Policies for Action
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December Update






The bigger picture of keeping children with their families



Child Protective Services (CPS) systems across the country are looking for ways to provide support earlier in children’s lives to reduce racial disparities in out-of-home child placements and keep children with their families.


A P4A project links health, human services, housing, and criminal justice data to increase our understanding of risks and protective factors for children entering placement by age 5. If policy can address risks and reinforce strengths early on, families may never enter CPS systems in the first place.


But how can researchers make sure they’re understanding the bigger picture about real families? Read
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“To Understand Child Welfare, Involve People Who Know” to learn how researchers engage with parents, caregivers, CPS staff, and community members in their P4A research.
How minimum wage affects child health



Various effects of changes to minimum wages have been studied rigorously, but less is known about the link to child development.


P4A researchers are
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investigating effects such as children’s physical and mental health, socioemotional development, parental time spent with children, and children’s use of health care services.


This research builds on the researchers’ expertise on income policy, including an article recently published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management,
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“Effects of the Minimum Wage on Infant Health.”
Making parents’ work schedules more predictable could help kids



With the holidays fast approaching, many workers stocking the shelves and working the registers at shopping malls, supermarkets, and big-box stores are scrambling to piece together child care. One in 10 kids in the US has a parent employed in the retail or food sector and could be affected by the unpredictability of their parents’ work schedules.


P4A researchers used survey data from the Shift Project, collected in 2017 and 2018 from a sample of 3,653 parents who balance work in the retail and food service sectors with parenting newborns to 9-year-olds. Almost 30 percent of these parents report being asked to work “on call,” and almost 70 percent report last-minute changes to their work schedules. These unpredictable schedules are associated with more numerous care arrangements, greater reliance on informal care, and leaving children without care from a mature caregiver. All these conditions are known to negatively affect children.


Providing working parents with more advance notice of their schedules and restricting last-minute shift changes allows workers, children, and caregivers to experience greater stability and ensures kids are getting the care they need for strong development and well-being.


Read
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“Why Making Parents’ Work Schedules More Predictable Could Benefit Kids.”
Community corner



More than one in five adults loses health insurance coverage annually, and the numbers vary depending on the type of insurance. Adults with Medicaid are at the greatest risk, with 40 percent losing coverage within 12 months of signing up.
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In this Boston Globe op-ed, P4A researcher Benjamin Sommers addresses transitions in health insurance, or “churning.” All told, one pre–Affordable Care Act study found that more than 40 percent of adults enrolled in Medicaid lose coverage within 12 months of signing up, and 55 percent of women covered by Medicaid during pregnancy become uninsured within 6 months of giving birth.


E4A has introduced the Evidence for Action blog. Check out the latest post,
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"One Alternative to Randomized Controlled Trials: Instrument-Based Study Designs."
Upcoming conferences and events



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A Century of Progress: Foundation for the Future

Transportation Research Board

January 12–16, 2020, D.C.

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Innovation and Imagination in Active Living

Active Living Research

February 2–5, 2020, Orlando

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Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults: A National Conference

National Alliance to End Homelessness

February 19–21, 2020, Oakland

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20/20 Vision: Examining Policy Prescriptions in an Election Year

National Association for Business Economics

February 23–25, 2020, D.C.



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Policies for Action is a signature program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation administered by the Urban Institute


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