New Safety Net for Low-Income Families
America’s low-income working families are struggling to get by, too often forced to make impossible choices among food, housing, health care, and child care. Government safety nets were reformed in the mid-1990s with the promise that work would pay. But that promise remains unfulfilled for many families. The New Safety Net essays explore the challenges these vulnerable households face and suggest ways to protect them and help them thrive—urgent goals with far-reaching benefits for children, families, and the nation's economic future.
Work Supports
The report, "Employers’ Perspectives on San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave Policy," draws on interviews and focus groups with employers in San Francisco to assess the impact of the city’s paid sick leave mandate, including employer responses to the law in their operations, staffing, employee benefit packages, and reporting requirements.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides essential help in purchasing food for many low-income Americans. The fact sheet, "Many Low-Income Working Families Turn to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Help," describes current trends in caseloads, participation of working families in the program, and the effect of SNAP on family incomes.
Advancement
The creation of "green jobs," a key component of the federal recovery package, and employment opportunities of low-skilled workers in green-related industries were the subjects of a policy forum "A New Safety Net for Working Families: Green Jobs and Low-Wage Workers" in April 2009.
The paper, "Workforce Development as an Antipoverty Strategy: What Do We Know? What Should We Do?," looks at a basic paradox of workforce development policy: in an era in which skills are more important than ever as determinants of labor market earnings, fewer and fewer federal dollars are spent on workforce development. The paper presents trends in funding and considers possible reasons for funding declines.
The report, "The Integration of Immigrants and Their Families in Maryland: The Contributions of Immigrant Workers to the Economy," discusses the contribution of immigrants to Maryland's workforce. The report finds that the state's immigrant workers are diverse, highly educated and work in key skilled industries but many immigrants have low educational attainment and English proficiency and are employed in lower-skilled jobs.
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