How is the Data Trust used in 2026?
The Charlotte Regional Data Trust is an integrated data system where people can make requests of its data for research, evaluation or planning purposes. The Data Trust holds data that represent the Institute’s quality of life domains such as housing and homelessness, education, and safety and justice. As discussed in previous Data Trust Digest articles, the uses of data must be for public good and all requests for data are reviewed by our Data and Research Oversight Committee. Learn more about that governance committee here.
Below, you will find requests people have submitted for Data Trust data so far in 2026.
Note: The projects below are currently in process. This list only reflects projects that have been submitted and approved; requests that are currently under review are not included.
The Role of Social Services in Reducing Housing Instability: A Local Analysis in Charlotte, North Carolina
Project Lead: Clysha Whitlow, doctoral candidate, UNC Charlotte Department of Psychological Sciences; Drew Gadire, Ph.D., faculty advisor
This study investigates whether breadth of multi-service contact, defined as interaction with two or more distinct service systems, is associated with variation in repeated housing-related service system contact. The research team will look at how the interplay between institutional service systems, neighborhood contexts and household-level characteristics are associated with patterns of housing-related system contact over time, exploring system-level service exposure, coordination patterns and their associations with repeated contact with housing crisis–oriented service systems. This request is part of Whitlow’s dissertation. The following three research questions are being addressed:
- To what extent is multi-service contact associated with repeated housing-related service system contact?
- Which types or combinations of service-system contact are differentially associated with patterns of housing-related system contact?
- To what extent do associations between neighborhood-level displacement risk and housing-related system contact vary by level of multi-service system engagement?
The datasets requested and approved for this study are as follows:
- Crisis Assistance Ministry
- Homelessness Management Information System
- Housing Collaborative
- Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services – Economic Services
Understanding Schooling Experiences and Public Service Use among Immigrant Families in the Charlotte Region
Project Lead: Stephanie Potochnick, Ph.D., UNC Charlotte Department of Sociology
In partnership with International House and members of Charlotte’s International Cabinet and the Center for Migration and Diaspora Studies, this study develops a profile of Charlotte’s children of immigrants, documenting their schooling experiences and families’ use of local services. The research team seeks to provide a comprehensive assessment of schooling and service use among children of immigrants by documenting where they attend school, their educational experiences and outcomes and connections to the broader social support system. The following three research questions are being addressed:
1. How do the neighborhood and school contexts of Charlotte’s children of immigrants compare with those of children with U.S.-born parents?
2. How do the schooling experiences and outcomes (behavioral, achievement and attainment) of children of immigrants compare with those of children with U.S.-born parents?
3. How does service use among children of immigrants and their families compare with that of children with U.S.-born parents?
The datasets requested and approved for this study are:
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
- Mecklenburg County Department of Community Resources – Economic Services
- Homeless Management Information System
- Crisis Assistance Ministry
- City of Charlotte Housing and Neighborhood Services – House Charlotte
Food Nutrition Services participation following HR1
Project Lead – Jenny Hutchison, Ph.D., Charlotte Urban Institute
As part of HR1 (also referred to as the Big Beautiful Bill) enacted in July 2025, eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (locally known as Food and Nutrition Services) were tightened for the following groups who are now required to meet stricter work requirements: 1) adults ages 55 to 65; 2) adults with children ages 14 or older; 3) individuals experiencing homelessness; 4) young adults (ages 18 to 24) who have aged out of foster care; and 4) veterans. This study seeks to understand how the participation rate for FNS has changed in the first few months of this bill, and who is being impacted, with a focus on single adults, households with families, older recipients and youth. The following three research questions are being addressed:
- How is the number of individuals and households receiving FNS changing following the signing into law of HR1 on July 4, 2025?
- What groups are affected by the changes in eligibility and reductions in funding?
- Specifically, examining age, size of households, demographics, as well as whether an individual has experienced homelessness and/or has aged out of foster care.
- What neighborhoods are experiencing the most change in participation?
The datasets requested and approved for this study are:
- Mecklenburg County Department of Community Resources – Economic Services
- Homeless Management Information System
- Mecklenburg County Child, Family and Adult Services – Children in Custody
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Quality of Life Explorer Update
Project Lead: Katie Zager, Charlotte Urban Institute
Data from the Data Trust are part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Quality of Life Explorer. Each year, the team behind the QoL Explorer submits a request to update the following variables:
- Food and Nutrition Services
- Graduation rate
- Student attendance (to calculate student absenteeism)
- Test proficiency in elementary, middle and high school
- Neighborhood school attendance
The datasets requested and approved for this study are as follows:
- Mecklenburg County Department of Community Resources – Economic Services
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
State of Our Data Report
Project Lead: Sydney Idzikowski, Charlotte Urban Institute and Regional Data Trust
The purpose of this project is to understand the groups represented in partner agency datasets at the Charlotte Regional Data Trust and how it compares to the Mecklenburg County population (or subpopulations, as applicable). This project also seeks to understand how people are linked across the programs, organizations and systems within the data at the Data Trust. This project informs the Charlotte Regional Data Trust Board of Directors, its committees and stakeholders about the nature of the Data Trust’s data holdings, and will help the board and committees. This is an ongoing study, where data is requested annually to produce an annual State of Our Data report.
The datasets requested and approved for this study are as follows:
- Crisis Assistance Ministry
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
- Mecklenburg County Department of Community Resources – Economic Services
- Mecklenburg County Child, Family and Adult Services – Abuse and Neglect Investigations
- Mecklenburg County Child, Family and Adult Services – Family in Home Services,
- Mecklenburg County Child, Family and Adult Services – Children in Custody
- Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont
- Homeless Management Information Systems
- Lakeview Neighborhood Alliance
- Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office – Booking
- Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office – Booking – Arrest Processing Center
- Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region – Homeowner
- Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region – Critical Home Repair
- The Housing Collaborative
- City of Charlotte Housing and Neighborhood Services – House Charlotte
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
- INLIVIAN
The Data Trust is a resource for both UNC Charlotte and the larger community. We work diligently to source, secure and ensure robust data is available so it can be used for community benefit.
Interested in submitting a request for data or learning more about the Data Trust?
- Explore available data
- Review the process for submitting a request
- Reach out to the Data Trust to learn more or to schedule office hours at DataTrust@charlotte.edu
- Visit our website