Foundations
Certain needs form the base from which Hoosiers can plan for a bright, successful future. These include health, housing, and transportation as well as the education and training necessary to seek family-sustaining employment and, for families with children, quality, affordable care. We focus on policies that support access to these foundations:
- Safe, Stable Housing
- Reliable and Affordable Heat, Water, Electricity and Internet
- Transportation
- Physical and Mental Health Services
- Education and Skills Training
- Child Care
Featured Publications
Strong Families, Strong Indiana: The Past, Present, and Future of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program
In 2023, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation to expand TANF eligibility and increase benefits. We examine the effects of this reform, with a particular emphasis on how well TANF is meeting the needs of families in the prenatal-to-three range and additional steps Indiana could take to improve the TANF program to better serve Hoosier families.
December 2025 | Report PDF
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‘Billed to the Breaking Point’: Harms from Indiana's High Electricity Costs
In collaboration with Citizens Action Coalition, the Institute investigated the rising costs of electricity and the harms that disproportionately fall on low- and middle-income Hoosiers as a result. The Institute finds that even as CEOs of investor-owned utility companies take home millions in compensation packages, increasing numbers of everyday Hoosiers are unable to afford the rising costs of electricity. This raises concerns in an era of climate change, with potentially-deadly consequences for the hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers who face disconnection each year.
November 2024 | Report PDF
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Digital Skills Unlock Access to Good Jobs
Hoosiers tell us that access to good jobs with adequate wages and benefits is a top need in Indiana. Digital skills are becoming more and more essential in the workplace, and, according to new research, jobs requiring multiple digital skills pay more. We need policymakers and community leaders to invest in opportunities to learn these skills, particularly for Hoosiers that may have lacked access to such opportunities in the past. | FACT SHEET
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Educational Attainment Among Hoosier Adults
The vision for Next Level Jobs says it all: “Two million Hoosiers need additional training to compete in the 21st Century workforce, and there will be over 1 million job openings in Indiana due to retirements and the creation of new jobs by 2025.” Employers need trained workers now. Helping adults access and persist in post-secondary education and training has to be a bigger part of the solution. Two million Hoosier adults could benefit from additional training now, but they have real barriers to being successful. | REPORT
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Affordable, Accessible Childcare
The high cost and limited availability of child care disproportionately pushes women out of the workforce. At the same time, lack of public investment means that child care workers and preschool teachers - again, disproportionately women - experience financial hardship. Greater investment is needed to create an inclusive, thriving workforce. | POLICY BRIEF
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Other Publications
Current Projects
- We are supporting Indiana's Balance of State Continuum of Care (homelessness and housing services) with policy analysis, research, and landlord engagement.
- Our Indiana Skills2Compete Coalition, supported by the National Skills Coalition, focuses on creating access to training opportunities and supports so that Hoosiers can meet employer demands for talent and access family-sustaining jobs.
- Beginning November 2025, we will be looking at upstream factors that contribute to utility disconnect notices and equipping Hoosiers with tools to reduce energy consumption while also suggesting policy changes to prevent utility shut-offs.
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