by Indi Dutta-Gupta | Sep 22, 2021 | Testimony
In 2020, federal policymakers took extraordinary measures to help millions of families avoid poverty and material hardship during the COVID-19 crisis. These temporary federal relief efforts—especially those boosting household incomes and ensuring people’s access to essential services—“played a central role in stabilizing our families and our nation’s economy, while pushing back on deep racial and gender inequity,” according to GCPI Co-Executive Director Indi Dutta-Gupta’s testimony before the United States House of Representatives Select Subcommittee Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis. Dutta-Gupta also argued that continuing to provide needed support to families would address pre-existing inequities and the weaknesses of social protection programs. Policies in “Build Back Better” proposals—with some crucial additions—would provide transformational investments to protect families and our economy against future threats, meet our national caregiving and job needs, and reduce poverty, hardship, and inequality for generations to come.
by Elisa Minoff, Isabella Camacho-Craft, Valery Martinez and Indi Dutta-Gupta | Aug 19, 2021 | Report
In 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) radically transformed our system of social supports. In addition to decimating cash assistance for families, the law’s immigrant exclusions exacerbated economic and racial inequities and harmed children and families in the 25 years since. This report—published jointly with the Center for the Study of Social Policy—examines the racist roots of PRWORA’s anti-immigrant exclusions and highlights the law’s role in institutionalizing and legitimizing anti-immigrant exclusion in a range of public benefits and tax credits.
by Indi Dutta-Gupta | Apr 15, 2021 | Op-Ed
Biden’s plan would rein in corporate power and profit and launch a new era in which the wealthy finance large-scale investment for the public good.
by Peter Edelman and Indi Dutta-Gupta | Mar 15, 2021 | Op-Ed
The old approach is being replaced by direct assistance, but more help is needed
by Matthew Eckel, Jess Belledonne, Bre Bambrick, Kali Grant, Zachariah Oquenda and Indi Dutta-Gupta | Feb 26, 2021 | Data & Workbooks
Subsidized employment programs—programs that use public funds to create temporary job opportunities—have positive impacts on employment and earnings for people facing barriers to employment. This workbook provides a detailed look at dozens of federal and state subsidized employment programs spanning over half a century, synthesizes evaluation data, and offers a resource for policymakers and advocates interested in subsidized employment as an equity-advancing response to unemployment.
by Amy Jo Hutchison and Indi Dutta-Gupta | Feb 6, 2021 | Op-Ed
West Virginia families are struggling. One in seven adults in the state struggle with hunger. One in five households with children in the state reported that the kids weren’t eating enough because the family struggled to afford food.
by Cassidy Viser, Isabella Camacho-Craft, Kali Grant and Indi Dutta-Gupta | Feb 3, 2021 | Brief, Data & Workbooks
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the growing need for child care, paid leave, and unemployment assistance, but many state and federal unemployment assistance and paid leave programs fail to account for the child care needs of working families. This project chronicles and analyzes state-by-state policies on the availability of wage replacements for workers without child care. The table lists policies on the availability of unemployment assistance and paid leave by state, including D.C. and territories, including definitions of school “closures” for regular and pandemic unemployment assistance eligibility, work search requirements, and working documentation of state paid leave programs.
by Indi Dutta-Gupta | Sep 21, 2020 | Event, Webinar
The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated poverty, hardship, and racial and gender inequities in the United States. In the first months of the crisis, about a third of people in the United States reported difficulty paying rent, keeping food on the table, or getting medical care. This presentation, delivered during the National Head Start Association’s 2020 Fall Leadership Institute, highlights the devastating, disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people experiencing poverty in the United States with a particular focus on communities of color.
by Indi Dutta-Gupta | Jul 28, 2020 | Op-Ed
An overdue reckoning is sweeping America. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others have sparked a national conversation on police brutality and mass incarceration. As we grapple with these wounds, we must remember that structural racism damages these same communities every day without any damning videos, and without any guns drawn.
by Indi Dutta-Gupta | Jul 23, 2020 | Op-Ed
Originally posted on The Hill. Homelessness is one of the most visible and pervasive features in nearly every American city. But what most Americans don’t know is that homelessness was a far more limited problem until the 1980s. What changed? Our policies. In 1970,...
