Human Services

The Greensburg, Kan., memorial quilt represents how residents pieced the town back together. (Yonder photo) While no rural community wants…

The way we treat our soils today will directly shape how our food and climate systems look for our kids and grandkids.

Hartford, Connecticut, models how cities can use data and community insights to inform strategies to improve child care and early learning systems.

The FDA recently approved gene-edited pigs for food, aiming to fight PRRS and reduce antibiotic use in animal agriculture.

Students of color deserve teachers who look like them. But the responsibility to educate Black students shouldn’t fall disproportionally on Black educators, Avery Oliver writes.

In urban areas, trees add value to a property, but it depends on where those trees are, according to new research.

Single moms found a lifeline in construction jobs to build financial security before the next big storm. What happens if that disappears?

Rodriguez: Teachers need evidence-based, structured, supplemental foundational curriculum to help struggling readers master challenges.

For many families, having a home isn’t just about having a safe place to sleep. A stable home provides stability, builds community, and sets them up for the future. But too often, families in our community are being pushed into homelessness faster than our systems are able to build and connect…

The when, where and how of informed disaster giving…

Funding levels for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have come under scrutiny since President Trump took office in January of 2025. Initially, an executive order was issued limiting coverage of overhead expenses associated with funded awards (“indirect costs”) to 15% of the award. Many specific research grants were also terminated, totaling at least $7.5 billion through the end of May. But perhaps the biggest threat to funding of NIH-supported medical research is looming as part of the 2026 budget process. The White House has proposed a reduction in NIH funding from $48 billion this year to $27.5 billion next year, a 43% drop. The outcome of this process remains uncertain, with the Senate’s Committee on Appropriations supporting sustained funding. The main impact of NIH funding is on human health. The purpose of public funding is to support research that is foundational for future medical innovation. No single firm has the incentive to fund such research because any firm can benefit from it. A cut in funding would reduce such advances, potentially harming our future health. But the extent of these potential NIH funding cuts may have even broader implications. The innovations that result from this research generate investments that spur economic activity across the country. The economic impact may also be felt at the local level. When individual institutions receive those funds, they hire researchers who may relocate to take these jobs. Spending in the area increases and other local businesses may prosper. Public funding of scientific research may also encourage private investment in the same community, as firms translate scientific discoveries into products for the market. Overall, the broader labor markets in which recipient institutions reside could benefit from NIH funding. Cutting that funding may be detrimental to the community. In this report, we investigate the extent to…