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Commentary

America's Experiment in Remedying Child Poverty

Feb 8, 2022

Amid the debate over whether the success of the expanded child tax credit in reducing poverty is worth its large price tag, many are missing a crucial feature: It was uniquely well-designed to address the increasingly precarious economic reality that millions of Americans experience.
Commentary

Camping Bans and Group Shelters Unlikely to Solve Homelessness Crisis

May 23, 2022

Should Los Angeles continue to direct most resources toward creating permanent housing with services? Or should it try to rapidly add more group shelters and shared tiny homes which would allow the city to enforce camping bans in certain areas? There are compelling arguments for both approaches.

Explore Poverty

News Release

L.A. Program to Divert Homeless from Jail into Supportive Housing Decreases Use of County Services

A program that diverts some people with a history of homelessness from Los Angeles County jails into permanent supportive housing can significantly lower taxpayer spending on services such as hospital care and shelter use.

Aug 16, 2022
Report

Just in Reach Pay for Success: Impact Evaluation and Cost Analysis of a Permanent Supportive Housing Program

This report examines a Los Angeles County initiative to provide long-term housing and supportive services as an alternative to jail for individuals with a history of homelessness and chronic behavioral or physical health conditions.

Aug 16, 2022
Research Brief

Supportive Housing Program Broke the Jail-to-Homeless Cycle and Mostly Paid for Itself

The Just in Reach Pay for Success program diverted people with a history of homelessness from Los Angeles County jails into permanent supportive housing. It achieved a one-year housing stability rate of 82 percent. And most of its costs were offset by a reduction in the use of other county services.

Aug 16, 2022
Commentary

How Can Commercial Buildings Become Needed Housing?

Adaptive reuse has tremendous promise for making a dent in Southern California's housing shortage, but realizing its full potential will require thoughtful and timely policymaking.

Jun 6, 2022
Blog

Gun Policy, Ukraine's Best Chance for Peace, Equity and Public Policy: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses what the scientific evidence says about gun laws, a potential pathway toward peace in Ukraine, helping incarcerated parents, and more.

Jun 3, 2022
Multimedia

RAND Remote: Informing Innovative Policy Solutions to Address L.A.'s Dual Crises

In this RAND Remote conversation, Sarah Hunter, Jason Ward, and Rick Garvey discuss their new report based on survey data collected from unhoused people in three Los Angeles neighborhoods.

May 18, 2022
Journal Article

Supportive Housing for Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals With Criminal Justice Histories: Challenges and Opportunities Identified by Providers and Clients

To explore the service needs of sexual and gender minority individuals, we interviewed providers and clients from eight supportive housing organizations working with SGM populations in L.A. County.

May 12, 2022
Blog

How Data Can Help Refugees, Homelessness in L.A., Harm Reduction: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on tapping into Facebook data to help refugees, addressing homelessness in Los Angeles, understanding burnout among health care providers, and more.

May 6, 2022
News Release

Study of Unhoused People in Los Angeles Finds Numbers Growing; Only One-Third Willing to Move into Group Shelters

A unique study conducting counts and surveys of unsheltered people in three parts of Los Angeles found that nearly half had been offered housing in the past, but they cited the housing intake process, desires for privacy, and concerns about safety as obstacles they face in efforts to get off the streets.

May 4, 2022
Report

Less Than One-Third of Unhoused People in L.A. Would Accept a Group Shelter

The number of unsheltered people in Los Angeles is growing. In a new survey in Skid Row, Venice, and Hollywood, most reported being continuously homeless for more than three years. Half had been offered housing, but cited the intake process, desires for privacy, and safety concerns as obstacles.

May 4, 2022
News Release

Repurposing Commercial Buildings Could Help L.A. Meet Housing Needs, but Financial, Regulatory Barriers Exist

Repurposing underutilized commercial properties such as hotel/motels and vacant office buildings could provide about 9% to 14% of the housing Los Angeles County needs to produce over the next eight years.

Apr 6, 2022
Report

Could Adaptive Reuse of Commercial Buildings Address L.A.'s Housing Crisis?

Repurposing underutilized commercial properties could provide 9 to 14 percent of the total housing Los Angeles County needs to produce over the next eight years. Conversion of hotels/motels is feasible, but reuse of office buildings depends on area-specific real estate prices and the size of new units.

Apr 6, 2022
Periodical

RAND Review: March-April 2022

The cover story describes a yearlong study of a group of military veterans experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Other features examine the global digital skills gap and the magnitude and sources of disagreement among gun policy experts.

Mar 10, 2022
Blog

The West's Response to Russia, the State of the Union, Outer Space: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how to prevent Russia's war on Ukraine from becoming a war with NATO, insights from RAND on the State of the Union, the future of outer space, and more.

Mar 4, 2022
Essay

The Lives of Veterans Experiencing Homelessness

The United States pledged in 2009 to end veteran homelessness. The numbers have fallen by nearly half since then, but there are still more than 37,000 veterans living in their cars, in temporary shelters, or in makeshift camps. Researchers followed 26 of them for one year to see how they live and what keeps them on the streets.

Feb 25, 2022
Blog

Problems in U.S. Schools, Conflict with Russia, Opioid Trafficking: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on what America's school district leaders are worried about, how to break the cycle of conflict with Russia, a new report on synthetic opioid trafficking, and more.

Feb 11, 2022
Report

Pima County Housing First Initiative: Final Evaluation Report Fall 2021

The authors present the final evaluation of the Pima County Housing First Initiative, which offers permanent supportive housing and case management for individuals who are involved with the criminal justice system and have experienced homelessness.

Dec 29, 2021
Blog

RAND Commentary Highlights of 2021

Vaccine rollouts, an attack on the U.S. Capitol, massive ransomware attacks, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, record numbers of job openings and people quitting, and more. RAND researchers weighed in on all these topics and more.

Dec 21, 2021

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RAND Topic:
Poverty

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