Library

Looking for new and notable information to help you dig deeper into an issue? Start with these featured reports and web sites, and then browse through our full selection by topic.

Reports: Featured

What Can Policymakers Do to Help Young Adults Cope with Debt? Subtitle Credit Health among Adults Ages 18 to 24
The Urban Institute, December 2022, 5 pp.
Nearly 20 percent of young adults (ages 18 to 24) in the US with a credit record have debt in collections, suggesting they struggle to meet their current financial obligations. Many are students or early-career employees with limited financial resources to meet their needs and buffer against economic shocks. Additionally, they may face high interest rates and other barriers when accessing credit. Findings from this report suggest that targeted policies can help improve the financial resilience of young adults and potentially reduce disparities in debt burdens. more info >

Child Tax Credit Options for Reducing Child Poverty
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Columbia Center on Poverty and Social Policy, November 2022, 3 pp.
One of a series of reports presents state Child Tax Credit options that would reduce state child poverty rates when coupled with existing federal law. more info >

America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, October 2022, 33 pp.
Reports data on a set of indicators of child well-being. Indicators included are in the categories of family and social environment, economic categories, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health. This is an annual report. more info >

Review of Rural U.S. Economic and Health Care Trends
Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health, September 2022, 24 pp.
A summary of research exploring the nexus of health care and local economic vibrancy in rural communities. Key issues include the personal and community impacts of reduced services, hospital closures, health care workforce shortages, Medicaid expansion, and the delivery and reimbursement of patient care through telehealth. more info >

Advancing Economic Mobility for Low-Income Families: Policy Options for Governors
NGA Center for Best Practices, September 2022, 25 pp.
Suggests a range of strategies for policymakers to help promote savings and increase income levels among low-income individuals and families. more info >

U.S. Child Poverty in 2021
First Focus, September 2022, 5 pp.
An examination of a historic decline in child poverty in 2021, due to significant but temporary investments made for children in the American Rescue Plan Act. Although such progress is unprecedented, the loss of improvements to the Child Tax Credit combined with high food costs and rising rents means that many families briefly lifted out of poverty will once again experience significant material hardship. more info >

Social Security Quick Fact Sheets
AARP, June 2022, 2 pp.
National and individual state data on the number of residents receiving Social Security and its impacts on individuals and the economy. more info >

The Food and Nutrition Assistance Landscape: Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report
USDA Economic Research Service, June 2022, 36 pp.
This report uses preliminary data from USDA, Food and Nutrition Service and USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service to examine program trends and policy changes in USDA’s largest U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs through FY 2021. more info >

The Supplemental Expenditure Poverty Measure: A New Method for Measuring Poverty
Brookings Institute, March 2022, 88 pp.
Examines a new method for measuring poverty in the United States,based on families’ spending and easily accessible resources, finds that about eight million more people lived in poverty in 2019 than reported by the government’s conventional income-based approach. more info >

Clean Energy Project Development for Low-Income Communities Strengthening the Ecosystem for Delivering Solar Energy and Deep Efficiency Retrofits
Carsey Institute for Public Policy, February 2022, 16 pp.
Scaling clean energy in low-income communities presents challenges. This report outlines a road map depicting the ecosystem needed to deliver clean energy projects to underserved communities.It includes examples of work that different organizations are doing and concludes that more capacity-building funding and support is needed at the grassroots level of the ecosystem. more info >

Understanding Coping Strategies of Mothers with Low Income
Urban Institute, January 2022, 75 pp.
An exploratory study of the strategies that mothers with young children and few economic resources use to meet their caregiving and related needs. The report also examines the role of community-based organizations in supporting mothers and families and improving outcomes for children. more info >

Do Sectoral Training Programs Work? What the Evidence on Project Quest and Year Up Really Shows
Brookings Institution, January 2022, 8 pp.
This report examines evidence on the sector-based programs Project Quest and Year Up, concluding that they remain among the most successful education and training efforts available for US workers. more info >

The State of America's Children
Children's Defense Fund, December 2021, 86 pp.
A compilation of national and state-by-state data on poverty, health, child welfare, youth at risk, early childhood development, education, nutrition and housing. Report is compiled annually. more info >

The Connection Between Unpredictable Work Schedules and Meeting Basic Household Needs
Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison, November 2021, 6 pp.
Examines how the lack of a stable and predictable work schedule can lead to income volatility and contribute to a host of other challenges for low-income individuals and households. more info >

Rural America at a Glance: 2021 Edition
United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, November 2021, 18 pp.
This report highlights the most recent indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas, focusing on the U.S. rural economy, including employment, population, poverty, and income trends. more info >

Personal Income by County and Metropolitan Area, 2020
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, November 2021, 20 pp.
National profile of personal income by county. more info >

Building Resilient Rural Places: Strategies from Local Leaders To Strengthen Rural Assets, Diversity, and Dynamism
Brookings Institute, December 2020
A research series focused on effective solutions for rural economic and community development and innovative efforts underway to implement them. Each briefs highlights locally tailored economic development strategies that value and build upon place-based assets and which have generated success in fostering rural economies and opportunities. more info >

Chart Book: The Far-Reaching Benefits of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 2020, 24 pp.
A growing body of research shows that Medicaid expansion is yielding significant benefits for those gaining coverage, their families, and their communities. This chart book highlights a number of the studies and outcomes. more info >

The Defining Down of Economic Deprivation: Why We Need to Reset the Poverty Line
Center for Economic and Policy Research, September 2020, 25 pp.
This report presents recommendations for improving the way poverty is measured while addressing why current measures are insufficient, particularly for households with children. It also makes recommendations to improve the relevance and accuracy of federal poverty measurement. more info >

The Poverty-Reducing Effect of Five Key Government Programs in Rural and Urban America
Carsey School of Public Policy, April 2019, 4 pp.
Poverty data from the American Community Survey were released on September 17, 2015, allowing a detailed examination of poverty in 2014 across the United States. This brief discusses changes in child poverty between 2013 and 2014 and since 2009, just after the Great Recession ended. more info >

Climate Change and Its Impact on Infrastructure Systems in the Midwest
Midwest Economic Policy Institute, October 2017, 10 pp.
This study examines how climate change will negatively impact transportation and infrastructure systems across the Midwest. It offers information for policymakers regarding the potential costs and consequences of climate change, and recommends actions to protect communities and the economy. more info >

Web sites

Prosperity Now Scorecard
Ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia on performance measures in the areas of Financial Security, Business Development, Homeownership, Health Care and Education. more info >

diversitydatakids.org
Presents measures of child wellbeing and policy analysis for states, counties, large cities, and metropolitan areas. more info >