Data and Code for Universal Access to Counsel, Housing Court Filings, and Child Mental Health: Evidence From New York City
Year: 2025
Type: dataset
Abstract: This paper examines the effect of housing instability on homelessness and children’s health. Specifically, we examine families who had a case filed against them in New York City (NYC) housing court. We ask how receiving a possessory judgment, which is the first step towards eviction, affects future housing stability and the physical and mental health of children in affected families. We merge housing court records to Medicaid claims, which feature detailed address histories, to track children’s health care utilization and housing situations before and after housing case filings. Our results show that housing court filings and possessory judgments lead to housing instability and homelessness even when they do not lead to formal eviction. Adverse housing court outcomes, in turn, lead to increased mental health diagnoses and treatment among school-aged children, especially in those without previous mental health claims. In an important extension to prior work, we find that the right to counsel not only reduces negative outcomes in housing court, but also improves housing stability and reduces child mental health claims, suggesting that the benefits of universal access to counsel go beyond the courtroom.
Source: ICPSR Data Holdings
DOI: 10.3886/e227506
Authors: Cassidy, Mike, Currie, Janet, Glied, Sherry, Howland, Renata
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6928833724