Better data leads to better decisions. Better decisions lead to better outcomes.
At CPAL, data is central to everything we do. We bridge information gaps by delivering actionable data to families, partner organizations, and local government.
Our work in action
A sampling of published media + data
Dallas’ $200 Million (Housing) Question
CPAL’s assessment of rental affordability in Dallas is informing conversations about public investment in affordable housing.
- As of 2021, Dallas had a 33,000+ unit gap in affordable rental housing. Without action, this shortage of affordable housing units is projected to nearly triple to 83,500 units by 2030.
- Families with 4+ people are particularly vulnerable: there are 50 three-bedroom units affordable for every 100 households at or below 50% AMI, dropping to 15 three-bedroom units affordable for every 100 households by 2030.
SMU Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center partnership
CPAL and the Deason Center are working to identify leverage points to reduce pretrial detention in Dallas County.
- Because pretrial detention can jeopardize a person’s employment, family stability, housing, and health, charging delays are a major issue for children and families.
- After an arrest, a prosecutor decides whether to file formal charges against an individual. In Texas, prosecutors can take up to 6 months to make that decision, and an arrested person can be held in jail for half of that time.
Trust Her Clinic Finder
The Trust Her Clinic Finder tool helps Dallas residents find and access free/affordable birth control options.
- Today, 1.8 million Texas women of childbearing age cannot afford birth control.
- It can take a Texas woman 7 months or more to obtain her contraceptive of choice and we want to change that.
Can a cleanup plan from Philadelphia work in South Dallas? What $300,000 has done so
CPAL and key partners are using data to remediate blight in the Mill City neighborhood.
- Many Dallas neighborhoods have extensive blight, which signals systemic disinvestment and invites harm.
- Blight has become a focal point of citywide investment in many cities across the country to accelerate programs to re-green vacant lots.
Dallas County tenants who appeal evictions find better outcomes
New data from CPAL reveals powerful insights about the link between legal counsel and staving off eviction in Dallas County.
- During a year in which Dallas County evictions were at a five-year high, about 80% of times in which tenants appealed, the cases were either dismissed, abated or ruled in favor of tenants.
- Having legal counsel matters a lot: When tenants have legal representation, cases are decided in favor of the landlord just 10% of the time.
Yes, Dallas violent crime dropped in 2022, but the number of arrests is even more
CPAL analysis shows Dallas is getting safer while the number of arrests continues to fall.
- Reducing those arrests that do not make us safer is important: 80%+ of arrests are for nonviolent offenses and 75% of the jail population is pretrial, impacting thousands of children and families.
- A recent CPAL study showed Dallas County children are more likely than kids in any other Texas county to have parents in prison. At least 80,000 of them had a parent behind bars, according to the report.