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Southwestern States

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Wildfires, America's Wealth Gap, Screening for COVID-19 at Work: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the growing risk of wildfires, how Americans' incomes have grown (or not), workplace screenings for COVID-19 symptoms, and more.

Sep 18, 2020
Commentary

Access to Mobile Technology Could Help to Alleviate LA's Homelessness Crisis

The vast majority of people experiencing homelessness have cell phones, which can often serve as lifelines. Exploring opportunities that provide technological supports to our most vulnerable could result in better service access and ultimately, better quality of life and outcomes.

Sep 16, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Understanding Sleep Facilitators, Barriers, and Cultural Dimensions in Native American Urban Youth

This study uses systematic qualitative methods with AI/AN youth to explore their sleep environment and sleep behaviors. Key concerns discussed were poor sleep hygiene, excessive use of electronics at bedtime, issues with temperature regulation, and noise within and outside the home.

Sep 15, 2020
Research Brief

How Wildfire Risks Affect California's Insurance Market

Wildfires in California destroy thousands of structures each year, devastating homeowners and bringing heavy costs for insurers. And without an aggressive GHG emissions control strategy, climate change will likely increase the risk of wildfires in some areas. How will insurance markets respond?

Sep 14, 2020
Report

Report

Data Use in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems: Lessons Learned from Quality Start Los Angeles

Through an evaluation of Quality Start Los Angeles, a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) that supports early learning providers, the authors identified lessons learned that could benefit other QRISs as they create or expand data systems.

Sep 9, 2020
Blog

Voting in a Pandemic, the U.S. Postal Service, Defunding the Police: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Americans' views about voting in the age of COVID-19, what makes the U.S. Postal Service so essential, why some in law enforcement may be open to “defunding the police,” and more.

Aug 28, 2020
Commentary

Industry Mix in L.A. Area Helps Explain Recent Record Unemployment Rates

The Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area reported more than 270,000 job cuts between March and early August. Considering which industries have cut jobs may provide a window into the area's unique labor market and help explain how the area currently has among the highest unemployment in the nation.

Aug 25, 2020
Report

How Social Service Providers in L.A. County Are Responding to COVID-19

Social service providers have adapted quickly to ensure continuity of care for their clients during the pandemic. Obstacles have included a lack of technology access among clients, reductions in revenue and workforce, difficulties having clients shelter in place, and other stressors on staff.

Aug 24, 2020
Blog

L.A.'s High Unemployment, RAND's New Research Center, Twitter: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on unemployment in the Los Angeles area, the new RAND Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy, food consumption in the UK, and more.

Aug 14, 2020
Commentary

Elevating Equity in Los Angeles Juvenile and Criminal Justice Reform

At age 13, Black children are placed in juvenile detention at nearly 3.5 times the rate of white children. By age 17, that ratio increases to 4.5 to 1. And the trend continues into adulthood. Without ongoing attention and deliberate policies and programs, injustices are likely to persist.

Aug 12, 2020
Report

Report

Health Service Utilization and Costs at the Outset of a Permanent Supportive Housing Program: Baseline Evaluation Report

This report presents a baseline assessment of an innovative permanent supportive housing program to help address homelessness, examining demographic and clinical characteristics of enrollees and health care service utilization and costs.

Aug 10, 2020
Commentary

L.A. Has the Nation's Highest Unemployment. For Some Groups, It's Even Worse Than That.

Los Angeles and its neighboring counties are among the areas hardest hit by the COVID-19 recession. The shockingly high average unemployment rates only tell part of the story, however. For the poor and some racial and ethnic groups, the jobs picture is far worse.

Aug 6, 2020
Research Brief

Research Brief

A Two-Generation Learning Program Educates and Empowers Parents and Children: An Assessment of Families Forward Learning Center in Pasadena, California

This brief summarizes how participants in the Families Forward Learning Center (FFLC)'s two-generation learning program perceive its benefits, and also compares FFLC children's educational outcomes through third grade with their peers' results.

Aug 3, 2020
Report

Report

Evaluation of Families Forward Learning Center: Participant Perspectives and Student Outcomes

In this report, the authors examine how participants in the Families Forward Learning Center (FFLC)'s two-generation learning program perceive its benefits and compare FFLC children's educational outcomes through third grade with their peers'.

Aug 3, 2020
Report

How Smart Cities Could Improve Open Data Portals

Open data portals are accessible to residents of “smart” cities. How can city leaders make these portals more useful? Los Angeles's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic provides lessons.

Jul 27, 2020
Commentary

California Could Develop Guidance to Reopen Youth Sports

There is growing evidence that long-term isolation from school closures has negative impacts on kids' physical and mental health and social development, with impacts potentially lasting for years. Youth sports can help to offset many of these negative impacts. California public health officials could prioritize the development of guidelines that would allow youth sports to reopen safely.

Jul 22, 2020
Commentary

An Uncertain Future for Jail Reform in Los Angeles

There is momentum in Los Angeles County to do the difficult work of criminal justice reform. This will take considerable investments of time and resources, as well as a commitment to implementing new strategies and evaluating their effectiveness along the way.

Jul 21, 2020
Commentary

Declining Commercial Real Estate Demand May Be an Opportunity to Address the Housing Crisis

The pandemic has led to an estimated 175,000 business closures this spring. And an estimated 40 percent of employed people are working from home full-time. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reallocate portions of the built environment toward the urgent demand for affordable housing.

Jul 20, 2020
Dissertation

Dissertation

Three Essays In Health Policy and Economics: Surprise Out-of-Network Medical Bills and Out-of-Network Health Care Provider Payment in the United States

Three essays addressing surprise out-of-network medical bills and out-of-network health care provider payment.

Jul 16, 2020
Blog

Online Shopping, Living in a Riskier World, Stress in Communities: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Americans' online shopping habits during the pandemic, living in a riskier world, how stress builds in communities, and more.

Jul 10, 2020

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