by Megan Rivera, Natalia Cooper, Doug Steiger and Laura Tatum | Nov 15, 2023 | Brief
All children deserve safety, protection, and the opportunity to thrive. And all families deserve support in their efforts to provide a safe and stable environment for their children. The child welfare system is vital to protecting children—but it has disproportionately failed American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, and Latinx children and families. By prioritizing preventative services, programs, and kinship care funded by the Family First Prevention Services Act, child welfare programs can increase the safety and well-being of children and families and reduce unnecessary family separation and foster care placement. This brief highlights progress made by federal child welfare administrators and outlines additional steps they can take to reduce foster care placement through equity-focused implementation of Family First in 2024 and beyond.
by Megan Rivera, Natalia Cooper, Laura Tatum and Doug Steiger | Oct 19, 2023 | Brief
All children and their families deserve resources to take care of their needs, regardless of their family structure. The child support program—which obtains and disburses financial support for millions of children and their custodial parents—should improve family economic security. Ensuring regular child support payments are directed to families and eliminating harmful enforcement measures against parents who are unable to pay would help foster child and family well-being. This brief highlights progress made by federal child support administrators and outlines additional steps they can take to build a more equitable child support program in 2024 and beyond.
by Natalia Cooper, Isaiah Corder Boyd and Carly Sullivan | Sep 19, 2023 | Blog
Subsidized employment programs are engines for economic opportunity, stronger labor markets, and healthier communities. This blog highlights select evidence demonstrating that subsidized employment is good for workers and employers and can help create a strong, inclusive economy.
by Kali Grant and Natalia Cooper | Aug 1, 2023 | Report
Subsidized employment is an engine for economic opportunity, stronger labor markets, and healthier communities. It can mitigate structural barriers to work, such as racial discrimination in the labor market, and be adapted and scaled to meet specific worker, employer, and community needs. This report reviews a half-century of evidence on subsidized employment’s power to increase employment and incomes, reduce poverty, and ensure a more inclusive economy for everyone. It is the second edition of a 2016 report, “Lessons Learned from 40 Years of Subsidized Employment Programs.”
by Natalia Cooper | May 3, 2023 | Blog
All who call the U.S. home should have the opportunity to thrive and support their families. Millions of immigrants and their families disproportionately face barriers to opportunity, and are unnecessarily excluded from public programs like CHIP, Medicaid, and the Child Tax Credit. Research shows that immigrant-inclusive public policy improves public health outcomes and reduces poverty. This blog highlights reforms needed to achieve a more equitable and prosperous society for everyone and improve the nation’s overall economic security and opportunity.