School of Social Work News

Professor Luke Shaefer’s latest book, “The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America,” is now available. Together with his co-authors, Shaefer looked at poverty, combined with health outcomes and social mobility rates to examine America’s most disadvantaged communities — almost all of which are rural, and are concentrated in three regions: Appalachia, South Texas, and the southern Cotton Belt.

“Throughout these regions, we saw the same themes emerge again and again—unequal schooling, the collapse of social infrastructure, violence, entrenched public corruption, and structural racism embedded in government programs,” writes Shaefer.

Professor Luke Shaefer was quoted in a New York Times op-ed which examines how quick action from the government at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the shortest recession on record. “This is the best, most successful response to an economic crisis that we have ever mounted, and it is not even close,” said Shaefer.

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke to Minnesota Public Radio about that state’s new child tax credit. “It's not a silver bullet. It's not going to solve all of the challenges that we face, but no policy is. And this one is one that works. It is one that we should be able to see positive impacts in a year's time,” Shaefer said.

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke with Michigan Advance about Rx Kids, a new program in Flint, Michigan, which will work to improve residents’ health by alleviating poverty in the state’s poorest city. The program, which is likely to begin in 2024, specifically focuses on maternal and infant health outcomes at a community level; every Flint resident who is pregnant will be eligible to receive direct cash payments during their pregnancy and throughout the first year of their child’s life. RxKids is a collaboration between Michigan State University and University of Michigan. Shaefer, who is the director of U-M’s Poverty Solutions, is working on the program’s launch.

“This is something where Flint becomes a leader for the nation; that’s a really powerful thing,” Shaefer said. “We’ve already spent time at the White House, at the U.S. Capitol, in Lansing, and I’ve never had a project like this where people get this happy,” Shaefer said. “I’ve been working in poverty for a long time, and I think the design of this and values imbued in it are fundamentally different than other efforts.” 

Shaefer also discussed the program with WKAR, Vigourtimes and Yahoo! News.

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke with Marketplace about the recent report showing that only 25 percent of those who were out of work in 2022 applied for unemployment benefits.  “There is undoubtedly a set of people who actually are eligible for benefits and should be getting them,” said Shaefer, who calls unemployment benefits “the most arcane and complicated” government program.

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke with the Michigan Advance about the “dark times” Michigan is facing given the recent cuts in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. “I want to stress how incredibly successful the expansion of the safety net was during the COVID crisis — the expansion of SNAP, extended unemployment insurance, the expanded child tax credit, as well as rental assistance,” he said, "...it really saved millions of families across the country, and many, many families here in Michigan, from the types of hardships I expected when we started COVID."

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke with Michigan Radio about a new report from U-M’s Poverty Solutions, which shows that U.S. police officers kill more people in days than police in other countries kill in years. “This is one place where, if we’re trying to see things from the perspective of police … that fear, that vigilance really of anyone and everyone that they encounter may have a gun does look like it drives more police shootings,” he said. Shaefer is Poverty Solutions’ faculty director and one of the authors of the report.

Professor Luke Shaefer was quoted in a Detroit News article on how the Earned Income and Child Tax Credit can make a critical difference for families with low to moderate incomes. 

“This is an important time of year for households who are working hard to make ends meet,” said Shaefer. “Tax refunds help families pay down debt, invest in car repairs, and all the other things they need. We all benefit when families can access these resources.”