Basic Needs Landscape Analysis

In this landscape analysis, we reviewed policies and strategies throughout the U.S. designed to help meet the basic needs of today’s students, an increasing area of focus for colleges and universities and for policymakers. Time and time again, research has shown that student retention, persistence, and completion are strongly influenced by whether students face basic needs insecurity. While many innovations to meet students’ basic needs are occurring at the institutional level, state policy can drive more systemic and scalable reforms that can impact more students.

States play a valuable role in ensuring there is a robust infrastructure for the delivery of basic needs resources through a variety of approaches, including, but not limited to, providing grant funding that can increase the equity of the provision of support, changing state policy governing public benefits programs so more students with low incomes can access programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and child care subsidies, and offering professional development on best practices to institutional faculty and staff. Additionally, they can provide funding, well-developed guidance, and set expectations for the quality of services.

A Look at Policies and Strategies in 37 States

Conducted on behalf of the Today’s Students Coalition (TSC) by Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Richard Davis, Jr., Putting the Basic Needs of Today’s Students on the Map examines the current state of states’ basic needs policy innovations, legislative actions, and programmatic efforts spanning:

• public benefits access;
• food and housing security;
• mental health;
• emergency aid;
• and child care.

Through extensive qualitative interviews with state leaders and advocates, followed by deeper assessment, this report highlights policies and practices that stand out as worthwhile investments and can be instructive for other states.

Executive Summary

Full Report

More students today are parents, first-generation, veterans, or immigrants who are struggling for food, housing, and other basic necessities… They often qualify for a variety of supports, but our systems are so complex that finding the benefits often becomes another obstacle. That’s where the Benefits Navigators — now on all public universities and community colleges — step in to guide students toward the resources they need to survive and thrive.

— Rep. Jeff Reardon, Oregon’s 48th District