I have provided expert testimony describing evictions as a structural determinant of health before t legislative bodies in Maryland, Philadelphia and Louisiana. I have participated in expert panels highlighting the health rationale for California AB15 and 16 (extending eviction moratoriums and providing rent relief) and AB 1436 (COVID-19 eviction prevention and housing stability).
My research on eviction moratoriums and COVID-19 incidence and mortality was frequently cited in policy documents to establish the public health rationale for eviction moratoriums during the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
- CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s orders extending the CDC’s federal eviction moratorium
- President Joseph R. Biden’s American Rescue Plan to justify extending eviction moratoriums and rent relief
- Amicus curiae briefs in support of CDC’s federal eviction moratorium (Brown v. Azar, Terkel v. CDC, Chambless v. Redfield)
Research on the public health impact of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was also cited in an amicus curiae brief for a U.S. Supreme Court DACA case (Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California).
Kathryn M. Leifheit, PhD MSPH 