Publications

cover of guide showing cog wheels filled with photos of people
March 14, 2023
This seven-part guide is designed to help people at the local level collect data to better understand what factors bring people together or push them apart. This information can help communities to thrive and strengthen democracy at the local level.
image of front cover of brief
March 7, 2023
In this brief, authors Jess Carson and Sarah Boege describe changes in the early childhood education and care landscape of Grafton and Sullivan Counties in New Hampshire and Orange and Windsor Counties in Vermont, collectively known as the Upper Valley.
image of brief front page
March 7, 2023
In this brief, the authors illustrate New Hampshire and Vermont’s different responses to supporting the early childhood education and care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic and examine the limited publicly available data on pandemic relief funds through the lens of the interstate Upper Valley region.
image of front page of brief
March 7, 2023
In this brief, the authors explore how state-level decisions in New Hampshire and Vermont manifest in the early childhood education and care sector, through the lens of the interstate Upper Valley region.
cover page of brief
December 23, 2021
Using data from the late summer through the fall of 2021, this brief documents recent racial and income disparities in reports of inadequate access to childcare and identifies the employment-related consequences of these shortages.
cover of NH food engagement brief
June 23, 2021
In this brief, Jess Carson, Analena Bruce, and Isaac Leslie describe data collected in the May 2021 Granite State Poll and find that while more than 80 percent of Granite Staters report buying local farm food at least a few times a month in the past year, there is significant variation in engagement across the state.
cover of EITC fact sheet
April 6, 2021
In this fact sheet, author Jess Carson explores how changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2021 affect childless tax filers. Findings show that the share of childless adults who can claim a credit has tripled under the new provisions, and that the biggest driver of widened access is lowering the minimum age for eligibility.
cover of child poverty data snapshot
September 17, 2020
New American Community Survey (ACS) data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on September 17, 2020 show child poverty at 16.8 percent in 2019, down from 18 percent in 2018. Sub-national patterns in child poverty remain intact; for example, higher in rural and urban places than in the suburbs. Importantly, 2019 child poverty declines are likely now outdated due to the COVID-19-related recession,...
cover of child care brief
August 24, 2020
In this new Carsey Perspective, authors Jess Carson and Marybeth Mattingly describe the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has strained the nation’s already-fragile early childhood care systems. Child care providers are struggling to address revenue losses associated with closures, fewer enrollments, and new safety guidelines. Meanwhile, demand for formal child care is shifting in yet-unknown ways,...
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June 29, 2020
In this data snapshot, authors Jess Carson and Sarah Boege find that getting food is a problem for people experiencing food insufficiency during the pandemic, but affording food is the biggest challenge.