Start Date: June 2023

Principal Investigator: Gabriel Piña, PhD

Co-Principal Investigator: Yiyu Chen, PhD

Organization: Child Trends

Funding Round: ARPA2

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Housing instability and high housing costs are important correlates of food insecurity, and are disproportionately present for Black, Latino, and single-parent households. Although the last two years witnessed the largest allocation of funding for emergency rental assistance (ERA) in U.S. history, the impact of these programs on children’s outcomes, particularly their health and nutrition, is largely unknown. This study seeks to answer the following questions: 1) What are the effects of the ERA programs on household and child food security among low-income renter households with children? 2) Do these effects vary by race/ethnicity and household structure? 3) How do ERA participants perceive the role of ERA in addressing their needs before, during, and after receiving ERA benefits? 4) What are their continued needs as the program winds down?

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