View Research by Author - Michel Grosz

Michel Grosz is a Research Assistant in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities policy center at the Urban Institute. Since arriving at the Urban Institute in 2008, much of his research has focused on the Washington, D.C. region, including projecting enrollment for the local public schools, analyzing the effect of the foreclosure crisis on children, describing the District's Latino population, and providing technical assistance to local youth-serving organizations in their performance measurement. He has conducted qualitative research on topics such as the childcare choices of low-income working families, the transition of at-risk youth to adulthood, and the effectiveness of youth internship programs.

Mr. Grosz graduated in 2008 from Pomona College in Claremont, California with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematical Economics. While at Pomona, he worked on an independent research project analyzing the effect of incentive-pay structures on working hours in Mexico and held an internship with the Hong Kong Liaison Office of the international trade union movement. Mr. Grosz is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

MGrosz@urban.org

Publications

This research report presents the findings from a qualitative study of the child care choices of low-income working families in two urban communities. Participants included 86 parents with young children, many of whom were immigrants, English language learners, or parents of children with special needs. We discuss the key themes and variations in family experiences, giving particular attention to parental preferences and the factors that influenced their decisions, within the contexts of their employment and the early care and education programs in their communities. We conclude with policy recommendations that can promote parental access to affordable and high quality care.

The ripple effects of the foreclosure crisis have created increased instability for children and families. In this brief we focus on two such sources of instability in the lives of public school students in Washington, D.C.: moving homes and switching schools. We find high rates of residential and school mobility for students in general, and even higher rates associated with students who lived in buildings that entered the foreclosure process. These mobile students tended to stay in the same neighborhood or move to areas that were similarly poor and high-crime. In this policy brief, we make a series of low-cost recommendations to school districts and nonprofit housing counseling agencies in order to minimize the harm of additional instability on children.

As foreclosures have been sweeping the nation in the past few years, the effect of the crisis on children tends to be overlooked. In this brief, the first of two, we discuss foreclosure trends as they relate to public school students living in Washington, D.C. between 2003 and 2008. In particular, we describe the demographic makeup of the students affected, the type of housing and neighborhoods in which they live, and the schools they attend. We conclude with recommendations for both the housing and education sectors in mitigating this crisis as the number of foreclosures continues to rise.

The Latino population has been steadily increasing in the District of Columbia, and the city's Latino population has many unique and important qualities that distinguish it from other racial and ethnic groups. This report describes the current state of the Latino population in the District of Columbia and paints a picture of the opportunities and challenges Latinos face today. In this report, we describe how Latinos are faring in three domains: population and demographics, housing and neighborhood change, and economics and the workforce. We use the most recent data available to compare Latinos with non-Latinos living in the District and to describe trends over time. To supplement the available data, this study also draws on qualitative findings from interviews with officials, community leaders, and service providers to determine how the national recession is affecting Latinos in the District of Columbia.

The 16th annual Fact Book is a comprehensive data source for indicators of child well-being in the District of Columbia. It tracks the progression of child well-being over time, as well as differences in child well-being across wards and races/ethnicities. It is organized to reflect the six citywide goals for children and youth in DC: children are ready for school; children and youth succeed in school; children and youth are healthy and practice healthy behaviors; children and youth engage in meaningful activities; children and youth live in healthy, stable, and supportive families; and all youth make a successful transition to adulthood.

This brief, a companion to the Housing in the Nation's Capital 2009 report, describes the impact of the foreclosure crisis on the Washington metropolitan region, examining the level and trends of foreclosures, outlining potential secondary effects for families and neighborhoods, and looking towards the future of the region's housing market. It concludes with policy implications in four areas: foreclosure prevention, neighborhood stabilization, recovery assistance for displaced households, and services for children in foreclosed homes.

This is the seventh in a series of annual reports about housing in the Washington metropolitan region. It assembles and analyzes the most current data on housing conditions in the District of Columbia and the surrounding suburbs. This year's report focuses on the impact of the foreclosure crisis on the region, examining the level and trends of foreclosures, outlining potential secondary effects for families and neighborhoods, and looking towards the future of the region's housing market. It concludes with policy implications in four areas: foreclosure prevention, neighborhood stabilization, recovery assistance for displaced households, and services for children in foreclosed homes.

Nonprofits face growing demands to demonstrate their impact. Their ability to report on program performance is essential to organizational legitimacy and financial survival. This report chronicles the evaluation experiences of four youth-serving nonprofits that participated in the East of the River Initiative, a multi-year effort to increase the capacity of agencies to assess their performance. We detail key successes and challenges with the goal of sparking a dialogue between nonprofits, funders, and technical assistance providers about the proper value of evaluation in the sector.

The 15th annual Fact Book is a comprehensive data source for indicators of child well-being in the District of Columbia. Over 50 data indicators are tracked over time. This publication provides a broad perspective on the status of children and youth in the District. We seek to inform and educate our readers about the issues affecting children and their families in the District. We encourage community residents, policy makers, professionals, and others who work with and/or on behalf of children and families to create conditions that foster the optimal health and development of our children.

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