Research Brief

This brief summarizes results of interviews and focus groups with participants in human services programs about how they view extreme weather and other environmental hazards and their effects on families and communities. Participants discussed acute hazards such as flooding, as well as more chronic problems such as widespread trash, heat, poor air and water quality, and lead.

Custody relinquishment occurs when children enter foster care primarily to receive behavioral health or disability services, not because of maltreatment. Parents may relinquish custody for a variety of reasons. Entering foster care could provide children with access to services that are otherwise unavailable due to limited capacity.

Key Findings:

This brief examines the timing of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) enrollment relative to timing of engagement with child welfare services for children in Florida and Kentucky. The analysis covers children involved in child welfare systems from 2017-2021.

This brief describes the relationship between employment and formal educational experiences of refugees prior to resettling in the U.S., and their socioeconomic situation within their first five years in the country.Key Points

This brief summarizes focus groups and interviews with individuals who receive support through human services programs and federal benefits. These conversations explored participants’ feelings about well-being, including what it means to them and how the support they received through federal benefits and local human services programs influenced their well-being.

Efforts to promote positive mental health and prevent the onset of mental health difficulties are crucial for supporting healthy early childhood social-emotional development and well-being.

Nursing homes have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to examine whether there were racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic differences in COVID-19 infection and mortality rates at both the nursing home resident and nursing home facility levels. The study includes national data on COVID-19 outcomes for nursing home residents through the end of June 2021.

Children and youth involved with the child welfare system frequently have behavioral health conditions and are high users of behavioral health services compared to children and youth in other Medicaid eligibility categories.

Stakeholders, researchers, and policymakers have identified varying nursing home ownership structures and ownership transactions as potentially influencing the quality of care delivered to vulnerable residents.