Work Supports and Benefits Access
Despite working hard, millions of American families struggle to make ends meet. With the rising cost of raising a family, parents need additional support to achieve economic security. Public supports are available to help them, including tax credits, food assistance programs and health care assistance. These supports can provide a meaningful boost to family stability, but only if families access them. McKinsey & Company released a report showing that an estimated $65 billion in work supports goes unused each year. Community organizations, foundations, and local, state and the federal governments are testing and replicating new tools that aim to help families’ access the public supports they are eligible to receive.
Following is a list of key research that summarizes available work supports and programs designed to help families access them, as well as efforts to improve policies in this area.
Linking Human Services and Housing Assistance for Homeless Families and Families at Risk of Homelessness Alvaro Cortes, Lauren Dunton, Meghan Henry, Jill Khadduri and Howard Rolston, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, May 2012
Building a Healthy America: A Profile of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program United States Department of Agriculture, April 2012
The Economic Consequences of Cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Jeffrey Thompson and Heidi Garrett-Peltier, Center for American Progress, March 2012
TANF Weakening as a Safety Net for Poor Families
Danilo Trisi and LaDonna Pavetti, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 2012
How Former Prisoners Become Connected David J. Harding, Jessica J. B. Wyse, Cheyney Dobson and Jeffrey D. Morenoff,
Focus, Volume 28:2, Institute for Research on Poverty, Fall/Winter 2011-12
The Dynamics of Disconnection for Low-Income Mothers Pamela Loprest and Austin Nichols, Focus, Volume 28:2, Institute for Research on Poverty, Fall/Winter 2011-12
Focus: Disconnected Americans Volume 28:2, Institute for Research on Poverty, Fall/Winter 2011-12
The Role of Advertising in the Growth of the SNAP Caseload Stacy Dickert-Conlin, Katie Fitzpatrick and Laura Tiehen, National Poverty Center, February 2012
How Employment Constraints Affect Low-Income Working Parents’ Child Care Decisions Ajay Chaudry, Juan Pedroza and Heather Sandstrom, Urban Institute, February 2012
The SNAP Vaccine: Boosting Children's Health Children's HealthWatch, February 2012
Economic Circumstances of Individuals Who Exhausted Benefits U.S. Government Accountability Office, February 2012
TANF Child-Only Cases Olivia Golden and Amelia Hawkins, Urban Institute and the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Administation for Children and Families, January 2012
Strengthening Economic Security for Children Living in LGBT Families Movement Advancement Project, the Family Equality Council and the Center for American Progress, January 2012
Head Start: Supporting Success for Children and Families National Women's Law Center, November 2011
Rent Burden, Housing Subsidies and the Well-being of Children and Youth Yumiko Aratani, Michelle Chau, Vanessa R. Wight and Sophia Addy, National Center for Children in Poverty, November 2011
Reliance on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Continued to Rise Post-Recession Jessica A. Bean, Carsey Institute, October 2011
Boost to SNAP Benefits Protected Young Children’s Health Elizabeth L. March, Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Kathryn Bailey, John Cook, Sharon Coleman, Ashley Schiffmiller and Deborah A. Frank, Children's HealthWatch, October 2011
Plan for a New Future: The Impact of Social Security Reform on People of Color
Maya M. Rockeymoore and Meizhu Lui, Commission to Modernize Social Security, October 2011
Work-Family Conflict: Look to Employers and Communities for Solutions Ron Haskins, Jane Waldfogel and Sara McLanahan, The Future of Children, Woodrow Wilson of Public and International Affairs School, Princeton University and The Brookings Institution, Fall 2011
The Future of Children Journal: Work and Family The Future of Children, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University and The Brookings Institution, V. 21 No. 2, Fall 2011
TANF in Rural America: Informing Re-authorization Jessica A. Bean, Leif Jensen and Marybeth J. Mattingly, Carsey Institute, September 2011
Welfare Rules Databook: State TANF Policies David Kasssabian, Tracy Vericker, David Searle and Mary Murphy, Urban Institute, August 2011
Six Ways that States and School Districts Can Make It Easier for Children in Foster Care to Get Free Meals at School Nate Frentz and Zoë Neuberger, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 2011
Characteristics of Low-Income Single Mothers Disconnected from Work and Public Assistance Pamela J. Loprest and Austin Nichols, Urban Institute, August 2011
Rural and Central City Residents with Multiple Children Likely to Be Hardest Hit by Proposed WIC Cuts Jessica A. Bean, Carsey Institute, July 2011
House WIC Cuts Would End Food Assistance for 300,000 to 450,000 Low-Income Women and Children Zoë Neuberger and Robert Greenstein, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, June 2011
Redesigning the TANF Contingency Fund to Make It More Effective Liz Schott and LaDonna Pavetti, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,
June 2011
Medicaid Works: A Review of How Public Insurance Protects the Health and Finances of Children and Other Vulnerable Populations Leighton Ku and Christine Ferguson, First Focus, June 2011
Federal Programs that Protect Young Children’s Health Children's HealthWatch, June 2011
Improving Access to Work Supports: Strengthening State Policies and Practices John Quinterno, The Working Poor Families Project, June 2011
Child Care Choices of Low-Income Working Families Ajay Chaudry, Juan Pedroza, Heather Sandstrom, Anna Danziger, Michel Grosz, Molly M. Scott and Sarah Ting, Urban Institute, May 2011
Federal Tax Policies and Low-Income Rural Households Ron Durst and Tracey Farrigan, USDA Economic Research Service, May 2011
An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Anti-Poverty Programs in the United States
Yonatan Ben-Shalom, Robert Moffitt and John Karl Scholz, Institute for Research on Poverty,
May 2011
Online Services for Key Low-Income Benefit Programs: What States Provide Online with Respect to SNAP, TANF, Child Care Assistance, Medicaid, and CHIP
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May 2011
Antipoverty Effects of Unemployment Insurance
Thomas Gabe and Julie M. Whittaker, Congressional Research Service, April 2011
Ten Years of the EITC Movement: Making Work Pay Then and Now
Steve Holt, The Brookings Institution, April 2011
Unique Opportunity to Improve School Meals Applications
Zoë Neuberger and Abby Lane, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 2011
Food Security Improved Following the 2009 ARRA Increase in SNAP Benefits
Mark Nord and Mark Prell, USDA Economic Research Service, April 2011
The Class of 2011: Young Workers Face a Dire Labor Market Without a Safety Net
Heidi Shierholz and Kathryn Anne Edwards, Economic Policy Institute, April 2011
Landscape of Recession: Unemployment and Safety Net Services Across Urban and Suburban America
Emily Garr, The Brookings Institute Metropolitan Policy Program, April 2011
A Hand Up: How State Earned Income Tax Credits Help Working Families Escape Poverty in 2011
Nicholas Johnson and Erica Williams, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 2011
Welfare Reform at Age 15: A Vanishing Safety Net for Women and Children
Legal Momentum, April 2011
Reports of Unemployment Compensation in the American Community Survey Michael Martinez-Schiferl, Sheila Zedlewski and Linda Giannarelli,
Urban Institute, March 2011
SNAP Take-up Among Immigrant Families with Children Curtis Skinner, National Center for Children in Poverty, March 2011
Too Many Hurdles: Barriers to Receiving SNAP Put Children’s Health at Risk Children's HealthWatch, March 2011
Paid Family Leave: Why the Family and Medical Leave Act Fails to Meet the Needs of America’s Working FamiliesLauren Damme, New America Foundation, March 2011
Creating Subsidized Employment Opportunities for Low-Income Parents: The Legacy of the TANF Emergency Fund LaDonna Pavetti, Liz Schott and Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Center on Law and Social Policy, February 2011
Improving the Delivery of Key Work Supports: Policy & Practice Opportunities at a Critical Moment Dottie Rosenbaum and Stacy Dean, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 2011
Responding to the New Geography of Poverty: Metropolitan Trends in the Earned Income Tax Credit Elizabeth Kneebone and Emily Garr, Metropolitan Policy Program,
Brookings Institution, February 2011
TANF Responded Unevenly to Increase in Need During Downturn LaDonna Pavetti, Ph.D., Danilo Trisi and Liz Schott, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 2011
Child Care Instability: Definitions, Context, and Policy Implications Gina Adams and Monica Rohacek, Urban Institute, December 2010
Child Support Plays an Increasingly Important Role for Poor Custodial FamiliesElaine Sorenseni, Urban Institute, December 2010
Federal TANF Funding Shrinking While Need Remains HighLiz Schott and LaDonna Pavetti, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, December 2010
The Economic Impact of Recent Temporary Unemployment Insurance ExtensionsCouncil of Economic Advisers, Executive Office of the President, December 2010
Emergency Unemployment Insurance Benefits Remain Critical for the EconomyChad Stone and Hannah Shaw, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 2010
State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: Individual State Fact SheetsNational Women's Law Center, November 2010
Simplification of Health and Social Services Enrollment and Eligibility: Lessons for California from Interviews in Four States (pdf)
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., November 2010
Online Services for Key Low-Income Benefit Programs: What States Provide On-Line with Respect to Food Stamps, TANF, Child Care Assistance, Medicaid, and CHIP (pdf)
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 2010
State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: New Federal Funds Help States Weather the Storm (pdf)
Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, National Women's Law Center, September 2010
A Study on the Impact of The Ohio Benefit Bank (pdf)
Prepared by Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University, September 2010
Initial Results from the New York Noncustodial Parent EITC (pdf)
Elaine Sorensen, Urban Institute, August 2010
The Benefits and Costs of the Section 8 Housing Subsidy Program: A Framework and First-Year Estimates (pdf)
Deven Carlson, Robert Haveman, Thomas Kaplan and Barbara Wolfe, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin, May 2010
Feeding Opportunity: Ending Child Hunger Furthers the Goal of Cutting U.S. Poverty in Half over the Next Decade Joel Berg, Center for American Progress and the Half in Ten Campaign, May 2010
The Impact of State Income Taxes on Low-Income Families in 2009 Phil Oliff and Ashali Singham, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 2010
Some States Scaling Back Tax Credits for Low-Income Families Nicholas Johnson and Erica Williams, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May 2010
Early Findings From New York City's Conditional Cash Transfer Program (pdf)
James A. Riccio, Fast Focus, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin, May 2010
Weathering the Storm: Have IDAs Helped Low-Income Homebuyers Avoid Foreclosure? (pdf)
Ida Rademacher and Kasey Wiedrich, Center for Enterprise Development and Signe-Mary McKernan and Megan Gallagher, The Urban Institute, April 2010
Doing What Works to End U.S. Hunger: Federal Food Programs Are Effective, but Can Work Even Better Joel Berg, Center for American Progress, March 2010
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Implications of Changes in Participation Rates Kay E. Brown Government Accountability Office, March 2010
Child Care Feeding Programs Support Young Children's Healthy Development (pdf)
Annie Gayman, Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Elizabeth March, John T. Cook, Sharon Coleman and Deborah A. Frank, Children's HealthWatch, March 2010
WIC Improves Child Health and School Readiness (pdf)
Annie Gayman, Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Elizabeth March, John T. Cook and Sharon Coleman, Children's HealthWatch, March 2010
A Comparison of the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Kenneth Finegold, Nancy M. Pindus, Diane K. Levy, Tess Tannehill and Walter Hillabrant, Urban Institute, March 2010
Improving Access to Public Benefits: Helping Eligible Individuals and Families Get the Income Supports They Need Shelley Waters-Boots, The Ford Foundation; Open Society Institute; Annie E. Casey Foundation, February 2010
Failure to Extend Improvements in Child Tax Credit Would Harm Millions of Low-Income Working Families Arloc Sherman, Avi Feller and Chuck Marr, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 2010
Making Work Supports WorkA Picture of Low-wage Workers in AmericaJessica Purmort, National Center for Children in Poverty, January 2010
Food Within Reach: Strategies for Increasing Participation in the Food Stamp Program in California (pdf)
Scott Graves, Jennifer Tucker, Alissa Anderson and Raul Macias, California Budget Project, December 2009
Battered by the Storm: How the Safety Net Is Failing Americans and How to Fix It Deepak Bhargava, Timothy Casey, John Cavanagh, Karen Dolan, Peter Edelman, Barbara Ehrenreich, Sarita Gupta, Dedrick Muhammad, Diana Pearce, Steve Savner and Kevin Shih, Institute for Policy Studies, December 2009
The Impact of State Income Taxes on Low-Income Families in 2008 Phil Oliff and Ashali Singham, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 2009
Considerations in Efforts to Restructure Work-Based Credits Steve Holt and Elaine Maag , Tax Policy Center, November 2009
Congressional Hearing Testimonies: Evaluating Safety-Net Programs During the Recession House Ways and Means Committee on Income Security and Family Support, October 2009
Many Low-Income Working Families Turn to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Help Sheila R. Zedlewski and Ei Yin Mon, The Urban Institute, August 2009
Extending the EITC to Noncustodial Parents: Potential Impacts and Design Considerations Laura Wheaton and Elaine Sorenson, Tax Policy Center, June 2009
Food Insecurity Rates Rise Steeply with Recession (pdf)
Elizabeth L. March, John T. Cook and Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Children's HealthWatch, June 2009
Seventy-Eight Percent of Working Rural Families To Receive Full Making Work Pay Tax Credit (pdf)
Marybeth J. Mattingly, The Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire, May 2009
Forty-Three Percent of Eligible Rural Families Can Claim A Larger Credit with EITC Expansion (pdf)
Marybeth J. Mattingly, The Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire, May 2009
Child Tax Credit Expansion Increases Number of Families Eligible for a Refund (pdf)
Marybeth J. Mattingly, The Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire, March 2009
The Earned Income Tax Credit and Older Workers Janet McCubbin, AARP Public Policy Institute, AARP Foundation, January 2009
Economic Recovery and the EITC: Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to Benefit Families and Places Elizabeth Kneebone, Brookings Institution, January 2009
Metro Raise: Boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit to Help Metropolitan Workers and Families Alan Berube, David Park, and Elizabeth Kneebone,Brookings Institution, June 2008