work_supports

Resources & Publications

Summary | Headlines Only

Mar 29, 2013 | Lavanya Mohan CLASP Work Supports Newsletter - March 2013 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. Read Online
Mar 15, 2013 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Neil Ridley Navigating Federal Programs to Build Sustainable Career Pathways in the Health Professions: A Guide for HPOG Programs Healthcare is one of the fastest growing sectors in our economy, and there are many jobs in this sector that require fewer than 4 years of college education, have high demand, and offer good pay. However, low-income workers often face barriers to accessing the education and training they need to enter these jobs, including lack of information, poor basic skills, confusing and poorly aligned training programs, cost of training, and need for supportive services, such as child care and transportation. The Heath Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG), authorized by section 5507 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA; Public Law 111-148), address this issue by supporting models for providing education, training, and support services to enable recipients of cash assistance under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other low-income individuals to obtain well-paying jobs in high-demand healthcare occupations. The HPOG program is one of several provisions of ACA aimed at supporting training for the healthcare workforce of the future. Download PDF
Mar 04, 2013 | Lavanya Mohan CLASP Work Supports Newsletter - February 2013 CLASP is inaugurating this Work Supports e-newsletter to highlight the efforts of CLASP and our colleague organizations to help ensure low-income families get the support they need to stay employed and provide for their families. Read Online
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
Nov 05, 2012 | Coalition for Access and Opportunity Data Sharing in Public Benefit Programs: An Action Agenda for Removing Barriers This paper from the Coalition for Access and Opportunities highlights opportunities for the federal government to eliminate or minimize administrative obstacles to data sharing that will improve access to government benefits and services for the people who need them. It offers suggestions to reduce the duplicative work that overwhelms state and local agency staff who help consumers apply for public benefits. It also presents important avenues to maximize federal investments in human services when budgets are tight. Download PDF
Oct 18, 2012 | Helly Lee Comments on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Access to Health Care CLASP comments on rule changes regarding health access provisions for young immigrants granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and reiterates the goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to ensure access to affordable health care. Download PDF
Sep 07, 2012 | Helly Lee Comments on Data Collection to Support Eligibility Determinations for Insurance Affordability Programs CLASP submitted comments to CMS on proposed data collection for the single, streamlined application mandated in the Affordable Care Act. Download PDF
Jul 26, 2012 | Patrick Reimherr and Elizabeth Lower-Basch Senate Lays the Groundwork for Fair Deficit Reduction On Wednesday, the Senate approved a one-year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for those making under $250,000 a year -- 98 percent of all Americans. The passage of the Middle Class Tax Cut Act (S.3412) marks a significant step toward the principle of a balanced approach to deficit reduction, with new revenues as well as spending cuts. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the bill would save the U.S. nearly $1 trillion over 10 years. Read Online
Jul 11, 2012 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Testimony for the Record: Plateaus, Cliffs and Work Incentives CLASP submitted Testimony for the Record for the House Ways and Means Committee's hearing on work incentives in low-income support programs. Download PDF
May 31, 2012 Financing College Success: Innovations to Promote Readiness, Access, and Completion Evelyn Ganzglass, director of Workforce Development at CLASP, presented on the panel Financing College Success: Innovations to Promote Readiness, Access, and Completion on May 31 at the New America Foundation. Ms. Ganzglass discussed specific issues related to community college affordability and focus on a range of interventions that aim to improve community college success, including building assets, accessing public benefits, emergency loans, financial literacy education, and work opportunities more conducive to full-time attendance at school. Read Online
May 17, 2012 | Sarah Fass Hiatt 21st Century Eligibility: A Menu of Options Federal policymakers and innovative states across the country are modernizing eligibility determination for public benefits by using existing data sources and sophisticated information technology. This menu of options is based on the paper "Moving to a 21st Century Public Benefits System" by Stan Dorn and Elizabeth Lower-Basch. Download PDF
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 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
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
Mar 29, 2012 | Neil Ridley and George Wentworth A Breakthrough for Work Sharing: A Summary of the Layoff Prevention Act of 2012 On February 22, 2012, President Obama signed H.R. 3630, extending the payroll tax cut and federal unemployment assistance through the end of 2012. Included in the $143 billion measure are provisions designed to expand a creative layoff aversion strategy called work sharing. This summary of the Layoff Prevention Act of 2012 is produced by CLASP and the National Employment Law Project (NELP). Download PDF
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 02, 2012 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Why Drug Testing Public Benefit Recipients Is a Distraction Twenty-three states around the country are considering requiring drug tests for recipients of programs like welfare (TANF) and food stamps. Elizabeth Lower-Basch discusses which states are proposing these tests and why she believes that they are unnecessary. Read Online
Feb 01, 2012 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Unemployment Insurance Drug Testing: A Bad Cure in Search of a Problem By the end of this month, Congress must again act to extend federal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, or millions of workers will lose access to this vital lifeline. In December, the House of Representatives proposed to attach a provision to the extension that would allow states to require workers to take a drug test before receiving benefits. Read Online | Download PDF
Feb 01, 2012 | Neil Ridley and Marcie Foster Unemployment Insurance: Congress Should Reject the Misguided Educational Requirement in H.R. 3630 House and Senate conferees are currently considering an extension of federally funded unemployment assistance through the end of 2012. The House-passed bill (H.R. 3630) that conferees are considering includes a new minimum educational requirement for Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants. The bill would change federal law to require individuals who receive UI benefits to have a high school diploma, GED or other state-recognized equivalent or be enrolled in classes leading to a secondary credential. If this requirement is deemed "unduly burdensome," state agencies may waive it for individuals. CLASP urges conferees to reject the proposed minimum educational requirement for UI recipients and any alternative formulations of this provision. Read Online | Download PDF
Nov 14, 2011 | Stan Dorn How Human Services Programs and Their Clients Can Benefit from National Health Reform Legislation On Jan. 1, 2014, most health care coverage expansions included in the health care reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), will take effect. The ACA requires each state to use a single integrated, user friendly eligibility process that draws on existing data in real time for eligibility determination, enrollment and retention in both of these programs. This presentation by Stan Dorn on his recent paper for the Coalition for Access and Opportunity, highlights the opportunities to use the ACA to leverage improvements in eligibility systems for human services programs. Read Online | Download PDF
Oct 31, 2011 | Stan Dorn How Human Services Programs and Their Clients Can Benefit from National Health Reform Legislation On Jan. 1, 2014, most health care coverage expansions included in the health care reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), will take effect. The ACA requires each state to use a single integrated, user friendly eligibility process that draws on existing data in real time for eligibility determination, enrollment and retention in both of these programs. This paper, written by Stan Dorn for the Coalition for Access and Opportunity, highlights the opportunities to use the ACA to leverage improvements in eligibility systems for human services programs. Download PDF
Oct 03, 2011 | Vickie Choitz and Julie Strawn CLASP Testimony for the Record on Nontraditional Students 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. Download PDF
Sep 13, 2011 The Accessing Benefits at Community Colleges Initiative - Webinar Download File
Jul 05, 2011 CLASP Comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on SNAP Eligibility, Certification, and Employment and Training Provisions These comments, submitted to the US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), were in response to a request for public comment on SNAP Eligibility, Certification, and Employment and Training Provisions. CLASP's recommendations are intended to help FNS implement provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008, Pub. L. 110-246. The recommendations focused on four main areas: the dependent care deduction, access to benefits, transitional benefits, and employment and training services. Download PDF
Apr 19, 2011 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Testimony for the Record on GAO Report on Duplication of Government Programs, Focus on Welfare and Related Programs In April 2011, the Subcommittee on Human Resources to the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives, held a hearing on Duplication of Government Programs with a focus on welfare and related programs. CLASP's testimony for the record focuses on how the programs should be coordinated into a system of benefits that is easy to access, unstigmatized, responsive to economic hardship, open to all, and fully funded. Education and training are drivers of economic mobility and opportunity, and low-wage workers and low-income individuals need access to them to enter and advance in the labor market. Download PDF
Mar 31, 2011 Audio Conference: Braiding Funding Streams to Support Integrated Service Delivery In order to use public funding to support an integrated approach and to account for the different needs and demographic characteristics of participants, organizations must braid sources together. CLASP has recently produced Federal Funding for Integrated Service Delivery, a Toolkit. The audio conference oriented listeners to the resource, and highlighted two organizations that braid public and private funding sources to support integrated service delivery approaches. Read Online | Download PDF | Download Audio
Mar 14, 2011 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Testimony Before House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources CLASP senior policy analyst, Elizabeth Lower-Basch, testified during the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources Hearing on Use of Data Matching to Improve Customer Service, Program Integrity, and Taxpayer Savings. CLASP shares the concern with reducing error rates and fraud to save taxpayer funds, preserve funding for those who are truly eligible for programs, and protect public support for programs. Data matching can reduce administrative costs by sharing information collected by one program with another, and reducing the number of visits that customers must make to various offices. This also improves customer service, and reduces the time that applicants must take away from work or other responsibilities. Read Online | 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
Jan 12, 2011 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Abigail Newcomer Federal Funding for Integrated Service Delivery These briefs describe federal programs identified as possible funding sources for one or more components of integrated service delivery, including benefit access, workforce development and financial literacy services. Read Online | Download PDF
Dec 15, 2010 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Part-Time Work in Recession and Recovery This presentation by CLASP senior policy analyst Elizabeth Lower-Basch explores the circumstances of part-time workers, the reasons for part-time work, and what has happened to part-time work during the recession. She also considers the implications of part-time work for the Unemployment Insurance and Workforce Investment Act systems. Read Online | Download PDF
Oct 04, 2010 | The Steering Committee of the Coalition to Promote Access and Opportunity Comments in Response to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Request for Comments on State-Level Health Information Exchanges The Coalition to Promote Access and Opportunity is dedicated to alleviating poverty for millions of Americans by promoting federal, state and local policy agendas that facilitate comprehensive, coordinated access to underutilized public benefits and related resources. The steering committee of the Coalition took the opportunity to comment on the planning and establishment of the health care exchanges to be created under the Affordable Care Act. The implementation of these exchanges is a critical component of meeting the Affordable Care Act's goals of universal health care coverage and "no wrong door" for access to benefits. Download PDF
Sep 22, 2010 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Audio Conference: Game Change - Health Reform Allows Enrollment in Other Benefits to Leapfrog Health care reform has the potential to dramatically change the way low-income individuals and families apply for and receive other benefits, such as nutritional assistance and the earned income tax credit. The Coalition to Promote Access and Opportunity hosted an audio conference with some of the nation's leading experts on this topic. Read Online | Download Audio | Additional PDF
Jul 29, 2010 | Sarah Fass Hiatt and Abigail Newcomer President Obama's Asset Limit Proposal: Supporting Families and Promoting Improved Coordination This paper from Single Stop USA, CLASP, and First Focus describes the president's budget proposal to create an asset limit floor for several federal means tested programs. Download PDF
Jul 08, 2010 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch CLASP Letter to ACA Enrollment Workgroup On July 1, Elizabeth Lower-Basch sent this letter to the ACA Enrollment Workgroup, recommending the use of health care reform as a platform for benefits access. Download PDF
May 27, 2010 The Public Benefits Boost: New Strategies for Increasing Take-Up In this audio conference you will learn the role that public benefits can provide toward family stability and the latest legislative developments; new lessons from research that can help practitioners deliver access to public benefits; and two states' strategies to boost uptake--one dramatically lifting Medicaid access and another gaining applicants through school-based social services. Read Online | Download Audio | Additional PDF
May 21, 2010 Letter Supporting the 2010 Jobs Bill On May 20, CLASP Executive Director Alan Houseman sent this urgent letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urging support for the Promoting American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010. Read Online | Download PDF
Jan 25, 2010 | CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2010 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. Read Online | Download PDF
Nov 16, 2009 | CLASP Audioconference What the TANF Emergency Fund Can Do for Your Cash-Strapped State CLASP brought together leading experts to discuss the latest federal guidance on innovative ways that states can draw on the TANF Emergency Fund, and claim expenditures by third-parties, such as counties and nonprofit service-providers. Listen to this recording of the call to learn about how you can put the TANF Emergency Fund to use! Download Audio | Additional PDF
Oct 08, 2009 | CLASP CLASP Testimony to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support This written testimony to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support discusses how American Recovery and Reinvestment Act spending has helped safety net programs such as TANF, child care subsidies, unemployment insurance, workforce development programs, and Medicaid, respond to the recession. Download PDF
Sep 03, 2009 | CLASP Audioconference Building Public-Private Partnerships in Human Services: Inside the New York Back to School Benefit Example George Soros' donation of $35 million to New York State, allowing the state to draw $140 million in federal funds from the TANF Emergency Fund to provide back to school payments of $200 to more than 800,000 children in low-income families, has drawn a great deal of attention from across the country. In this CLASP audioconference, hear from some of the people who made it happen, learn about the processes involved, and get ideas about how to make public-private partnerships to help low-income families with TANF Emergency Funds happen in your state. Download Audio | Additional PDF
Sep 01, 2009 | CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2009 and Beyond 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. Download PDF
Apr 24, 2009 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Mark Greenberg Single Mothers in the Era of Welfare Reform The 1990s welfare reform and expansion of work supports caused an historic increase in the share of single mothers who were working. This chapter examines the policy changes of the 1990s and since along with the subsequent employment and earnings outcomes for single mothers. It considers how the policy changes affected both employment levels and job quality and discusses implications for next steps for federal and state policies. This chapter is from the 2009 LERA Research Volume, The Gloves-off Economy: Workplace Standards at the Bottom of America's Labor Market, A. Bernhardt, H. Boushey, L. Dresser, and C. Tilly, eds., Champaign IL: Labor and Employment Relations Association, pp. 163--190. Copyright 2008 by the Labor and Employment Relations Association; Champaign, IL. Reprinted with permission. The volume is available through Cornell University Press. Download PDF
Mar 26, 2009 | Neil Ridley Work Sharing--an Alternative to Layoffs for Tough Times At a time of rising unemployment, work sharing programs provide an alternative to layoffs and have benefits for workers, employers and the government. These programs should be expanded and more states should adopt them. This paper describes work sharing and the opportunity for federal action to expand its use. Download PDF
Mar 20, 2009 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Opportunities in the Recovery Act for Income Support for Low-Income Women and Children This presentation analyzes ways that funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 can be used to improve income supports for low-income women and children. It focuses on the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act. Download PDF
Mar 11, 2009 | Elizabeth Appley, Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Stacey Cox Rebuilding the Safety Net: State and Local Opportunities in Income Support This audio conference features opportunities for improvements in income support programs created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund both provide additional funds for states -- but only if they take action to expand program access. The expansion in tax credits for low-income workers also provides opportunities for community tax assistance providers. Download Audio | Additional PDF
Nov 12, 2008 | CLASP Recover, Renew, Rebuild: Workforce Policies for a Strong and Fair Economy Education and training are major contributors to economic prosperity. They are drivers of economic mobility and opportunity. Workforce policies to help individuals who are struggling in the labor market also are a critical component of a recovery package to get America working again. This report contains CLASP workforce policy recommendations for Congress and the Administration to address the immediate economic crisis and to make a down payment on the longer-term agenda of building a stronger and more equitable economy. It includes actions they can take to: help workers and families recover from the current recession; renew the nation's commitment to good jobs and upward mobility for all and rebuild middle class jobs. Read Online | Download PDF
Nov 07, 2008 | CLASP Beyond Stimulus: Shoring Up the Safety Net, Securing the American Dream The United States is entering into a recession which many will be longer and more severe than any we have faced in recent decades. As Congress and the new President consider what actions to take, CLASP calls for a package that goes beyond stimulus aimed at temporarily boosting consumer demand. This paper outlines actions that Congress should take immediately to strengthen safety net programs that provide critical assistance to vulnerable workers and families and to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to share in the benefits of recovery. Download PDF
Oct 16, 2008 | Alan W. Houseman and the CLASP Staff CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2009 and Beyond CLASP has developed an extensive federal policy agenda for the next President and Congress directed at improving the lives of low income people. The detailed agenda makes recommendations for changes in policy at all levels of the federal government: the White House, Federal departments and agencies, the budget and appropriations' process, and the law-making process in Congress. This publication provides an overview of our agenda organized into eleven key recommendations. Taken as a whole, the eleven recommendations call for increasing investments in effective programs and funding streams that concretely help children, youth, and families thrive; strengthening and modernizing the nation's safety net; and building supportive pathways for low-income youths and adults to good jobs that sustain families and communities. Download PDF
Apr 09, 2008 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Tax Credits and Public Benefits: Complementary Approaches to Supporting Low-Income Families Tax credits and public benefits are complementary approaches to supporting low-income families; policy makers do not need to choose between them. By understanding the advantages and disadvantages of both mechanisms, advocates and policy makers can better choose the right tool for the job at hand, rather than adopting a one-size fits all approach. Download PDF
Mar 04, 2008 | CLASP The Congressional Budget Resolution: Recommendations for a Blueprint in Support of Low-Income Individuals and Families President Bush's budget proposal sends a simple and stark message: even in an economic downturn, those at the bottom of the income scale don't matter. It is now Congress' turn to prepare a budget plan. The Congressional budget resolution should inflict no harm to low-income workers, restore prior cuts, and invest in the future by supporting the workforce and ensuring safe and healthy children. Download PDF
Jan 29, 2008 CLASP Recommends Improvements to Economic Stimulus Package The following letter was sent to Senators suggesting improvements to the economic stimulus package to help those hardest hit by an economic downturn. Download PDF
Mar 13, 2007 | Abbey Frank, Elizabeth Lower-Basch, and Annette Case Where the Funds Are: The Use of FSET Funds for Workforce Training Programs Funding for workforce training programs is limited. Many of the traditional funding streams used to cover the costs of these programs have been cut, leaving administrators to think creatively about alternative funding sources. One possibility is the Food Stamp Employment and Training program (FSET), which supports employment and training services for food stamp participants. This policy brief provides an overview of the FSET program and funding streams and discusses ways that workforce training programs can access FSET funds to improve the employability of FSET participants. Download PDF
Dec 01, 2006 | Natalie Branosky, Mark Greenberg, Elisa Minoff et al Staying On, Stepping Up The issue of promoting employment retention and advancement is an important topic in UK policy debates, as it is in the U.S. This report discusses research and experience that might be used to strengthen the U.K.'s efforts. In the third chapter--"Employment retention: evidence from the UK and the US"-- Elisa Minoff and Mark Greenberg from CLASP and Natalie Branosky from the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion provide a survey and discussion of the employment retention research and experience for single parents in the U.S. and U.K. This report was published by One Parent Families, a British charity which supports lone parents and their children. For more information, please go to www.oneparentfamilies.org.uk. Download PDF
Aug 17, 2006 | Evelyn Ganzglass Ten Years after Welfare Reform, It's Time to Make Work Work for Families On the 10th anniversary of passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, CLASP calls for the implementation of a more holistic set of strategies that truly expand opportunities for low-income families to move into the middle class and achieve the American dream. Download PDF
May 16, 2006 | TANF 2006: CLASP- CBPP Series Earned Income Disregards and Income Supplements As states work to meet the new participation rate requirements while helping low-income families enter and sustain employment, many are considering expanding assistance to low-income families either through TANF or through stand-alone programs that provide income supplements to working families. This conference call highlights earned income disregards and supplements policies, and their impacts on employment outcomes for TANF recipients. Download Audio | Additional PDF
May 09, 2006 | Abbey Frank, Mark Greenberg, and Robert Zdenek Getting Connected: Employer Engagement in Work Supports More than one quarter of U.S. working families have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. Work supports--government benefits ranging from the Earned Income Tax Credit and child care assistance to Medicaid, the state Children's Health Insurance Program, and food stamps--can help low-income families make ends meet and maintain employment. But many employers are unaware of or reluctant to help connect workers to these supports. This policy paper looks at the role employers can play in connecting employees to supports, employers' concerns about this role, and observations from six sites with workplace-based efforts underway to improve access to work supports. Download PDF
Apr 03, 2006 | Hannah Matthews Child Care Assistance Helps Families Work: A Review of the Effects of Subsidy Receipt on Employment Reliable and stable child care helps parents retain steady employment and reduces workplace absenteeism, but the high costs of care challenge many families, particularly low-income working parents. Child care assistance can help. This policy brief reviews relevant research and finds that low-income mothers who receive child care subsidies are more likely to be employed, to stay off welfare, and to have higher earnings. For that reason, increasing investments in child care assistance is necessary to help families move from welfare to work and to help low-income parents continue working. Download PDF
Apr 15, 2005 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Work and Public Housing: Encouraging Results from Jobs-Plus In this audioconference, Jodie Levin-Epstein interviews experts regarding Jobs-Plus, a multi-year evaluation of a place-based employment initiative in public housing. It�s produced substantial improvements in residents� earnings. She and her guests explored the effects of Jobs-Plus on employment, earnings, and welfare receipt and whether different kinds of families had different kinds of outcomes and whether life in the housing developments changed. Download Audio | Additional PDF
Mar 16, 2005 | Mark Greenberg and Jennifer L. Noyes Increasing State and Local Capacity for Cross-Systems Innovation: Assessing Flexibility and Opportunities under Current Law This paper was written as part of a collaborative effort between the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Hudson Institute, and CLASP. The authors analyze the flexibility, opportunities, and barriers under current federal law with respect to cross-program integration and collaboration. Download PDF
Mar 16, 2005 | Mark Greenberg and Jennifer L. Noyes Supporting Cross-Program Integration: Some Recommendations for Federal Policy and Practice This brief is based on the paper Increasing State and Local Capacity for Cross-Systems Innovation. Drawing on the papers' findings and consultation with a range of state and federal policymakers, the brief provides the authors' recommendations for federal action on cross-program state and local service integration efforts. This brief was written as part of a collaborative effort between the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Hudson Institute, and CLASP. Download PDF
Dec 28, 2004 | Ron Haskins, Mark Greenberg, and Shawn Fremstad Federal Policy for Immigrant Children: Room for Common Ground? This policy brief, part of the Future of Children Policy Brief Series by the Brookings Institution, offers differing views from its authors on how to improve the well-being of children in immigrant families in the United States. Haskins emphasizes the need to tie public benefits for immigrant families to work through such policies as education and training and the earned income tax credit for families with children. While Greenberg and Fremstad argue that noncitizen families should have the same eligibility for public assistance as citizen families and support greater financial aid for early childhood education and other forms of schooling. Read Online
Oct 07, 2004 | Mark Greenberg and Hedieh Rahmanou Looking to the Future: A Commentary on Children of Immigrant Families This article, printed in Fall 2004 issue of The Future of Children, a publication of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, responds to the question: "How should policymakers, advocates, stakeholders, and practitioners respond strategically and proactively to demographic change and increasing diversity in order to promote the healthy development, productivity, and well-being of our nation's children into the future?" The entire journal issue is devoted to children of immigrant families and is available at www.futureofchildren.org. Download PDF
Sep 14, 2004 | Steve Savner and Jared Bernstein Can Better Skills Meet Better Jobs? This article, from the September 2004 issue of American Prospect, exhorts supply-side and demand-side advocates to form a complementary agenda to meet both sides' needs. The authors suggest not only providing more access to quality job training but then also creating the jobs when they don't already exist. Read Online
Sep 14, 2004 | Mark Greenberg Welfare Reform, Phase Two This article, from the September 2004 issue of American Prospect, discusses the welfare reform law from 1996, how it has played out as a policy, and what still needs to be done in reauthorization of the law. The author suggests that the reathorization support and reward work--and end poverty as we still know it. Read Online
May 11, 2004 CLASP Audio Conference Transcript: The Fiscal Squeeze: What Does Tax Policy Have to Do With It? (April 2, 2004) Bob Greenstein from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and John Corlett of the Center for Community Solutions in Cleveland discuss how tax policy drives social policy, explain how the feds and the states got into the current fiscal mess, and offer some solutions for navigating our way out of the current crisis. In addition, CLASPs Mark Greenberg provides a Hill update on TANF reauthorization (as of April 2, 2004). Download PDF
Feb 12, 2004 | Mark H. Greenberg, Emil Parker, and Abbey Frank Integrating TANF and WIA Into a Single Workforce System: An Analysis of Legal Issues A number of states and localities want to promote improved coordination or integration of workforce development efforts under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). This analysis identifies and analyzes legal issues presented by integrating TANF and WIA. This paper was written as part of a collaborative effort between the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, CLASP, and the Hudson Institute. Download PDF
Jan 29, 2003 | Rutledge Hutson Policy Brief: A Vision for Eliminating Poverty and Family Violence: Transforming Child Welfare and TANF in El Paso County, Colorado This is the 8-page policy brief based on the report of the same name. Download PDF | Additional PDF
Jan 15, 2003 | Rutledge Q. Hutson A Vision for Eliminating Poverty and Family Violence: Transforming Child Welfare and TANF in El Paso County, Colorado When El Paso County, Colorado, considered how to bring the work of the child welfare and TANF agencies together, it decided to change its whole way of doing business. This paper examines how El Paso created seamless, family-centered services and offers a set of lessons that can be drawn from El Paso's experience. Download PDF | Additional PDF
Jun 03, 2002 | Nisha Patel, Mark Greenberg, Steve Savner, and Vicki Turetsky Making Ends Meet: Six Programs That Help Working Families and Employers. A Guide for Business Leaders and Policymakers This new report, originally developed for a meeting cosponsored by the Welfare to Work Partnership, provides information on six work support programs: the Earned Income Tax Credit, child care, Food Stamps, health care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and child support. It explains how each program promotes financial security for low-income families, as well as employment retention, which benefits both working families and their employers. The guide also describes barriers to program participation for eligible workers and offers resources for business leaders and policymakers about strategies to overcome these barriers. Download PDF
May 15, 2002 | CLASP and Community Legal Services, Inc. Every Door Closed: Barriers Facing Parents With Criminal Records Last year, approximately 400,000 mothers and fathers finished serving prison or jail sentences. As these parents struggle to make a fresh start, they will encounter many legal barriers that will make it very difficult for them to successfully care for their children, find work, get safe housing, go to school, access public benefits, or even, for immigrants, stay in the same country as their children. This groundbreaking report, a joint publication of CLASP and Community Legal Services, Inc., of Philadelphia, documents the legal challenges these families face, illustrated by compelling stories of ex-offenders who are frustrated in their attempts to rebuild their lives and families. Download PDF | Additional PDF