Kristin S. Seefeldt

Director, Poverty Solutions, Associate Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy and Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research

Associate Professor Kristin Seefeldt’s primary research interests lie in exploring how low-income individuals understand their situations, particularly around issues related to work and economic well being.

Currently, she is conducting research on families’ financial coping strategies and is a Principal Investigator of a survey examining the effects of the recession and recovery policies on individuals’ well being.

Her most recent book, Abandoned Families (Russell Sage), explores the ways in which various institutions that once fostered economic security and upward mobility, currently fail low and moderate income families, particularly families of color. She is also the author of Working After Welfare (W.E. Upjohn Institute Press), which discusses employment and work-family balance challenges among former welfare recipients, and a co-author of America’s Poor and the Great Recession (Indiana University Press).

Research Interests

Poverty, economic well being, financial coping strategies, recession, recovery policies, work-life balance

Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information

  • [email protected]

  • (734) 615-2113

  • 2726 SSWB
    University of Michigan
    School of Social Work
    1080 S. University
    Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Education

  • 2010 PhD Sociology and Public Policy
    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • 1996 MPP Public Policy
    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • 1990 BA American Government
    Georgetown University, Washington D.C.

News

Activities

Publications

Greene, J. & Seefeldt, K. S. (in press). Learning from youth: Using positive outcomes to evaluate summer youth employment programs. Journal of Adolescent Development.
Wherry, F., Seefeldt, K. S., & Alvarez, A. (2019). Credit Where it’s Due: Re-thinking Financial Citizenship. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Wherry, F., Seefeldt, K. S., & Alvarez, A. (2019). To lend or not to lend to friends and kin: Awkwardness, obfuscation, and negative reciprocity. Social Forces, 98(2), 753-793.
Elliott, W., Starks, B., Seefeldt, K., & Ellis, J. M. (2018). Children's savings account programs provide parents with the opportunity to plan and talk about college with their children and others. Sociology Mind, 8, 345-365.
Kim, H., Burgard, S. A., & Seefeldt, K. S. (2017). Housing Assistance and Housing Insecurity: A Study of Renters in Southeastern Michigan in the Wake of the Great Recession. Social Service Review, 91(1), 41-70.
Seefeldt, K. S. (2017). Serving No One Well: TANF Nearly Twenty Years Later. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 44(2), 3-28.
Seefeldt, K. S. (2016). Abandoned Families: Social Isolation in the 21st Century. New York: Russell Sage.
Danziger, S. K., Danziger, S. H., Seefeldt, K. S. & Shaefer, H. L. (2015). From welfare to a work-based safety net: An incomplete transition. point/counterpoint. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 35(1), 231-238.
Seefeldt, K. S., & Sandstrom H. (2015). When there is no welfare: The income packaging strategies of mothers without earnings or cash assistance following an economic downturn. The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 1(1), 139-158.
Danziger, S. K., Seefeldt, K. S., & Shaefer, H. L. (2015). Increasing work opportunities and reducing poverty two decades after welfare reform. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 35(1), 241-244. Wiley Publications.

Honors and Awards

Year Description
2018 Honorable Mention of the 2018 SSWR Outstanding Social Work Book Award for book entitled "Abandoned Families Social Isolation in the Twenty-First Century, New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation (2015)"

J:\AdminDocs\kseef_2018SSWRbookAwardHonorableMention_DCT.pdf
2010 Honorable Mention, ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award
2010 Honorable Mention, Association for Public Policy and Management Dissertation Award

Presentations

Year Description
2021 Ratliff, E. & Seefeldt, K. S. (2021). There's no room, not even for a dog: How doubling up affects those with housing. Presentation to University of Kentucky Martin School of Public Policy.
2020 Seefeldt, K. S. (2020, January). Credit where it’s due. Presentation at Umea University, Umea Sweden.
2019 Seefeldt, K. S. (2019, June). Credit and debt. Presentation at Annual Conference of the Michigan Community Action Association.
2019 Wherry, F., Seefeldt, K. S., & Alvarez, A. (2019, May). Credit where it’s due. Presentation at the Aspen Institute, Washington, D.C.
2019 Seefeldt, K. S. (2019, March). Poverty in the U.S.: Unpacking the narratives. Invited Keynote at the University of Buffalo School of Social Work Poverty Symposium.

Courses

Current & Future Courses

Title Instructor Term Course Section Meeting Start Meeting End
Essentials of Social Welfare Policy Seefeldt, Kristin S. Fall 2026 002 09:00 am 12:00 pm View Course
Foundation Topics in Social Work Seefeldt, Kristin S. Fall 2026 001 12:00 pm 02:00 pm View Course

Past Courses

Title Instructor Term Course Section Meeting Start Meeting End
Practicing Policy with Current Events Seefeldt, Kristin S. Winter 2026 006 02:00 pm 05:00 pm View Course
Practicing Policy with Current Events Seefeldt, Kristin S. Winter 2026 005 02:00 pm 05:00 pm View Course
Practicing Policy with Current Events Seefeldt, Kristin S. Winter 2026 015 09:00 am 12:00 pm View Course
Practicing Policy with Current Events Seefeldt, Kristin S. Winter 2025 010 02:00 pm 05:00 pm View Course
Practicing Policy with Current Events Seefeldt, Kristin S. Winter 2025 008 09:00 am 12:00 pm View Course
Practicing Policy with Current Events Seefeldt, Kristin S. Winter 2025 007 09:00 am 12:00 pm View Course
Essentials of Social Welfare Policy Seefeldt, Kristin S. Fall 2023 010 02:00 pm 05:00 pm View Course
Essentials of Social Welfare Policy Seefeldt, Kristin S. Fall 2023 003 09:00 am 12:00 pm View Course
Theories and Principles of Socially Just Policies Seefeldt, Kristin S. Winter 2023 001 09:00 am 12:00 pm View Course
Essentials of Social Welfare Policy Seefeldt, Kristin S. Fall 2022 010 02:00 pm 05:00 pm View Course