A curated collection of timely and topical policy alerts that shine a light on issues related to child well-being, healthy youth development, family welfare and racial equity.
Students Engage in Policy Practice on Capitol Hill
March 29, 2017 With Capitol Hill as their classroom, 23 Brown School students spent Spring Break immersed in policy education and training in Washington, D.C. Throughout the week, they learned from a variety of policy practitioners and government officials working on issues connected to the Brown’s School’s core mission of advancing social change through education, […]
The Earned Income Tax Credit and the white working class
April 18, 2017 In a recent blog post, the Brookings Institution outlines the broad-reaching benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), particularly how it crosses race and education lines, as well as rural and urban boundaries. Since it’s creation in 1975, the EITC has gained bi-partisan support and has shown to reduce poverty, encourage […]
Missouri Senate votes to fully fund the School Foundation Formula
April 25, 2017 For the first time since 2005, the school foundation formula will be fully funded. This will allow state funding to be allocated to previous legislation such as the PreK law of 2014. This legislation provides that schools can receive state funding for up to four percent of their at-risk three and four-year-olds […]
New guidelines for smart decarceration offer concrete strategies for policymakers
May 3, 2017 “As the era of mass incarceration appears to be coming to an end, promoting smart decaraceration in the United States requires deliberate action,” said Pettus-Davis, assistant professor and director of the Institute for Advancing Justice Research and Innovation. Pettus-Davis is co-author of “Guideposts for the Era of Smart Decarceration: Smart Decarceration Strategies for Practitioners, […]
Uninsured breast cancer patients more likely to die
May 8, 2017 Uninsured women with breast cancer were nearly 2.6 times more likely to have a late stage diagnosis than cancer patients who were insured, finds a new study from Kimberly Johnson, associate professor at the Brown School. The study, “Breast Cancer Stage Variation and Survival in Association with Insurance Status and Sociodemographic Factors in […]
St. Louis voters approved $5 million for affordable housing, but budget routinely falls short
May 22, 2017 St. Louis is on track to underfund the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund for the sixth straight year, despite a $5 million minimum annual allocation voters passed in 2002. This comes about a month after voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase for public transit and affordable housing. Washington University assistant professor Molly […]
Aldermen host second Housing Urban Development public hearing to discuss development incentives
June 13, 2017 City residents were invited to voice their opinions on how the city should support housing and economic development at the second public hearing before the HUDZ committee of the Board of Aldermen, chaired by Alderman Joe Roddy (17th). Brown School MSW ’17 Alum, Jessica Payne, along with Molly Metzger, PhD and chairperson […]
Some ACA costs are offset by societal savings linked to fewer home delinquencies
June 13, 2017 Low-income people who gain health insurance are much more likely to make their rent and mortgage payments, according to a new Washington University study of families living near the poverty line. Lead researcher Emily Gallagher, with the Center for Social Development (CSD), says “the spin-off benefits to the community may offset a substantial share […]
Senate plan is biggest cut yet to health-care safety net
June 26, 2017 Timothy McBride, professor at the Brown School and co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy, expects that the bill will lead to over 24 million people being uninsured and very large, perhaps devastating, cuts to the Medicaid program, which currently covers about 75 million children, disabled, aged and other adults. Source: https://source.wustl.edu/2017/06/washu-expert-senate-health-care-plan-will-dramatically-increase-uninsured/
Parker Leads Community Discussion on Communications and Social Justice
On January 20, 2018, Gary Parker, Associate Dean of External Affairs and Director of the Clark-Fox Policy Institute at the Brown School, moderated a panel discussion hosted by the Community Service Public Relations Council (CSPRC) titled Aligning Our Work with Action: Communicating During Times of Unrest and Uncertainty. Parker led the group through a conversation […]
Three questions on economic insecurity with Mark Rank
August 21, 2017 Rank and Hirschl are the authors of Chasing the American Dream: Understanding What Shapes Our Fortunes, which uses the Panel Study of Income Dynamics — the longest-running longitudinal household survey in the world — to paint a picture of income inequality in the United States. Using the same data, the two created a poverty risk calculator that […]
School health clinics are growing in number in St. Louis region
August 23, 2017 Research has shown that poor health is a barrier to student learning, is associated with lower grades and is a common reason why students miss school or drop out. School-based health clinics such as Normandy’s are one of a number of ways educators are seeking to address not just their students’ educational needs, […]