http://www.clasp.org/experts/highlights.xml?id=0004 Resources & Publications from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) en-us Thu, 23 May 2013 12:01:17 -0500 info@clasp.org webmaster@clasp.org 40 Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 /resources_and_publications/publication?id=1242&list=publications The Work Supports Newsletter is a monthly update that summarizes CLASP's work on safety net programs that include cash assistance (TANF), nutrition supports (SNAP), refundable tax credits, health insurance, child support enforcement and child care subsidies. http://www.clasp.org/resources_and_publications/publication?id=1242&list=publications Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/CLASP-Comments-on-Education-and-Family-Tax-Benefits-4-15-2013.pdf CLASP submits comments on family and education tax credits to the Education and Family Benefits Working Group, House Committee on Ways and Means as part of the committee's work to review possible changes to the federal income tax system. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/CLASP-Comments-on-Education-and-Family-Tax-Benefits-4-15-2013.pdf Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 /postsecondary/publication?id=0762&list=publications This toolkit is designed to help interagency state teams identify and facilitate "braiding" of federal resources to design and develop career pathways and bridges into them for adults and out-of-school youth. The toolkit also will help state teams identify state policy barriers to using federal resources for career pathways and bridges and, ideally, address them. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0762&list=publications Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/Final-RADD-Exec-Summ-Feb-2013.pdf Funded as part of the Gates Foundation's Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery project, our paper focuses on two areas that have received scant attention from federal policymakers: tax-based student aid and the use of performance metrics in aid policy. IOur paper offers a range of policy options for consolidating the various tax-based aid provisions and better targeting this aid toward low- and modest-income families. We also propose piloting "real-time payment" of the American Opportunity Tax Credit to deliver this aid to students when they enroll, not just at tax time. Our ideas are backed by ten-year revenue estimates and distributional estimates from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Final-RADD-Exec-Summ-Feb-2013.pdf Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0600 /admin/site/publications/files/Final-RADD-WhitePaper-Feb-2013.pdf Our paper offers a range of policy options for consolidating the various tax-based aid provisions and better targeting this aid toward low- and modest-income families. We also propose piloting "real-time payment" of the American Opportunity Tax Credit to deliver this aid to students when they enroll, not just at tax time. Our ideas are backed by ten-year revenue estimates and distributional estimates from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. We've crafted our recommendations to be revenue neutral or modestly positive to respond to current budget realities, and we believe these proposals are timely, given the potential for tax reform in this Congress. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Final-RADD-WhitePaper-Feb-2013.pdf Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/Ability-to-Benefit-FAQs.pdf After July 1, 2012, newly enrolled college students without a high school diploma or secondary school equivalent will no longer eligible for federal student aid, due to the elimination of the "Ability to Benefit" (AtB) options by Congress in December 2011. The loss of AtB options threatens the economic mobility of low-skilled adults and youth seeking postsecondary credentials to improve their job prospects. This brief outlines the provision and why the AtB policy is essential for maintaining access to education and training for low-income, low-skilled students. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Ability-to-Benefit-FAQs.pdf Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600 /admin/site/publications/files/CLASP-Comments-on-Department-of-Education-Strategic-Plan-FY-2011_FINAL.pdf In January 2012, CLASP provided comments on the Department of Education's Strategic Plan for FY 2011 - 2014. CLASP applauded the Department for putting forth a strategic plan that raises expectations for our nation's education system at all levels and moves the country toward meeting the goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/CLASP-Comments-on-Department-of-Education-Strategic-Plan-FY-2011_FINAL.pdf Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/CLASP-testimony-on-nontraditional-students-to-ACSFA.pdf On Sept. 30, 2011, the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance held a hearing on higher education regulations and nontraditional students. CLASP submitted comments focusing on the primary barriers to access and persistence for nontraditional students and promising strategies and policies and the role of the federal government in helping nontraditional students in overcoming the barriers. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/CLASP-testimony-on-nontraditional-students-to-ACSFA.pdf Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/Farther-Faster.pdf Students forced to complete a long sequence of remedial or English language classes before they can begin their postsecondary program rarely earn college certificates or degrees. This brief highlights six promising programs that show how career pathway bridges help lower-skilled students move farther and faster along college and career paths through dual enrollment in linked basic skills and occupational certificate courses. Because creating such bridges requires collaboration across college silos, they can also transform the way colleges operate. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Farther-Faster.pdf Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0500 /postsecondary/publication?id=0967&list=publications Just as our economy is demanding that more workers have some postsecondary education or training, the number of recent high school graduates, our traditional source of such workers, is leveling off and even declining in many states. This brief provides relevant data on higher education on a national scale with some broken out by state. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0967&list=publications Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/Ability-to-Benefit-Final.pdf New policy allows students without a high school diploma or GED to qualify for federal student aid if they successfully complete six credits in lieu of passing an Ability-to-Benefit test. Basic skills bridge programs could be designed to help students earn the critical six credits. NOTE: These provisions have been eliminated for newly-enrolled students as of July 1, 2012. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Ability-to-Benefit-Final.pdf Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0600 /postsecondary/publication?id=0929&list=publications Having a postsecondary education -- broadly defined as a credential beyond a high school diploma -- continues to be one of the most important factors in getting a good job and advancing in the workforce. Critical federal programs, such as funding for student aid and job training, can help lower-skilled adults and youth access postsecondary education, but important policy choices that support their success and completion can be made at the state and local levels. This report describes strategies that state policymakers can use to strengthen connections between basic skills education and postsecondary education to help lower-skilled adults and out-of-school youth attain the postsecondary credentials they need to advance in the labor market. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0929&list=publications Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500 /postsecondary/publication?id=0810&list=publications Postsecondary education and credentials are key to economic mobility for individuals and economic competitiveness for our nation. Yet too many low-income adults and disadvantaged youth are locked out of the opportunity to earn credentials and are falling further and further behind. To combat this national challenge, CLASP has launched a new project, the Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success (C-PES) and kicked off the initiative with a policy discussion featuring thought leaders from the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation. Each of these foundations has made improving postsecondary access and success a top priority. During this webinar, they discuss their specific policy priorities for helping lower-income adults and disadvantaged youth attain postsecondary credentials and achieve economic mobility. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0810&list=publications Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500 /postsecondary/publication?id=0784&list=publications http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0784&list=publications Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/CLASP-Ed-and-Training-Testimony-final.pdf On April 22, Julie Strawn testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the importance of education and training in today's economy, and the role that TANF can play in helping low-income parents obtain economic opportunity and better the lives of their children. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/CLASP-Ed-and-Training-Testimony-final.pdf Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0500 /resources_and_publications/publication?id=0918&list=publications http://www.clasp.org/resources_and_publications/publication?id=0918&list=publications Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0600 /postsecondary/publication?id=0716&list=publications Our nation faces many domestic challenges, including improving access to affordable health care, improving access to education as well as education outcomes, and providing debt and foreclosure relief. CLASP's 2010 federal policy recommendations are equally essential to achieving healthy and thriving families and improving the nation's prosperity. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0716&list=publications Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 /postsecondary/publication?id=0827&list=publications http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/publication?id=0827&list=publications Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/federalpolicyrecommendations.pdf The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has developed an extensive federal policy agenda for President Obama and the 111th Congress directed at improving the lives of low income people. That agenda is outlined in this document. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/federalpolicyrecommendations.pdf Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0500 /admin/site/publications/files/arra_careerpathways.pdf This paper discusses how the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) system can use new funding and flexibility under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to implement cutting-edge workforce education and training strategies that can help low-skill adults and out-of-school youth gain the skills and credentials they need to fill the pipeline of skilled workers for jobs important to local economies. It focuses on career pathways as a framework for strengthening employer engagement and linkages among workforce education and training programs; and as a model for improving how training and related services are delivered in the WIA adult, dislocated workers and youth programs. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/arra_careerpathways.pdf