Low-income students struggle with resources while trying to achieve future financial stability. As colleges explore ways to support students, one solution is integration with public benefits. This study focuses on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a program that offers cash assistance to low-income adults with children. Statistical…

During the 2019-20 school year, public schools identified 1.3 million students who were experiencing homelessness--2.5 percent of all those enrolled. With the added $800 million that Congress provided in 2021 through the American Rescue Plan's Homeless Children and Youth program (ARP-HCY), many states have started or expanded initiatives to…

As a follow-up to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) February 2023 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Pre-Implementation Survey, NASFAA administered a post-implementation Survey in October 2024 to at least one contact at NASFAA membership institutions with 2,906 potential…

This essay is a discussion of the lived experiences of first-generation college students each August when they arrive on a college campus for the first time. The author's approach offers a reflective component for institutions of higher education to consider when creating support or programs for first-generation students as they navigate an…

In March 2022, Child Trends contracted with the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to conduct an independent evaluation of Parent Aware, Minnesota's quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for early care and education (ECE) programs. The evaluation was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2021 and includes several…

In its first major assessment of hunger among United States college students, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in 2018 that federal agencies were failing not only to accurately measure the prevalence of student food insecurity, but they were also failing to provide adequate information for students to find help. In response, the…

Body mass index (BMI) screenings are conducted as part of Head Start's (HS) health and nutrition assessments. Weight status classifications, which rely on the accuracy of the BMI measurements, are communicated to caregivers to engage them in health behavior change. Limited qualitative research has been conducted on the procedures for BMI…

This report examines the implementation of Summer 305, an enhanced summer program which operated from June 20 through July 25, 2023 at 111 sites in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). Twenty-two programs were offered to accelerate learning recovery, develop foundational skills, and address social and emotional needs. Enrolled students…

For 25 years, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has surveyed financial aid professionals to understand the environment in which they administer student aid. These surveys identify resource shortages that may hinder the delivery of financial aid services, explore the causes of these shortages, and assess the…

With pandemic stimulus funding subsiding, efforts to boost achievement, stem absenteeism, and narrow outcome gaps in California's TK-12 public school system will rely on the level and sustainability of ongoing state and local dollars. First implemented over 10 years ago, California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) provides additional funding…

Since its implementation over a decade ago, California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) has targeted additional dollars to districts with larger shares of high need students--low-income, English Learners, and foster youth. The system has long used free and reduced-price meal (FRPM) enrollment as a proxy for income to allocate additional…

These Technical Appendices for the report "Funding Student Need: Evaluating Measures of Need in California's TK-12 Funding Formula" contain: (1) Data Sources and Definitions; (2) Universal School Meals Differences-in-differences; (3) Comparing FRPM and Other Poverty Measures; (4) LCFF Impact on Low-Income Identification; (5) Predictive…

This paper presents a three-manuscript dissertation exploring the unmet needs for academic support of TRIO-eligible college students on the Goodman Campus of Holmes Community College (HCC) in Mississippi. The quantitative study uses descriptive and comparative statistic techniques to analyze two data sets, including the academic success of…

This report examines the implementation of Summer 305, an enhanced summer program that operated from June 14 through August 5 during the summer of 2022 at 113 sites in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). Twenty program offerings were provided to accelerate learning recovery, develop foundational skills, and address social and emotional…

Tennessee has long recognized the importance of early childhood care and education (ECCE) that children receive prior to school entry. Access to high-quality early teaching and learning contributes to the Tennessee Department of Education's (TDOE) goal that all children become successful readers by third grade, and moreover, better prepares…