Promoting Childhood Vaccination During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As schools start back up, many parents are concerned about the health effects of COVID-19 in children. However, childhood diseases beyond COVID-19 are still threats to children’s well-being. In the early stages of the pandemic, there was a large decrease in childhood vaccination rates for diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis, measles and mumps.

Apply to become a Graduate Policy Scholar!

Applications for the Graduate Policy Scholar program are now open to all graduate students at Washington University in St. Louis! The Graduate Policy Scholar program provides students from all fields of study with impactful opportunities and training in policy. Offered by the Social Policy Institute and the Clark-Fox Policy Institute, the yearlong program provides students […]

New longitudinal Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey calls for sustained public benefit support

The Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis (SPI) released new findings on the impact of COVID-19 on housing hardship, the importance of employment and associated benefits, such as the Payment Protection Program, family hardships, and efficiency of public benefits designed to support households in need, such as SNAP, TANF, and unemployment insurance benefits.

Why are 11% of Israelis still not vaccinated?

A new nationally representative survey from the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis (SPI) indicates that among the 11% of Israelis who are not vaccinated, 75% do not plan to get vaccinated.

20% of Israelis: The corona is a conspiracy of governments and pharmaceutical companies (Links to an external site)

The Marker covered our latest findings that 20% of Israelis believe that COVID-19 is a conspiracy by governments and pharmaceutical companies. These findings are the latest results from the Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 in Israel. Hebrew title: 20% מהישראלים: הקורונה היא קנוניה של ממשלות וחברות תרופות

Inclusive and equitable tech reskilling at LaunchCode in St. Louis (Links to an external site)

Recognizing the shortcomings of equitable hiring and reskilling in the tech sector, LaunchCode, a St. Louis-based technology training organization, implemented a new model for equitable re-skilling by combining computer science training with a paid apprenticeship and by altering its recruitment and retention efforts. SPI partnered with LaunchCode to evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts in […]

Internationally collaborative seed grant recipients: Where are they now?

Over the last two years, the Social Policy Institute and McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University in St. Louis have partnered in sponsoring internationally collaborative research. The first projects, funded at the beginning of 2020, explored social policy globally to understand systemic challenges within and between nations. However, as with everything in 2020, the […]

Why are Israeli parents of 12-15-year-olds hesitant to vaccinate their children?

By Yaniv Shlomo, Senior Fellow; Oren Heller, Postdoctoral Research Associate; Daniel Yeshua, Program Manager; and Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Director Download a PDF to read this text in Hebrew: מדוע הורים לבני 12 עד 15 מהססים לחסן את ילדיהם? While most Israeli adults are vaccinated, 62% of parents are hesitant to vaccinate their 12-15-year-old children. The findings […]

Inclusive growth feature: Building an inclusive workforce in St. Louis

This inclusive growth feature is one of a multi-part feature on how to support inclusive growth in St. Louis by our advisory committee for the Inclusive Growth in St. Louis Event Series. In my hometown of St. Louis, inclusive growth means that everyone in our community has access to education and training to obtain well-paying […]

Celebrating the Graduate Policy Scholars 2021 Cohort

The Graduate Policy Scholars program provides students from all fields of study with impactful opportunities and training in policy. Offered by the Clark-Fox Policy Institute in partnership with the Social Policy Institute, the yearlong program provides students with opportunities to develop skills in advocacy, analysis and/or organizing. During the program, students receive guidance and mentorship […]

Inclusive Growth Feature: Impacting policy through collaboration

Jackie Hutchinson, director of advocacy at the Consumers Council of Missouri, sat down with the Social Policy Institute to discuss her career in advocating for equity and inclusive growth. Throughout her career she’s found her greatest impact through policy action and collaboration. This inclusive growth feature is one of a multi-part feature on how to […]

Israel’s next president has long-standing relationship with the Social Policy Institute at Washington University

With Isaac Herzog set to become Israel’s 11th president later this summer, the Social Policy Institute (SPI) reflects on its long-standing partnership with the future president. SPI director, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, began working with President-elect Herzog in 2010 to generate national support to create the first universal child development account program (CDA) in the world. Grinstein-Weiss, […]

Inclusive Growth Feature: Intersection of health, wealth and inclusive growth

How can we build inclusive and healthy communities in St. Louis? Kristy Klein Davis, Chief Strategy Officer of the Missouri Foundation for Health, sat down with the Social Policy Institute to discuss the intersection of health and inclusive growth. This inclusive growth feature is one of a multi-part feature on how to support inclusive growth […]

SPI researchers win awards for paper at ACCI Conference & VentureCafe STL Fellowship

Stephen Roll and Mathieu Despard, researchers at SPI, recently received the CFP© Board’s ACCI Financial Planning Paper Award for their paper on income loss and financial distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The award is given to a well-written paper that focuses on important financial planning issues which can be used by consumers, financial planning professionals, and policymakers […]

Data and the social sector: We are all “data people”

Most of us who have worked in the social sector have interacted with data in some facet of our jobs. Whether applying for grants, evaluating programs, tracking client outcomes,  drafting annual reports, or designing dashboards, our effectiveness hinges in part on how well we use data. I still recall in my past work being taken […]