Leslie Hodges
Adjunct Professor, Public Administration and International Affairs Department
Research Agricultural Economist, United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Services
Bio
Leslie Hodges is adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs, teaching social welfare policy. She is also a research agricultural economist for USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).
Hodges 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. At ERS 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).
Her recent contributions to WIC research include analyses of program participation and spending, trends in infant formula rebate contracts, and rates of breastfeeding and formula feeding among WIC participants. Her recent contributions to SNAP research include a series of projects that examine how the timing of SNAP benefit receipt is related to health care utilization among children, adults and seniors.
Hodges 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.