Five Years of Impact:

Propelling Change

2016-2021

A diverse collage of photos from Poverty Solutions

Fall of 2021 marked the five-year anniversary of the launch of Poverty Solutions. Since then, we have undertaken hundreds of projects, established powerful community partnerships throughout the country, and demonstrated the myriad ways we can connect our research to policy and practice. In this five-year anniversary report, we offer a brief look at some of the people and projects that have helped advance our efforts to prevent and alleviate the devastating effects of poverty.

Since 2016

100

academic journal articles, working papers, & policy briefs supported

team members testified before congress

140

faculty experts connected with efforts to address economic disparities

105

events hosted exploring the causes and consequences of poverty

15,000

people connected with our efforts to eliminate poverty

schools and colleges partnered with on projects & events

In 2021

500+

times cited in national, regional, & local media & by the White House

1.7M+

social media impressions generated

250

students engaged in research assistantships, projects, and courses

Leadership Message

Director H. Luke Shaefer

Poverty Solutions is a presidential initiative of the University of Michigan that partners with communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty. In confronting the challenges of poverty, we know scholars do not have all the answers. Yet we have an important role to play. We can use data, evidence, and analysis to identify critical issues and evidence-based solutions to inform action.

Since Poverty Solutions launched five years ago, we have built a program of research that is innovative, participatory, and action-oriented; we have provided teaching and research opportunities that prepare students for successful careers in the field; and we have built deep and long-lasting community partnerships that drive our agenda. This focus on rigorous research for change, conducted in partnership, distinguishes Poverty Solutions from other university-based poverty centers. What we care most about is not ideology or theory, but whether our work fosters change that empowers families. Our record on this is what I am most proud of.

Our report on the impact of Michigan’s highest-in-the-nation auto insurance rates on economic mobility was highlighted by both Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the libertarian Mackinac Center for Public Policy in the leadup to the state’s 2019 auto insurance reform law. We recently released a follow-up evaluation report on the reform.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators led by Lisa Murkowski and Joe Manchin highlighted another one of our reports as motivation for an additional $800 million to help public school students who experienced homelessness during the pandemic.

Partnering with the State of Michigan, we helped design a $50 million eviction prevention program that operated during fall 2020. Scholars at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning found it cut eviction filing rates to a small fraction of what they were in 2019.

Poverty Solutions supported my research that the New York Times and Time Magazine both noted was a key driver in the expansion of the Child Tax Credit this year. Scholars estimate that this policy change has already lifted millions of children out of poverty.

Our team also recognizes that structural racism plays an important role in the systems that create and perpetuate poverty. In turn, our efforts to address poverty must also commit to addressing racism. In 2021, we partnered with the U-M Center for Social Solutions to create the Confronting and Combating Racism Faculty Grant Program, which awarded grants to six action-based research projects. We have supported the Crafting Democratic Futures project conducted by the Center for Social Solutions that is working with communities to develop local reparations plans. We supported the launch of the Center for Racial Justice at the Ford School of Public Policy, a cross-disciplinary hub that aims to foster deep relationships between research and advocacy for a more equitable and just society. And we have supported student efforts to enhance understanding of structural racism and how to address it.

Since Poverty Solutions was launched in 2016, we have sought to make good on the investment by the University of Michigan in this initiative. I am so grateful to be at a public university that would make such a commitment to using our community’s knowledge and skills to address poverty. I believe that through that commitment, the University of Michigan has been a part of impacting the lives of millions of people for the better, and it is my hope to extend that impact for years to come.

Sincerely,
H. Luke Shaefer
Director, Poverty Solutions | Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy

Highlights from Our First Five Years

Below we highlight some of the signature projects from the past five years that have helped advance Poverty Solutions' efforts to confront poverty and be a part of positive change.

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THE ARC OF SYSTEMS CHANGE

The following stories demonstrate how Poverty Solutions has worked with partners to inform concrete policy change in the areas of expanding the Child Tax Credit, increasing access to affordable housing, and improving systems to identify students experiencing homelessness. Our approach begins with listening to community input to set our research agenda, followed by analyzing data and conducting research to identify existing policy gaps, sharing those findings and proposing evidence-based interventions, supporting the implementation of new policies, then evaluating the outcome of those new policies, and sharing the findings.

conversation between three people at a table

Strengthening the cash safety net to reduce poverty and hardship

In March 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act, which included an expansion of the Child Tax Credit that increased the amount of the credit, made it available to more families, and distributed it in monthly payments.

Learn more

Building a path to safe and stable housing for all Detroiters

Detroit’s housing crisis is multifaceted and complex. It has been shaped by an inadequate supply of affordable housing; high property tax rates often based on inflated property assessments; aging and deteriorating housing; a lack of home repair resources; and a pattern of bulk ownership that has exacerbated displacement pressures.

Learn more

Jennier Erb-Downward making a presentation

Addressing student homelessness amid the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic made an already challenging task for school staff even more difficult: how to identify which students do not currently have a stable place to live and connect them with resources to ensure they’re able to fully participate in school.

Learn more

Highlight

“An essential ingredient to developing good policy is understanding what people want and need, and how they experience their lives. At a really basic level, this is the government’s job. A lot of people don’t have an opportunity to articulate their needs, and they deserve to be represented in the policies that get made.”

Elisabeth Gerber

Professor of Public Policy and co-PI of the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study

Amplifying impact through robust partnerships

Campus

Engaging Students & Faculty

Poverty Solutions has engaged nearly 650 students in research assistantships, projects, courses, and events representing nearly all 19 schools and colleges. Our faculty partnerships reflect the full range of expertise across all U-M departments and campuses.

County

Supporting Our Community

Recognizing U-M’s impact on the local community, Poverty Solutions pursues partnerships with a variety of government officials, service providers, criminal justice administrators, educators, business leaders, and community advocates in Washtenaw County to promote equity and reduce poverty.

Detroit

Contributing to Detroit Initiatives

Poverty Solutions continues to work closely with city officials, service providers, faculty researchers, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood groups, and resident leaders in Detroit on a variety of projects aimed at poverty prevention and alleviation.

stimulus check website loaded on a laptop

State

Addressing Issues in Michigan

Through its partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Poverty Solutions has contributed to numerous evidence-based policy changes across the state. Other recent state partnerships have focused on the employment risks of undocumented workers and addressing poverty among children.

National

Providing Expertise

Poverty Solutions’ research has played an important role in policies implemented across the country. From enhancing early childhood education and access to COVID-19 stimulus payments to identifying America's most disadvantaged communities and providing congressional testimonies, our scholars have become recognized as anti-poverty experts on the national level.

View the full report