TANF falls far short of what it should be. It reaches few families in need and provides inadequate cash aid and other assistance to help families resolve crises and improve their well-being.

Economic security programs can help families meet basic needs and improve their lives, but design features influenced by anti-Black racism and sexism have created an inadequate system of support that particularly harms Black families and other families of color.

Just 23 of every 100 families with incomes below the federal poverty line receive TANF benefits, down from 68 families upon the program’s creation 25 years ago.

Residents of the territories are U.S. citizens or, in the case of American Samoa, U.S. nationals; yet federal law treats them far less favorably than residents of the states when it comes to their Medicaid coverage — even though they are more likely than residents of the states to rely on Medicaid for their health care.

States can expand opportunity and build stronger, more prosperous, and inclusive communities by reducing the incarceration of children and young adults and increasing the use of sensible alternatives...

States can expand opportunity and build stronger, more prosperous, and inclusive communities by reducing the incarceration of children and young adults and increasing the use of sensible alternatives that advance equitable outcomes.

Policymakers are paying long-overdue attention to reducing high and increasing rates of deaths and severe health complications among Black people who give birth. Comprehensively addressing this challenge and the broader maternal health crisis requires making a continuum of high-quality health coverage, health care, and other services accessible before, during, and after pregnancy.

Due to limited program funding, families struggling to afford housing that manage to get off the waiting list for a Housing Choice Voucher must typically wait for years before receiving a voucher,...

The Trump Administration and 18 Republican state attorneys general are asking the courts to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) as unconstitutional.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) is the primary source of nutrition assistance for low-income families and individuals, enabling them to spend more on...

Policymakers should look to increase taxes on the nation’s wealthiest households, which not only enjoy enormous tax breaks but also have done extremely well in recent decades.

The Thrifty Food Plan — the USDA’s food plan designed to provide a nutritionally adequate diet at minimal cost and the basis for SNAP benefits — is badly out of date.

For the many lower- and middle-income families whose finances were tenuous even before the COVID-19 pandemic or whose wages stalled in recent decades even as the economy grew, recovery proposals from the Biden Administration and members of Congress would provide the kind of foundation that households need to thrive.

Much of the income of the very wealthy escapes annual taxation because the increase in the value of their stocks, real estate, and other investments is not considered “taxable income.”

Closing the coverage gap would increase health insurance coverage, reduce racial health disparities, and improve health care access, health outcomes, and financial security.

Safe, affordable housing remains out of reach for millions of people with disabilities and their families. As Congress considers recovery legislation, lawmakers have a historic opportunity to address this by expanding the Housing Choice Voucher program to more households.

Working with states to obtain and analyze administrative data is a central component of effective administrative advocacy aimed at ensuring that all eligible people have continued access to coverage.

This chart book provides background on the depletion of the IRS. For more on how to rebuild the IRS, see: Rebuilding IRS Would Reduce Tax Gap, Help Replenish Depleted Revenue...

While government programs have done much to narrow these disparities in poverty, further progress will require stronger government efforts to reduce poverty and discrimination and build opportunity for all.

SSI benefits are critical for those who need them, but SSI is woefully out of date.

The end of the school year usually coincides with a troubling spike in childhood hunger as low-income children lose access to free and reduced-price school meals. Federal policymakers likely staved...

The Biden budget departs sharply from the last decade of austerity.

This paper explores the background of the AVS requirement, the vendors that administer the systems; and the typical AVS process. It discusses AVSs’ current limitations and highlights best practices for advocates to promote and state agencies to implement to improve the AVS process and streamline eligibility determinations. Finally, it recommends federal action to help AVS states streamline processing.

A historically large share of the nation’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. As a result, millions of American families have less wealth, and therefore fewer opportunities, than they otherwise would.

Among those who have gained coverage through Medicaid expansion are millions of workers in front-line and essential industries, including health care workers, bus drivers, grocery stores workers, food manufacturers, and others on whom millions of people rely.

While WIC programs operate under a set of federal rules and policies, state and local WIC agencies have considerable flexibility to determine how they certify new applicants and ongoing...