Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Building A Foundation For Racial And Ethnic Equity: Estimated Impacts Of Massachusetts Legislation To Expand Affordable Quality Child Care And Early Education Executive Summary, Randy Albelda, Alan Clayton-Matthews, Anne Douglass, Christa Kelleher, Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson, Songtian Zeng

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

A multi-disciplinary UMass Boston team of researchers through the Early Education Cost and Usage Simulator Project (CUSP) seeks to better understand some of the impacts of expanding financial assistance to families for child care and early education. The team has developed and uses a statistical model that simulates parents’ decisions about care usage to estimate how much more licensed care might be needed in Massachusetts and what employment and income changes may take place with increased utilization of affordable licensed quality child care and early education. The team’s October 2023 brief provided findings for all families and children in the …

Building A Foundation For Racial And Ethnic Equity: Estimated Impacts Of Massachusetts Legislation To Expand Affordable Quality Child Care And Early Education, Randy Albelda, Alan Clayton-Matthews, Anne Douglass, Christa Kelleher, Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson, Songtian Zeng

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

A multi-disciplinary UMass Boston team of researchers through the Early Education Cost and Usage Simulator Project (CUSP) seeks to better understand some of the impacts of expanding financial assistance to families for child care and early education. The team has developed and uses a statistical model that simulates parents’ decisions about care usage to estimate how much more licensed care might be needed in Massachusetts and what employment and income changes may take place with increased utilization of affordable licensed quality child care and early education. The team’s October 2023 brief provided findings for all families and children in the …

Estimating The Impacts Of Legislation To Expand Affordable Quality Child Care And Early Education In Massachusetts: Initial Findings On Utilization, Employment, And Financial Assistance. Research Brief #1, Randy Albelda, Alan Clayton-Matthews, Anne Douglass, Christa Kelleher, Songtian Zeng, Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The UMass Boston Early Education CUSP is led by a multidisciplinary team that designed the simulator and uses it to produce current, relevant, accurate, and responsive estimates about the key impacts of proposed legislation to expand access to affordable, quality child care and early education. One of the simulator’s valuable features is that it can produce estimates for a range of policy parameters and provisions. The team will release additional briefs in the coming months to offer a more detailed look at the impacts outlined in this initial publication. Other planned briefs will examine key topics, such as impacts related …

Child Care Costs In The Mountain West, 2021, Mohit Pande, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on child care costs in five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, from the Child Care Aware of America’s (CCAoA) report “Price of Care: 2021 Child Care Affordability.” The original report includes data on the cost of child care and the percent of yearly income allocated to child care for married and single parents. The report analyzes single family respondents and the impact of child care on work schedules. The report also provides information on the state of the child care workforce, including annual incomes of child care workers and the …

Rural Working-Age Adults Report More Cost Barriers To Health Care, Erika C. Ziller Phd, Carly Milkowski Mph, Amanda Burgess Mppm, Mph

Access / Insurance

Using the 2019-2020 National Health Insurance Survey, researchers at the Maine Rural Health Research Center examined rural-urban differences in affordability of care and cost-saving strategies among working-age adults. Rural adults (18-64) were more likely than their urban counterparts to report problems paying, or being unable to pay, their medical bills. They were also more likely to delay or go without needed care because of the cost. Compared with urban adults, those in rural areas were more likely to engage in prescription drug cost-saving measures such as skipping doses, delaying refills, or taking less medication than prescribed. For all affordability measures, …

St. Joseph County 2021 Housing Plan, Molly Trueblood, Lee Adams, Gerrit Anderson

Reports

No abstract provided.

Housing Profiles, Emily Petz, Lee Adams, Gerrit Anderson, Brian Pittelko, Kathleen Bolter

Reports

No abstract provided.

Montcalm And Ionia Counties Housing Plan, Emily Petz, Lee Adams, Gerrit Anderson, Dakota Mccracken, Brian Pittelko

Reports

No abstract provided.

Kalamazoo County Housing Plan, Emily Petz, Lee Adams, Gerrit Anderson, Dakota Mccracken, Brian Pittelko

Reports

A healthy housing continuum provides homes for those in a range of incomes or in different life situations. Kalamazoo County has a shortage of housing units at multiple price points. Low rates of construction, high construction costs, increased demand from a growing population, and housing costs that are increasing faster than wages have contributed to the shortage and affordability issues. Fortunately, many strategies are available to help alleviate some of the housing concerns found in the county. These strategies are most effective when community partners band together and implement them as a cohesive unit.

Minimum Wage As A Tool For Combatting Renter Burdens, Jack Hanson

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

There is a severe shortage of affordable housing in the United States. In 2011, the number of low-cost rental units (units renting for $800 or less per month) stood around 23.5 million, but by 2017, this number dropped to 19.5 million, roughly a 17% decrease (Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2020). The result is that in 2020, only 37 affordable units exist for every 100 of the nation’s 10.8 million extremely low-income renters (those earning 30% or less of the area median income) (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2021). One contributing factor is that higher-income households are beginning to rent …

Whip Up A Statewide Team Of Affordable Learning Ambassadors, Mandi Goodsett

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

In 2016, OhioLINK, Ohio’s statewide higher education library consortium, reached out to its member library deans and directors asking for suggestions about emerging demands that might be addressed at the statewide level. Library leadership expressed a need to address textbook affordability and to explore how libraries and OhioLINK could lead the charge to make course materials more affordable. OhioLINK developed a multi-faceted strategy, based on a long history of determining different pathways that could work for different institutions depending on funding, staffing, faculty interest, and administrative support. The first course of action was to “whip up” a team of library …

Supporting Faculty Through An Open Education And Affordability Gratitude Campaign, Mandi Goodsett

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how an academic library can use a library-led, public, positive, and broad faculty gratitude campaign to help a campus embrace a culture of open education.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a literature review of faculty outreach efforts in the area of open education and an examination of the psychology of persuasion, this library developed a gratitude campaign that consisted of a faculty video, letters from the provost, signed cards from students, door hangers, and the delivery of swag bags to faculty offices.

Findings

While it is challenging to assess how much an initiative may …

Desperately Seeking Funding: Library Guides To Student Funding, Rochelle Lundy, Reilly Curran

Library Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: This study examines online research guides as a measure of academic library support for students seeking educational funding opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach: The library websites of 38 members of a regional academic library consortium were examined for guides that address funding for educational purposes. Guide content was manually reviewed. Information regarding institutional characteristics was gathered from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Findings: Despite relatively few reports of educational funding support in the library literature, online guides exist at 42% of studied institutions. However, few guides are comprehensive and many lack features that promote discoverability. Instructional content — guidance, …

Guest Editorial - The Many Ways To Engage With Affordability: Academic Libraries And The Costs Of Higher Education, Lydia Bello, Chris Granatino

Library Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Housing - Las Vegas And The Middle Class, Brookings Mountain West

Brookings Mountain West Special Events

Brookings Mountain West presents an event focusing on housing as part of “Las Vegas and the Middle Class,” a major project exploring public policy initiatives designed to improve the quality of life of the middle class in Las Vegas and to increase the number of people rising to join its ranks. Through independent, non-partisan analysis and policy development, we seek to advance public understanding of the challenges facing the middle class in Las Vegas, as well as barriers to upward mobility.

This event features presentations that examine Las Vegas as a model for understanding issues critical to the growth of …

Should Las Vegas Bet On Homeownership? Trends In Housing Affordability And Homeownership, Jenny Schuetz

Brookings Mountain West Publications

In many parts of the U.S., rents and housing prices are rising faster than household incomes. Low-income families have always been stretched to pay for housing without sacrificing other necessities. In recent years, housing costs have become a larger source of financial stress for middle-income families. While homeownership has been the primary channel for wealth building in the U.S., two recent trends raise questions about whether this is a viable strategy. First, many homeowners suffered severe financial losses due to housing price declines during the Great Recession (2007-2009). Second, homeownership rates for Black and Latino families lag those of white …

Reviewing The Current State Of Library Support For Open Educational Resources, Jason B. Reed, Benjamin Jahre

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Academic institutions around the United States are facing pressure to reduce tuition and fees in order to keep higher education accessible. Open Education Resources (OER) is one attempt by academic institutions to provide high quality education resources at a lower cost to students, by replacing traditional textbooks with freely available or low cost materials. Libraries as information experts play an active role in the implementation of OER. This article looks at the current state of OER and what potential impacts OER will have on libraries.

Just Big Enough: Imagining The Future Of "Small Home" Residential Design With A Master Plan At The Nexus Of Affordability And Sustainability, Maggie Kraus

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Communities everywhere are experiencing significant and unpredictable shifts in the social and physical infrastructure of their landscapes. In the midst of a cultural, political, and ecological moment which has no precedent, it seems as though many of our contemporary crises have one thing in common: they will either be alleviated or drastically exacerbated by the alliance of professions working to improve the built environment. Now more than ever, the world is in need of designers, planners, and policy-makers who are willing to use this moment of great change as momentum to imagine a new era of community development, one which …

Selecting Affordable Course Materials: Considerations For Faculty, Christopher A. Barnes, Janelle Wertzberger

All Musselman Library Staff Works

Infographic for faculty illustrating the range of course material options offered by the library and the bookstore at Gettysburg College. Includes information on how assigning each option, from open educational resources to the current edition of commercial textbooks, impacts affordability for students.

3-Year Degree Options Addresses Affordability Issue, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

As higher education costs rise across the country, many students and their families are looking for creative — yet high-quality — options to save time and money. In response to these growing demands, Cedarville University is launching 12 programs that will allow students to earn a bachelor’s degree in three years. The new program options take effect in the fall 2017 semester.

Part 4: Affordability And Access In Virginia Public Higher Education, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The typical public four-year college in Virginia has increased its tuition and fees two to four times as rapidly as the rise in the consumer price index. Reduced state appropriations can account for only some of these increases.

Hidden Costs And Deadweight Losses: Bundled Parking Andresidential Rents In The Metropolitan United States, C. J. Gabbe, Gregory Pierce

Environmental Studies and Sciences

There is a major housing affordability crisis in many American metropolitan areas, particularly for renters. Minimum parking requirements in municipal zoning codes drive up the price of housing, and thus represent an important potential for reform for local policymakers. The relationship between parking and housing prices, however, remains poorly understood. We use national American Housing Survey data and hedonic regression techniques to investigate this relationship. We find that the cost of garage parking to renter households is approximately $1,700 per year, or an additional 17% of a housing unit’s rent. In addition to the magnitude of this transport cost burden …

Housing Research Realities And Perceptions: A Mixed Model Study Of Quantitative Data For Sioux County, Iowa And Orange City, Iowa With Qualitative Data Collected In Orange City, Iowa, Jenna Beeson, Amber Beyer, Corryn Dahlquist, Clarissa Ipema, Dakotah Jordan, Andrew Powell, Kelcie Scarlett, Hannah Twedt, Anthony Wubben

Student Projects

A mixed methods study on housing affordability, availability, and quality of rental properties and single-family home properties gathered data for Sioux County, Iowa and Orange City, Iowa. With quantitative data about Sioux County and more focused qualitative research in Orange City. Quantitative research was conducted through examining and compiling existing data. Qualitative survey research included a clustered sample and stratified random sample of homes in Orange City. The qualitative research had four major themes and three minor themes. The major themes are: Unknown Needs and Bias: Hispanic Community, (Un)Affordability, Lacking Rentals, and Lacking of Housing Awareness among Homeowners. The three …

Residence Halls Ranked Ninth In Nation For Value, Affordability, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

Students select colleges for many reasons, including strong academics, personal development, social life—and even quality residential living options. According to Affordable Schools, Cedarville University has some of the best—and affordable--residential facilities as it was ranked ninth nationally.

Affordable Schools is an online publication which helps students identify schools which offer top-quality education at affordable costs. The list was calculated by comparing an institution’s room and board rate to the national average while also factoring in aesthetic appeal, amenities/facilities and each dorm’s social scene.

In 2012-13, the national average for room and board at a private institution was $10,540. Students …

Students Graduate With "Low Burden Of Debt", Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

The fear of college debt is one of the most talked about stories in the United States for good reason—it can keep students from pursuing a college degree. Cedarville University understands the issue, which is why it held tuition for current students this year.

And, as a result of significantly increasing financial aid over the past five years, and helping students become more creative in finding outside scholarships, Cedarville University is ranked 17th out of 50 Christian colleges for having the “Lowest Debt Burden,” according to Christian Universities Online.

Part 2: Our Housing Market Turns The Corner, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

At long last, residential home sales and prices are up, while unsold housing inventory and foreclosures are down.

Monitoring The Price And Affordability Of Foods And Diets Globally, A Lee, C N. Mhurchu, G Sacks, Boyd A. Swinburn, W Snowdon, S Vandevijvere, C Hawkes, M L'Abbe, M Rayner, D Sanders, S Barquera, Sharon Friel, Bridget P. Kelly, S Kumanyika, T Lobstein, J Ma, J Macmullan, S Mohan, C Monteiro, Bruce Neal, C Walker

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Food prices and food affordability are important determinants of food choices, obesity and non-communicable diseases. As governments around the world consider policies to promote the consumption of healthier foods, data on the relative price and affordability of foods, with a particular focus on the difference between ‘less healthy’ and ‘healthy’ foods and diets, are urgently needed. This paper briefly reviews past and current approaches to monitoring food prices, and identifies key issues affecting the development of practical tools and methods for food price data collection, analysis and reporting. A step-wise monitoring framework, including measurement indicators, is proposed. ‘Minimal’ data collection …

Beat It: Diabetes Lifestyle And Physical Activity Program - The Effects And Affordability Of A 12-Week Community Based, Physical Activity Program For People With Or At Risk Of Diabetes, Bronwyn Penny, Joel Tuccia, Marc A. Brown

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.