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In the News: Colleen Heflin

Maxwell Experts Unpack the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

A recent State of Democracy lecture offered varying perspectives from Maxwell faculty members Brynt Parmeter, Leonard Burman and Colleen Heflin in a discussion led by Chris Faricy, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

November 13, 2025

Heflin Discusses SNAP Funding With ABC News, Newsweek, PolitiFact and USA Today

“The stress that families are facing throughout the country is tremendous, not knowing how they’re going to feed their families,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

November 4, 2025

Understanding Factors Associated with 911 and 988 Use in Mental Health Crises

Michiko Ueda, Colleen M. Heflin, Yanhong Liu, Qingyi Yu, Seethalakshmi Ramanathan

Co-authored by Public Administration and International Affairs professors Michiko Ueda-Ballmer and Colleen Heflin, the study was published in Community Mental Health Journal.

November 3, 2025

Why Aren’t More People Calling 988 for Mental Health Crises?

Michiko Ueda, Colleen M. Heflin, Yanhong Liu, Qingyi Yu, and Seethalakshmi Ramanathan
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline launched in 2022 is a free, confidential alternative, yet awareness remains low and misconceptions persist. This brief summarizes findings from a study that surveyed nearly 1,900 U.S. adults and found that only 22% knew about 988. Even more striking: nearly 9 in 10 people had concerns about using it, and many of those concerns are based on misconceptions.
October 29, 2025

See related: United States

Heflin Speaks With Newsweek About the Impact of Delayed SNAP Benefits

“22.4 million households across America will be disrupted if the benefits are not disbursed on time. And the total impact of the delay in SNAP benefits will ripple throughout the local economy,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

October 23, 2025

Heflin Discusses Data on Food Insecurity Status, Cuts to SNAP With The Hill, Grist and Marketplace

“Monitoring the nation’s food security status is important in its own right and also because food insecurity is associated with a variety of negative health outcomes,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs. 

October 15, 2025

Community-Based Food Program Limits in Reducing Older Adult Food Insecurity

Madonna Harrington Meyer and Colleen M. Heflin
Older adults who are grappling with food insecurity may enhance their food supply through community-based programs that provide free and subsidized food. But these programs can be complex, expensive, and may be difficult for older adults to use. This final brief in our older adult food insecurity series describes the limits of community-based food programs for older adults, including access, food quality, and transportation barriers. 
October 7, 2025

See related: United States

The Limits of SNAP in Addressing Older Adult Food Insecurity

Colleen M. Heflin and Madonna Harrington Meyer
This brief describes how SNAP is currently not well designed for older adults in three respects: (1) the high levels of administrative burden associated with eligibility, certification, and benefit-determination processes, (2) the low value of SNAP benefits compared with the high costs associated with redeeming them, and (3) the high levels of state variation in SNAP policies that produce substantially different conditions for SNAP depending on where one lives.
September 30, 2025

Nonfinancial Factors Shape Food Insecurity Among U.S. Older Adults

Madonna Harrington Meyer and Colleen M. Heflin
Nonfinancial factors such as poor physical and mental health, lack of access to healthy food, and transportation challenges make it more difficult for older adults to obtain, prepare, and consume healthy food. Based on the book, Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adults Food Insecurity, this brief summarizes how nonfinancial factors function as both causes and consequences of food insecurity in old age. 
September 23, 2025

Heflin Weighs In on Trump Admin’s Cancellation of Annual Hunger Survey in Wall Street Journal Piece

“Not having this measure for 2025 is particularly troubling given the current rise in inflation and deterioration of labor market conditions, two conditions known to increase food insecurity,” ” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

September 20, 2025

Budget Tradeoffs Shape Food Insecurity Among U.S. Older Adults

Madonna Harrington Meyer and Colleen M. Heflin
For low-income older adults, it may be difficult to meet basic needs on a fixed monthly income.  This brief summarizes how budget tradeoffs between food and other essential expenses—housing, utilities, medical care, transportation, and personal and cleaning supplies—shape food insecurity among older adults. 
September 16, 2025

See related: United States

Policy Recommendations to Reduce Old Age Food Insecurity in the United States

Colleen M. Heflin and Madonna Harrington Meyer

The current policy responses to old age food insecurity are complex, costly, and not nearly effective enough. Based on the book, Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adults Food Insecurity, this brief summarizes five policy recommendations to improve food insecurity among U.S. older adults. 

September 10, 2025

See related: United States

How is Food Insecurity Measured in the US and What Share of Older Adults are Food Insecure?

Colleen M. Heflin and Madonna Harrington Meyer
Based on the book, Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adults Food Insecurity, this brief summarizes the limitations of food insecurity measurements, noting that existing measures do not account for barriers that are common among older adults, such as mobility, physical distance, and transportation barriers.
September 9, 2025

See related: United States

Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adult Food Insecurity

Colleen Heflin, Madonna Harrington Meyer

Written by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, and University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer, the book examines the issue of food insecurity among older adults in the United States. 

September 4, 2025

Maxwell Partners With VA Medical Center, Instacart to Bring Healthy Food to Local Veterans

With a grant-funded study, Colleen Heflin and the Maxwell X Lab are hoping to determine whether greater access to nutritious food leads to health improvements over time.

September 4, 2025

Trends in Breast Cancer Screening between Medicare Beneficiaries with and without Food Insecurity

Yeunkyung Kim, Jihye Kim, Sungchul Park, Colleen Heflin, Hyunjee Kim, Yue Li

Published in AJPM Focus, the study was co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

August 13, 2025

Colleen Heflin - Studying Hunger in America

Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, is a leading authority on food insecurity, which, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), negatively impacts more than 47 million Americans.

June 2, 2025

Heflin Speaks to Reuters About Federal Pass-Through Grants

Today, pass-through funding allows federal agencies to tap into local expertise and knowledge as well as help the federal government keep its own staffing levels down, says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

April 3, 2025

Heflin Speaks With WTVR-TV About the Economic Impact of Richmond’s Water Crisis

Low income-households will need a month or more to recover financially and that will lead to more issues and needs, says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs. “I would suspect to see increased need for food from food banks. Most likely going to have more utilities going unpaid,” she says.

January 16, 2025

Heflin Weighs In on Whether or Not RFK Jr. Can ‘Make America Healthy Again’ in BBC Interview

“RFK simply doesn't have jurisdiction over most of the policy levers that he would need to make America healthy again,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

January 6, 2025
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