WashU Brown School

10/07/2026

Research from the Brown School's Center for Social Development helped lay the groundwork for a major change to the federal government’s new Trump Accounts program: automatic account creation for eligible children, announced Sept. 29.

Treasury and the IRS will automatically create accounts for eligible children who don’t already have one. Families must still claim the account to access the federal seed money.

The policy change builds on nearly two decades of CSD research and policy engagement on automatically opening savings accounts for children.

"CSD has been the leading source of evidence supporting automatic enrollment in Trump Accounts,” said Michael Sherraden, the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor at the Brown School and founding director of the CSD. “Jin Huang, the Irving Louis Horowitz Professor in Social Policy at the Brown School and co-director of the CSD, led most of the policy briefs, and this evidence has played the dominant role in this policy decision by Treasury.”

Sherraden first proposed universal, progressive savings accounts beginning at birth in his landmark 1991 book, “Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy."

10/07/2026

A Missouri law enacted in 2022 has led to hundreds of books being removed from school libraries across the state. Now, the law’s legality is before the Missouri Supreme Court. Thousands of books continue to disappear from public and school libraries around the country.

The bans erase more than stories. They can erase histories and threaten students’ identities, said Sheretta Butler-Barnes, professor and Dean’s Distinguished Professorial Scholar at the Brown School. Butler-Barnes is an expert on Black families, positive youth development and educational well-being.

Here, she discusses the impact of book bans and how we might handle sensitive subjects instead. ⤵

Book bans erase more than stories. They can erase histories and threaten students' identities, says the Brown School's Sheretta Butler-Barnes.

10/06/2026

New research from WashU finds that adults with a history of cancer are less likely to be physically active than those without a cancer history.

The study, “Trends in Physical Activity by Cancer History in a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Adults,” published in AJPM Focus, analyzed data from more than 2 million U.S. adults collected between 2018 and 2024.

Researchers from the Brown School and WashU Bursky School of Public Health found that physical activity increased among both groups over the study period, but adults with a history of cancer consistently reported lower levels of physical activity.

Brown School Professors Amy Eyler and Kim Johnson, co-authored the study, which was led by Biruk D. Demma, who earned a master’s degree in public health from the Bursky School in May 2026.

10/06/2026

The inaugural cohort has officially completed the Brown School Evaluation Fellowship!

Facilitated by the Evaluation Center at the Brown School, the fellowship provided evaluation training and support to seven St. Louis area nonprofit organizations working across a range of areas including refugee services, behavioral health, housing, education and youth development: Archway Refugee Connections, Aspire Advocates for Behavioral Health, Beyond Housing, College Bound, LEAD STL, The Soulard School and Trans Housing Initiative St. Louis, or THISTL.

Over the summer, fellows participated in four hands-on sessions to develop tailored evaluation plans, with individualized guidance from a social work graduate student and an evaluation coach from the Evaluation Center.

🔗 Read the full story: https://brownschool.washu.edu/2026/10/brown-school-fellowship-helps-st-louis-nonprofits-build-evaluation-skills/

10/05/2026

Kudos to the Brown School's Evaluation Center, which will provide local evaluation support throughout the grant period. 👏

We have big news to share! 🎉

has been chosen to receive over $11 million in year one of a five-year cycle through a federal grant to help more children build the literacy skills they need for lifelong success.

Through the Everyday Literacy Alliance, we'll bring together educational media, family engagement, and community partnerships. Our work begins right here in St. Louis, and together with partners nationwide, it will grow to reach children and families across the country.

Thank you to our partners, including Fred Rogers Productions, Ad Astra Media, E-Line Media, Education Development Center, the Brown School Evaluation Center at Washington University in St. Louis, and everyone who believes that strong communities start with strong kids. 📚

Read the full announcement: https://bit.ly/4xYoooS

This project, as outlined in the proposal, is funded 100% (totaling $56 million) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education through the Ready To Learn Program.

10/05/2026

Brown School alumnus Mustafa Rfat, PhD ’26, returned to St. Louis this weekend for a community gathering in the Brown Lounge.

The gathering brought together more than 30 participants, most of whom were refugees with disabilities, alongside community partners to discuss Rfat's research on forced migration and disability, as well as disability rights, available resources, and civic engagement.

Rfat is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Grace Abbott School of Social Work and recently spoke with NPR about refugees’ access to Medicaid. 🔗 Read more at the link in the comments.

10/05/2026

As climate change brings more extreme weather events, strengthening families before disasters strike can help protect children’s health and well-being, says Brown School Professor Mary McKay, an expert on child mental health.

Climate change can bring more than environmental disruption. Extreme weather, drought and heat can contribute to food insecurity, financial hardship, displacement and social instability — circumstances that can be especially difficult for children.

A recent paper co-authored by McKay, “Strengthening Child and Family Resilience in the Context of Climate Change: A Call to Action,” published in the journal Global Social Welfare, calls for greater attention to strengthening family resilience as part of the response to climate change.

10/02/2026

Associate Professor Vanessa Fabbre discusses the field of q***r gerontology and why supporting the researchers who study LGBTQ+ aging is an important part of the work.

Q***r gerontology has emerged from decades of research examining the experiences of LGBTQ+ people as they age. The field also draws on a number of approaches to gerontology that examine how social structures and power shape people’s lives. In a paper published last year in The Gerontologist, Vanes...

10/02/2026

The Trump administration may have just signed up your child — and more than 60 million others — for a 530A savings account (if you haven’t already done so).

10/01/2026

Congratulations to our own James A. Schlie, MSW ’67, who is being recognized with a 2026 WashU Founders Day Distinguished Alumni Award!