Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Panel: Intersections Between Family Economic and Housing Instability and Family and Child Well-Being

(Poverty and Income Policy)

The Great Recession generated a shockwave of both housing and economic instability for families in the United States in historic proportions. However, mechanisms by which these forms of instability influence inequality and well-being for both families and children and their inter-relationships need further exploration. We draw on family economic, housing, and well-being data collected during and in the near aftermath of the Great Recession to examine these intersections. Papers in this session explore how changes in area foreclosure rates influence levels of family homelessness; the relationship between family homelessness, housing interventions, and child well-being; and how different forms of parental economic instability intersected with parenting and child well-being nationally during the recession. First, the National Low Income Housing Coalition has noted that the relationship between foreclosure rates and family homelessness during the Great Recession has been underexplored. Study findings suggest that the relationship is likely indirect, with corresponding increases in demand in the affordable rental market pushing families on the margin into homelessness. Observed increases in family homelessness observed in the Great Recession also raise questions about the influence of homelessness on the children in these families and how housing interventions may influence child well-being. Research on risk and resilience also suggests that children may be differentially affected by exposure to poverty and homelessness. Data from a multi-site experimental study of interventions for homeless families enrolled in the near aftermath of the Great Recession identified resilient and higher risk profiles for children age 8 to 17. Findings will be presented on the mechanisms by which homelessness and housing interventions may influence whether children experience resilience. Finally, the literature on income and employment instability and parent and child well-being has focused more narrowly on individual relationships between these factors. Patterns and relationships between economic instability, parental inequalities, child care arrangements, and child well-being and development remain underspecified. Findings on these interrelationships from the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation collected during the Great Recession will be presented.