“Family Policy to Reduce Racial Inequities in Health” is a Research Hub to expand evidence on economic and related policies that enhance the incomes and well-being of low wage working families, with a specific focus on understanding policies that could best ameliorate racial disparities. It is funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Policies for Action (P4A) program, and builds upon the findings of the previous RWJF P4A hub at Berkeley on “Work-Family Supports and Health.”
The Family Policy hub focuses on the following policy areas affecting family incomes and well-being: food security programs, minimum wages, targeted tax credits, predictable work and scheduling laws, and paid family leave.
Research Projects
Food Stamps and Racial Inequities in Health
Investigators: Hilary Hoynes (UC Berkeley), Marianne Bitler (UC Davis), and Krista Ruffini (Georgetown)
Summer School Feeding Programs and Racial Inequities in Health
Investigators: Marianne Bitler (UC Davis), Hilary Hoynes (UC Berkeley), and Krista Ruffini (Georgetown)
Do labor market policies reduce racial and ethnic disparities in mental health and substance use
Investigators: Michael Reich (UC Berkeley), William Dow (UC Berkeley), and Chris Lowenstein (Stanford)
Racial differences in Mental Health Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit Expansion
Investigators: Rita Hamad (UCSF), and Akanksha Batra (UCSF)
Predictable Schedules, Worker Wellbeing, and Racial Inequality
Investigators: Daniel Schneider (Harvard), and Kristen Harknett (UCSF)
Do State PFML Laws Reduce Racial Inequities?
Investigators: William Dow (UC Berkeley), Julia Goodman (OHSU), and Dawn Richardson (OHSU)
Additional Hub Activities
Rapid Response Research Projects
The Hub will fund and solicits rapid response project ideas on Hub-related topics from researchers and community/policy partners to conduct real-time analyses extending research to address timely public debates, and disseminating these through issue briefs and presentations. Please send expressions of interest to Will Dow, wdow@berkeley.edu.
Student Research Projects
The Hub will fund and solicits applications from students and postdocs at UC Berkeley and collaborating institutions who propose innovative new research on Hub-related policies to reduce racial inequities. We especially encourage applications from early career scholars from populations who have experienced structural racism and/or are underrepresented in policy research. Each project proposal will be reviewed for relevance, rigor, community engagement, and potential impact. Please send expressions of interest to Will Dow, wdow@berkeley.edu.