WIC Learning Collaborative
Chair
What I do:
Leslie Hodges is a Research Agricultural Economist for USDA, Economic Research Service. She conducts research to inform evidence-based policymaking on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Leslie is broadly interested in how federal programs, including food assistance programs, child support, unemployment insurance, and Medicaid contribute to the economic well-being of families and children. She has contributed to a series of projects that examine how the timing of SNAP benefit receipt is related to health care utilization among children, adults, and seniors using administrative data from Missouri. She has also conducted research on key child support policy issues, including barriers to employment and non-payment of child support, as well as research on access to unemployment insurance benefits and their relationship to poverty and material hardships.