California Policy Lab September 2023 Newsletter

A line chart shows the number of Californians who took out new mortgages from Q1 2019 through Q1 2023. There is a steady increase from about 200k in Q1 2019 to 930,000 in Q4 2020, then a steady decrease down to 95,000 (projected) in Q1 2023. There is an orange vertical line at Sept. 2019, noting when the Fed started dropping interest rates, and another orange vertical line at March 2022, showing when the Fed started to hike interest rates.

California Credit Dashboard shows dramatic changes in mortgage market since 2020

The Dashboard’s latest update includes data through Q1 2023. There’s been large changes in the state’s mortgage market – with a projected 90% drop in Californians taking out new mortgages since late 2020. Meanwhile, the average mortgage amount grew by $125,000. California Credit Dashboard Update

A woman in her mid 40s is sitting on a couch looking at a laptop. There is a girl in the background looking at something in her hands, and there is a balcony behind the girl.

Homeless prevention program evaluations

CPL conducted three process evaluations of the Solid Ground homelessness prevention pilot, which was started in 2018 to serve families in Van Nuys, CA. The reports focus on participant demographics, financial and other assistance provided, and income, employment, and living situations. An executive summary and all three reports are now available. Solid Ground Evaluations

New CPL staff

Welcome to our new colleagues

We’re thrilled you joined the CPL team!

Learn more about them and what they’re working on.

CPL's 3rd Undergraduate Summer Institute

A collage of headshots of 12 students who were part of the 2023 Undergraduate Summer Institute. Vikram Jambulapati, the instructor, is also pictured.

Students gain hands-on experience

Twelve students from all 9 UC campuses conducted research using the University of California Consumer Credit Panel. Their research focused on medical debt, financial distress, intergenerational links in household finance, student loan debt repayment, and so-called “credit invisibles.”

“I highly recommend this program for individuals who want to understand more about the intersection of data analytics and public policy.” -Daniel Lopez-Orozco, UC Berkeley Class of 2023

Sept 30th deadline for funding and dataset applications

A woman in her early 20s stands in front of a dry erase board writing on it, she's holding an ipad in her other hand.

Funding and data to support policy-relevant research

Every quarter, CPL accepts new applications for Seed Grants, Graduate Fellowships, and to use data from the Safety Net Dataset. CPL Seeds Grants and Grad Fellowships are made possible through funding from the UC Office of the President, while the Safety Net dataset is provided via CPL’s PERLI Initiative, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Learn more in our September Researcher Update (you can also sign up to receive these quarterly researcher updates).

CPL Presentations

Tall building lit up with night and text reads "The Bond Buyer California Public Finance October 18-20, 2023, Marriot Marqui, San Francisco, CA

Evan White speaking on California migration patterns

Evan White, Executive Director of CPL’s UC Berkeley site, will be one of the keynote speakers at the California Public Finance conference in October. White will preview CPL’s upcoming research on migration patterns into, out of, and within California.

Icon for the Fall 2023 APPAM conference shows silhouettes of figures in different colors, and text about the theme and dates of the event

APPAM’s Fall Research Conference

CPL staff, graduate research fellows, and faculty affiliates are presenting on a range of topics including: education, entrepreneurship, unemployment, preventing homelessness, improving criminal justice, and housing affordability. CPL sessions at APPAM

CPL in the news

Image of cover of UCLA College June 2023 magazine - numbers, charts, and text that says "Faces of Big Data"

How the UCLA College is harnessing a titanic new engine of equity and discovery

Professor Till von Wachter, Faculty Director of CPL’s UCLA site, is interviewed in this article about a pilot program in Los Angeles that CPL is partnering with LA Count on. The program helps to identify people at the highest risk of homelessness in order to connect with them and provide supports to prevent them from becoming homeless.

Early Intervention by Public Defenders Offers Improved Outcomes for Clients, California Policy Lab Study Found

This article covers CPL’s research and a short webinar presentation on the PARR program in Santa Clara County which provides earlier legal representation to people after their arrest.

Thousands Of Unhoused Angelenos Live With A Severe Mental Illness. Could More Street Medicine Help?

Janey Rountree, Executive Director of CPL’s UCLA site, is interviewed about CPL’s research focused on serious mental illness among people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.

Livermore police chief pushes Alameda County DA for tougher penalties

This article cites CPL research on sentence enhancements, which showed that about 70% of people incarcerated in prison in California as of 2022 had their sentences lengthened because of an enhancement.

So … whaddya wanna know about student loan repayments?

The federal student loan pause is ending in October, and a recent Marketplace segment cited CPL’s research on the financial impact of the student loan pause.

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