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POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

CBPP’s Housing and Family Income Support Staff Join Forces

On November 1, CBPP’s Housing and Family Income Support policy teams joined forces, becoming the Housing and Income Security Team — focused on how to improve federal, state, and local housing, cash assistance, and child support policies so they better meet families’ needs.

We are excited to use this transition as an opportunity to reimagine our work and align our policy expertise in a way that advances our collective mission to achieve justice for families with low incomes and reverse some of the worst outcomes of racial inequality. We are concentrating on addressing the fact that too many families do not have enough income, either through public benefit programs or their jobs, to meet their basic needs, including paying their rent.

The government programs established, in theory, to help fill the income gap are often underfunded and layered with program requirements and paternalistic approaches that create barriers to access. These barriers ultimately constrain program effectiveness and harm families. When we talk to families with direct experience navigating these programs and community advocates, addressing housing costs and the need for cash assistance often rise to the top of their priority lists.

We believe that centering our work on the people we aim to serve means taking a step back from focusing narrowly on specific programs and developing a vision that focuses on creating new opportunities and possibilities that will help people move closer to achieving their hopes and dreams. As we maintain deep expertise in the specific program areas such as Housing Choice Vouchers, public housing, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and child support, staff will work jointly on intersecting policy initiatives such as eviction prevention and innovative strategies that increase the cash income families receive regularly to meet their basic needs.

Income security is an important part of a justice and antiracist policy agenda, and it is a critical component for achieving housing justice.

Peggy Bailey is now the Vice President for Housing and Income Security. LaDonna Pavetti will provide support to the new team in her new role as a Senior Fellow.

Peggy Bailey
Vice President for Housing and Income Security