A research-practice partnership
Nearly ten years ago, the University launched the Grand Challenges Initiative, a bold research funding program designed to tackle Minnesota’s most complex and urgent issues. The Homework Starts with Home Research Partnership (HSWH- RP) was formed in response to the call, a groundbreaking effort to address the growing issue of student homelessness through collaboration and data-driven methods. Minnesota Linking Information for Kids (Minn-LInK) at the School of Social Work was a cornerstone of the work.
A growing crisis, a collaborative response
Homelessness among students continues to present major challenges for schools, communities, and states across Minnesota and the nation, posing multiple risks to the health, education, and well-being of the children and youth who experience housing instability. The most recent data available from the Minnesota Department of Education indicated that 19,049 students experienced homelessness at some point during the 2023-24 school year, about 2.1 percent of all students and rising. Student homelessness occurs across Minnesota, but rates are much higher in districts serving neighborhoods of concentrated poverty.
In response to an alarming increase in homelessness among students, the state of Minnesota—in collaboration with nonprofit agencies—implemented the Homework Starts with Home grant-mak- ing program to provide rental assistance and related supports for students and their families. Recognizing the need for research to support this effort, a team of University researchers, state agency leaders, and community stakeholders came together with funding from the University to form the HSWH-RP, co-directed by Eric Grumdahl (then deputy director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness), along with Professors Maria Hanratty (Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs) and Ann Masten (Institute of Child Development) from the University.
Three goals, one mission
The Homework Starts with Home Research Partnership was built around three core goals:
Data integration and analysis: Develop the tools, data systems, and collaborations needed to analyze multisystem administrative data to inform state efforts.
Program evaluation: Assess the effectiveness of the initial pilot programs funded by the state Homework Starts with Home initiative.
Student training: Train graduate and postdoctoral students to use integrated data through the Minn-LInK platform to conduct policy-relevant research.
Forming the partnership
The partnership brought together experts from multiple state agencies, University departments, and community organizations to meet its objectives, with considerable success. Weston Merrick, a doctoral student and Minn-LInK Fellow at the time, chronicled the formation of the partnership in a research brief.
“As a Minn-LInK Fellow, I worked with integrated data from education, human services, and housing systems, learning how linked data can show a more complete picture of the well-being of vulnerable residents and inform practice,” he says.
“That training directly shaped my current role leading a team of data and social scientists to study the impact of state programs and use the findings to drive policy. The fellowship helped me understand the infrastructure and relationships needed to do this work well.”
The HSWH-RP tapped a unique resource at the University of Minnesota to integrate the data needed for analyses. Minnesota Linking Information for Kids (Minn-LInK), created in the School of Social Work, is a highly secure platform that enables researchers to integrate, de-identify, and analyze administrative data across multiple state and local systems, including housing, education, child welfare, and beyond. Integrating administrative data is a complex process that requires careful coordination, data sharing agreements, and a deep understanding of both the data and the policy questions at hand. Minn-LInK proved essential in uncovering patterns and insights that otherwise would have been missed.
Training the next generation of policy researchers
As planned, the partnership created a fellowship training program. In total, eight student fellows, supervised by multidisciplinary advisors with guidance from state experts, conducted original, housing-focused research using Minn-LInK data. Their work resulted in policy briefs, presentations, and peer-reviewed publications that continue to inform local, state, and national conversations on student homelessness. These student fellows gained rare experience in collaboration and analysis of administrative data to improve policy and practice with regard to the needs of students experiencing homelessness. Subsequently, the fellows have gone on to advanced research, faculty positions, health services, and public service. Weston Merrick and Alyssa Palmer, for example, have both gone into positions of advanced research: Merrick in public service for Minnesota and Palmer as a faculty member in Utah.
A third fellow, Warren Lowell, compared two federal definitions of homelessness—one from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that focuses on literal homelessness and a broader definition used by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) as well as the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) that includes students who lack a fixed and regular nighttime residence (although they may have a temporary place to sleep). He found many similarities in the needs of students experiencing homelessness by either definition, despite a surprising lack of overlap. Each approach missed significant numbers of students with insecure housing, although the ED definition included far more students. These findings underscored the importance of broader definitions to ensure services reach students who need them most.
Other fellows explored the intersection of homelessness with race and ethnicity (students who are Black, Indigenous, or Hispanic have disproportionately high rates of homelessness in Minnesota) and the associations of homelessness with risks of poverty, school mobility, absenteeism, out-of-school suspension, and involvement in child protective services. Their studies revealed that students experiencing homelessness in Minnesota face compounded risks—calling for targeted, coordinated, multisystem services and supports to lower their future risks and improve school outcomes, such as high school graduation.
Evaluating the impact of rental assistance
The partnership team evaluated the early waves of the state’s rental assistance program for families of students at high risk due to housing insecurity. Key findings revealed:
- Rental assistance reached the intended families—with extremely high levels of need and instability.
- Compared with students who did not receive HSWH rental subsidies, students in assisted families showed a reduction in shelter use, a key early indicator of program success.
- Short-term academic outcomes—such as attendance—remained unchanged, but the need for long-term follow-up was clear.
Looking ahead
The HSWH-RP demonstrated the value of collaboration, integrated administrative data, the Minn-LInK platform, and interdisciplinary training to address the complex issue of student homelessness. Additionally, it led to a new partnership aiming to expand the integrated data focused on student homelessness and carry out longer-term evaluations of interventions, including the Stable Homes Stable Schools (SHSS) program in Minneapolis Public Schools. SHSS combines rental assistance with added student and family supports focused on educational engagement and success. Above all, the HSWH-RP illustrated the power of engaged partners from the University, state, and community to engage effectively in rigorous and innovative research work on solving one of the most challenging issues confronting education in the United States as well as Minnesota.
– Ann Masten and Kristine Piescher