Join Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Utah Department of Health and Human Services executive director Tracy Gruber, and leading experts as we examine the benefits and long-term impacts of safety net investments in children. Speakers will share where they see opportunities for progress and pinpoint areas for future research in the context of recent changes to the safety net for children, exploring opportunities at the federal and state levels.

This conference, hosted by the Urban Institute in collaboration with the Berkeley Opportunity Lab, will build on insights from the 2023 convening and 2024 convening and serve as a capstone to the Innovations in Cash Assistance for Children Initiative, a research and policy initiative aimed at delivering new evidence on how best to promote economic security for families with children. Researchers will provide a high-level overview of current research on the benefits of investing in children in terms of their well-being, parental labor supply, and how administrative burdens shape policy outcomes. The convening will also explore where there may be opportunities for policy movement, more research, or different political approaches. 

12:30 PM | Remarks

• Sam Gill, President and CEO, Doris Duke Foundation
• Sarah Rosen Wartell, President, Urban Institute 

12:55 PM | Children and Family Policy Priorities at the State Level 

• Tracy Gruber, Executive Director, Utah Department of Health and Human Services
• Sarah Rosen Wartell, President, Urban Institute (moderator)

1:25 PM | What Does the Evidence Tell Us About Income Supports and Child Well-Being? 

• Jacob Bastian, Assistant Professor of Economics, Rutgers University; Nonresident Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
• Pamela Herd, Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan
• Jane Waldfogel, Compton Foundation Centennial Professor for the Prevention of Children’s and Youth Problems, Columbia University School of Social Work; Visiting Professor, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics and Political Science
• Hilary Hoynes, Chancellor's Professor of Economics and Public Policy at University of California Berkeley and Faculty Director, Berkeley Opportunity Lab; Codirector, Innovations in Cash Assistance for Children Initiative (moderator)

2:25 PM | Keynote

• Wes Moore, Governor, Maryland
• Catherine Rampell, Anchor, MSNBC (moderator)

3:20 PM | What's Next for Federal Policy for Children and Families?

• Doug Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action Forum
• Cecilia Rouse, President, Brookings Institution

• Elaine Maag, Senior Fellow, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center; Codirector, Innovations in Cash Assistance for Children Initiative (moderator) 

   

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully. Please email [email protected] if you require any accommodations or have any questions about this event. 

Support for this initiative is provided by the Doris Duke Foundation. For more on Urban’s funding policies, go to urban.org/about/organizational-principles.