Yoonsook Ha

Yoonsook Ha is an Associate Professor whose work fills a unique niche in the United States: uncovering gaps in anti-poverty and social policies that impact low-income families. “I believe that policies play a critical role in determining social and economic conditions for vulnerable populations,” she says. “But often policies have unintended—and intended—consequences that create unequal access and distribution of resources. This leads to unjust outcomes in multiple areas such as economic vulnerability, child development, and physical and mental health.”

Ha’s research works to improve policies to enhance economic and social justice for the most vulnerable in society. She serves as the principal investigator for “Quality of Subsidized Child Care Providers and Children’s Care Stability: Implications for Early Educational Outcomes,” a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

Her published research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Children and Youth Services Review, Poverty and Public Policy, and Early Childhood Research Quarterly. Ha has also co-authored reports for the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Building an Agenda to Reduce the Number of Children in Poverty by Half in 10 Years.