Policy Briefs

Sheriff and Community Mental Health Partner to Bring Co-Response to Washtenaw County, MI

March 18, 2026

Matthew Alemu

Download PDF of the full essay Introduction“Don’t hurt them!” I heard this appeal from a Black male driving by what he likely interpreted as the start of an unprovoked police encounter with a civilian. At a quick glance, this driver’s perception mak...

Policy Briefs

Exploring the Role of Homeowners Insurance in Economic Mobility and Neighborhood Stability in Detroit

March 11, 2026

Sam Stragand, Amanda Nothaft

Houses on a neighborhood street in Detroit

Policy Briefs

Public Banking in California: Learning from the Bank of North Dakota

July 7, 2025

By Daria Lenderman, Lucy Lawrence, Gabriel Coll, and Terri Friedline

Policy Briefs

The COVID-Era Social Safety Net and Economic Well-Being Beyond Child Poverty

February 20, 2025

H. Luke Shaefer

Policy Briefs

Lessons Learned from Pandemic-era Aid: Opportunities for schools to improve the identification of children experiencing homelessness

January 31, 2025

Jennifer Erb-Downward, William D. Lopez, John Bulat

Download PDF of full policy brief IntroductionFunds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 dedicated to Homeless Children and Youth (referred to as ARP-HCY) dramatically expanded the number of school districts in the state of New York and national...

Policy Briefs

Inequality in Crime Victim Compensation

September 18, 2024

By Jeremy Levine

Policy Briefs

Opportunities and Challenges of Public Banking in the Windy City: Perspectives of Chicago Residents

July 17, 2023

By Terri Friedline, Sofia Da Silva, and Ameya Pawar

Policy Briefs

Suburban Detroit Water Unaffordability: Causes, Consequences, and the Need for Comprehensive Policy Interventions

May 15, 2023

By Dana Kornberg, Mackenzie Taradalsky, Victoria Guster-Brown, Sylvia Orduño, and Diane Weckerle

Policy Briefs

Evidence on Measures to Reduce Excessive Use of Force by the Police

January 19, 2023

By Trevor Bechtel, Mara C. Ostfeld, and H. Luke Shaefer

Policy Briefs

Can a Public Bank Redress the Private Banking Industry’s Harms to Chicago’s Residents? An Analysis of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Complaints Database

January 18, 2023

By Terri Friedline and Ameya Pawar

Policy Briefs

The Child Development and Care Subsidy: Challenges and Opportunities

November 11, 2022

William D. Lopez, Karen Otzen Kling, Amanda Nothaft

Download PDF for full policy brief See an accessible version of the PDF IntroductionAccess to high-quality, affordable, and reliable child care is essential to economic stability and mobility for families. In Michigan, finding and paying for child ...

Policy Briefs

Learning from COVID-19 Eviction Response Measures in Detroit

November 11, 2022

By Alexa Eisenberg and Katlin Brantley, with research assistance from Laura Meyer

Policy Briefs

How Much Did Child Poverty Fall Between 1993 And 2019? How Does That Compare To What Happened Between 2019-2021?

October 28, 2022

By H. Luke Shaefer and Patrick Cooney Trends in the Economic Well-Being of Households with Children (presentation)

Policy Briefs

Material Hardship and Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022

October 27, 2022

By Patrick Cooney and H. Luke Shaefer

Policy Briefs

The Effects of Income on the Economic Well-being of Families with Low Incomes: Evidence from the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit

September 27, 2022

By Natasha Pilkauskas, Katherine Michelmore, and H. Luke Shaefer

Policy Briefs

Lessons from Detroit's Make It Home Program for Sustaining Very Low-Income Homeownership

August 10, 2022

By Margaret Dewar and Roshanak Mehdipanah

Policy Briefs

The Power of Connections: Cultivating Social Capital to Drive Economic Opportunity in Detroit

July 25, 2022

By Afton Branche-Wilson, Anna Lam, and Judy Lansky

Policy Briefs

One Time Spending for Long-Term Impact: Evaluating Washtenaw County's American Rescue Plan Act Allocations

July 5, 2022

By Amanda Nothaft

Policy Briefs

The COVID-19 Cash Transfer Studies

June 13, 2022

H. Luke Shaefer, Brian Jacob, Natasha Pilkauskas

Download PDF of full policy brief, "The COVID Cash Transfer Studies: Key Findings and Future Directions" By H. Luke Shaefer, Brian A. Jacob, Natasha V. Pilkauskas, Elizabeth Rhodes, and Katherine Richard Download PDF of working paper on Randomized...

Policy Briefs

Material Hardship and Well-Being of U.S. Households at the End of 2021

March 22, 2022

By Patrick Cooney, H. Luke Shaefer, and Samiul Jubaed

Policy Briefs

Disability in the Shadow of Mass Incarceration

March 11, 2022

By Reuben Jonathan Miller

Policy Briefs

A Way Home: Why Supporting Youth Experiencing Homelessness is Critical in Michigan

February 23, 2022

Jennifer Erb-Downward, Amanda Nothaft

Download PDF of full policy brief View accessible version of PDF IntroductionBefore the start of the pandemic, Michigan’s public schools identified 4,763 homeless youth living independent of parental support. These youth are homeless—living outside...