Health Children’s Voucher Demonstration
Testing health-focused housing mobility
Background: There is a growing body of research demonstrating the ways that helping families move from high poverty into better resourced neighborhoods improves child health. This demonstration, led by the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership and in partnership with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, tests a novel approach to health focused housing mobility. Children whose family have housing vouchers are referred to housing mobility counseling by their health care providers and by public health authorities.
Approach: Johns Hopkins is leading the evaluation of the Health Children’s Voucher Demonstration, performing surveys of families at baseline and 1 year follow-up. The evaluation focuses on whether families successfully moved, perceived quality of their home and neighborhood, changes in health and health care access, and satisfaction with the program.
Findings: Preliminary findings were presented at the 10th National Conference on Housing Mobility in Chicago, IL October 2025.
Team: The BRHP team includes Pete Cimbolic, Adria Crutchfield, Jackie Rittenhouse, Roxy Blocksdorf, JaNay DeVaughn. The evaluation study team is led by Craig Pollack and Laken Roberts, Elizabeth Matsui at the University of Texas at Austin, and Corinne Keet at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and includes Hanna Closs, Roger Peng, and Torie Grant. Previous study team members are Krista Vanderpuye, Sydney Taormina, and Esther Colon-Bermudez.
Funding: The Healthy Children’s Voucher Demonstration is funded by the Kresge Foundation. The JHU evaluation is funded by the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.