Dear Friends,
I’m pleased to share this first newsletter from the Strengthening Families Research Initiative at the University of Notre Dame.
This newsletter reflects what you can expect from us going forward: high-quality, policy-relevant research from our faculty affiliates, accessible summaries of key findings, curated data and visualizations, updates on the evolving legislative landscape facing families across the country, and selected commentary and media engagement that bring this research into the public conversation.
Please be in touch to share your ideas, research, suggestions, or feedback. We'd love to hear from you!
Thank you for your interest in our work and for your commitment to strengthening families.
Sincerely,
Melissa S. Kearney
Director, Strengthening Families Research Initiative
Gilbert F. Schaefer Professor of Economics, University of Notre Dame
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The Opioid Epidemic as a Shock to Family Stability and Economic Security |
Victoria Barone (Faculty Affiliate) and Carolina Arteaga
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Family Focus: The opioid epidemic represents one of the most consequential negative public-health shocks in modern US history, with far-reaching implications not only for health and mortality but also for the economic and social foundations of family life. By increasing addiction, disability, and premature death among prime-age adults, the opioid crisis disrupted families’ ability to provide stable income and consistent caregiving. Communities that were heavily exposed to opioid use experienced an increased reliance on public assistance programs.
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Full-Day Kindergarten Relaxes Binding Time Constraints for Families |
Chloe Gibbs (Faculty Affiliate); Jocelyn Wikle; and Riley Wilson (Faculty Affiliate)
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Family Focus: By extending the school day, full-day kindergarten relaxes binding time constraints for families—especially mothers—leading to substantial increases in maternal employment and household economic stability without adverse effects on children’s academic outcomes.
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Commentary: Cash Alone Won't End Poverty |
The Dispatch - Melissa Kearney (Director) and Jim Sullivan (Faculty Affiliate)
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Interview: The Surprising Way Men's Brains Change After They Become Parents |
Huffington Post - Lee Gettler (Faculty Affiliate)
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Interview: How '16 and Pregnant' contributed to dropping teenage birth rates |
WBUR - Melissa Kearney (Director) and Phillip Levine (Faculty Affiliate)
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Interview: People are having fewer kids. Their choice is transforming the world's economy |
NPR - Melissa Kearney (Director)
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We track evolving policy debates and reforms with meaningful implications for families across the country. In each issue we highlight a few key themes shaping family stability and economic security from a research-informed perspective.
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🎓 State Adoption of "Success Sequence" Language |
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Legislators in Ohio and Indiana have advanced proposals requiring schools to teach the "success sequence" as a requirement for high school graduation. This concept is based on the empirical observation that if a young person graduates high school, gets a full-time job, and waits to be married before having children, the likelihood of living in poverty is extremely low.
Melissa's NPR Cincinnati interview on the Ohio Proposal
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🥕 Revisions to SNAP Eligibility and Work Requirements |
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Recent federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) took effect on February 1, expanding work requirements for able-bodied adults ages 18–64 without dependent children and modifying certain eligibility exemptions.
These revisions occur alongside ongoing federal and state debates about benefit design, allowable purchases, and administrative eligibility standards.
New Work Requirements | Map of Changes to Allowed Purchases
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👪 Addressing Shortages in Child Welfare Systems |
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States across the country are examining reforms to address shortages and funding pressures in child welfare systems. Proposed reforms include adjustments to licensing requirements, funding levels, and tools aimed at addressing caseload pressures.
West Virginia AI Tools | Georgia's budget increase
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Income Poverty rates are an anchored version of the census’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), based on data from IPUMS CPS (Flood et al. 2024) and Wimer et al. (2024). Family types are determined by the presence of children and the marital status and age of the head of the SPM resource unit (which is technically a broader unit than a family since it includes unmarried or unrelated cohabiting adults and their children). The “married head” category includes heads with either present or absent spouses, and the “unmarried head” category includes both unpartnered and cohabiting heads. If the head is 65 or over, then the unit is included in the “head 65 or over” category regardless of marital status or presence of children.
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Survey: The Family Policy Gap: What Parents Say They Need—and How Policymakers Can Deliver |
Bipartisan Policy Center - Emily Wielk
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Research: Child Maltreatment Investigations and Family Well-being |
NBER - Katherine Rittenhouse, David Simon, and Lindsey Lacey
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Survey: Good Fathers, Flourishing Kids: The Importance of Fatherhood in Virginia | National Marriage Center and Hampton University National Center for Black Family Life
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Report: The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children |
U.S. Census Bureau - Travis Shoemaker
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