Human Services to Support Rural Health – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Human Services to Support Rural Health.
A Snapshot of Racial Inequities in Human Services Programs in Rural Contexts
Examines the need for human services across rural counties and broken down by racial/ethnic groups. Provides data on human services funding per person, unemployment rate, poverty rate, access to broadband, and access to vehicles by rural Black, Hispanic, Native, and White citizens. Includes a 2018 county-level U.S. map that depicts rural counties with high needs for human services.
Author(s): Emma Ward, James Murdoch, Neel Chakraborti
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: 2M Research, Administration for Children and Families
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Examines the need for human services across rural counties and broken down by racial/ethnic groups. Provides data on human services funding per person, unemployment rate, poverty rate, access to broadband, and access to vehicles by rural Black, Hispanic, Native, and White citizens. Includes a 2018 county-level U.S. map that depicts rural counties with high needs for human services.
Author(s): Emma Ward, James Murdoch, Neel Chakraborti
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: 2M Research, Administration for Children and Families
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Exploring Remaining Needs and Opportunities for Improvement in Rural Communities: A Focus on Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) Services
Report discusses the distribution and impact of the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) programs in rural counties across the country. Highlights the counties with programs funded my HMRF and counties that lack HMRF services.
Author(s): Ashton Cain, Emma Ward, James Murdoch, Neel Chakraborti
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: 2M Research, Administration for Children and Families
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Report discusses the distribution and impact of the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) programs in rural counties across the country. Highlights the counties with programs funded my HMRF and counties that lack HMRF services.
Author(s): Ashton Cain, Emma Ward, James Murdoch, Neel Chakraborti
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: 2M Research, Administration for Children and Families
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Exploring Remaining Needs and Opportunities for Improvement in Rural Communities: A Focus on Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Programs
Report explores the distribution and impact of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) in rural counties. Details the grant recipient type and location by state and county. Discusses the remaining need for HPOG in rural counties.
Author(s): Emma Ward, Emily Brimsek, James Murdoch, Neel Chakraborti
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: 2M Research, Administration for Children and Families
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Report explores the distribution and impact of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) in rural counties. Details the grant recipient type and location by state and county. Discusses the remaining need for HPOG in rural counties.
Author(s): Emma Ward, Emily Brimsek, James Murdoch, Neel Chakraborti
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: 2M Research, Administration for Children and Families
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Serving Native American Households Using ERA: Learning from High-Spending Programs
Examines high-spending Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) on Native lands to address housing issues such as overcrowding, homelessness, and application accessibility, among others. Examines 7 Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska. Provides background on housing instability, statistics about allocated funding and households served by ERA, and challenges TDHEs face.
Author(s): Neetu Nair, Sophie Siebach-Glover, Andrew Aurand
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: National Low Income Housing Coalition, United Native American Housing Association
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Examines high-spending Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) on Native lands to address housing issues such as overcrowding, homelessness, and application accessibility, among others. Examines 7 Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska. Provides background on housing instability, statistics about allocated funding and households served by ERA, and challenges TDHEs face.
Author(s): Neetu Nair, Sophie Siebach-Glover, Andrew Aurand
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: National Low Income Housing Coalition, United Native American Housing Association
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USDA Rural Housing Programs: An Overview
Outlines housing programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Rural Housing Service (RHS) and targeted specifically to residents of rural communities. Describes trends related to Section 502 Direct and Guaranteed Loans. Highlights policy proposals regarding multifamily housing preservation and the administration of rural housing programs. Includes information on the appropriations of rural housing programs between fiscal years 2017-2021.
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Outlines housing programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Rural Housing Service (RHS) and targeted specifically to residents of rural communities. Describes trends related to Section 502 Direct and Guaranteed Loans. Highlights policy proposals regarding multifamily housing preservation and the administration of rural housing programs. Includes information on the appropriations of rural housing programs between fiscal years 2017-2021.
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Aligning Systems to Advance Family and Community Well-Being: A Partnership Playbook for Community Action and Human Services Agencies
Provides an overview of how community action and human service agencies partnered, collaborated, and aligned services to address COVID-19 on a family-level and a systems-level. Presents field examples of partnerships in rural Maryland and rural Ohio with their successes and challenges when aligning services such as Head Start, housing assistance, and more. Discusses how rural models and strategies were employed in other geographic areas to mitigate COVID-19 issues in communities.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organizations: American Public Human Services Association, Community Action Partnership
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Provides an overview of how community action and human service agencies partnered, collaborated, and aligned services to address COVID-19 on a family-level and a systems-level. Presents field examples of partnerships in rural Maryland and rural Ohio with their successes and challenges when aligning services such as Head Start, housing assistance, and more. Discusses how rural models and strategies were employed in other geographic areas to mitigate COVID-19 issues in communities.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organizations: American Public Human Services Association, Community Action Partnership
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Creating the New Normal: COVID-19 Leaves Its Mark on Rural America
Offers articles discussing various impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on affordable rural housing and those organizations working to ensure affordable rural housing. Shares stories describing how federal aid was used to address homelessness and rural residents' housing needs in Wisconsin, how the pandemic has impacted Oregon farmworkers' housing and health, and how flexible U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs have helped rural nonprofits in Washington serve rural communities.
Citation: Rural Voices, 25(1)
Date: 11/2021
Sponsoring organization: Housing Assistance Council
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Offers articles discussing various impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on affordable rural housing and those organizations working to ensure affordable rural housing. Shares stories describing how federal aid was used to address homelessness and rural residents' housing needs in Wisconsin, how the pandemic has impacted Oregon farmworkers' housing and health, and how flexible U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs have helped rural nonprofits in Washington serve rural communities.
Citation: Rural Voices, 25(1)
Date: 11/2021
Sponsoring organization: Housing Assistance Council
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Human Services Programs in Rural Contexts: Mixed Methods Analysis, Integration, and Triangulation Plan
Analysis plan outlining the research design and methodology of a study of human services delivery in rural areas funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Covers stakeholder engagement, research questions and qualitative data collection, data analysis, and integration of findings.
Author(s): Dallas J. Elgin, Kelly McAleer, James Murdoch, et al.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organizations: 2M Research, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Urban Institute
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Analysis plan outlining the research design and methodology of a study of human services delivery in rural areas funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Covers stakeholder engagement, research questions and qualitative data collection, data analysis, and integration of findings.
Author(s): Dallas J. Elgin, Kelly McAleer, James Murdoch, et al.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organizations: 2M Research, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Urban Institute
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Prenatal Alcohol and Other Drug Exposures in Child Welfare Study: Final Report
Reports the findings of a study examining 22 child welfare agencies in 5 states to determine how agencies obtain information about prenatal substance exposure (PSE) when a child is involved with the child welfare system and how agencies use PSE information to provide services and support for affected children and their families. Exhibit 4 describes the characteristics and key features of the states and child welfare agencies involved in the study, including a breakdown of rural and urban counties.
Author(s): E. Ingoldsby, T. Richards, K. Usher, et al.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Reports the findings of a study examining 22 child welfare agencies in 5 states to determine how agencies obtain information about prenatal substance exposure (PSE) when a child is involved with the child welfare system and how agencies use PSE information to provide services and support for affected children and their families. Exhibit 4 describes the characteristics and key features of the states and child welfare agencies involved in the study, including a breakdown of rural and urban counties.
Author(s): E. Ingoldsby, T. Richards, K. Usher, et al.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Tribal Child Welfare Systems' Experiences with Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Other Drugs: A Case Study
Shares the results of a federally-funded case study examining existing approaches and practices to identify and care for Native American children with prenatal substance exposure (PSE) and their families from the Red Lake Nation in Minnesota. Offers discussion and implications for tribal child welfare programs and federal agencies working with tribes to address child welfare issues.
Author(s): Priscilla Day, Erin Geary, Erin Ingoldsby, Pirkko Ahonen
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Shares the results of a federally-funded case study examining existing approaches and practices to identify and care for Native American children with prenatal substance exposure (PSE) and their families from the Red Lake Nation in Minnesota. Offers discussion and implications for tribal child welfare programs and federal agencies working with tribes to address child welfare issues.
Author(s): Priscilla Day, Erin Geary, Erin Ingoldsby, Pirkko Ahonen
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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Last Updated: 4/2/2025