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Children, Families, and Communities

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RAND research addresses child health and how families and neighborhoods affect child well-being. Other family-focused research covers topics such as immigration, caregiving, and household finances. Through studies on families as well as community resilience, RAND develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous.

Essay
Why Are U.S. Military Families Experiencing Food Insecurity?
Around a quarter of active-duty service members qualify as “food insecure.” But what's causing that, how to fix it—even what it means—is not clear. Food insecurity is a multifaceted problem that needs multifaceted solutions.
Nov 6, 2023
Tool
A Toolkit for Community-Police Dialogue
Most efforts to improve community-police relations end up being ad hoc, are led by a few officers or motivated community members, and tend to be abandoned over time. A new guide can help communities implement a structured community-police dialogue that could lead to more productive relationships between police and the communities they serve.
Nov 27, 2023

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Commentary
Bill Would Ban Care for Transgender Veterans; the Scientific and Medical Consensus Tells Us That's a Mistake
The recently released spending bill would prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from beginning to offer gender confirmation surgery. It would also prevent providers from offering hormone therapy for gender-affirming care. These provisions do not align with the state of the science and medical consensus and would harm vulnerable veterans.
Jul 5, 2023
Commentary
Counting LGBTQ+ Lives in England and Wales: A critical reflection on emerging findings from the 2021 census
Analysis of the census data has identified inequalities among LGBTQ+ people in England and Wales in relation to their general health, daily activities, highest qualifications and employment.
Jun 30, 2023
Commentary
Climate Security Is National Security
Mitigating the effects of climate change will require a whole-of-government approach and a redefinition of national security to embrace a more panoramic set of risks. Government officials are saying lots of the right things. But is it being done, and done quickly enough?
Jun 30, 2023
Blog
The Wagner Revolt, Housing in L.A., Cyberstalking: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the Wagner Group's power play against Russian leadership, how Truth Decay affects national security, why the U.S. legal system is underprepared to handle cyberstalking cases, and more.
Jun 30, 2023
Essay
America's Opioid Crisis: Adopting an Ecosystem Approach
The opioid crisis is metastasizing throughout society, reaching across public health and public safety, but also education, employment, and the child welfare system. Without profound change and new approaches to the crisis, hundreds of thousands of people could die in the coming years.
Jun 30, 2023
Report
Developing Enabling Environments for Women's Access to Education and Vocational Opportunities
The UN Women's Second Chance Education Programme (SCE) in India developed two efforts to support policy changes that improve women's access to education and vocational opportunities. SCE India engaged stakeholders, embedded technical consultants within partner agencies, supported policy enactment by facilitating productive conversations, and promoted structures to institutionalize proposed reforms.
Jun 29, 2023
Report
Engaging a Global Network to Curate and Disseminate Evidence About What Works to Improve Family-School Engagement: A Case Study of the Center for Universal Education's Family-School Engagement Playbook Effort
This case study describes the effort of the Brookings Institution's Center for Universal Education to produce and disseminate a Playbook that synthesizes evidence and promising strategies to improve family-school engagement.
Jun 29, 2023
Report
Cyberstalking: A Growing Challenge for the U.S. Legal System
As online platforms have multiplied, cyberstalking has become more prevalent. What are the most common or contrasting characteristics of federal cyberstalking cases? And what are the main challenges to prosecuting such cases?
Jun 29, 2023
Report
Novel Methods to Assess the Military's Evolving Prevention Capabilities: Development and Pilot Test of the On-Site Installation Evaluation Process
This report describes the development, pilot test, and validity testing of a set of prevention capability metrics to improve the deterrence of sexual assault, sexual harassment, suicide, and domestic violence among military service members.
Jun 28, 2023
Research Brief
Understanding and supporting the financial stability of UK military families: Summary of findings and recommendations for policy and practice
This research brief summarises the findings and recommendations for policy and practice from a study looking at the prevalence and drivers of financial (in)stability among military families in the United Kingdom.
Jun 28, 2023
Report
Examining the financial stability of UK military families: An exploratory analysis
This study explores the prevalence and drivers of financial (in)stability among military families in the United Kingdom. It provides recommendations for improving policy and finance-related support based on a critical review of the support landscape.
Jun 28, 2023
Journal Article
Spending Trajectories After Age 65 Variation by Initial Wealth
Financial planning requires information about how spending needs evolve with age. Spending declines after age 65, also among wealthy households, suggesting that the decline is due to changes in the desire to spend, not tightening economic circumstances.
Jun 27, 2023
Journal Article
Cultural Dynamics, Substance Use, and Resilience Among American Indian/Alaska Native Emerging Adults in Urban Areas
We conducted 13 focus groups with urban AI/AN emerging adults, parents, and providers. We found risks of substance use from cultural isolation and that culture provided a source of strength and resilience for urban AI/AN emerging adults.
Jun 27, 2023
Journal Article
A New Taxonomy Is Proposed for Defining the Interests of Stakeholders' Representatives in Health Research: The Case of Guideline Development
This article distinguishes between the non-conflicting interests of stakeholder groups relating to the inherent rights of that group from the conflicting interests relating to the interests of the representatives or the organization they represent.
Jun 27, 2023
Commentary
Home and Community-Based Services Help Aging Veterans and Provide Cost Savings
Home and community-based services allow veterans to “age in place” while receiving the care and support they need. They also cost less than institutional care facilities. As these VA programs expand, it will be important to make them available to all veterans who would benefit from them.
Jun 26, 2023
Blog
Teacher Well-Being, Russian PMCs, AI Conspiracy Theories: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how America's teachers are doing, the proliferation of Russian private military companies, preparing for conspiracy theories about artificial intelligence, and more.
Jun 23, 2023
Commentary
Will L.A. Have an Office Apocalypse or Housing Boom? Tax Breaks Might Make the Difference
Facing a persistent housing crisis, Los Angeles is doubling down on converting unused commercial buildings into residential properties. But high interest rates make conversions more costly to finance. To mitigate this risk, L.A. might consider fiscal policy that would tip the scale more convincingly toward adaptive reuse.
Jun 23, 2023
Journal Article
Neighborhood Walkability, Neighborhood Social Health, and Self-Selection Among U.S. Adults
Neighborhood walkability may promote specific aspects of neighborhood social health, which together are beneficial for physical and mental health. These findings provide additional impetus for enhancing walkability of US communities.
Jun 22, 2023
Journal Article
Association Between Insurance Type and Fluoride Varnish Application During Well-Child Visits in Massachusetts
We compare rates of fluoride varnish (FV) applications during well-child visits for children covered by Medicaid and private medical insurance in Massachusetts.
Jun 22, 2023
Journal Article
Rural Disparities in the Quality of Clinical Care Are Notable and Larger for Males
This study extends evidence of pronounced rural-urban differences in clinical care. It shows that quality gaps in clinical care for rural MA enrollees are often larger for males than females.
Jun 22, 2023

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RAND Topic:
Children, Families, and Communities

Topic Synonyms:
Dependents

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Lynsay Ayer

Senior Behavioral and Social Scientist

Lynsay Ayer (she/her) is a senior behavioral and social scientist at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. The overarching goals of her research are (a) to prevent violence and trauma (e.g., child maltreatment, suicide, disasters) and (b) prevent and treat…
Alexandra Huttinger

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND, and Ph.D. Candidate, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Alexandra Huttinger is an environmental health scientist and a public health practitioner whose dissertation focuses on equity in policy responses to cliamte change. As a Ph.D. candidate at Pardee RAND Graduate School and assistant policy researcher at RAND, she contributes to research spanning…

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