximizing this code, and offers strategies to consider to ensure health care providers ask about homelessness and record patients’ housing status. This data is highly relevant to clinicians and administrators at health centers, hospitals, state Medicaid systems, Medicaid managed care organizations, and public health departments.

Authored by: National Health Care for the Homeless Council
Topics: Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Medicaid / Medicare
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 18, 2019
The Department of Education reports more than 29,000 kids in North Carolina were considered homeless in the 2016-2017 school year. About three-quarters of those are living with other families because it’s too expensive to live on their own. According to Shantiqua Neely, it’s not necessarily because people don’t have jobs. She’s the executive director at A Child’s Place, the organization helps homeless CMS students and families. She said it’s because rent is too expensive.

Authored by: Alex Olgin for WFAE 90.7
Topics: Child welfare, Education, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 18, 2019
Taller buildings in the hearts of more than two dozen neighborhoods, denser housing on some nearby blocks and requirements that developers help create affordable housing. That’s what Seattle is getting after the City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve some of the most sweeping zoning changes in the city’s recent history.

Authored by: Daniel Beekman for The Seattle Times
Topics: Community development, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 26, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Mar 20, 2019
To equip municipalities with the skills and tools to address these challenges, New York State created the $12 million Cities for Responsible Investment and Strategic Enforcement (Cities RISE) program, which provides leadership, management, and technical support to help 16 municipalities address deteriorating homes, vacant properties, and neighborhood decline through strategic code enforcement. Cities RISE uses code enforcement strategies to advance broader community development goals, and, in doing so, helps municipalities align programs aimed at improving residents’ quality of life.

Authored by: Aaron Shroyer How Housing Matters (The Urban Institute)
Topics: Community development, Data sharing, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Partnerships
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 26, 2019

How Strategic Code Enforcement is Improving the Quality of Life for Niagara Falls Residents

Publication
Mar 20, 2019
Aaron Shroyer How Housing Matters (The Urban Institute)
To equip municipalities with the skills and tools to address these challenges, New York State created the $12 million Cities for Responsible Investment and Strategic Enforcement (Cities RISE) program, which provides leadership, management, and technical support to help 16 municipalities address dete
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News Article
Community:
Mar 22, 2019
HOME, CDBG, Housing Trust Fund, and other key housing programs are proposed to be cut.

Authored by: Donna Kimura for Affordable Housing Finance
Topics: Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 26, 2019
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Report
Community:
Mar 25, 2019
Use of the $35 billion in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds for the 2017 hurricanes has been slow. Over a year after the first funds were appropriated, much of the money remains unspent because grantees in Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are still in planning phases. Also, the Department of Housing and Urban Development doesn't have the review guidance and monitoring plans it needs for good grantee oversight. We recommended ways to improve the oversight of disaster funding and better meet disaster recovery needs.

Authored by: U.S. Government Accountability Office
Topics: Community development, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research, Safety, U.S. Territories
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 26, 2019

Disaster Recovery: Better Monitoring of Block Grant Funds Is Needed

Report
Mar 25, 2019
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Use of the $35 billion in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds for the 2017 hurricanes has been slow. Over a year after the first funds were appropriated, much of the money remains unspent because grantees in Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the U.S.
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Research
Community:
The U.S. has a shortage of seven million rental homes affordable and available to extremely low-income renters, whose household incomes are at or below the poverty guideline or 30% of their area median income. Only 37 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. Extremely low-income renters face a shortage in every state and major metropolitan area, including the District of Columbia. Among states, the supply of affordable and available rental homes ranges from only 19 for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in Nevada to 66 in Wyoming. Among the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S, the supply ranges from 13 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households in Orlando, FL to 51 in Pittsburgh, PA.

Authored by: National Low Income Housing Coalition
Topics: Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 14, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 12, 2019
The proposed bill follows an NBC News investigation that found at least 11 public housing residents had died of carbon monoxide poisoning since 2003.

Authored by: Suzy Khimm for NBC News
Topics: Funding, Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Safety
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 14, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 11, 2019
The Trump administration released its budget proposal today for fiscal year 2020, and like its previous budget requests for 2017, 2018, and 2019, the administration is proposing steep cuts to both the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Transportation (DoT).

Authored by: Jeff Andrews for Curbed
Topics: Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Transportation
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 14, 2019

Trump administration proposes dramatic cuts to public housing - again

News Article
Mar 11, 2019
Jeff Andrews for Curbed
The Trump administration released its budget proposal today for fiscal year 2020, and like its previous budget requests for 2017, 2018, and 2019, the administration is proposing steep cuts to both the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Transportation (DoT).
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Research
Community:
Feb 5, 2019
Housing is considered a social determinant of health, with poor housing conditions being associated with poor health. Veterans with disabilities are more likely to experience a housing crisis because of combat experiences and employment instability. We identified facilitators and barriers to finding and maintaining rental housing. We sought to understand the housing needs of Veterans with military-related disabilities using the biopsychoecological model (BEM) as an organizing framework.

Authored by: Semeah, Ahrentzen, Cowper-Ripley, Santos-Roman, Beamish, and Farley for Housing Policy Debate
Topics: Disabilities, Funding, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research, Safety, Seniors, Stability
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 14, 2019

In Their Own Words: Veterans with Disabilities Share Their Housing Challenges

Research
Feb 5, 2019
Semeah, Ahrentzen, Cowper-Ripley, Santos-Roman, Beamish, and Farley for Housing Policy Debate
Housing is considered a social determinant of health, with poor housing conditions being associated with poor health. Veterans with disabilities are more likely to experience a housing crisis because of combat experiences and employment instability.
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Case study
Community:
Mar 13, 2019
Vacant properties, substandard housing, and neighborhood quality profoundly affect our health, education, and safety. Strategic code enforcement programs can serve as communities’ first line of defense for addressing deteriorating homes, vacant properties, and neighborhood decline. Strategic code enforcement programs organize critical assets, resources, and actions into a dynamic and adaptive system.

Authored by: Joe Schilling for How Housing Matters (Urban Institute)
Topics: Community development, Data sharing, Funding, Health, Legislation & Policy, Partnerships
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 14, 2019

Stabilizing Neighborhoods through Strategic Code Enforcement

Case study
Mar 13, 2019
Joe Schilling for How Housing Matters (Urban Institute)
Vacant properties, substandard housing, and neighborhood quality profoundly affect our health, education, and safety. Strategic code enforcement programs can serve as communities’ first line of defense for addressing deteriorating homes, vacant properties, and neighborhood decline.
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Publication
Community:
Feb 15, 2019
Last month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to dedicate $5 million to preventing housing discrimination and to develop an ordinance to protect housing choice voucher holders from source of income discrimination. The supervisors have until May to draft the ordinance’s language and have not yet developed a timeline for enacting it, but these actions are a step toward expanding voucher holders’ housing options.

Authored by: Alyse Oneto, Martha Galvez, and Claudia Aranda for Urban Institute
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Racial inequalities, West Coast
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 13, 2019

Los Angeles County is taking steps to prevent discrimination against housing voucher holders

Publication
Feb 15, 2019
Alyse Oneto, Martha Galvez, and Claudia Aranda for Urban Institute
Last month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to dedicate $5 million to preventing housing discrimination and to develop an ordinance to protect housing choice voucher holders from source of income discrimination.
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News Article
Community:
Feb 25, 2019
Increasing numbers of young Americans are unfit for military service. So why is the Trump administration rolling back nutrition standards?

Authored by: Dan Glickman for Roll Call
Topics: Child welfare, Food insecurity, Legislation & Policy, Nutrition, Obesity
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 12, 2019
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Podcast
Community:
Feb 26, 2019
Many are wondering how engaged President Trump actually is on one of his campaign issues: revitalizing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. Eyes are turning back to Congress for a broad infrastructure package. Yet there is an even bigger issue of the looming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund. BPC’s Jake Varn is joined by former Reps. Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Joe Crowley(D-NY) to discuss these issues.

Authored by: Bipartisan Policy Center
Topics: Community development, Funding, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Transportation
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 12, 2019

The Infrastructure Debate - Infrastructure and Congress

Podcast
Feb 26, 2019
Bipartisan Policy Center
Many are wondering how engaged President Trump actually is on one of his campaign issues: revitalizing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. Eyes are turning back to Congress for a broad infrastructure package. Yet there is an even bigger issue of the looming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund.
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Research
Community:
The lead article, “Landlords: Critical Participants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program,” provides a basic overview of the HCV program and the role that landlords play in it; examines the implications of voucher acceptance for assisted households; surveys existing research on landlord participation; and provides examples of the types of program and initiatives that HUD, PHAs, and local governments are pursuing to increase voucher acceptance. The Research Spotlight, “HUD-Sponsored Research Sheds New Light on HCV Landlords,” by Meena Bavan and Paul Joice, discusses the findings of two recent HUD-sponsored studies, “A Pilot Study of Landlord Acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers,” and “Urban Landlords and the Housing Choice Voucher Program: A Research Report.” Finally, the In Practice article, “PHAs Encourage Landlord Participation With Incentives,” discusses initiatives in Marin County, California, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, that offer financial benefits, education, and streamlined administrative processes to encourage landlords to lease to voucher holders.

Authored by: HUD, Office of Policy Development and Research
Topics: Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Mica O'Brien on Mar 12, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 7, 2019
Democrats this week announced new legislation that would slash child poverty by paying low-income parents the kind of monthly allowance that is standard in other developed countries. But the lawmakers who introduced the bill, called the American Family Act, didn’t use the terms “child benefit” or “child allowance” at their Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday. Instead, they all called it a tax credit or a tax cut.

Authored by: Arthur Delaney for HuffPost
Topics: Child welfare, Dual-generation, Early childhood, Funding, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 12, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Feb 28, 2019
Child poverty in the U.S. could be cut in half over the next 10 years with a few simple steps, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The cost would be high — at least $90 billion a year. But the National Academies report warns that the price of not doing anything would be far greater.

Authored by: Pam Fessler for NPR
Topics: Child welfare, Criminal justice, Early childhood, Education, Food insecurity, Funding, Health, Immigrants, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Nutrition, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 12, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Feb 5, 2019
We beef up law enforcement to attack crime, devote more funding to try and improve inadequate schools and tackle health disparities by getting more people to the doctor. But what if Baltimore could solve all of its persistent social problems by getting rid of poverty?

Authored by: Baltimore Sun Editorial Board for The Baltimore Sun
Topics: Asset building, Criminal justice, Funding, Health, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Mental health
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019

What if we just focused on poverty to solve the city's issues?

News Article
Feb 5, 2019
Baltimore Sun Editorial Board for The Baltimore Sun
We beef up law enforcement to attack crime, devote more funding to try and improve inadequate schools and tackle health disparities by getting more people to the doctor. But what if Baltimore could solve all of its persistent social problems by getting rid of poverty?
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Report
Community:
Healthy Housing for All: How Affordable Housing is Leading the Way explores the affordable housing industry’s achievements in creating healthier housing environments and translates them into lessons for the broader housing marketplace. The innovations in healthy affordable housing present an opportunity to replicate healthy housing successes, as well as to respond to market demand across the residential development industry.

Authored by: Urban Land Institute
Topics: Health, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Research
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019
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Publication
Community:
Jan 25, 2019
As a result of decades of legalized discrimination in the housing industry, huge racial disparities in homeownership still exist today. This is not acceptable in a country founded on equal opportunity. Nationally, 72 percent of white households own a home, compared to only 42 percent of black households and 46 percent of Hispanic households. Homes typically make up the largest portion of a family’s overall wealth, so these disparities in homeownership are the most significant factor in the racial wealth gap.

Authored by: Kevin Campbell for Habitat for Humanity of Wake County
Topics: Asset building, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Mar 11, 2019
The housing crisis has given rise to acronyms which define the battle over new developments: "Yes in My Backyard" (YIMBYs) vs. “Not In My Backyard" (NIMBYs). And now there's a new acronym: PHIMBY, as in "Public Housing in My Backyard."

Authored by: Jessica Placzek for KQED
Topics: Community development, Housing, Legislation & Policy, West Coast
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019
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News Article
Community:
Feb 28, 2019
Over the past decade, the real estate fortunes for African Americans have reversed course. Despite a strengthening economy, including record low unemployment and higher wages for black workers, homeownership levels for that group have dropped incrementally almost every year since 2004. It fell to 43 percent in 2017, virtually erasing all of the gains made since the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, landmark legislation outlawing housing discrimination.

Authored by: Troy McMullen for The Washington Post
Topics: Asset building, Community development, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Racial inequalities
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019

The 'heartbreaking' decrease in black homeownership

News Article
Feb 28, 2019
Troy McMullen for The Washington Post
Over the past decade, the real estate fortunes for African Americans have reversed course. Despite a strengthening economy, including record low unemployment and higher wages for black workers, homeownership levels for that group have dropped incrementally almost every year since 2004.
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News Article
Community:
Mar 6, 2019
Fort Worth’s work finding housing solutions for those facing homelessness can serve as a model for the rest of the country, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said Wednesday during a stop in Cowtown, one of several planned in Texas.

Authored by: Luke Ranker for Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Topics: Funding, Homelessness, Housing, Legislation & Policy, Low-income, Partnerships, South
Shared by Housing Is on Mar 11, 2019

Fort Worth is a model for the country, HUD Secretary Ben Carson says. Here's why

News Article
Mar 6, 2019
Luke Ranker for Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth’s work finding housing solutions for those facing homelessness can serve as a model for the rest of the country, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said Wednesday during a stop in Cowtown, one of several planned in Texas.