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 Urban Institute report identifies strategies to improve young people’s access to public benefits through targeted outreach, benefit navigation, cross-organizational partnerships, and streamlined eligibility processes.
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 Urban Institute report examines how public investments in children's health, education, and welfare yield significant short- and long-term benefits for both individuals and society.
The article presents the True Cost of Economic Security (TCES) measure, showing that over half of U.S. families struggle to meet the comprehensive costs required to thrive, highlighting significant disparities based on family type, location, and race.
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.
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.
This panel discussion from the Academy's 2025 Policy Summit explores the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and public benefits, examining how technological advancements are influencing policy decisions and the delivery of social services.
This brief estimates of benefits, costs, interactions with other means tested programs, and impact on poverty for the paid family and medical leave program.
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 policy brief outlines how extending postpartum Medicaid and CHIP coverage can improve maternal health outcomes, reduce disparities, and strengthen continuity of care during the critical first year after childbirth.
This report analyzes how administrative burdens in SNAP caused one in eight working-age adults to lose benefits in 2024, with future federal policy changes expected to worsen disruptions
