Brief
Low-income families face significant challenges navigating both low-wage employment or education and training programs and also finding good-quality child care. Programs that intentionally combine services for parents and children can help families move toward economic security and create conditions that promote child and family well-being. Although these programs in general are not new (see Background), policymakers and program leaders are now experimenting with innovative approaches to combining services. Yet, most currently operating programs, sometimes called “two-generation” or “dual…
Brief
Since the 1970s, Americans’ household incomes have become more volatile, fluctuating year-to-year and week-to-week. Increased income volatility is particularly prominent among low-income families, many of whom are served by the U.S. system of means-tested income support programs. These programs provide income, goods, and services to families who prove that their income (and sometimes assets) are low enough to qualify for a particular program and meet other program requirements. At initial application, during benefit receipt, and at recertification periods, each income support program has…
This desk reference is for state and local boards and staff and provides information on serving priority populations using WIOA Adult funds - recipients of public assistance, low-income individuals, individuals who are basic skills deficient, and veterans. (Author abstract)
This webpage begins by explaining the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides a temporary safety net to poor families and has decreased its reach since its implementation in 1996. It notes in 2015, for every 100 families in poverty, only 23 received cash assistance from TANF, down from 68 families when TANF was first enacted. It states this “TANF-to-Poverty ratio” (TPR) reached its lowest point in 2014 and remained there in 2015. Links to State fact sheets are then provided that include information on a specific State’s TPR from 1995/96 to 2014/15, the number of…
