Public Policy Lab

Meet Christine, one of 66 older adults who participated in our research. Christine is in her late 70s living in rural Pennsylvania. If Christine had a magic wand to change one thing about the healthcare system, it would be: "Access. Access to all. Access to things that help people to age in place and make aging not feel like a downward spiral." To read more about Christine's story, and the issues she cares about, from doctor's office parking to value-based care, head over to thepeoplesay.org.

One of the things we enjoy most about our work is collaborating with communities to reimagine solutions to the problems they’re facing. After wrapping up research, the HERR team is synthesizing their findings and looking for ways to transform the journey of formerly incarcerated individuals reentering college after prison. Design concepts they’re narrowing in on include 1) coalition building between higher education programs and reentry providers, and 2) community-building strategies grounded in restorative practices to create an environment of institutional accountability committed to long-term success for formerly incarcerated individuals once they’re in college. https://lnkd.in/eV77--Fp

Congratulations to our partners at NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development who recently launched new user-friendly materials for the Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) program that assists 39,000 low-income New Yorkers in paying rent! The redesigned Owner Package helps property owners understand the program and how to participate, and gets them registered through a welcoming and efficient PDF with smart features that serve to speed up data entry and reduce staff processing time. To learn about the design principles PPL followed to create these user-friendly materials, check out our recent webinar: Design Better Benefits Applications. The webinar is geared towards managers of public benefit programs, civic-sector designers, and advocates for accessible public benefits, providing an action-oriented framework for human-centered design and a set of tools to jump-start the application design process. https://lnkd.in/eMmvCCVP

Follow The People Say for updates on what older adults have to say about their policy and healthcare needs!

Investigating the prison to college pipeline, we’ve listened to stories from formerly incarcerated people about their journey to higher education. For many people, issues of identity and stigma are major roadblocks. Pursuing education can feel like a shift in identity for justice-impacted people because, due to stigma, their personal identity as an incarcerated person may not feel compatible with their student identity. Bias and lack of information on the part of college staff and students can perpetuate this hurdle further. Head to our website to read more about our research findings and what we’re doing to improve pathways from prison to college. https://lnkd.in/eV77--Fp

What are you thankful for? Older Americans shared their reflections on what they appreciate most–from comprehensive insurance coverage, to exceptional nurses, to simply watching their children grow older. Swipe through to hear their perspectives and head to The People Say to sift through even more stories. thepeoplesay.org

“People who make these policies need to stand in our shoes to see what we feel and experience.” Older adults face numerous challenges in obtaining the care they need to age well, and it’s time for policymakers to listen to what they have to say. Last week, older adult participants in The People Say shared their perspectives on the policies that affect their health and well-being with TSF’s Narda Ipakchi and the Public Policy Lab’s Chelsea Mauldin at the National Association of Medicaid Directors 2024 Fall Conference. The People Say features real-world insights from older adults on issues most important to them, like Medicaid. www.thepeoplesay.org #NAMD2024 #Medicaid #OlderAdults #AgingWell

Last week I had the honor of having my first speaking engagement at the National Restorative Justice Symposium in Ottawa, Canada. I spoke about the intersection of restorative practices and participatory action research methodology, as well as my graduate thesis work at SVA - MFA Design for Social Innovation, and continued application with Public Policy Lab. My main inquiry was what can design researchers learn from restorative justice about creating conditions for community problem solving? It was inspiring to learn more about Canada's local and federal investment into restorative justice, and about their collaboration with the tribal courts and First Nation communities. This experience was a reminder to me that the need for healing over punishment goes far beyond the borders of the Untied States. This is a global movement 💪 🌏 #NRJS #restorativejustice #participatoryactionresearch #researchjustice

Last month, our managing director, Shanti, led a PPLunch discussion on principles and frameworks for navigating tough conversations in the workplace. One of the group’s takeaways: “Conflict on teams is inevitable, but by sticking to facts we can observe–and by asking good questions–we can have direct and kind conversations to support getting good work done."

Join us this Wednesday for a capacity-building webinar providing a human-centered approach to application design for public programs. We'll also share learnings from our redesign of New York City’s Housing Choice Voucher application! https://lnkd.in/eri-w64k Public benefit applications are not only tools for collecting client data — they shape the public’s first impression of your agency and program. Well-designed applications can also reduce staff frustration and improve agency workflows and efficiency. The webinar's concepts and tools will focus on meeting the needs of both clients and staff, and will be geared toward managers of public benefit programs, civic-sector designers, and advocates for accessible public benefits. Participants will learn an action-oriented framework for human-centered design and walk away with a set of tools to jump-start the application design process.