Tracking Intergenerational Poverty

In Utah, conservative state Senator Stuart C. Reid sponsored the Intergenerational Poverty Mitigation Act.  The bill requires the state to build and maintain a system to track  intergenerational poverty in the state.  The bill received bipartisan support in the state’s legislature and from advocacy groups across the state.  No matter your political persuasion or your feelings on government [...]

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Living on $2 per Day

It is 3:00pm.  You are feeling a little sluggish and need a jolt to get you through the last few hours of work.  You go to the soda machine, put your $1.25 into the machine, push a button, and voila instant energy for a nominal price.  But, is that $1.25 really that nominal?  To many yes, but what [...]

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The Child Well-Being Index & Oklahoma

Earlier this year, the Foundation for Child Development and Annie E. Casey Foundation released a series of reports on the child well-being index (CWI) for states. Study authors note that national information for child well-being does not help us understand how children are doing, since there is so much state variation and since states have responsibility for [...]

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Guest Blog: Why Measures Matter

As part of a new project at CAP, each month we will be featuring a guest blogger from across the agency.  Monica Barczak, Director of  the Innovation Lab, is our third blogger. Until recently, it was difficult to demonstrate the effects of government assistance programs on poverty, because the official measure of poverty does not [...]

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Proposed Cuts to WIC Funding

I usually try not to bring politics into the blog, but I can’t ignore this infographic from the Center for American Progress.  I don’t think it really needs a lot of explanation either. To read the corresponding article, click here.

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The Long-term Effects of Early Childhood Poverty

Research indicates that children living in poverty are at risk for a whole host of poor child and adolescent outcomes, especially if that poverty occurs early in childhood.  New research also indicates that childhood poverty can have a significant impact on adult outcome measures.  Possible reasons for the increased impact of early childhood poverty are also beginning to emerge.  Two [...]

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Economic Mobility in the US, Now and in the Future

When my friends ask me about my job or what CAP does, I have a short elevator speech about ending the cycle of poverty by helping families become more economically mobile.  Some of my friends politely nod and smile, much like I do when my engineer friends try to explain their jobs.  Others have questions; they are curious about the [...]

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Mapping the Meal Gap

Traditionally, the USDA produces food insecurity data for the nation and individual states, but much like poverty, food insecurity rates can vary greatly within states.  Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap was designed to look at local food insecurity trends.  The main purpose of the project is to provide local community food banks better information [...]

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A Link Between Housing Stability and Health

Instinctively,we know that a family’s housing situation impacts the physical and emotional health of the family.  Usually, the link between housing and health is limited to comparing the homeless to those who have homes.  There are many  studies that show that homeless children are less likely to be immunized, more likely to be in poor health, more [...]

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GAO Releases Report on Student Mobility

In November 2010, the GAO released a report on student mobility entitled, “Many Challenges Arise in Educating Students who Change Schools Frequently.”  The report looks at the characteristics of highly mobile students, the characteristics of schools with a high rate of student mobility, challenges for schools, and the key federal programs used to serve this [...]

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