INCOME & WORK SUPPORTS UPDATE
APRIL 2022
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Follow the Money: Tackling Improper Payments 
Last week, Senior Policy Analyst Parker Gilkesson testified before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations at a hearing about improper payments. Parker urged the committee to focus anti-fraud efforts on data breaches and similar large-scale attacks–as opposed to individual recipients. She highlighted that the government’s history of hyper-fixating on potential fraud committed by people with low incomes is rooted in racist stereotypes and has made it harder for eligible people to receive the benefits they need.
Read More [[link removed]]

Unwinding the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement FAQ 
Due to the continuous coverage requirement implemented in March 2020, state agencies have been prohibited from terminating people’s Medicaid coverage until after the national public health emergency (PHE) ends. Continuous coverage has allowed millions of people to stay covered without any interruption during the pandemic, but the Biden Administration may end the PHE soon, prompting agencies to resume annual Medicaid eligibility reviews. In this FAQ, Suzanne Wikle, senior policy analyst, and Jennifer Wagner from CBPP break down what all key stakeholders—advocates, administrators, and enrollees—need to know about the unwinding of Medicaid’s continuous coverage requirement.
Read More [[link removed]]

Immigrants Have Been Waiting 25 Years for the LIFT the BAR Act 
Immigrants are essential to this country’s social and economic wellbeing. Yet, for the past 25+ years, many immigrant families have been barred from basic safety net programs. Fortunately, Congress has an opportunity to end this unjust exclusion with the LIFT the BAR Act, which would lift needless restrictions on access for immigrants who are lawfully present and prevent states from passing additional exclusions.
Read More [[link removed]]

Upcoming Events
On Wednesday, April 6 from 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT, Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) is hosting a webinar to review strategy and share materials from their upcoming response to the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed public charge rule. The response is made up of the following five pieces:
• Template comment designed for organizations working to submit detailed and unique organizational comments. [[link removed]]
• Sign-on comment where we will encourage all organizations (even if they are submitting their own comment) to join us. [[link removed]]
• Petition comment to provide an opportunity for individuals to speak on the proposal, without adding large numbers of separate comments that would slow regulatory reform efforts [[link removed]]
• Communications toolkit, which includes talking points and social media samples, to help spread the petition online and on the ground. [[link removed]]
• State Policymaker Tip Sheet to encourage states and localities to participate in the comment period. [[link removed]]

Please bring any questions you have related to DHS’s proposal, our five-part strategy, or any of the language in these resources.
Register here [[link removed]]

In the News
MARCH 31, 2022 | THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER 
A messy patchwork of state systems is causing massive improper Medicaid payment rates  [[link removed]]

MARCH 20, 2022 | THE WASHINGTON POST 
Opinion: We say we love kids and families. Our policies prove the opposite. [[link removed]]

MARCH 17, 2022 | BLACK ENTERPRISE
How Black Families Can Save Money Claiming Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit [[link removed]]

MARCH 7, 2022 | THE HILL
The congressional path to child care transformation [[link removed]]

MARCH 2, 2022 | VAIL DAILY
School Views: A tax reminder for our families [[link removed]]

IWS UPDATE
Last week, the Biden-Harris Administration released its budget proposal demonstrating the President’s spending priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2023. While the budget demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to affordable housing and other issues important to the wellbeing of people with low incomes, we were disappointed that the budget included an increase in Border Patrol agents and anti-immigrant surveillance programs. You can find CLASP’s response to the budget proposal here [www.clasp.org/press-room/press-releases/biden-s-budget-outlines-key-investments-economic-growth-equity].

In addition to testifying before Congress, Parker Gilkesson contributed to a congressional report titled An Economy for All: Building a Black Women Best Legislative Agenda, and the accompanying Black Women Best Seal of Approval Scorecard (found on p. 108 of the report). The report seeks to establish a clear policy agenda that will address inequities which have disproportionately burdened Black women and girls—delivering an inclusive economy for everyone in the process. The scorecard will help policymakers and stakeholders design and evaluate policy. You can find Parker’s contributions in the Safeguarding Public Benefits section on p. 95. We also encourage your organization to support the Black Women’s Best House Resolution, linked here [[link removed]]! And the link to the report is here [[link removed]]. 

We are excited to share that Indivar “Indi” Dutta-Gupta will be the next executive director of CLASP. He will assume leadership of our organization on June 1, 2022, succeeding Olivia Golden who has served as the executive director of CLASP since 2013. In CLASP’s official announcement, Indi shares, “I’m honored and delighted to be joining CLASP – an organization with a half-century track record of marshaling lived experience, careful analysis, technical assistance, and strategic advocacy to advance racial and economic justice… I look forward to building upon CLASP’s longstanding work at the federal, state, and local level that has for decades improved policies, programs, and practices for many of the families and communities in this country that have been the most marginalized and excluded.” You can read CLASP's statement here [[link removed]]

Key Blog Posts and Publications
MARCH 2022 | KATHY TRAN, EMILY ANDREWS, & ALEJANDRA LONDONO GOMEZ
CLASP Celebrates Women’s History Month [www.clasp.org/tags/womens-history-month]

MARCH 10, 2022 | ASHLEY BURNSIDE
American Rescue Plan: One Year of Bold Tax Credit Expansions for Families, Young People [www.clasp.org/blog/american-rescue-plan-one-year-bold-tax-credit-expansions-families-young-people]

MARCH 31, 2022 | TIFFANY FERRETTE, ALYSSA FORTNER, CHRISTINE JOHNSON-STAUB, & KATHERINE GALLAGHER
Supporting Infants and Toddlers Through Federal Relief and the American Rescue Plan [www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/supporting-infants-and-toddlers-through-federal-relief-and-american-rescue]

READ MORE [[link removed]]

What We're Reading
SOUTHERN ECONOMIC ADVANCEMENT PROJECT
Two years into pandemic, Southerners’ struggle with housing weighs heavy as lawmakers begin ARP spending plans [[link removed]]

THE HILL
Anti-poverty programs fail to address the Black-white gap in child poverty rates, study says [[link removed]]

THE KRESGE FOUNDATION
Flipping the script: Narratives about poverty, race and mobility in the U.S. [[link removed]]

LOS ANGELES FOOD POLICY COUNCIL 
Fresh Ideas for Calfresh [[link removed]]

URBAN INSTITUTE
Preparing for the Biggest Coverage Event Since the Affordable Care Act [[link removed]]

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