American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Recovery Act Audio Conferences: CLASP hosted a series of audio conferences after the ARRA passed to provide information for state and local policymakers and advocates on opportunities for investing ARRA funds. Listen to recordings of the calls in streaming audio.
On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law. The Act includes significant investments in supports for low-income people struggling in the recession, including in child care, education, workforce development, and safety net programs.
CLASP analyses identify funding opportunities in the ARRA that support low-income individuals and their families. We make recommendations for effective implementation of ARRA funds to maximize this opportunity to improve and expand services for low-income people.
Resources & Publications
- Jan 24, 2013 | Helly Lee Research Shows Long-Lasting Benefits of EITC The EITC is a widely successful program that has been shown to help lift families above poverty and contribute to the short-, intermediate- and long-term support of low-income families. Download PDF
- Feb 17, 2011 | Neil Ridley and Evelyn Ganzglass Responding to the Great Recession: How the Recovery Act Boosted Training and Innovation in Three States Two years after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act or ARRA) became law, Congress is preparing to take up reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). With its one-time infusion of resources, the Recovery Act nearly doubled federal funding for adult, dislocated worker and youth programs under WIA during 2009-2010 and set national priorities for the public workforce system's response to what is now being described as the Great Recession. The lessons from Recovery Act implementation should inform WIA reauthorization as it proceeds. This report examines the response of three states and local areas to the urgency of the recession, additional funding and the opportunities and challenges afforded by the Recovery Act. Download PDF
- Feb 17, 2011 | CLASP Two Years Later: Impacts of Select ARRA Programs for Low-Income Workers & Families This document looks at select provisions in the Recovery Act that affected low-income people and their families. In areas where there is available data, it notes the impact of the program on the number of people who benefited from ARRA provisions. While the effect of the Recovery Act will be debated and analyzed by policy experts and researchers for years to come, some of the early evidence makes it clear that the Recovery Act benefited the nation by easing some immediate effects of the recession and preventing deeper hardship. Read Online | Download PDF
- Feb 16, 2011 | LaDonna Pavetti (CBPP), Liz Schott (CBPP) and Elizabeth Lower-Basch (CLASP) Creating Subsidized Employment Opportunities for Low-Income Parents: The Legacy of the TANF Emergency Fund During 2009 and 2010, 39 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and eight Tribal TANF programs received approval to use $1.3 billion from the TANF Emergency Fund to create new subsidized employment programs or expand existing ones. This paper examines how states used the flexibility they were given to design and implement subsidized employment programs and what challenges they faced in getting them up and running, and draws lessons for future such programs. Download PDF
- Nov 19, 2010 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Extending the TANF Emergency Fund Creates Jobs Now Congress should extend the TANF Emergency Fund as soon as possible so that states can continue and expand their subsidized jobs programs. Download PDF