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
CAPS Seminar: Yiqing Xu
Jan 30, 2026 at 12:00 PM
CAPS Seminar: Sarah Burgard & Tara McKay
Feb 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM
CAPS Seminar: John Cawley & David Frisvold
Feb 27, 2026 at 12:00 PM
ASI/CAPS Seminar: Jenna Wells
Apr 24, 2026 at 12:00 PM
CAPS-CPR 2026 Conference
Jun 08, 2026 - Jun 09, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Featured Publication
Sarah Hamersma & Matthew Kim. 2025. The intergenerational transmission of food insecurity: Do educational compromises make things worse? Southern Economic Journal https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12767
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Lerner Center/CAPS Briefs
Is AI Replacing Human Mental Health Professionals?
Michiko Ueda
How Does County Educational Composition Affect Mortality?
Heeyoung Lee and Tse-Chuan Yang
How Does County Industry Mix Matter for Working-Age Mortality
Xue Zhang, Iliya Gutin, Shannon M. Monnat, and Jennifer Karas Montez
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