Category: Center for Social Policy in Practice

Resource Category Topic Type
Affordability Challenges Drive Food Insufficiency in the Pandemic
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.
Center for Social Policy in Practice, COVID-19 COVID-19, Food Assistance, Low Income, Poverty Publication
Changing Child Care Supply in New Hampshire and Vermont’s Upper Valley
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.
 Center for Social Policy in Practice, New Hampshire Child Care, Children, Family, New England, New Hampshire Publication
Child Care Investments and Policies in the Upper Valley, in the Pandemic and Beyond
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.
Center for Social Policy in Practice, New Hampshire Child Care, Children, COVID-19, Education, Family, New England, New Hampshire, Safety Net Publication
Childcare Remains Out of Reach for Millions in 2021, Leading to Disproportionate Job Losses for Black, Hispanic, and Low-Income Families
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.
 Center for Social Policy in Practice African Americans, Child Care, Children, COVID-19, Employment, Family, Hispanics, Low Income, Race, Unemployment Publication
COVID-19 Didn’t Create a Child Care Crisis, But Hastened and Inflamed It
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, with unemployment, telework, uncertain school reopenings for older children, and health-related concerns all playing a part. The authors conclude that the child care system requires significant policy support to regain lost footage, but encourage policymakers to utilize the pandemic’s disruption as an opportunity to rebuild child care in more equitable and sustainable ways.
 Center for Social Policy in Practice, COVID-19 Child Care, Children, COVID-19, Family, Unemployment Publication
Four-in-Five Adults Are Vaccinated or Intend to Get a Vaccine
In this data snapshot, author Sarah Boege reports that by March 29, one-quarter of U.S. adults reported that they had already received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, 39.1 percent hadn’t yet been vaccinated but reported that they will “definitely” get one when available and another 17.4 percent said that they “probably” will. However, 10.1 percent of adults will “probably not” and 8.2 percent will “definitely not” get a vaccine.
Center for Social Policy in Practice, COVID-19 COVID-19, Health Publication
Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Eligibility by New Hampshire State Legislative District
This brief translates New Hampshire free and reduced-price lunch eligibility data from the school level to the state House of Representatives legislative district level so that legislators have another resource for understanding the distribution of low-income families across the state and the extent to which child nutrition programs are especially relevant in their districts.
 Center for Social Policy in Practice, New Hampshire Children, Food Assistance, Low Income, New Hampshire, Poverty, Safety Net Publication
Half of New Hampshire Residents Buy Local Farm Food at Least a Few Times a Month, But Engagement Varies by County
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.
Center for Social Policy in Practice, New Hampshire Food Assistance, New Hampshire Publication
Innovation in Food Access Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered income losses and rising demand for food-related support, while social distancing requirements have complicated access to usual nutrition support sites. In response, government agencies, private retailers, nonprofit organizations, and volunteer networks are undertaking innovative efforts to ensure food access by vulnerable populations. By highlighting strategies that are unfolding in real time, this brief shares an array of potential approaches for private, public, and nonprofit stakeholders to use in deploying their resources.
 Center for Social Policy in Practice, COVID-19 COVID-19, Food Assistance, Safety Net Publication
New Data Show One-in-Six Children Were Poor Before COVID-19 Pandemic
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, the effects of which may last years. For instance, child poverty had still not yet returned to pre-Great Recession rates from 2007 in all states by 2019, illustrating that recovery in child poverty can be a long process.
Center for Social Policy in Practice Children, Poverty Publication
Rural Areas with Seasonal Homes Hit Hard by COVID-19
In this data snapshot, author Jess Carson finds that rural counties where at least 25 percent of the housing units are for seasonal use are hit especially hard by COVID-19 compared with urban and other kinds of rural counties.
Center for Social Policy in Practice, COVID-19 Community Development, COVID-19, Economic Development, Rural Publication
Share of Childless Adults Eligible for EITC Triples Under American Rescue Plan
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.
Center for Social Policy in Practice, COVID-19 COVID-19, Income, Low Income, Poverty, Safety Net, Tax, Wages Publication
The Poverty-Reducing Effects of the EITC and Other Safety Nets for Young Adult Parents
In this brief, Jess Carson explores the poverty-reducing effects of key federal safety net programs among 18-24 year old (“young adult”) parents.
Center for Social Policy in Practice, COVID-19 Child Care, Children, COVID-19, Family, Food Assistance, Low Income, Safety Net, Young Adults Publication
Why Interstate Child Care Scholarship Policy Choices Matter in the Upper Valley
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.
Center for Social Policy in Practice, New Hampshire Child Care, Children, Education, Family, New England, New Hampshire Publication