Policy Topics

Poverty and social policy

Showing 211 - 240 of 1254 results

News

Ford School experts hail reduction in child poverty, call for expansion of Child Tax Credit

Sep 16, 2022

As the U.S. economy stagnated during the pandemic, a surprising by-product of government assistance was the rapid decline in child poverty rates. Ford School experts Luke Shaefer, Patrick Cooney, and Betsey Stevenson celebrate this “triumph of...

Headshots of Luke Shaefer, Patrick Cooney, and Betsey Stevenson

News

Ostfeld awarded U-M Anti-Racism Grant

Sep 14, 2022

Mara Ostfeld, associate faculty director and director of communications at Poverty Solutions, has been awarded one of eight Anti-Racism Grants from the U-M Office of the Vice President for Research for her collaboration with the University of Puerto...

News

Municipal governance, economic inclusion, and environmental action among the topics covered at Policy Pitch Competition

Sep 14, 2022

“Here's a truth that bears repeating, ‘Budgets are moral documents.'” So began the presentation of Alex Perez-Garcia (MPP, MBA ‘24) to the 5th annual Ford School Policy Pitch Competition, as she described her summer internship in the Office of...

Photo of students and judges at the 2022 Policy Pitch Competition

In the Media

Branche-Wilson breaks down DMACS findings about financial health

Sep 12, 2022 Michigan Radio

A Detroit Metro Area Communities Study found that many Detroiters would struggle if faced with a $400 emergency. Afton Branche-Wilson, assistant director of community initiatives at Poverty Solutions, helped Michigan Radio summarize the...

News

Detroit small businesses can better access free U-M resources through new CFLP website

Sep 9, 2022

The University of Michigan’s Center on Finance, Law, and Policy (CFLP) is pleased to announce the launch of a new website specifically for the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP). The new site showcases the full breadth of programming...

Screen cap of the DNEP homepage placed into a mockup of a laptop computer screen

News

Amplifying youth voices to drive change in Detroit

Sep 7, 2022

Imagine, summer vacation is coming to an end and you must start school next week, but you haven’t been able to shower in a week. Would you be able to focus on school? That was the question posed by a group of teens and young adults advocating for...

In the Media

Nothaft promotes universal free lunch

Sep 4, 2022 Michigan Radio

As the school year begins, thousands of Michigan children are eligible for free school meals, according to Michigan Radio. While free and reduced lunch programs are great, Poverty Solutions analyst Amanda Nothaft called universal free lunch “a...

Photo of a cafeteria filled with middle school students

News

New study explores the negative effects of housing instability on mental health

Aug 31, 2022

The Great Recession may have affected Americans’ well-being in ways previously not well understood. A new study has found that people who experienced housing instability as a result of the economic downturn during the 2007-09 recession were...

News

Ford School events for fall 2022 explore racial justice, international affairs, the state of democracy and more

Aug 30, 2022

The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup for the fall 2022 Policy Talks @ the Ford School series and other special public events hosted with partners from across campus. We are hosting distinguished policymakers, scholars,...

Ambassador Susan Rice and Michael Barr lead an event at the Ford School

News

Detroit housing loss prevention program yields 85% homeownership rate four years later

Aug 28, 2022

A program designed to help tenants in Detroit to purchase their homes helped 85% of participants sustain homeownership for four years, an important milestone as owners may start to see the wealth-building benefits and other advantages of...

News

Sam Bagenstos appointed as the inaugural Arlene Susan Kohn Professor of Social Policy

Aug 25, 2022

The Regents of the University of Michigan have approved the appointment of Sam Bagenstos as the inaugural Arlene Susan Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Professor Bagenstos, who is currently on leave from...

News

Center for Racial Justice welcomes inaugural visiting fellows

Aug 24, 2022

The Ford School’s Center for Racial Justice proudly welcomes Atinuke (Tinu) Adediran, Makeda Easter, and Julian Brave NoiseCat as inaugural Visiting Fellows for the 2022-23 academic year. The visiting fellows program recognizes and supports the...

Headshots of Atinuke Adediran, Makeda Easter, and Julian Brave NoiseCat

News

Morenoff Senate testimony highlights discrepancies in 2020 Detroit Census

Jul 26, 2022

The results of the 2020 Census have generated debate across the country, but perhaps nowhere as intensely as in Detroit. Michigan’s largest city, which has an overwhelming majority of African American and Hispanic residents combined of 85%, may have...

Jeffrey Morenoff testifying to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

In the Media

Poverty Solutions report cited as Detroit City Council tackles illegal eviction

Jul 19, 2022 Michigan Radio

After weeks of hearing complaints, the Detroit City Council has begun discussing ways to stop illegal evictions in the city, Michigan Radio reports. While certificates of compliance are required to legally rent out a property and evict tenants...

News

Lantz and Udow-Phillips on the potential effects of the Roe decision

Jul 19, 2022

The progress that has been made in Michigan's child welfare system could be put at risk by a ban on abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's Roe decision. The effects "could add thousands more children to the system in the coming years and...

Marianne Udow-Phillips and Paula Lantz headshots

News

EPI faculty and affiliates receive nearly $10 million through four national education research (NCER) grants

Jul 13, 2022

Four research projects conducted by affiliates of the Education Policy Initiative (EPI) at the University of Michigan received a total of nearly $10 million in new grants from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of...

Headshots of Kevin Stange, Christina Weiland, Robin Jacob, and Daniel Kreisman

In the Media

Poverty Solutions papers on cash payments show lack of long-term impact

Jul 12, 2022 Vox

Two studies published by Poverty Solutions were cited in an article in Vox which stated that "cash transfers in the US, and those studies found the transfers did... very little." The papers by Ford School professors Brian Jacob, Natasha...

Publication

Poverty Solutions: Washtenaw County should consider long-term impact, implementation of ARPA allocations

Jul 7, 2022

A new policy brief from Poverty Solutions initiative offers recommendations for ways to target funding to key programs and priorities, focus on program implementation, and consider long-term impacts as Washtenaw County leaders decide how to allocate...

In the Media

State inflation relief checks are not a stimulus, says Hausman

Jul 6, 2022 NPR Marketplace

A dozen states are providing tax rebates to residents who qualify. Professor Joshua Hausman told NPR Marketplace they are designed to help people deal with rising prices, not stimulate the economy. “This is not a good idea if you care about...

Publication

9 in 10 Detroit eviction cases filed during pandemic came from landlords not compliant with rental codes

Jul 2, 2022

Despite pandemic-related eviction prevention measures, thousands of Detroit renters were evicted in the past two years due to loopholes in policies and enforcement. Analysis of court data by University of Michigan researchers shows nearly 90% of...

News

Two Ford School PhD candidates receive ISR Next Generation Awards

Jun 30, 2022

The Institute for Social Research (ISR) has announced the recipients of the 2022 Next Generation Awards. The announcement stated, "These donor-funded awards propel recipients forward in their careers and catalyze important research projects. This...

In the Media

Ostfeld calls for equal protection as gun violence takes its toll on Black commuities

Jun 27, 2022 Parents magazine

"Black Children Are Disproportionately Hurt By Gun Violence," Parents magazine reports. Many causes are cited, including drug wars, low-income areas flooded with guns, and deeper societal attitudes about the Black community and guns. Mara...

In the Media

Poverty Solutions briefs on stimulus spending cited as "Americans face a darkening economy"

Jun 26, 2022 Washington Post

Noting that pandemic-era aid has ended just as prices are rising, the Washington Post reports that the middle class is feeling squeezed again. Two research reports by Poverty Solutions were referenced in the report. "From December 2020 to...

In the Media

Solution to reducing child poverty "no great mystery" - Cooney

Jun 26, 2022 WDET

WDET's Detroit Today notes that, "Child poverty is the highest in the U.S. compared to other developed nations. While we have programs to address poverty for our elders — social security and Medicare, chief among them — programs directed at children...

Publication

Cavaillé: Far-right parties find favor where immigrants, citizens vie for same public housing in Europe

Jun 23, 2022

In Europe, far-right parties have emerged as the most vocal defenders of restricting welfare benefits to citizens only. Why do voters find such a policy platform attractive? A new study examines the role played by competition between natives...

News

"Confronting the Carceral State" - Davenport and team win Meet the Moment Research Initiative grant

Jun 22, 2022

The College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) is investing nearly $4.5 million in grant funding for four innovative new faculty research projects. Ford School courtesy faculty Christian Davenport is part of one of the teams that received the...

News

Poverty Solutions collaborates on Detroit Land Contract Buyer Guide

Jun 22, 2022

A new Detroit Land Contract Buyer Guide launched in conjunction with National Homeownership Month offers step-by-step guidance for housing counselors and prospective and current buyers on how to connect with resources, identify predatory or...

Publication

Michigan poverty map identifies regional needs related to child care, health care, affordable housing

Jun 16, 2022

A new data map displaying a variety of poverty and well-being metrics across Michigan holds implications for how federal American Rescue Plan Act funds could be used to address the state’s most pressing needs. Poverty Solutions at the University...

News

Event advisory: What comes after Roe v. Wade? Michigan experts to discuss law, policy, health and economics

Jun 1, 2022

Date 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, 2022 Event "What comes after Roe? Michigan Experts Discuss Law, Policy, Health and Economics" Details The U-M Center for the Education of Women+, Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) and...

Photo of the Supreme Court of the United States building

State & Hill

The Last Word

May 31, 2022

As part of the Practical Community Learning Project (PCLP), a semester-long independent policy-based community project in Detroit, community engagement manager DeAndré J. Calvert and a team of Ford School students worked on digital access with the...

Photo of DeAndré Calvert addressing a room of attendees at the Ford School reunion in 2019