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Public Benefits Justice (PBJ) Newsletter
April 2024
Main Feature
A Note from the Director on the New Team Name
Dear friends,
We are excited to announce that the Income and Work Supports team has changed our name to Public Benefits Justice. This change has evolved collaboratively with the team as part of a months-long process to articulate our theory of change and vision within CLASP’s overall mission. While "Income and Work Supports" has served us well in the past, the new name, "Public Benefits Justice", is designed to better reflect our commitment to achieving a bold vision for public benefits that centers economic and racial justice. We believe that the public benefits system must move beyond providing (or, too often, failing to provide) the very minimum that people need to survive and toward a framework of abundance that is designed to facilitate long-term economic security.
More to come!
In solidarity,
Cara Brumfield (on behalf of the PBJ team)
Director, Public Benefits Justice
Secondary Features
Work Requirements are Trash
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This report by CLASP, the Maven Collaborative, and Ife Finch Floyd critically examines work requirements. We explore the racist history of work requirements, the harmful narratives holding them in place, and the economic case for abolishing them.
New Direct File Tool Pilot Program Will Ease Tax Filing for Many [link removed]
During this year’s 2023 tax filing season, the IRS is testing a new, free online tax filing tool in 12 states. The Direct File tool promises an important opportunity to make tax filing easier and cheaper, and help more tax filers access credits that they are eligible for, like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
Economic Justice will Require Reparations and Anti-Racist Public Programs [link removed]
This Black History Month blog from the PBJ team explores why the United States needs an anti-racist system of public benefits that truly cares for all people when they experience financial emergencies and supports long-lasting economic security to deliver racial and economic justice.
In the News
February 28, 2024 | Nonprofit Quarterly
What’s the State of Play in Child Tax Credit Negotiations? [link removed]
Ashley Burnside summarizes the state of play in the negotiations for temporary expansions to the CTC included in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. She explains the implications of the proposed changes and how permanent reform is needed to make the CTC a more equitable child benefit.
February 23, 2024 | Stateline
As millions wait on food stamp approvals, feds tell states to speed it up [link removed]
Parker Gilkesson Davis speaks about the significant delay in benefits Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients are experiencing across the country because of serious backlogs caused by staff shortages and outdated computer systems. Advocates, including Parker, note that state challenges in processing applications and getting benefits to customers are long-standing. CLASP and other groups have petitioned the USDA to lift the interview requirement for SNAP applications altogether, reducing administrative burden.
March 28, 2024 | The Baltimore Banner
Bill proposal could unravel Maryland’s benefits theft reimbursement program
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Federal funds to reimburse benefits stolen from SNAP participants through EBT skimming will expire in September, and Congress hasn’t indicated it will extend support. At the same time, benefits theft has skyrocketed. Maryland legislators are considering a bill that could limit or end reimbursements through state funding. Ashley Burnside notes in the story: “Ultimately, that means a family is then left without the money to afford groceries, to meet their bills, and some really hard financial choices.”
PBJ Updates
• Welcome back to Teon Hayes, policy analyst on the PBJ team, after your parental leave. We are thrilled to have you back!
• Welcome to the team, Tylah Harrison! Tylah is a Congressional Hunger Fellow working with the PBJ team to advance our advocacy goals in the nutrition space.
• The Community Partnership Group and our team won the Bronze Anthem Award in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Research Projects or Publications category for “A Community-Driven Anti-Racist Vision for SNAP.” This award honors the important recommendations in the report to move SNAP in an anti-racist direction. Here’s the Anthem Award feature on this entry, which includes a brief message from Parker.
National, State, and Local Spotlights
Two Guaranteed Income Bills Introduced in Congress [link removed]
Two bills have been introduced in Congress that would provide guaranteed income on a national scale. The Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act of 2023 would provide monthly payments to 20,000 individuals and measure the effects. The Young Adult Tax Credit Act would provide a universal monthly $500 payment to all young people ages 18 through 24 in the United States. Both bills have been endorsed by CLASP.
Pennsylvania Seeks Medicaid Waiver to Provide Nutrition, Housing, and Reentry Supports www.clasp.org/publications/testimony/comments/clasp-supports-pennsylvanias-medicaid-1115-waiver/
CLASP’s most recent comments on a state Medicaid waiver support Pennsylvania’s proposal to address Health Related Social Needs (HRSN) of Medicaid members and provide multi-year continuous eligibility for young children. Pennsylvania’s approach to addressing HRSNs includes providing nutrition and housing supports to certain Medicaid participants and connecting people with eligible conditions with Medicaid prior to their release from incarceration.
Basic Income Program Centering Babies Launches in Flint, MI www.clasp.org/blog/cash-assistance-is-a-critical-part-of-reproductive-justice/
A new program has launched in Flint, Michigan called Rx Kids. Rx Kids will provide $500 monthly payments to mothers of newborns for the first year of the baby’s life. All pregnant moms will also be eligible to get a one-time payment during pregnancy of $1,500. The program is a model of investing in babies, parents, and public health. Nearly 450 families have already enrolled in the program. You can learn more about Rx Kids here.
Key Publications and Blogs
April 1, 2024 | Suzanne Wikle
States Embracing Multi-year Medicaid Eligibility for Children: Racial Equity and Anti-Poverty Policy in Action
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March 27, 2024 | Kayla Tawa
Forced ≠ Treatment: Carceral Strategies in Mental Health [link removed]
March 8, 2024 | Nicolas Martinez
Biden’s State of the Union Featured Many Programs Supporting Economic Security, Equity [link removed]
February 22, 2024 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch
Making USDA More Equitable [link removed]
February 13, 2024 | Priya Pandey
Cash Assistance is a Critical Part of Reproductive Justice [link removed]
January 11, 2024 | Juliana Zhou, Hannah Liu, Juan Carlos, Suma Setty & Jesse Fairbanks
CLASP Statement for the Record: Hearing on “Impact of Illegal Immigration on Social Services” [link removed]
January 3, 2024 | Jace Peterkin & Isha Weerasinghe
The Connection Between Food Insecurity and Mental Health [link removed]
What We’re Reading
Center for American Progress| Updating SSI Would Improve the Economic Resilience of Low-Income Women
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Center on Budget and Policy Priorities | WIC’s Critical Benefits Reach Only Half of Those Eligible
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The Conversation | Real-world experiments in messaging show that getting low-income people the help they need is more effective when stigma is reduced
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Alliance for Housing Justice | Public Housing: A Central Pillar of Social Housing [link removed]
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