Policy Topics

Poverty and social policy

Showing 391 - 420 of 1254 results

News

Research supported by Poverty Solutions shows Michigan eviction filings dropped 65% in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic

Jun 8, 2021

New research, supported by Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan offers insights into how Michigan can maintain the low eviction rates achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Michigan Eviction Project, led by U-M faculty and housing...

In the Media

Erb-Downward cites negative outcomes of school discipline on homeless children

Jun 6, 2021 WXYZ Detroit

Research done by Poverty Solutions at U-M has found negative outcomes in children resulting from school suspensions and expulsions, especially when those children have unstable housing. Jennifer Erb-Downward, senior research associate at Poverty...

News

"Stimulus Checks Substantially Reduced Hardship," NYT and Newsweek report, citing Poverty Solutions study

Jun 5, 2021

The New York Times highlighted a recent study by Luke Shaefer and Patrick Cooney, released by Poverty Solutions, which shows, "that sharp declines in food shortages, financial instability and anxiety coincided with the two most recent rounds of...

Publication

Task force featuring Lantz issues report assessing pandemic's trajectory and implications for Medicare, Social Security

Jun 3, 2021

A report by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) looks at the direct effects and outcomes of COVID-19—hospitalizations, deaths, disability, unemployment, and racial and ethnic disparities—and how they will impact social insurance...

News

Examining Detroit students' college pathways

May 26, 2021

Academic and non-academic barriers are preventing Detroit high school students from enrolling and succeeding in college. Detroit Students’ College Pathways and Outcomes, a policy brief released by the Youth Policy Lab (YPL) at the University of...

News

COVID-19 and unemployment's affects on future health - Burgard

May 25, 2021

In a recent opinion piece published in The Conversation, co-authored with with Jennie Brand, Sarah Burgard, professor of sociology, public policy and epidemiology, called attention to the long-term health effects of COVID-19 — but not just effects...

News

Ford alum secures Peter Harbage Fellowship

May 21, 2021

For the first time ever, the Peter Harbage Fellowship has chosen a Ford School or University of Michigan alumni. Named in honor of Peter Harbage (MPP ‘93), the one-year fellowship provides fellows with “a year-long experience to deepen learning and...

News

Congratulations to Natasha Pilkauskas and Kaitlin Raimi, both now associate professors, with tenure

May 21, 2021

Professors Natasha Pilkauskas and Kaitlin Raimi have received promotions to associate professor, with tenure, at the Ford School. Their status was approved by the U-M Board of Regents at their meeting on May 20. "Natasha Pilkauskas is deepening...

Headshots of Kaitlin Raimi and Natasha Pilkauskas

In the Media

Cooney comments on minimum wage debate

May 19, 2021 WXYZ Detroit

McDonald's workers are striking for better wages all across the country, including in Michigan. Many argue against a higher minimum wage, saying that it would cause job loss. Patrick Cooney, assistant director of economic mobility at U-M Poverty...

News

Erb-Downward testifies at U.S. House hearing on student homelessness

May 19, 2021 Watch the hearing

Jennifer Erb-Downward, senior research associate at Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education on Wednesday, May 19. The hearing was...

News

Anti-Asian hate: Poverty Solutions supports U-M chronicle of location, nature of more than 1,000 incidents last year

May 17, 2021

New research from the University of Michigan offers insights into the location, nature and perpetrators of anti-Asian hate incidents that occurred in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Virulent Hate Project, which is supported by U-M’s...

Map of anti-Asian racist incidents during COVID-19, as of May 19, 2021

News

Shaefer lauds the potential impact of the child tax credit

May 14, 2021

"The expanded, fully refundable child tax credit sounds complicated, but the ideas behind it are simple, and its design has been tested in many other countries. It’s based on the principles that children deserve the opportunity to thrive, and that...

Publication

Vaccine hesitancy, rooted in institutional mistrust, could stand in way of COVID-19 herd immunity, STPP study finds

May 12, 2021

The global effort to develop and distribute COVID-19 vaccines has progressed despite myriad challenges. Yet the final step—shots in arms—meets resistance among some that can't easily be overcome by science and supply chains. Vaccine hesitancy—a...

A nurse administers the COVID-19 vaccine to a teacher in Iowa (Credit: Phil Roeder / CC BY)

News

Biden's plan for universal preschool, explained - Weiland

May 12, 2021

On April 28, the Biden Administration announced the American Families Plan, which includes universal preschool for all three- and four-year-olds. Christina Weiland, associate professor of education at the Ford School, weighed in on the plan and...

News

Stevenson comments widely on COVID-19 recovery, minimum wage

May 10, 2021

Ford School economics professor Betsey Stevenson has been commenting on the debate about raising the minimum wage and the contours of the COVID-19 recovery. When the April jobs report was released, with significantly fewer jobs created than were...

News

Kalena Thomhave (MPP ‘21) awarded the Peter Eckstein Prize

May 10, 2021

Recent Ford School graduate Kalena Thomhave (MPP ‘21) is the 2021 winner of the Peter Eckstein Prize for Interdisciplinary Research for her comprehensive analysis of the challenges faced by the U.S. Unemployment Insurance (UI) system during the...

In the Media

Cooney comments on surge in home remodeling and effect on low-income households

May 10, 2021 WDET Detroit Today

More people around the country are looking to remodel their homes, but because of disruptions in the global supply chain, the price of remodeling has spiked. Pat Cooney, assistant director of economic mobility at U-M Poverty Solutions, pointed out...

In the Media

Stevenson says policies should impact long-term growth and our well-being

Apr 29, 2021 Washington Post

"Everybody was running around in 2008 trying to save the banking system. Now there's a very different effort this time to save the day-care centers," said Betsey Stevenson. "We shouldn't just be asking what policies will do for long-run growth. We...

News

Pilkauskas wins 2020 IPUMS Research Award

Apr 28, 2021

Natasha Pilkauskas' research on "Historical Trends in Children Living in Multigenerational Households in the United States: 1870–2018" has been selected as the 2020 winner of the IPUMS Research Award. Pilkauskas and her co-authors used decennial...

In the Media

Watkins-Hayes and Shaefer comment in the NYT about child tax credit expansion

Apr 26, 2021 New York Times

Celeste Watkins-Hayes and Luke Shaefer comment in the New York Times about the permanent expansion of the child tax credit in President Biden's proposed American Families Plan. The simplicity of the plan cuts through old ideas of who’s...

A parent/guardian and two young children in masks walking outdoors (Credit: Shutterstock)

News

New website answers Michiganders’ questions about expanded Child Tax Credit

Apr 26, 2021

A new website from Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan offers step-by-step guidance for parents to ensure they receive the expanded Child Tax Credit, which is worth up to $3,600 per child, per year. The American Rescue Plan Act of...

Poverty Solutions Child Tax Credit portal

News

Dynarski’s research and advocacy for a simplified FAFSA becomes reality

Apr 23, 2021

Professor Sue Dynarski laid out the reality of pursuing higher education for many students in a 2015 NYT op-ed. “Many smart students forgo college in the mistaken belief that they cannot afford it,” she wrote. “The financial aid system, which is...

News

Report leads to additional $5M investment in Detroit Land Bank Authority’s Rehabbed & Ready program

Apr 22, 2021

The Detroit Land Bank Authority’s (DLBA) Rehabbed & Ready program received good news recently in the form of a joint $5M new investment from the Rocket Community Fund, the philanthropic arm of Quicken Loans' Rocket Mortgage, and the City of Detroit....

In the Media

Young discusses the impact of Chauvin's guilty verdict

Apr 21, 2021 Yahoo News

Alford Young Jr. commented that "for the first time in our history, we can acknowledge that an officer has been found guilty of violating a black body. And that will change how the police respond to the public and how the public responds to the...

In the Media

Shaefer: Deeply unfair for Michigan to expect Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to be paid back

Apr 21, 2021 Detroit Free Press

"It's one thing to tell someone 'You're not eligible for the benefits,' " said Shaefer. "It's another thing to approve someone, let them use the support, and then expect them to pay it back.". Read the full story in the Detroit Free...

In the Media

Hanson remarks on attempts to restrict voting access across the U.S.

Apr 18, 2021 Folha de Sao Paolo

"The impact of the approval of these laws will be the reduction of electoral participation," said Jonathan Hanson. "Most of them are designed to make voting more difficult for Democratic voters, who tend to be low-income, with jobs that often don’t...

Publication

Stability, security at risk for half of children in shared, or doubled-up households, U-M research finds

Apr 16, 2021

Roughly half the kids in shared households may be living as “guests” in a less stable and secure environment, according to new research from the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. The team of researchers from U-M, Cornell...

News

HUD competition second place for Ford School student's team

Apr 15, 2021

A team comprised of four University of Michigan graduate students from the Ford School, Taubman College, and Ross Business along with a student from Harvard University are the runners-up in the 2021 Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design...

News

U-M's Ford School to expand social policy, equity work, thanks to Kohn Charitable Trust

Apr 9, 2021

A set of gifts totaling $17 million from the Kohn Charitable Trust will establish a resource hub at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy to catalyze interdisciplinary research on policy that promotes social equity and...

In the Media

Cooney and Shaefer: Pandemic shows government matters

Apr 4, 2021 Bridge Michigan

Patrick Cooney and Luke Shaefer write an opinion for Bridge Michigan. "While a lot of people are hurting right now, we have also found the data tell a pretty simple story: when government acts to buffer families by stabilizing their finances,...