Source: Heather Boushey and Chris Tilly, Challenge, Vol. 52 no. 2, March-April, 2009
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From the abstract:
The authors provide an excellent overview of the nation's social safety net. They find in particular that it neglects the working poor. What follows is a comprehensive look at what social programs the United States has and what it needs for a changing society as a new president takes office.
Source: National Women's Law Center and the Center for Law and Social Policy, March 9, 2009
With the extraordinary budget challenges that states are facing, new funds should be used both to maintain as well as to improve state child care policies. The report explores policy options that states can pursue to create new jobs by serving more families and improving the quality of care.
The report also discusses how to build the case for permanent funding by documenting how they used these funds effectively in ways that create new jobs, assist providers, and help low-income families stay in the workforce.
Source: Gene Falk, Congressional Research Service, R40157, February 24, 2009
From the summary:
The recession that began in December 2007, and the loss of 3.6 million jobs since, has raised issues about policies to address the threats to the economic security of people and families from an economic downturn. This recession will likely be the first real test of how policies put in place in the mid-1990s affect the well-being of families with children during a steep economic downturn and high unemployment. Unemployment insurance (UI) is the major program to replace lost wages for unemployed workers. However, low-wage workers and those with intermittent employment are less likely to receive UI than higher-wage workers with stronger labor force attachment. In the past, the safety net for families with children included cash welfare. The 1996 welfare reform law created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant with fixed funding and altered rules that apply to the cash welfare caseload. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L. 111-5) creates a new, temporary TANF fund to help pay for the increased costs of cash welfare, short-term aid, and subsidized employment for FY2009 and FY2010. ARRA temporarily modifies the caseload reduction credit states receive toward their TANF work participation. A states credit will not be reduced for any caseload increases occurring in FY2008 through FY2010. ARRA also extends TANF supplemental grants through the end of FY2010. It further allows states to use their TANF reserves for any TANF benefit or services. Under prior law, reserves could be used only for TANF cash welfare programs. This report will be updated.
Source: David Greenberg, Victoria Deitch, and Gayle Hamilton, MRDC, February 2009
Most welfare programs seek to ensure that poor families have adequate income while at the same time encouraging self-sufficiency. Based on studies of 28 programs involving more than 100,000 sample members, this synthesis compares the costs, benefits, and returns on investment of six welfare program strategies -- from the perspectives of participants, government budgets, and society as a whole.
See also:
Source: Progressive States Network, Stateside Dispatch, February 19, 2009
Recognizing the severity of the economic crisis our nation faces, President Obama this week signed the landmark American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a plan aimed at "restoring or saving" 3.5 million jobs and investing in the long-term future of the American economy.
Built into the plan is a recognition that while the federal government can assist in funding the work, most of the implementation of the plan will happen in the states. This Dispatch provides facts, guidance and a collection of resources to state leaders and advocates on how to implement the recovery plan in a strategic manner that strengthens our states and honors our progressive values.
Contents include:
Overview - Summaries and Key Resources
Transparency Requirements for States
* Medicaid Support | Health Care for the Unemployed | SCHIP expansion and inclusion of immigrant children and pregnant women | Health Information Technology
Clean Energy and Transportation Investments
* State Energy Conservation Programs | Upgrading the Electrical Grid | Transportation and Infrastructure Investments
Unemployment and Training Programs:
* Extended and Expanded Benefits | Modernizing Unemployment Insurance Systems | Training Funds | Expanded Safety Net Support | TANF Funding | Nutrition Programs | Child Care and Support | Affordable and Emergency Housing
Criminal Justice Funding
Source: Jane Burstain, Center for Public Policy Priorities, Policy Paper, No. 09-364, February 4, 2009
As every parent knows, children need stability and consistency. For children involved in the child welfare system, who often come from and continue to live in chaotic circumstances, a caseworker may be their only continuous and stable relationship. High caseworker turnover, however, disrupts continuity and stability. To address this problem, CPPP created a policy paper to analyze turnover data on Texas' child protective services (CPS) caseworkers and make recommendations about how turnover can be reduced.
Source: Rachel Cooper and Madeleine Levin, Food Research and Action Center, January 2009
The School Breakfast Program plays an invaluable role in reducing childhood hunger and improving nutrition, as well as supporting a range of positive outcomes that advance key national priorities. School breakfast supports child development, improves health, boosts student achievement and student behavior, and reduces obesity. But with less than half of eligible low-income children participating in the breakfast program now, and as substantial numbers of new children become eligible as families lose jobs or see their incomes reduced dramatically during this recession, it is essential to reduce barriers to participation and accelerate the expansion of school breakfast participation.
Source: ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, 2009
Welcome to Baby Matters: A Gateway to State Policies and Initiatives! Baby Matters is a searchable database that contains resource information on state policies and initiatives that impact infants, toddlers and their families. The policies and initiatives are searchable by category, state, or keyword. A detailed description of each policy or initiative is provided, as well as links to additional related resources
Source: Laura Wyckoff, Mary McVay and Dee Wallace, P/PV, February 2009
From the summary:
Research shows that nearly half of all children born in the US today will be eligible for child support before they reach the age of 18. Many low-income, noncustodial fathers--who often struggle to make these payments--will seek services from workforce development organizations. Yet, understanding the child support enforcement system can be challenging--not only for noncustodial fathers but also for the workforce organizations that want to assist them.
Navigating the Child Support System aims to help meet this challenge by providing information, resources and tools to use at the intersection of workforce development and child support enforcement. The guide is based on lessons from the Fathers at Work initiative, a three-year, six-site demonstration funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which was designed to help young, noncustodial fathers achieve increased employment and earnings, involvement in their children's lives, and more consistent financial support of their children.
The guide describes child support enforcement regulations, policies and actions that can affect fathers' willingness to seek formal employment and participate in the system, and provides examples of four services that organizations might offer to benefit fathers and their families. Navigating the Child Support System offers concrete suggestions for incorporating child support services into workforce organizations' assistance to low-income, male participants, including developing partnerships with local child support enforcement agencies. It includes seven tools for learning about child support and setting goals for enhancing services to noncustodial fathers.
Source: M William Sermons, Meghan Henry, National Alliance to End Homelessness, January 13, 2009
In 2007, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released Homelessness Counts, establishing a 2005 baseline for measuring progress in the fight to end homelessness. This report is a follow up to that report. Here, we analyze the changes from 2005 to 2007, looking more closely at changes at the state level and among subpopulations.
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