Humanities & Society

Widespread promotion has started for so-called Trump Accounts, including an ad during the Super Bowl. The accounts allow parents to opt in to claim investment seed money of up to $1,000 for their children. But that opt-in part is problematic, say two experts on child development accounts at Washington University in St. Louis.

Guaranteed income programs may reduce food insecurity and improve nutrition among low-income Black households in Georgia, according to a new study led by the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Sean Joe, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, received an honorable mention for the 2026 Excellence in Research Award from the Society for Social Work and Research. 

Mark Rank, the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare, won the 2026 Independent Press Award in the category of sociology for his book “The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us.” 

The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis will fully fund practicum internship experiences and provide living stipends to students in its Master of Social Work program beginning in fall 2026, Dorian Traube, the Neidorff Family and Centene Corporation Dean of the Brown School, announced. 

Trish Kohl, a professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has been selected as a 2026 fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Researchers from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis have released new findings from their evaluation of St. Louis’ Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot Program, showing that regular, unrestricted cash payments significantly improved participants’ economic security, credit health and overall quality of life.

Cal J. Halvorsen, an associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has received the Leadership Award from the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work.

Millions of Americans rely on public assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid to meet basic needs for food and health care. Yet a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that the very systems designed to help are often the hardest to navigate — especially for the people who need them most.