This guide outlines how states can use TANF funds to provide direct cash assistance to families, particularly through flexible mechanisms like nonrecurrent short-term benefits (NRSTs).
This report focuses on the impact of adopting a national PFML program modeled on existing state programs, known as the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act.
The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program was launched as an effort to address the loss of access to free and reduced-price school meals due to widespread school closures at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As schools reopened in a shifting mix of fully virtual, hybrid, and inperson formats and families lacked consistent access to school meals, these benefits were extended through the 2020–21 school year and were highly valuable to families in buffering the full extent of food insecurity they may have faced during this uncertain time. However, the complexity of administering this program was a fundamental barrier in providing timely support to families, who ultimately went without benefits for at least half of the school year. In this report, we dive into the challenges state administrators faced in launching this new program during the 2020–21 school year and reflect on considerations for the future.
This brief examines the treatment of PFML for purposes of state and federal taxation, as well as determining income and eligibility in five means-tested programs.
In this summary, the authors use WBNS data to provide updated estimates of chilling effects in 2023 among immigrant families (i.e., in which the respondent or a family member living with them was not born in the US).
An analysis showing that a proposed plan to shift some cost of SNAP benefits to states could push nearly 900,000 additional people into poverty during a recession.
A pre-launch survey brief that documents the financial, emotional, and physical well-being of a local child care workforce before the start of a wage boost pilot.
This report analyzes how proposed state cost-sharing requirements for SNAP would impact benefit access and poverty during a recession, projecting significant risks to low-income households if states are unable to maintain SNAP funding.
This Urban Institute report highlights how immigrant and mixed-status families continued to avoid safety net programs in 2023 due to lingering fears around the public charge rule.
This article emphasizes the need for local leaders to prioritize disability equity in advancing upward mobility, addressing systemic barriers that hinder disabled individuals' escape from poverty.
