California Policy Lab March 28th 2024 Newsletter

Generation X has highest total monthly debt payments in California 

We just added data through 2023 to the California Credit Dashboard and delinquency rates are rising. We’re also beta testing a California Financial Trends snapshot showing how recent changes in credit scores, monthly payments, and new loan amounts in Q4 2023 compare historically. Dashboard

The data for the Dashboard comes from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel (UC-CCP).  More than 50 projects are using the UC-CCP on research ranging from student debt to migration patterns. Approved projects

Join CPL to generate research insights for government impact

Please help get the word out by sharing with your networks.

1. Research Assistant/Associate
2. Researcher in Applied Microeconomics and Quantitative Public Policy
3. Graduate Student Researcher

External posting:

Policy Director, UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative

Funding and datasets for policy-relevant research 

Every quarter, CPL accepts new applications for Seed Grants, Graduate Fellowships, and to use data from the Safety Net Dataset and the Life Course Dataset. Click on the links to see past recipients, read FAQs, and to apply.

CPL sends a quarterly reminder about these opportunities – subscribe here.

Podcast: Summarizing the Research on Homelessness

Janey Rountree was the final guest in this 8-part podcast series focused on root causes of homelessness, strategies to address it, who is experiencing homelessness, and more. She spoke with Professor Michael Lens (a CPL faculty affiliate), Professor Michael Manville, and Shane Phillips about the key lessons and takeaways from previous guests. Housing Voice is a podcast hosted by the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies. Podcast interview.

This California county is testing AI’s ability to prevent homelessness

Sandricka Henderson is profiled in this story about a pilot program using predictive analytics to prevent homelessness in L.A. After a lupus diagnosis, Henderson could no longer work, leading to unpaid bills and a potential eviction. Genice Brown, a HPU social worker, reached out to her, and was able to help Henderson to stabilize her housing. CPL is partnering with LA County on this project and an evaluation of it.

Low-income workers can get huge tax refunds. This event helps them get the money

Earned Income Tax Credits can provide a significant financial boost to low-income families, however, not all eligible families claim the credits. This article cites CPL research that analyzed how many Californians who were enrolled in CalFresh also claimed the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) in 2017. Slightly more than half (53%) of CalFresh-enrolled households who were eligible for the CalEITC claimed it, meaning about $76 million in credits went unclaimed.

S.F. ankle monitor program to track crime suspects is failing. Cases of repeat offenders show why

San Francisco has increasingly turned to electronic monitoring as a pretrial release option, driven largely by the In re Humphrey court decision and by the County’s effort to curtail the jail population during the pandemic. This article cites CPL’s report that shows the rapid growth in this alternative, as well as some of the implementation challenges, including that more than one-third of people assigned to pretrial electronic monitoring are unhoused or unstably housed.

Get your CPL news faster on social media.

Join us on LinkedIn and X for timely updates like new job openings, threads on new research, upcoming grant and data opportunities, and media interviews with CPL experts.

Please support our work
Please consider donating to support our work. Your support enables us to continue 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.