CCFP researchers study the impact of poverty and economic inequality on children, families, and communities. Our teams study and evaluate the effectiveness of programs and policies designed to help low-income families, the day-to-day experiences of working parents and their families, and the impact of living in poverty on children and families. CCFP researchers also study and evaluate efforts that have been successful at disrupting systemic inequities affecting low-wealth families and building on the strengths of communities to improve outcomes for children and families.
This study uses data from the Baby’s First Years randomized control trial to identify the causal impact of unconditional cash transfers on maternal reports of early childhood development.
This brief summarizes findings from The Baby’s First Years study, examining the design and delivery of the BFY cash gift and how families experience and use the BFY cash gift. The BFY cash gift design provides an example of how cash transfers can be delivered in a way that can center families and entrust them with using the money as they see fit to support their families.
The Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) began in 1994 as a major welfare initiative that differed from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) by featuring the following elements: financial incentives to work; participation requirements for long-term welfare recipients; and simplification of welfare rules and procedures. This report examines MFIP’s effects on adults (vol 1) and children (vol 2).
Examination of the impact of the Child Tax Credit on families’ food security by family size and participation in other federal programs. Results suggest that the effectiveness of cash payments like the CTC in reducing economic hardships may depend on family characteristics like receipt of other federal benefits and household size.
This project aims to advance research on the relationship between economic well-being, wealth, adolescent functioning and mental health.
learn more about STEPS: Study of Teen Experiences that Promote SuccessThis study examines how net worth poverty – or household’s whose wealth levels fall below one-quarter of the federal poverty line – is associated with children’s cognitive and behavioral development. Most children who are net worth poor are not income poor, meaning that these economically vulnerable group of children have been conventionally overlooked in conversations about poverty.
learn more about Net Worth Poverty and Children’s DevelopmentThis research will provide an in-depth view of variation in state-level policy rules and program administration across WIC and Medicaid in three states and illuminate the consequences for policy beneficiaries’ ability to access benefits, engage with programs, and function as democratic citizens.
learn more about Examining Medicaid and the Nutrition Program for Women and Children to Understand How to Design Social Policy to Achieve Health EquityThis study is evaluating a local program in Durham, NC, that waives the fees of those who have a suspended license due to failure to pay, in order to discover how reinstating drivers’ licenses can reduce barriers to employment and self-sufficiency.
learn more about Local Criminal Justice Reform Efforts: Effects on Employment, Self-Sufficiency, and Family Well-BeingThis study uses data from the Baby’s First Years (BFY) randomized trial to examine whether an unconditional cash transfer causes families to make opportunity moves to better quality neighborhoods.
Using data from Baby’s First Years, this paper assesses the causal impact of monthly, unconditional cash transfers on child-directed speech and child vocalizations among a large, racially diverse sample of low-income U.S. mothers and their 1-year-olds.
This brief summarizes findings from The Baby’s First Years study, examining the ways in which a monthly unconditional high-cash gift has been used to support children’s learning and development. Results from the study highlight that such aid resulted in investments in children by increasing parents’ spending on child-specific goods and time spent on early learning activities.
How does unconditional income for families in poverty affect parental investments for their young children? During the first 3 years of this study, high-cash gift households spent more money on child-specific goods and more time on child-specific early learning activities than the low-cash gift group.