Meeting basic needs

Meeting basic needs

When jobs don’t pay enough or when emergencies occur, people and families must make impossible choices, such as paying for heat versus the grocery bill or medicine versus child care. Or they may lose their homes and drift into despair. Learn how our region can ensure all residents can meet their basic needs.  

Research Report

An Evaluation of THRIVE East of the River

Direct income supports (such as cash transfers) can stabilize households during crises and recoveries.
Research Report

DC Flexible Rent Subsidy Program: Findings from the Program's First Year

This report summarizes the first-year results of the District of Columbia’s Flexible Rent Subsidy Program (DC Flex), which gave families an annual subsidy of $7,200 in an escrow account and allowed them to decide how much rental assistance to with
Research Report

TANF on the Brink of Change

The District of Columbia is changing its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance program to promote better long-term outcomes for families and children.
Research Report

Voices of the Community: DC, Maryland, Virginia

Voices of the Community: DC, Maryland, Virginia (VoicesDMV), is a community engagement initiative from the Greater Washington Community Foundation, in partnership with the Urban Institute, designed to lift up residents’ stories and perceptions of
Research Report

A Paired-Testing Pilot Study of Housing Discrimination against Same-Sex Couples and Transgender Individuals

Much of what we know about housing discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people comes from surveys. But these personal experiences may only represent the most blatant forms of discrimination.
Research Report

Criminal Background Checks and Access to Jobs

Despite significant efforts by reform-minded government and nonprofits, roughly one in seven DC residents have criminal records that may preclude them from finding jobs.
Research Report

Ban the Box and Racial Discrimination

Over 150 cities and counties and 34 states and Washington, DC, have adopted ban-the-box policies, which remove questions about criminal history from applications and delay background checks until later in the hiring process.
Brief

Partial Repeal of the ACA through Reconciliation: Coverage Implications for Washington, D.C. Residents

Congress is currently considering partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through the budget reconciliation process.
Brief

A New Model for Growing Impact

Essential to improving the services nonprofits provide is performance management—monitoring and learning activities that use information to shape programming.
Brief

Strategies for Increasing Housing Supply in High-Cost Cities: DC Case Study

This paper uses the Washington, DC, region to explore barriers and opportunities to increase the supply of housing.
Brief

Anatomy of a Preservation Deal: Innovations in Preserving Affordable Housing from around the United States

Preserving existing affordable housing generally costs less than new construction, prevents displacement, and takes advantage of existing land-use patterns.
Research Report

Improving Prekindergarten Attendance: School-Level Strategies for Messaging, Engaging Parents, and Responding to Absences in Four DC Public Schools

Absenteeism in prekindergarten has been linked to absenteeism and lower academic achievement in later grades.
Research Report

Toward a Community Vision for Equitable Economic Development

Washington, DC, has prospered in the last decade and a half, but for residents living in neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, the story has been different.
Testimony

Washington, DC's Produce Plus Program

In this testimony before the Council of the District of Columbia Committee on Health and Human Services, Megan Thompson discusses how DC’s Produce Plus Program benefits recipients, the community, and the local food system by cultivating diverse c
Brief

Helping Children Succeed: Data and the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative

Since 2008, NeighborhoodInfo DC, a program at the Urban Institute and a partner in the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP), has helped the District of Columbia Promise Neighborhood Initiative (DCPNI) use data to support its cradle