Last week, residents of Glendale and Minnehaha Townhomes joined MPHA staff in a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) study evaluating the impact of access to childcare and educational services among public housing families. This research may help inform future, more in-depth research on the importance and efficacy of onsite educational services among public housing developments and could encourage funding for such programming at the national level.

The study is evaluating six sites across the United States covering urban and rural communities, various regions, and levels of onsite or co-located childcare and educational services. Of the six sites in the study, two are MPHA public housing developments: Glendale Townhomes (with onsite, free childcare) and the Minnehaha Townhomes (which doesn’t have any educational services onsite).

The study is being conducted by Child Trends and Summit Consulting. Together, the group is interviewing dozens of families with at least one child under 13 years-old about their access to, arrangements for, preferences on, and use of financial support for childcare.

“We want to understand what it’s like for caregivers with children living in public housing communities to find and use childcare This critical support can be hard to obtain, even for families with ample resources due to unreliable transportation, concerns about the cost of care, mismatches between a program’s hours and caregivers’ work or school schedules, as well as the challenge of finding childcare options that they trust or that align with their cultural values,” said Ashley Hirilall, Site Visit Lead at Child Trends. “Our study explores how co-locating childcare services within public housing communities could make it easier for families and children to access these opportunities that aligns with their needs and preferences.”

With a location in the Glendale neighborhood—even sharing a building with MPHA staff offices—Parents in Community Action, Inc.’s (PICA) Head Start program offers low-income families childcare at no cost. This program intends to give low-income kids a “head start,” preparing them for elementary school with early childhood education focusing on cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development. For MPHA, this type of onsite educational service is unique to Glendale. Although a majority of MPHA’s families are housed through scattered-site housing (single family homes located throughout Minneapolis), Glendale has served an estimated 2,000 families over its 70-year history.

The Minnehaha Townhomes, located in the East Nokomis neighborhood, exclusively serve families referred by Hennepin County’s Coordinated Entry program. Compared to the Glendale Townhomes, it is only a fraction of the size, offering 16 units as opposed to Glendale’s 184. Although the Minnehaha Townhomes don’t offer onsite childcare or other educational services, residents do receive case management services through the county and other partners, have an onsite playground, and have access to ample green space.

“This study is vitally important and will give HUD the evidence it needs to shape policies to improve availability of federally supported childcare—policies that are informed by families that live in public housing,” said Sarah Cunningham, Project Director at Summit Consulting. “We are so grateful to the MPHA and PICA teams, and most of all the community members for taking the time to share their experiences, needs, and preferences for childcare, to improve HUD’s understanding and inform policies to advance stability and economic mobility.”

This study could prompt more research on the need for onsite educational services among public housing developments and aid in advocating for funding for programming. For MPHA, this qualitative data will provide a window into the impact of the Glendale area’s services on its residents and inform future partnerships and investments. Child Trends and Summit Consulting hope to have the study wrapped up by early 2025.

The agency is already very familiar with the intertwined nature of housing and childhood education. Knowing that safe and stable housing is the most significant out-of-school factor for predicting student success, MPHA pioneered a partnership with City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), and the YMCA of the North to address homelessness with Stable Homes Stable Schools. This program has helped secure stable housing for more than 1,500 families since its 2019 inception.