Connect for Kids / Child Advocacy 360 / Youth Policy Action Center - Housing

Initiative Aims to Revitalized Urban Communities

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:28:16 -0500

On July 14, 2009, HUD Secretary Shaun Donavon outlined the administration's plans to reform the Hope VI program and the goals for the new Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. The initiative aims to include private and nonprofit partners in local projects to extend neighborhood transformation efforts beyond public housing and link housing developments more closely with school reform and early childhood innovation.

Act Aims to Preserve Affordable Housing

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:22:57 -0500

Representative Barney Frank recently released a discussion draft of comprehensive legislation to preserve affordable housing. The legislative proposal aims to prevent displacement of low-income, elderly, and disabled tenants.

Act Introduced to Reform Section 8

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:06:33 -0500

Last month the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act was introduced in the House. H.R. 3045 would streamline and make improvements to the Housing Choice Voucher program and authorize 150,000 new vouchers in fiscal year (FY) 2010.

HUD Releases New Homeless Report

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:01:58 -0500

Check for data on families with kids: HUD’s new report provides a point-in-time estimate of the total number of homeless persons on a single night, as well as a one-year estimate of the total sheltered homeless population.

Help for Hard-Pressed Families and States Best Bang for the Buck

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:10:58 -0600

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities argues that on a dollar-for-dollar basis, temporary increases in safety net programs like food stamps and unemployment insurance and fiscal relief to states

Parents Preserve Affordable Housing for Low-Income Families

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:24:38 -0600

In California, the journey from parent to activist starts at home: the Los Angeles Community Action Network won a citywide law to preserve affordable housing in residential hotels targeted for luxury development.

Where Did They Go? The Decline of Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Metropolitan America

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 13:21:36 -0500

What�s happening to our �hoods? Middle-class neighborhoods and housing is shrinking faster than the middle class itself, according to a new Brookings Institution report. City neighborhoods are increasingly segregated with low-income and very low-income families living in concentrated neighborhoods, and high- and very high-income families living together.

Housing Affordability Report

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 07:55:00 -0600

Despite the emphasis on homeownership, one-third of all U.S. households (nearly 36 million households) rent. This report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition offers a state-by-state and community comparison of the hourly wage someone must earn to be able to afford rent and utilities in local housing markets.

The Status of Working Families in Indiana: 2005 Update

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:42:00 -0500

Overall, Indiana has had a dramatic increase in the number of people in poverty during the past few years. Kids have been particularly hard-hit: poverty rate for children in Indiana jumped sharply from 10.5 percent in 2002 to 18.5 percent in 2004, greater than the national average of 17.8 percent.

U.S. Coast Guard: Health and Safety Directorate

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 11:02:46 -0500

Provides information on family services, family child care homes, adoption, scholarships, elder care, volunteers, and non-profit spouse clubs. A helpful source of information on programs, and eligibility requirements for the US Coast Guard.

Piecing Together a Safety Net

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:52:12 -0500

Most low-income families with children don't get all of the help they should, partly because it is so hard to find out what's available and fill out the paperwork. This article, originally from the September-October 2004 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children, shows how in California, community agencies are helping.

Concerns Over Flexible Housing Voucher Proposal

Fri, 03 Dec 2004 08:01:28 -0600

The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) reports that the President's FY 2005 budget proposal calls for replacing the Section 8 voucher program with the Flexible Voucher Program (FVP). "The President's request for funding for the FVP in FY 2005 is $1.6 billion less than what is needed to ensure that no family with a voucher will lose it," according to CDF. More info on these voucher programs is available from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Trends in Parents' Economic Hardships

Mon, 06 Dec 2004 08:11:55 -0600

This Urban Institute snapshot compares food and housing hardships during economic boom of the late 1990s and the slow economy of the early 2000s. While family income improved somewhat between 1997 and 2002, parents' housing hardship did not diminish.

How Budget Trends Threaten Children's Programs

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:04:41 -0500

If you care about children, it's time to take up the challenge of understanding what federal budget trends mean for the programs aimed at helping children and families. As the annual budget battle continues in Washington, D.C., Urban Institute senior fellow Eugene Steuerle explains why children's programs are getting squeezed.

The Affordable Housing Crisis

Tue, 07 Dec 2004 08:00:20 -0600

Every day, 65 million Americans -- 24 percent of the population -- experience housing problems like housing that costs too much, substandard conditions, overcrowding or homelessness. Families with children are more likely to experience hardship. It's no time to pull the rug out, yet according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the FY2005 budget proposal could result in the loss of 250,000 housing vouchers currently in use.