News

Contact: Jared Wadley, jwadley@umich.edu; or Lauren Slagter, lslag@umich.edu

EXPERTS ADVISORY

University of Michigan faculty are available to discuss the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 report on poverty and income statistics, to be released Sept. 9.

The Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Rate—preferred by most scholars—was 12.9% in 2023, with 42.8 million people in poverty. The poverty threshold for renting families of two adults and two children in 2023 was $37,482.

Luke Shaefer

Luke Shaefer is the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy, professor of public policy and social work, and faculty director of Poverty Solutions at U-M, a universitywide initiative that aims to prevent and alleviate poverty through action-based research. Shaefer studies poverty and social welfare policy, with a focus on tax credits as a poverty reduction tool. He is the co-founder of Rx Kids, the nation’s first communitywide maternal and infant health cash prescription program.

Contact: lshaefer@umich.edu

Trina Shanks

Trina Shanks is the Harold R. Johnson Collegiate Professor of Social Work and faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research. She conducts research on the impact of poverty and wealth on child well-being; asset-building policy and practice across the life cycle; and community and economic development.

Contact: trwilli@umich.edu

Kristin Seefeldt

Kristin Seefeldt is an associate professor of social work and public policy and senior associate faculty director of Poverty Solutions at U-M. Her research explores how economic and policy changes affect the everyday lives of economically vulnerable families, and she’s currently leading a guaranteed income pilot and research study in Ann Arbor.

Contact: kseef@umich.edu