H. Luke Shaefer | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
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H. Luke Shaefer

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Luke Shaefer

Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy; Director, Poverty Solutions; Professor of Social Work
[email protected]
(734) 615-3894
Luke Shaefer serves as the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary, presidential initiative at U-M that seeks to partner communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.
Headshot of Luke Shaefer
State & Hill

Faculty news, fall 2025

Dec 8, 2025
Ford School experts are publishing research, sharing their knowledge, and getting recognized.
Headshots of Javed Ali, Bill Axinn, Samuel Bagenstos, Jenna Bednar, Elizabeth Gerber, Devin Judge-Lord, Alexander Ralph, Fabiana Silva, Alton Worthington, and Dean Yang.
State & Hill

Michigan redefines support for new families

Dec 8, 2025
Rx Kids, the nation’s first community-wide prenatal and infant cash program, has improved infant health, reduced evictions, and achieved a high return on investment. Now, with new state commitments, it will reach about one-third of all births statewi...
Five adults smiling, one holding a framed children's artwork.
In the Media

Shaefer on Trump administration's use of contingency funds for SNAP

Nov 3, 2025 CBS Detroit
The Ford School's Luke Shaefer spoke with CBS Detroit on the federal government shutdown's impact on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  "There are senior citizens, millions of senior citizens, millions of families with kids who ar...
Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room
News

The effects of pausing SNAP benefits: U-M experts can comment

Oct 27, 2025
EXPERTS ADVISORY University of Michigan experts are available to discuss the impact of a potential halt in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding due to the federal government shutdown. A directive from the U.S. Department of Agriculture h...
Name food-security-1090x681
News

Shaefer comments on impending SNAP benefit cut-off

Oct 26, 2025
As the Trump administration gets closer to cutting off SNAP food assistance, Ford School Professor Luke Shaefer has been commenting on the potential dire situation families will face around food security. "You have to think of food in the context of ...
Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room
In the Media

Shaefer's Rx Kids program to extend to Wayne County

Apr 10, 2025 Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press has recently highlighted Wayne County Executive Warren Evans' plans to combat child poverty through cash aid programs. Evans discussed his hope to bring Rx Kids, the anti-poverty program directed by the Ford School's Luke Shaef...
Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room
News

Shaefer calls for courage on DEI

Apr 9, 2025 Bridge Michigan
In a new opinion piece for Bridge Michigan, Luke Shaefer argues that the University of Michigan should not give in to pressure from the Trump Administration so easily.
Luke Shaefer and Kathryn Edin talk about The Injustice of Place
In the Media

Shaefer talks working on Rx Kids

Mar 7, 2025 The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Luke Shaefer, Ford School professor and Director of Poverty Solutions talked with The Chronicle of Philanthropy about his work on Rx Kids as a guide for the NGO GiveDirectly. Working on Rx Kids he says was "a really humbling experience for me because...
Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room
In the Media

Shaefer on community violence intervention in Detroit

Mar 6, 2025 Michigan Public
Luke Shaefer, Ford School professor and directory of Poverty Solutions, talked about the community violence intervention program in Detroit called FORCE (Faithfully Organizing Resources for Community Empowerment) as well as others including ShotStopp...
Luke Shaefer
In the Media

Shaefer's Rx Kids program set to expand to Kalamazoo

Feb 23, 2025 WOOD
Following huge success in its first year, the child healthcare support program Rx Kids is set to expand from Flint into Kalamazoo. Luke Shaefer, professor at the Ford School and the program's co-director stated, "We see families reporting that they c...
shaefer-rxkids
News

Shaefer's Rx Kids program set to expand to the Upper Penninsula

Feb 14, 2025
Rx Kids, the nation’s first-ever citywide cash prescription program for pregnant women and babies, today announced the program’s launch into communities in the Eastern Upper Peninsula (UP). The UP expansion of Rx Kids is made possible by an innovativ...
Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room
News

Rx Kids celebration in the news as it expands to Kalamazoo

Feb 9, 2025
More than 1,300 babies and families in the city of Flint have received nearly $6 million in cash prescriptions since Rx Kids launched in January 2024. A birthday bash complete with cupcakes, coloring pages, and other birthday fun, was held Jan. 29 at...
Adult kissing a baby on the cheek, the baby is holding a teddy bear and wearing a floral headband.
State & Hill

Spotlights, fall 2024

Dec 17, 2024
Welcome, changemakersThe Ford School’s Center for Racial Justice proudly welcomes its third cohort of Visiting Fellows: writer, filmmaker, and community organizer Charlene Carruthers; racial justice lawyer, historian, and organizer Amanda Alexander; ...
Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Charlene Carruthers, Amanda Alexander, Bianca D.M. Wilson, Dom Adams-Santos
News

Shaefer testifies on state-level paid family leave program

Dec 11, 2024
On December 10, Kohn Professor Luke Shaefer testified before the Michigan State Senate Committee on Housing and Human Services about a new state-level paid family leave program. Shaefer pointed to a recent study by University of Michigan Poverty Solu...
Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room
News

Rx Kids shows promising results after its first year

Dec 9, 2024
Since its start in January of 2024, Rx Kids has been a lifesaver for young families in Flint Michigan. The program was co-founded by the Ford School's Luke Shaefer and provides Flint residents with $1,500 mid-pregnancy, and $500 each month for the ba...
luke-shaefer-flint-baby
In the Media

Rx Kids showing positive early results: Shaefer

Dec 9, 2024 Next City
"So far, RxKids has shown a reduction in depressive symptoms and increases in positive wellbeing, with larger numbers of participants indicating that they feel loved, hopeful and respected. Preliminary outcomes also show lowered anxiety scores (thoug...
luke-shaefer-flint-baby
In the Media

Shaefer on Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's legacy

Nov 16, 2024 The Detroit News
Luke Shaefer, Ford School professor, talked about improvements Mayor Mike Duggan has made to Detroit. He says, “My assessment is, on the whole, he is leaving the city in much better shape than when he took office.” Shaefer said, “The poverty rate is ...
Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room