ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan’s National Poverty Center will continue searching for ways to reduce poverty with the help of a $1 million, third-year federal grant renewal.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the renewal of its four national poverty research centers this week.

These centers plan and conduct a broad program of policy research and mentoring of emerging scholars to analyze national, regional and state environment and policies affecting the poor, particularly those families with children who are poor or at-risk of being poor.

“This renewal of funds allows the National Poverty Center to continue tobuild on the activities of the past two years,” said Rebecca Blank of thecenter and dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, which coordinatesNPC efforts. “We have a major conference on poverty and economic changeplanned in the coming year, as well as a big project on how recent immigrantsare faring over time compared to low-income native-born families. “The HHSfunds have let us build a research center that involves scholars from aroundthe country and from all disciplines. This is important in studying as multifaceteda problem as poverty.” Sheldon Danziger, Henry J. Meyer Collegiate Professorof Public Policy, also serves as co-director.

The grants continue HHS’s long-term commitment to explore the causes and consequences of poverty and how to effectively alleviate it and its effects. The centers develop a cadre of scholars.

“The National Poverty Center has an important role in building our capacity for public policy,” said Michael O’Grady, HHS assistant secretary for planning and evaluation. “This is important not only for progress in scholarship but in the public policy capacity of public organizations, both in government and outside of government.”

U-M’s NPC involves a multi-disciplinary team of U-M faculty members, as wellas some from other universities nationwide, conducting research.

“So much of the progress we have made in reducing poverty can be attributed to careful research,” HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said. “The National and Area Poverty Centers play a critical role not only in contributing to this body of research but also preparing researchers to meet the challenges of the future.”

HHS also presented continuation awards to the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin ($500,000) for efforts in the upper Midwest region; the Poverty Research Center at the University of Kentucky ($472,499), with a focus on Southern region; and the Rural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri ($399,295), with its focus on rural poverty.

Related Links:

• U-M National Poverty Center
• HHS