California Policy Lab August 2025 Newsletter

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Promising early results from LA County’s Homelessness Prevention Unit

Participants who enrolled during a pilot period of the program were 71% less likely to enter a homeless shelter or have contact with street outreach teams within 18 months. CPL is also conducting a randomized control trial and we expect to release results in 2027. Report

Number of women admitted to California prisons has fallen 70% since 2006

About 3,700 women are incarcerated in California prisons, making up 4% of the overall prison population. A new fact sheet shows trends in admissions, sentence types and lengths, and demographic breakdowns. Fact sheet

Life expectancy for Californians hasn’t recovered since the pandemic

New, joint research in JAMA shows the average life expectancy of Californians in 2024 was still nearly one year lower than in 2019. COVID accounted for part of that difference, but drug overdoses and cardiovascular disease accounted for a larger share. Research Letter

Hosted research: sports gambling and financial health, and on bankruptcy 

CPL not only does its own research, we also facilitate studies by other researchers:

• Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision allowing sports gambling, states that legalize it, especially online, see decreases in financial health. Hollenbeck, Larsen & Proserpio
• Nearly half (46%) of bankruptcy filers have filed bankruptcy previously. Pang

Hilton Foundation announces $5.95M grant to support California Policy Lab’s research

The Hilton Foundation first supported the California Policy Lab in 2019, and has continued to support our homelessness research in Los Angeles, including recently announcing a landmark three-year, $5.95 million grant. In a new interview, Janey Rountree discusses CPL’s partnership with LA County’s Homelessness Prevention Unit and CPL’s research on strategies to keep people housed. Interview

New CPL office in Sacramento 

With support from the University of California Office of the President, CPL has opened a new office across the street from the Capitol at the newly renovated UC Student and Policy Center. We’re thrilled this will enhance our ability to provide state legislators with timely, credible data and research to develop effective policy. Save the date for a kick-off event on August 26th (4-6p) focused on affordability in California.

Writing for impact: policy brief training on Aug. 22nd

During this CRB Nexus Workshop, Evan White will share insights into how to frame evidence effectively for policy audiences, drawing on real examples from work that has shaped public programs across California. Aug. 22nd, 1:30 – 2:30p. Registration

Welcome Karen!

Karen Law recently joined CPL’s UCLA office where she is focusing on Measure A (funds affordable housing and homelessness services) research.

With looming SNAP budget changes, what does CPL’s research tell us?

This post shares insights from CPL’s 10+ publications on enrolling college students in SNAP. The findings can help inform policymakers in other states as they face new policy decisions about how to implement and pay for changes in the recently enacted federal budget bill — like paying for an additional 25% of SNAP’s administrative costs starting in FY 2027. ARCC post

Gen Z financial fears growing: Evan White interviewed on current trends 

A recent poll showed that financial concerns are one of Gen Z’s largest concerns. Evan White was interviewed about the findings and shared insights from CPL’s California Credit Dashboard.

Fewer people on streets, in shelters after getting LA County homelessness prevention help

Janey Rountree and other experts are interviewed about the promising early results in CPL’s new report about the Homelessness Prevention Unit.

Life expectancy in California has not rebounded after Covid

This article about a recent JAMA research letter is a follow-up to a 2022 study, also in JAMA.

Cash bail myths debunked by plummeting city crime data

CPL’s research on the impact bail policy changes had in Los Angeles is cited in this article.

Support our work
Consider donating to support our work generating research insights for government impact. If you are interested in making a larger gift, please reach out to Evan White or Janey Rountree to discuss opportunities to support CPL.