Marah Curtis

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School of Social Work

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Curriculum Vitae

Biography

My research focuses on how the quality, stability and availability of housing interact with and shape the well-being of vulnerable families. As a faculty affiliate of the Center for Demography and Ecology, my research is most closely connected to the research areas of Fertility, Families and Households and the Demography of Inequality. My training and expertise in the area of housing and income-conditioned benefit policies allow me to mentor students in exploring the dynamic relationship between housing, public policy and family well-being.

CDE Research Area Affiliations:

Demography of Inequality; Fertility, Families, and Households

Selected Publications:

Curtis, M.A. & Sintim, D. (2026). Housing as Asset or Community Good?  Making the Case for Alternative Models in US Policy.  Housing and Society, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/08882746.2026.2702175

Fottrell, A.K., Curtis, M.A. & Weeks, F.H. Ambient Air Pollution, Housing Context, and Birth Outcomes Among Wisconsin Mothers. Matern Child Health J 28, 1386–1394 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-024-03941-3

Curtis, M.A., Paulsen, K. & Shager, H. (2024). Building a transformational data resource to support housing research: The Wisconsin experience. Cityscape, 26(1), 65-79.

Geller, A.B. & Curtis, M.A. (2018). A longitudinal examination of housing hardships among urban fathers, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 80(5), 1176-1186.

Warren, E.J., & Drazen, Y., Curtis, M.A. (2017). Public housing agency preferences for the homeless as a policy lever: Examining county-level housing subsidy receipt and maltreatment rates. Children and Youth Services Review, 78, 81-88.

Carroll, A., Corman, H., Curtis, M.A. & Noonan, K., Reichman, N.E (2017). Housing instability and children’s health insurance gaps. Academic Pediatrics, 17(7), 732-738.