All Featured Highlights

• May 17, 2012  |  Stan Dorn and Elizabeth Lower-Basch Moving to 21st-Century Public Benefits: Emerging Options, Great Promise, and Key Challenges Currently, millions of needy individuals and families do not receive some or all of the benefits for which they are eligible. In many cases, this is due to the complicated and burdensome processes involved in demonstrating that an applicant has met all eligibility requirements and in recertifying this information on a regular basis. Written for the Coalition for Access and Opportunity, this paper illustrates how sharing data and basing eligibility decisions on existing information can cut administrative costs, help more families in need of assistance access benefits and strengthen programs. Download PDF
• May 15, 2012  |  Emily Firgens English Language Learners Benefit from Preschool A new study from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) finds that the early reading skills of children from linguistically isolated households (those without any adult English speaker) can significantly improve with participation in a center-based care program the year before kindergarten. Read Online
• May 14, 2012  |  CLASP & IWPR Paid Time Off: The Elements and Prevalence of Consolidated Leave Plans CLASP and the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) have released a new report examining Paid Time Off banks and their prevalence. Nearly one in five employees in the United States receive leave in the form of a PTO bank, but the contours of such policies are often little understood, especially outside of the human resources community. This basic PTO primer is a first step in understanding PTO so that further questions and insights about PTO and low-wage workers and their employers can be explored. Download PDF
• May 11, 2012  |  Hannah Matthews and Jodie Levin-Epstein For Mother's Day: A Present That Values Family Mother's Day unifies the nation as we all scurry to find the right Hallmark card, fancy flowers or some proverbial chocolates to honor she who labored us into this world. The treats, however, can't sweeten a bitter fact: our country, while touting that it values families, gives scant evidence of doing so, particularly when it comes to infants and their care. Read Online
• May 09, 2012  |  Helly Lee House Priorities about Protecting Defense Spending at Expense of Low-Income Families This week, the House Budget Committee debated and passed a harsh and unbalanced budget package that takes drastic measures to protect the defense budget-while making deep cuts to programs helping low-income working families and communities. The reconciliation bill is expected to make its way to the House floor for a vote this Thursday, May 10. Read Online
• May 08, 2012  |  Andrea Lindemann New Resource Will Help Employers Implement D.C.'s Paid Sick Days Law CLASP's implementation guide is a step toward helping employers understand the D.C. paid sick days law, but it is not a substitute for guidance and a public awareness campaign by the D.C. government. CLASP continues to urge the D.C. government to help businesses and workers understand the paid sick days law so that D.C. is a healthier and more productive place to live and work. Read Online
• May 03, 2012  |  Hannah Matthews Illinois to Child Care Providers: The Coffer's Run Dry Child care providers receiving government subsidies in Illinois have received notice that the state can no longer pay them for their services because the state has run out of money. Providers are told they can expect payment to resume at the start of the next fiscal year, July 1. Read Online
• May 01, 2012  |  New Analyses House Moves Forward with Workforce Reauthorization Bills House Republicans and Democrats have introduced competing bills to reform a range of federal workforce programs, including the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). To help advocates and stakeholders, CLASP has prepared analyses of H.R. 4297 and H.R. 4227. Read Online
• Apr 30, 2012  |  Hannah Matthews and Stephanie Schmit We Should Do Better by Our Babies A mere eight states ensure that poor babies get the number of developmental screenings recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) during their first year of life. Although more states (40) meet the recommended Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) screening schedule for children ages 1-2, the very first months of a child's life offer an incomparable opportunity to address potential adverse health conditions or developmental delays, as well as to provide critical supports to parents. Read Online
• Apr 26, 2012  |  Sign-on Letter House WIA Bill Threatens Programs for Low-income and Disconnected Youth HR4297 - the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 would likely dismantle the current youth education, employment and training system for low-income and disconnected youth. The Campaign for Youth asks that you please consider signing on to a letter of support to preserve dedicated education, employment and training funding for low-income and disadvantaged youth. Read Online
• Apr 30, 2012  |  Linda Harris and Kisha Bird Analysis of House WIA Reauthorization Bill Through a Youth Advocacy Lens On March 29, 2012, Rep. Virginia Foxx, Rep. Joseph J. Heck and Rep. Howard P. McKeon introduced a Workforce Investment Act (WIA) reauthorization bill (H.R. 4297). This analysis looks at the bill's youth provisions. Download PDF
• Apr 24, 2012  |  Marcie Foster Refocusing Adult Education on Career and Postsecondary Success Two proposals to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) are in the House of Representatives. Both proposals reflect a priority of greater alignment among adult education (Title II), workforce development (Title I), and postsecondary education, and both increase the focus on preparing adult students not just to earn a secondary school diploma but for college and careers. Despite these similarities, the bills differ across several dimensions. This analysis highlights key provisions in each bill that strengthen or weaken the overall goal of refocusing Title II on career and postsecondary success. Download PDF
• Apr 24, 2012  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Helping Vulnerable Americans Put Dinner on the Table, the SNAP Program Needs Citizen Support The Senate Agriculture Committee has released draft language for the 2012 Farm Bill, which it will begin "marking-up" in a hearing this Wednesday. This bill, typically passed every five years, sets national policy and funding direction for agriculture, nutrition, conservation, and forestry programs. Read Online
• Apr 23, 2012  |  Alan W. Houseman The President Gives Full Support to Restoring Civil Legal Aid Funding In the last year, it's unfortunately gotten much tougher for low-income individuals and families to access legal aid services as a result of Congress cutting funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) from $402 million to $348 million in FY 2012. The President wants this reversed. Read Online
• Apr 18, 2012  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch All the Sacrifice Yesterday, the Budget Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing that was titled "Strengthening the Safety Net" but was really about Chairman Ryan's proposals to cut billions of dollars from safety net programs, including converting both Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) into block grants. Read Online
• Apr 17, 2012  |  Rutledge Q. Hutson Misguided Bill Would Eliminate Critical Child Welfare Funding Tomorrow, the House Ways and Means Committee will consider a bill to eliminate the Social Service Block Grant (SSBG). This $1.7 billion flexible funding stream helps states provide a range of critical services to some of our nation’s most vulnerable individuals, and is often used by states to fill gaps left by federal programs. Read Online
• Apr 17, 2012  |  Alan W. Houseman Critical Tax Credits for Working Families Need to be Preserved On Tax Day, much of the talk will be around the tax rate for wealthy Americans making over a million dollars a year. And a great deal will be written about the problems with our federal tax system, the need for simplification of the tax code, deficit reduction and whether and how we should address preferential treatment and tax credits. Often overlooked is the critical role in reducing poverty and improving the lives of low-income people of two tax credits: the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). Read Online
• Apr 16, 2012  |  Evelyn Ganzglass and Neil Ridley The House Workforce Block Grant Bill Heads in the Wrong Direction On March 29, 2012, Rep. Virginia Foxx, Rep. Joseph J. Heck and Rep. Howard P. McKeon introduced a Workforce Investment Act (WIA) reauthorization bill (H.R. 4297). The bill consolidates a number of national and state-administered workforce programs, including WIA adult, dislocated workers and youth, into a new Workforce Investment Fund that would be distributed by formula to states and local areas. It also creates two new competitive grant programs: Statewide Youth Challenge Grants and Statewide Grants for Adults with Barriers to Employment. Download PDF
• Apr 16, 2012  |  Alan W. Houseman Today's Vote on the Buffett Rule Matters to Low-income Families Following is a statement by Alan W. Houseman, executive director of CLASP, regarding the Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012 (S.2230), a bill introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to implement the Buffett Rule. Read Online
• Apr 13, 2012  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Elizabeth Kenefick Even More Reasons to Celebrate SNAP The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a vital piece of the social safety net helping millions of struggling families across the country put food on the table; a new report by the US Department of Agriculture released on Monday reminds us why. "Alleviating Poverty in the United States: The Critical Role of SNAP Benefits" analyzes data from the last decade that demonstrates that SNAP significantly improves the well being of recipients. Read Online
• Apr 11, 2012  |  Jodie Levin-Epstein Is Marriage a Poverty-Buster? But is marriage invariably a poverty-buster? It turns out that one plus one does not always add up to two stable incomes. Particularly for those with precarious incomes the decision to get hitched includes a special calculation that adds in an assessment of economic instability and liability. Read Online
• Apr 10, 2012  |  Stephanie Schmit 2011 State of Preschool: Another Assault on Early Childhood Today, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released its latest Preschool Yearbook, which finds investment in pre-kindergarten fell in 2011, illustrating yet another assault to early childhood education. Read Online
• Apr 10, 2012  |  Stephanie Schmit Race to the Top 2012 Competition: Continued Investment in States, New Investment in Districts Late yesterday, the Department of Education together with the Department of Health and Human Services announced the details of another round of the Race to the Top competition. Read Online
• Apr 09, 2012  |  Marcie Foster Federal Agencies Show Strong Commitment to Career Pathways Last week, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services released a joint letter of support demonstrating their shared commitment to career pathways as a key strategy to improve the number of adults and youth obtaining postsecondary and industry-recognized credentials. CLASP has long supported career pathways as an evidence-backed strategy to expand economic opportunity and access to marketable credentials for low-income workers at all skill levels, and is pleased to see the federal government reinforce the effectiveness of this approach. Read Online
• Apr 09, 2012  |  Neil Ridley and Evelyn Ganzglass A Litmus for Legislation: Criteria for Evaluating Proposals to Restructure Federal Workforce Programs During the past year, a number of bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to reduce the number of federal workforce programs, consolidate programs in some cases and to improve the efficiency of the workforce system. CLASP recognizes the need for a more coherent and effective workforce development system. However, it is wrong to assume that the federal government's support of multiple workforce programs necessarily amounts to or results in duplicative services. To help advocates and other stakeholders, CLASP has developed a set of criteria with which to evaluate proposals that consolidate or restructure programs offering workforce services to low-income families and individuals. Download PDF
• Apr 06, 2012  |  Andrea Lindemann Supporting Workers Helps Support the Economy The March employment report released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the economy is growing, but at a rate that means pre-recession unemployment levels are still a ways off. Last month, the economy added 120,000 jobs. While economic growth is critical, it is equally important that these jobs are of good quality, earning benefits and wages that can support working families. This is important for both workers and employers alike. Read Online
• Apr 04, 2012  |  Neil Ridley New Law Gives Major Employment Strategy a Boost Following the enactment of recent federal legislation, work sharing - a strategy to reduce unemployment and help businesses and workers weather economic downturns - is getting a major boost to help more states buffer their economies and communities. This is the focus of a new report, A Breakthrough for Work Sharing: A Summary of the Layoff Prevention Act of 2012, released this week by CLASP and the National Employment Law Project (NELP). Read Online
• Apr 03, 2012  |  Jodie Levin-Epstein Painting a Picture of Poverty in Utah: By the Numbers In Utah, a picture of poverty is about to get painted. The state legislature has unanimously passed a bill that will provide data on the extent of, and the demographics attached to, intergenerational poverty in the state. While Utah may be the only state with such a law, there is growing interest around the country in research that shows economic mobility is more elusive in the U.S. than in other developed nations. Read Online
• Apr 03, 2012  |  New Report Work Sharing Finds Breakthrough in New Federal Law The law President Obama signed in February to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance (H.R. 3630) also provided a nearly $500 million expansion of work sharing, an employment strategy that helps businesses avoid layoffs during downturns and can dramatically reduce unemployment. Today, in the first of three papers, CLASP and the National Employment Law Project (NELP) released a detailed summary of the new federal law and how states can access it to combat layoffs. Download PDF
• Mar 30, 2012  |  CLASP Weekly Round-Up: Health Care Reform's Constitutionality, Strengthening the Middle Class & More Select CLASP blog posts and other highlights Read Online
• Mar 29, 2012  |  Alan W. Houseman The Rebuild America Act Would Help Build Strong Families, Stable Middle Class "A stable middle class means stronger families, better outcomes for children and stronger fiscal health for the nation. The Rebuild America Act would offer opportunities such as education and training, child care assistance, and paid sick leave to ensure more ordinary families have the tools they need to access jobs have the chance to reach the middle class." Read Online
• Mar 29, 2012  |  Marcie Foster Students without a High School Diploma or GED to Lose Access to Student Aid After July 1, 2012, newly enrolled college students without a U.S. high school diploma or secondary school equivalent will no longer be 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. Furthermore, it is disproportionately harmful to low-income, first generation, and minority students. Read Online
• Apr 06, 2012  |  CLASP Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment, Race, and Gender A look at unemployment numbers by race/ethnicity, gender and educational attainment. Read Online
• Mar 28, 2012  |  Alan W. Houseman High Stakes for Low-Income People in Debate Over Health Care Reform Law For the last three days, the Supreme Court has heard arguments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While the court's ruling will impact all Americans, the stakes couldn't be higher for low-income children, youth and adults. Read Online
• Mar 27, 2012  |  Vickie Choitz Threats to Pell in House Budget Proposal are Ungrounded, Unfair and Misguided The House FY 2013 Budget Resolution released by budget committee Chairman Paul Ryan makes vague but undeniable threats to the Pell Grant program, proposing to limit funding and further tighten eligibility requirements. The premises for these threats-that Pell is on an unsustainable path and that it increases tuition-are wholly unsupported by the facts, and further cuts to this program are extremely misguided. Read Online
• Mar 23, 2012  |  Abigail Newcomer More to Learn about the Needs of Children Receiving TANF A new brief released by the Administration for Children and Families explores what we know about families receiving child-only benefits, and outlines the research that is required to fully understand them. What's clear is there is no one policy solution for meeting these children's needs and more research is needed on the outcomes various policies would have for children. Read Online
• Mar 16, 2012  |  CLASP CLASP Contributes to National Conversation on Workforce Innovation Over the last couple weeks, CLASP participated in a discussion series on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund on the Workforce Innovation Forum. Read Online
• Mar 23, 2012  |  New Fact Sheet FAQs on How the Loss of Ability to Benefit Options in Federal Student Aid Affects Those without a High School Diploma After July 1, 2012, newly enrolled college students without a U.S. 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. Furthermore, the loss of AtB is particularly harmful to minority students and non-English speakers with a high school diploma in their home country. 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. Download PDF
• Mar 23, 2012  |  Jodie Levin-Epstein and Leah Lucas Poverty Tour Seeks to Show Reality of North Carolina Poverty The North Carolina Truth and Hope Tour is currently underway and shining a spotlight on the reality of poverty around the state. Past U.S. poverty tours have been conducted by figures such as Senator Robert F. Kennedy, President Bill Clinton, and Senator Paul Wellstone, among others. These tours shed light on the real hardships many Americans face--hardships that too often go unrecognized or ignored. Read Online
• Mar 20, 2012  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch In Orwellian Fashion, Ryan Budget 'Repairs' Safety Net by Slashing It Programs that provide health care and food assistance are squarely in the cross sights of the proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget released Tuesday by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. His proposal singles out Medicaid and SNAP for cuts by converting them into block grants. Other domestic programs would also have to be slashed to achieve his proposed spending levels. Read Online
• Mar 20, 2012  |  Alan W. Houseman House Budget Resolution: Same Song, Same Cast, Different Year House Republicans today released a budget that is strong on rhetoric but weak on reasonable ideas regarding how to restore prosperity to the economy, not to mention strengthen the nation's families and provide pathways to education, work, and economic security. The budget harkens back to the failed theory of trickle-down economics by providing tax cuts to those at the top, preserving special treatment for capital gains, cutting deductions for most workers and offering a vague hope that the benefits will eventually trickle down to ordinary Americans. Read Online
• Mar 16, 2012  |  CLASP Weekly Round-Up: Adult Education Funding Cuts, Subsidized Jobs, and Early Childhood Systems Select CLASP blog posts and other highlights Read Online
• Mar 15, 2012  |  Marcie Foster and Elizabeth Kenefick Advocates Fight to Save Adult Education in Los Angeles Despite an organized effort to persuade the city to preserve adult education funding, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board on Tuesday approved a preliminary budget that would decimate one of the nation's largest programs serving adult students. All of the adult schools in the city could be closed and at least 1,800 faculty and staff could lose their jobs if the city fails to find revenue to fill the funding gap before it finalizes the city budget in June. Read Online
• Dec 20, 2011  |  CLASP House Rejects Payroll, UI Extension, Leaving Jobless Workers Without a Year-End Resolution Dec. 31 this year brings a sense of foreboding for millions of jobless workers instead of a time for renewal and resolutions. By the end of January, more than 1.2 million workers and their families will lose their unemployment insurance benefits if Congress fails to act, leaving the question: Why are lawmakers not laser focused on the needs of the nation's families? Read Online
• Dec 20, 2011  |  Hannah Matthews and Emily Firgens Recession Wipes out Gains in Child Well-Being Progress in improving children's quality of life has essentially stalled. Children aren't doing so well because more families are struggling. Child poverty is up, economic inequality is widening and median household income is down. Read Online
• Dec 19, 2011  |  Vickie Choitz Congress is Going the Wrong Way on the Road to Investing in America's Future The Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations bill that Congress recently passed will make it more difficult for the lowest-income students to access postsecondary education and gain the skills and credentials they need to support their families and contribute to the economy. The bill, simply put, is the wrong direction. It reduces funding for Pell Grants and workforce investments, in spite of increasing need. And it fails to protect students' eligibility for student aid, creating educational dead ends for the most vulnerable students. Read Online
• Dec 19, 2011  |  Neil Ridley House Threat to Reject Bipartisan UI and Payroll Tax Extension Will Harm Families Once again Washington lawmakers are demonstrating how disconnected they are from the daily lives of ordinary people. Read Online
• Dec 12, 2011  |  CLASP House Bill Cuts Federal UI Benefits, Stigmatizes Joblessness, Penalizes Workers with Least Education The House of Representatives today is scheduled to review a bill introduced by Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) that puts ideology before the broader needs of the public. While the bill extends the payroll tax deduction, it limits the availability of federally funded unemployment assistance, includes punitive provisions for the least skilled jobless workers and inexplicably ties needed UI benefits and payroll tax reductions to permits for the Keystone pipeline. Read Online
• Dec 08, 2011  |  Elizabeth Kenefick Targeting Poor Children for Parents' Debts Is Bad Policy Record budget gaps and deficit reduction debates have continuously threatened the existence of vital domestic programs on both the state and national level despite increased need and program success. The economic situation also has boosted states' efforts to collect overpayments and fines. In California these debt collectors are even going after poor children. Read Online