Connect, Communicate, Collaborate – Spring, 2022

Spring is a time of growth, and, in that spirit, I am excited to share that that Mary Mitsdarffer has accepted an appointment as a Research Assistant Professor. In this role, Dr. Mitsdarffer will work with CCRS's Medicaid program and its ongoing projects. At the same time, she will continue with her research agenda, focusing on health outcomes, education, and immigration policy that she has been developing as a post-doctoral fellow at Lehigh University's Institute for Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. This expansion of the CCRS community comes amidst new undertakings and ongoing endeavors that we are happy to share with you in this newsletter. ​

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Become a Public Ally: Public Allies Delaware is now accepting applications for the 2023 cohort! Applications should be submitted by: 5/22/2022. Email: delaware@publicallies.org or call/text 302-514-7233 for more information. Or just apply now!

Nonprofit organizations, schools, and government agencies wishing to host a Public Ally, please submit an interest form and contact Tina Morrow at morrow@udel.edu.​

On May 4, 2022 at 10AM, KIDS COUNT in Delaware will host a virtual release of our newest book: 2022 KIDS COUNT in Delaware FOCUS on Recovery from COVID-19. Hear the newest data related to children, learn how the pandemic has impacted kids and their families, and consider what comes next. Register now

KIDS COUNT in Delaware has launched "Data to Action," a webinar series bringing together leaders and stakeholders from across the state to engage in conversation related to current conditions for children given our ever changing environment related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reviewing the most current data and research, panelists offer insight to conditions in which children are currently living as well as examine policy decisions which could be impactful during these times.

• January 19, 2022 on Educational Involvement & Achievement recording & power point slides
  
• February 16, 2022 on Economic Security recording & power point slides
  

Additional Webinars in the Series Coming Soon:

• May 18, 2022 @ 1PM on Family & Community Register Now
  
• June 15, 2022 @ 1PM Wrap-Up Register Now
  

Data to Action Brief: Exploring Delaware's My Healthy Community Database is a brief to supplement the first webinar on our "Data to Action" series, which took place in September 2021. Focused on Delaware's My Healthy Community Database, the brief explores this tool's sections on COVID-19 (with a special feature exploring school COVID-19 case data) and general Population Health. The text then wraps up with a dive into the Social Vulnerability Index and an overview of the site's data protection policies. Delaware's My Healthy Community database provides the most up-to-date COVID-19 information on the state and serves to inform decisions for schools workplaces, and families. A very special thanks goes to Highmark Health for sponsoring the "Data to Action" series.

KIDS COUNT in Delaware's 2021 Legislative Page-A-Day Style Calendar was released in mid-January, coinciding with the start of Delaware's legislative session. Like our annual fact book, this calendar shares indicator data and policy solutions related to key issues that affect Delaware children. The 2022 calendar has a special focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Delaware children. Data are grouped into categories of health, education, economic security, and family/community. A very special thanks goes to the Delaware Division of Libraries for co-sponsoring this year's calendar. Follow @dekidscount on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook for your daily dose of data and policy! ​

Medicaid Research: The Medicaid Research team has been busy these past months collaborating on presentations and journal papers on hypertension, evaluation of the DelCAN initiative, and opioids.

Accepted for presentation:

• Baker-Smith, C., Atkins, R., Wu, C. Ogunnaike, B., McDuffie, M.J., Nescott, E. “Impact of Area Deprivation and Obesity Status on Development of Systemic Hypertension in Youth",American Cardiology Association 71st Annual Scientific Session, April 2-4, 2022.
  
• Gifford, K.​, McColl, R.​, McDuffie, M.J., and Boudreaux, M. “Postpartum LARC Increases after a Statewide Intervention: Evidence from a Public-Private Partnership Initiative". AcademyHealth 2022, June 4-7.
• McColl, R.,​ Gifford, K.,​ McDuffie, M.J., & Boudreaux, M. “Same Day LARC Utilization after a Statewide Provider Training Program". AcademyHealth 2022, June 4-7.

Journal Papers under development:

• Contraceptive Cohort Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC)
• Postpartum LARC
• Same Day LARC Utilization after a Statewide Provider Training Program
• Area Deprivation and Hypertension Diagnosis in Youth: Mediating Role of Obesity
• Impact of Health Literacy on Medication Adherence among Black Medicaid Beneficiaries with Hypertension in Delaware: A Cross Sectional Study
  
• Duration of MOUD for OUD and risk of overdose – Medicaid enrollees in 11 states

In the News: Emily Loughlin, CCRS Research Graduate Assistant, was recently interviewed by Delaware Public Media ​about the recently published CCRS brief Opioid Use Disorder in Delaware: Policies and Programs. 

​CCRS's housing program would like to highlight contributions from the graduate research assistants who are an integral part of our activities.

Corinne Bogan, who will graduate from the Biden School's MPH program in May, has just completed a report that provides a comprehensive overview of outreach services to unsheltered homeless populations. This report is part of a CCRS project that assesses services to unsheltered homeless in Philadelphia, and it will serve as a tool for assessing how Philadelphia's homeless outreach services facilitate exits from homelessness.

Alex Modeas, a first year masters student in the Biden School's Urban Affairs and Public Policy program, has worked with Steve Metraux on a forthcoming CCRS research brief looking at homelessness among people on Delaware's Sex Offender Registry. The SOR seeks to notify the public as to the whereabouts in the community of people convicted of sex offenses. In doing so, the SOR also inadvertently provides a database for better understanding dynamics related to homelessness among this at-risk population. Among the brief's findings are that 4.6 percent of people on the SOR report being homeless on a given night, a level higher than comparable sex offender populations in other states and exponentially higher than rates of homelessness for the more general population.

Olivia Mwangi, a masters student who will graduate in May from UD's statistics program, was an author of CCRS's study of Family Homelessness in Delaware that was released last fall, and is currently working on a CCRS research brief on eviction history among Delaware's homeless population. Preliminary findings show that 21% of a sample of 1052 adults staying in homeless shelters had a recent record of an eviction filing. The proportion with recent eviction histories jumps to 43% among adults who are experiencing homelessness as part of a family with children. These findings have been used to support efforts to pass Delaware Senate Bill 101, which assures that low-income tenants facing eviction have universal access to legal counsel.​

Mimi Rayl, a PhD student in the Biden School's public policy and administration program, has been instrumental in coordinating a webinar series covering topics on affordable housing in Delaware. This series, borne of a collaboration between CCRS and the Biden School's Institute for Public Administration, launched in November 2021 and will have its fourth session in April. The webinar features speakers and panelists who are deeply involved with addressing local affordable ho​​using challenges, and each session so far has had audiences of several hundred people involved in Delaware housing activities and research.

Alexa Timmreck, a PhD student in the Biden School's public policy and administration program, has worked closely with staff from Housing Alliance Delaware, the state's premier housing advocacy organization, where she has been involved with researching different topics related to homelessness among Delaware's homeless population.​

In addition to the aforementioned projects, Mimi and Alex are also among the investigators of a recently inaugurated project on substandard housing and health among owner-occupied housing in Delaware, funded by the state's three Habitat for Humanity chapters and a Vision Grant from Philanthropy Delaware.

Steve Metraux​ gave a presentation on “What the Research Tells Us about Unsheltered Homelessness" at the National Alliance to End Homelessness's annual conference in January.

Jumpstart Wilmington: Each month, Jumpstart Wilmington hosts Kickstart Sessions to complement the Jumpstart Wilmington program and offer information around specific topics related to the development process. On February 28th, Jumpstart Wilmington hosted Unlocking the Delaware Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program. Delaware's State Historic Tax Credit Manager, Kara Briggs, explained the significant aspects of the program developers should be aware of if they are contemplating applying for these tax credits to capitalize a historic preservation project.​​