The Center for Aging and Policy Studies (CAPS) is a three-university consortium in Upstate New York with Syracuse University, Cornell University, and University at Albany. CAPS is a catalyst for innovative, high impact, policy-relevant research. It has a long record of grant funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) as part of NIA’s Demography and Economics of Aging Program. In addition, CAPS affiliates receive grant funding from NIA and other agencies to support their research aimed at improving the health, wellbeing, and independence of midlife and older adults.
Research at CAPS addresses some of today’s most pressing issues facing midlife and older adults and the families that care for them, with a focus on the policies and places that shape those issues. Our research is organized around two signature and three cross-cutting research themes that address those increasingly pressing issues and align with NIA priority areas. The two signature themes of CAPS are health and well-being and family and intergenerational supports; the three cross-cutting themes are the role of policy, importance of place, and circumstances of specific populations. CAPS affiliates have particularly deep expertise on the health of persons with disabilities and rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
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CAPS EVENTS
Maxwell Population Health Research Symposium
Nov 07, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Seminar: John Robert Warren
Nov 17, 2025 at 12:00 PM
ASI/CAPS Seminar: Jenna Wells
Apr 24, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Featured Publication
I-Fen Lin, Emily E. Wiemers, Janecca A. Chin, Anna Wiersma Strauss, Judith A. Seltzer, & V. Joseph Hotz. 2025. Adult Children’s Responsiveness to Parental Needs During the Pandemic. Journal of Marriage and Family 87(2):460-477.
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Lerner Center/CAPS Briefs
Adult ADHD is Linked to Higher Illicit Drug Use and Prescription Drug Misuse
Andrew S. London, Kevin Antshel, Joshua Grove, Iliya Gutin, and Shannon M. Monnat
Community Based Food Program Limits in Reducing Older Adulty Food Insecurity
Madonna Harrington Meyer and Colleen M. Heflin
The Limits of SNAP in Addressing Older Adult Food Insecurity
Colleen M. Heflin and Madonna Harrington Meyer
Nonfinancial Factors Shape Food Insecurity Among U.S. Older Adults
Madonna Harrington Meyer and Colleen M. Heflin
Budget Tradeoffs Shape Food Insecurity Among U.S. Older Adults
Madonna Harrington Meyer and Colleen M. Heflin