RSF: Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences

Call for Papers: ISSUE ON "Wealth and Family Economics: How Much Wealth Is Needed to Achieve Social and Economic Benchmarks? Insights from New Measures and Concepts"

"While income is a primary focus of family economics research, wealth is a critical component of well-being. On the one hand, wealth can provide an important buffer when expenses exceed income, aiding in the avoidance of negative socioeconomic outcomes. These can include everything from unexpected medical expenses to a needed car repair to prices for necessary expenses climbing faster than income. On the other hand, wealth can be used to invest in the future and maintain or advance socioeconomic status through purchasing a home, attaining higher education, starting a small business, saving for retirement, or creating a nest egg for ensuing generations. These two primary functions demonstrate the essential role wealth plays in key outcomes and the importance of incorporating wealth into our understanding of family well-being.

"For this call, we focus primarily on the amounts of wealth needed to achieve different levels of economic and social well-being or reach different steps on the socio-economic ladder. These levels range from modest buffer funds that afford some stability to the additional resources needed to start investing to the assets corresponding to a “solid middle-class” lifestyle to the riches associated with having achieved high socioeconomic status. Put another way, we are focused on the wealth necessary for stability, security, mobility, and prosperity.

"We also focus on which outcomes matter most for the well-being of individuals and families and for the broader communities in which they reside, and how much wealth is necessary to achieve various socioeconomic benchmarks, like stability, security, mobility, and prosperity, associated with these outcomes. While we can compute various metrics (for example, the median down payment required to buy a home in a specific place), we lack robust conceptualization of how much wealth is needed across a range of conditions and circumstances. For example, in the presence of a social safety net that includes Medicare, Social Security, SNAP, and housing assistance and serves populations with a range of family types and sizes, health statuses and anticipated lifespans, how much wealth is necessary to support an adequate standard of living in retirement? Such measures could help scholars achieve a better understanding of wealth, and they could assist policymakers and practitioners in developing strategies that would enable the realization of various outcomes."

Prospective contributors should submit a CV and an abstract (up to two pages in length, single or double spaced) of their study along with up to three pages of supporting material (e.g., tables, figures, pictures, etc.) no later than 5 PM ET on October 8, 2026.

Read the complete call online

From the DC Fiscal Policy Institute

Federal SNAP Changes are Putting DC Residents’ Food Assistance at Risk

Aug 27

"Approximately 1,200 DC residents could lose critical Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by October because of a harmful time limit that federal lawmakers imposed on states and enrollees last year, according to data shared by the DC Department of Human Services (DHS).

"SNAP is the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, serving about 1 in 4 households in the District and disproportionately serving more Black households than white households. Many DC residents face barriers to food security and rely on SNAP due to systemic and racial inequalities, including the high cost of living, wage disparities, and limited access to grocery stores East of the River. SNAP plays a vital role in reducing hunger by helping residents with low incomes afford the food they need, directly improving their health, productivity, and quality of life.

"Despite SNAP’s critical role in improving food access, federal changes enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) require DC to impose ineffective and burdensome work requirements on SNAP enrollees. Those who cannot meet these requirements are facing a strict three-month time limit on benefit receipt over a three-year period. Other states are already seeing the deep harm of the time limit, and DC will be no different. Over 19,700 District residents are subject to these new requirements, with many at immediate risk of losing SNAP and even more at risk in the months ahead."

New Report Offers Vision, Strategy for Remaking National Center for Education Statistics

"ALEXANDRIA, VA, August 25, 2026 —  The American Statistical Association today released A Vision and Strategy for Remaking the National Center for Education Statistics, a report from the ASA's project on re-envisioning NCES. Drawing on roundtable discussions with stakeholders across the education and statistical communities, the report lays out a vision and strategy for rebuilding the agency and invites broader public input to shape a roadmap for its future.

"NCES is the nation's principal source of education statistics, producing data that informs decisions by states, school districts, colleges and universities, researchers and families. It also provides essential leadership and coordination of the education data infrastructure across the nation. In early 2025, the agency's staff was cut from 103 to 3, its commissioner was removed and roughly three-quarters of its contracts were canceled, effectively halting many of its statistical collections and production.

" 'There's near-universal agreement, across the political spectrum, that NCES's work is essential and must continue,' said ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein. 'But simply rebuilding NCES to what it looked like in 2024 would mean rebuilding the same weaknesses that left it so vulnerable. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do better.' "

From the Executive Director of the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA, Aug 26)

"Like me, I am sure you are troubled by the Administration's ongoing attacks on science. Of immediate concern are efforts by the National Science Foundation (NSF), with urging from the White House, to dismantle the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE). 

"I am writing today to urge your immediate and persistent action in support of SBE. In recent days we have witnessed tangible efforts by NSF to sideline--if not eliminate altogether--programs that support the social sciences:

• On August 17, NSF released 12 "foundational research" funding opportunities. The NOFOs span NSF's directorates with the exception of SBE. There are no active SBE funding opportunities for "foundational research."
• On August 25, NSF released its latest solicitation for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Unlike previous GFRP solicitations, the 2026 call excludes SBE from the list of participating NSF directorates. In addition, this year's solicitation removes the following fields from eligibility: Communications, Cultural Anthropology, International Relations, Law and Social Science, Political Science, Public Policy, Science Policy, and Social Science Education. 

"These actions, among others, clearly show that SBE is being erased before our eyes.

"We need everyone who cares about the social sciences to contact their Members of Congress, alerting them to NSF's efforts and the need for Congressional oversight. The fate of SBE rests in our collective hands--let's show Congress just how important our sciences are!"

COSSA Save SBE Toolkit

From Nature

Exclusive: NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decades

Nature (Aug 20)

"The US National Science Foundation (NSF) will award about 30% fewer new research grants this fiscal year than in the last one, Nature has learnt. The steep drop continues a pattern that began last year, after US President Donald Trump took office, leaving the NSF with the lowest number of new grants awarded in more than four decades. ...

"All of the NSF’s directorates are awarding fewer new grants, but the hardest hit is the social, behavioural and economic sciences (SBE) directorate, which the White House proposed eliminating in its 2027 budget request to Congress. SBE has so far awarded 84 new grants this year, about 11% of its average, mainly in areas of artificial intelligence, cognitive neuroscience and decision-making. Much of its portfolio, such as sociology, archaeology, political science, economics and geography, has received zero new awards. 'I don’t think they’ve realized yet that there’s no awards,' one NSF staff member says of researchers in those fields. 'That’s going to be clear soon.' ”

Comments on OMB research rule mysteriously removed from federal website

STAT News (Aug 25, requires subscription)

"Agency pulls posts mentioning CF diagnosis of director Russell Vought’s daughter"

[Originally posted on Aug 16] From the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA)

Did you submit [a] comment to OMB on the Uniform Guidance Proposed Rule?

August 11, 2026

"It is time to share your comments with your members of Congress! Instructions below.

"As may you know, the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed rule on Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance received tens of thousands of comments from the public, the majority in opposition to the rule. [Ed. note: It was actually several hundred thousand comments.]

"The draft rule included an implementation date of October 1, 2026; however, OMB has acknowledged privately that it is not likely to review all comments, as required by law, by then, likely resulting in a delay. In addition, the continuing resolution (CR) passed last week by the Senate to push Congress’ deadline for completing the fiscal year (FY) 2027 appropriations bills to December includes language prohibiting OMB from implementing the rule. (Note: The House and Senate passed different versions of the CR and will need to reconcile their differences when they return in September; the House bill does not currently include the OMB language.)

"While OMB reviews the comments over the coming months, organizations and individuals continue to express their concern for the rule. It is critical that Congress hears your concerns about the rule!"

[The COSSA action center includes instructions for contacting Congress, whether you previously submitted a comment to OMB or not.]

See the previous DCSS news coverage.

Originally distributed by the Postsecondary Education & Economics Research Center at American U. and George Washington U.

"The U.S. Department of Education released a proposed rule amending the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), which govern Department grantmaking, to align with a proposed rule published by the Office of Management and Budget earlier this year. The proposed changes include making it easier for the Secretary to cancel or decline to continue grants “for convenience.” 

Comments are due on September 23; for information on writing effective comments, please reach out to peercenter@american.edu.

Regulations.gov: 2026-17239 EDGAR NPRM, Posted by the Department of Education on Aug 24, 2026

Education Department proposal would make it easier to end grants

K-12 Dive (Aug 21)

"The U.S. Department of Education is seeking to give itself more leeway in how and why it cancels federal grant funding, according to a proposed rule scheduled to be published in the Federal Register Monday. 

"The rule would codify controversial approaches to canceling funding that have landed the agency in hot water in the last year, during which a slew of grant funds were abruptly ended because the Education Department said they don’t align with the Trump administration’s priorities. 

"The changes would include allowing the department to cancel discretionary funds “for convenience” — a term that grantmaking and education experts say is broad, vague and atypical for discretionary grants to be subject to. 

“The proposed changes would ensure that the Department retain ongoing programmatic discretion after an award is made, consistent with law, to terminate a discretionary award for convenience,” the proposed changes state."

See previous DCSS news items on the OMB proposed rule here.

From the Population Reference Bureau

Today’s Research on Aging 45: Aging Unequally

Two decades of research on health, disability, and care in the United States

Date published: July 22, 2026
Authors: Mark Mather, Paola Scommegna, Cathryn Streifel

"The United States is aging at an unprecedented pace. The number of Americans ages 65 and older has nearly doubled since 2000—reaching 61 million in 2024, or more than 1 in 6 Americans—and is projected to climb to 82 million by 2050. The oldest Americans, those ages 85 and older, are the fastest-growing age group and most likely to need extensive support and care.

"Living longer is a profound achievement. But longer lives do not automatically mean healthier, more secure, or more equal ones. Across two decades of research, a consistent picture has emerged: The experience of aging in the United States differs enormously—and those differences are not random. They are shaped by education, income, geography, racial disparities, and early-life experiences long before people reach older adulthood.

"Housed at William & Mary, a public R1 research university in Virginia, AidData is a leading international development research lab. We connect decision-makers and researchers who have a shared interest in working together using granular data and innovative tools to solve pressing problems, precisely target resources, and use rigorous evidence to measure the impacts—intended and unintended—of policies and investments."

Before reimagining development data, remember what we’ve learned

[July 31] "The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) shut its doors a year ago. Among the assets at risk: a quarter-century of evaluation reports documenting what worked, what didn't, and why from USAID's Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC). We've archived the entire corpus of knowledge, which consists of ~4,500 English-language performance and impact evaluations published between 2000 and 2023. They're free, ungated, and searchable at USAID-archive.aiddata.org.

"This blog is the first in a two-part series on endangered data resources. With this piece, we detail AidData’s collaborations to save a key archive at risk of disappearance. In Part 2, we will explore findings from AidData’s recently-published Data Asset Inventory, which examines resources that are at risk of meeting the same fate as the USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse."

The broken promise of D.C.’s Commission on Poverty

The 51st (Aug 20) [Originally published by Street Sense Media]

"Since its creation, D.C.’s Commission on Poverty has struggled to fulfill its mission of working and advocating for those living in poverty in D.C. Instead, commissioners say they have spent time legitimizing the commission to the same D.C. agencies it is meant to collaborate with. Some commission members and poverty policy experts say the D.C. government’s lack of financial support and urgency to appoint commission members reflect a greater failure to support Washingtonians in poverty. ...

"Now, there’s concern the largely advisory body will continue struggling to make a meaningful impact on the District’s response to poverty as it lacks funding and a trusted reputation within D.C. government. Approximately 117,000 people, or 17.3% of D.C.’s population, are living in poverty, according to the most recent U.S. Census data."

Court Blocks Trump-Vance Administration’s Unlawful Overhaul of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

Democracy Forward (Aug 19)

"A federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today granted in part a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful attempt to gut the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP), a bipartisan-supported program that has helped drive down teen pregnancy rates for more than 15 years. The ruling in Hennepin County, MN v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services halts the administration’s effort to force grantees into non-evidence-based, abstinence-only curricula."

Previous post from August 14

Coalition Sues Trump-Vance Administration Over Harmful, Unlawful Changes to Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

Democracy Forward (July 14)

"A coalition of organizations and local governments filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful decision to replace the longstanding evidence-based framework of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) – a program that was put in place with bipartisan Congressional support more than 15 years ago – with an ideological effort focused solely on the administration’s political goals. 

"The suit comes after the administration issued two new Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs), imposing new criteria for funding awards pursuant to the program, and then rashly cancelled, just 72 hours later, the vast majority of active awards implementing the program midstream."