Center for Law & Policy Solutions

Better policy starts with better data.

The Center for Law & Policy Solutions investigates how decisions of law and policy affect ordinary people and communities to help policymakers, community organizers, and the public develop practical solutions to pressing public policy issues.

How are state courts interpreting immigration laws? How can communities build trust among civilians and police? How is New York’s Raise the Age law being implemented? How are local law enforcement and courts dealing with the opioid crisis? These are the kinds of questions that the researchers at the Center for Law & Policy Solutions are working to answer. Focusing on a single issue at a time, they let the evidence point the way to effective policy solutions.

The center is a collaboration among the following institutions:

+ The Rockefeller Institute of Government
+ SUNY Empire State College
+ Hudson Valley Community College
+ The Government Law Center at Albany Law School
+ The Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany
+ The University at Buffalo School of Law

Reports


SPRING 2024 | 2023 State PFAS Legislation and Laws

SPRING 2023 | Help Wanted: State Legislative Proposals for the Home Care Workforce

FALL 2022 | State Universal Pre-K Policies: Lessons from Florida, Oklahoma, and Vermont

SPRING 2022 | Greening Stormwater and Wastewater Systems: The Intersection of Climate and Infrastructure

SPRING 2021 | The Precedents and Potential of State Green Amendments

FALL 2019 | How Does Student Loan Debt Affect College and Career Decision-making?

SPRING 2019 | An Analysis of Drug Treatment Courts in New York State

FALL 2018 | Beyond Roe: The State of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare in New York State

SPRING 2018 | A Second Chance: College-in-Prison Programs in New York State

Center for Law & Policy Solutions Leadership


Senior Policy Advisors

Scott Fein, chair, Government Law Center of Albany Law School Board of Advisors
David Fullard, visiting assistant professor and faculty advisor for the Black Male Initiative at SUNY Empire State College

Advisory Committee

Aviva Abramovsky, dean, University at Buffalo School of Law
Ava Ayers, assistant professor of law, Albany Law School
Joseph Belluck, member of the SUNY Board of Trustees, founding partner of Belluck & Fox law firm
Matt Ingram, chair and associate professor of political science, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany
Timothy Taylor, chair-elect, Labor and Employment Section, NYSBA & member of the Government Law Center Advisory Board
Robert “Sid” Whitaker, associate professor of history, philosophy, and social sciences, Hudson Valley Community College
Jenny Mincin, associate professor and associate department chair, SUNY Empire State College in Health and Human Services

Contact Information

Laura Rabinow
CLPS Director
Deputy Director of Research
518-445-4158
Laura.Rabinow@rock.suny.edu

Zan Strumfeld
Program Coordinator
518-445-4162
Zan.Strumfeld@rock.suny.edu