On November 19, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better (BBB) Act, which included many of the priorities we mentioned in our previous newsletter. This version of the BBB Act extends the Child Tax Credit (CTC) expansions passed under the American Rescue Plan for one year, including the increased credit amounts and the option to receive the credit as advance monthly payments. The bill also makes the full refundability of the CTC permanent, meaning it will continue to be available to families making little to no income, and restores CTC eligibility to children with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). Other important provisions in the House-passed bill include a landmark expansion of child care, the first national paid family and medical leave program, a one-year extension of the expansions to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for workers without dependent children, and a solution to the Medicaid expansion coverage gap. Now, we must advocate for protecting these provisions as the BBB Act moves through the Senate. We will also advocate for timely Congressional action on the debt ceiling to avoid a default on loans and failure to make payments under critical government programs.

We’d like to share the news that Renato Rocha will be leaving CLASP to accept a position at Code for America, where he’ll work to help make the delivery of public benefits more inclusive and effective. At CLASP, his work focused on defending immigrants and their families' access to public benefits, and he served as the acting deputy director of the Protecting Immigrant Families campaign. Renato has been an invaluable member of the IWS team, and we'll miss having him advocating alongside us. 

We are also excited to introduce two new Policy Analysts on the IWS team who joined us last month!

• Juliana Zhou recently graduated with a master's degree in social policy and data analytics from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice. While a student, she helped develop a graduate-level pre-orientation course on the historical context of race, racism, and other intersecting forms of oppression at the University and in Philadelphia at large. Prior to entering the world of policy work, she was a qualitative and quantitative market researcher for five years. She comes to this work out of a desire to understand and advocate for policies that promote a dignified and stable life for families with low incomes, having grown up in one herself. 
• Teon Dolby is a previous educator who believes in transformational change and dismantling inequitable systems. Outside of her role in the classroom, Teon worked closely with school leaders to evaluate and revise school policies for improving student morale. Originally from North Carolina, Teon moved to Maryland to attain a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Morgan State University and a master’s degree in Teaching, Learning, Policy, Leadership from the University of Maryland. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and painting. 

Upcoming Events

CLASP’s Community Partnership Group (CPG) Hosts Workshop at CBPP Impact Conference

Paradigm Shift: Centering Lived Experience in Authentic Collaborations for Change

December 3rd at 10:45AM ET / 7:45AM PT

CLASP’s Community Partnership Group, a consultant group of people with lived expertise of poverty, will present on how to authentically engage people with lived experience in anti-poverty policy work. In small groups, participants will consider actions they can take to center lived or living expertise in their work. Registration is closed for this conference, but we hope that those of you who are registered join on Friday, December 3, at 10:45AM ET!