INCOME & WORK SUPPORTS UPDATE
JUNE 2022
How White Supremacy Perpetuated Environmental Hazards in Communities of Color
Communities of color are exposed to environmental hazards at a rate far greater than white people. Several decades ago, local governments relocated hazardous facilities near segregated neighborhoods in response to white, middle-class people wielding their resources and political capital to reject these facilities being placed in their “backyards”. Proximity to environmental hazards can lead to severe, long-term health issues, as well as the loss of safe outdoor space to spend time with family, friends, and community. Black, Indigenous, and immigrant people who continue to shoulder the disproportionate burden of environmental hazards deserve restitution.
Read More [[link removed]]
Looking for fraud in all the wrong places
Public benefits fraud committed by people experiencing poverty is quite rare. For example, in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal government has found an overpayment rate of only 0.1 percent, or just a dime for every $100,” writes Senior Policy Analyst Parker Gilkesson following her testimony to a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. During the hearing, other experts raised concerns that state agencies aren’t prioritizing improper payments. But that’s not true: millions of dollars are funneled into fraud prevention each year. The real issue is that states’ fraud prevention measures target individual recipients.
Read More [[link removed]]
Waiting to Exhale
“At an early age, I knew I wanted to address the root causes of poverty and break generational curses, writes Policy Analyst Teon Dolby, “My mother is one of the inspirations behind that passion. Black women and mothers deserve not only to flourish but be protected by the country they built involuntarily. On this Mother’s Day, I reflect on the strength and resiliency of Black mothers and pay homage to the village of communities who support them because this country has failed to do so.”
Read More [[link removed]]
IWS updates
Indi Dutta-Gupta started as CLASP’s new executive director on June 1. Indi was previously co-executive director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality (GCPI). Many of us have worked with him in that role or his previous positions, and we are excited to have him on board. If you want to check out Indi’s work, we encourage you to attend a session on “Rightsizing UI” that he’s moderating as part of a Ford School of Public Policy Conference on Unemployment Insurance (UI) Reform. The session is on June 16 from 1:30PM to 3:00PM ET. Register here [[link removed]]! Or read his CLASP bio here [[link removed]]
On May 24, the Biden Administration hosted a cross-agency briefing to discuss the American Rescue Plan’s progress toward achieving its racial equity goals. In the accompanying report entitled “Advancing Equity Through the American Rescue Plan”, both accomplishments and areas for growth are mentioned, with CLASP and partners’ research on how caregivers used the Child Tax Credit (CTC) getting a substantial callout in the “Enhancements of the Child Tax Credit” section starting on page 66. The report goes on to cite the full refundability, monthly payment option, and strengthened outreach strategies as valuable improvements the Biden Administration would like to keep in a permanent expansion. You can read it here [[link removed]].
Our team has been overcome with grief and rage for the lives lost to mass shootings in Buffalo, NY; Uvalde, TX; and countless other places this month. Policymakers owe young people and the loved ones of people who have been senselessly murdered more than thoughts and prayers. We encourage you all to reject the instinct to become numb to violence of this scale and take direction from organizations like Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America [[link removed]].
In the news
May 5, 2022 | The Washington Post
Why success couldn’t save the child tax credit expansion [[link removed]]
May 19, 2022 | FiveThirtyEight
The Work-From-Home Era Left Them Out [[link removed]]
May 24, 2022 | The Nation
Child Care Providers Are Organizing, Demanding More, and Winning [[link removed]]
Key publications and blogs
May 16, 2022 | Hannah Matthews
Senate Child Care Proposal Could Reach 1 Million+ More Children [[link removed]]
May 18, 2022 | Whitney Bunts & Kayla Tawa
Addressing the Youth Mental Health Crisis Requires Equitably Addressing the Climate Crisis [[link removed]]
May 19, 2022 | Kathy Tran
How House-Passed WIOA Reauthorization Would Change Youth Programs [[link removed]]
May 23, 2022 | Nia West-Bey
D.C. Medicaid Funds Mental Health Coaching by Text that Centers Racial Justice [[link removed]]
May 24, 2022 | Ashley Burnside
What Families Need to Know about the CTC in 2022 [[link removed]]
What we’re reading
NPR | Women who are denied abortions risk falling deeper into poverty. So do their kids [[link removed] ]
U.S. Government Accountability Office | Tax Equity: Lack of Data Limits Ability to Analyze Effects of Tax Policies on Households by Demographic Characteristics [[link removed]]
Families USA | CASE STUDY: STRATEGIES FOR STATES TO MAXIMIZE MEDICAID EX PARTE RENEWALS AND LIMIT COVERAGE LOSSES [[link removed]]
Vox | How America fails children: US public policy is a disaster on guns — and so much more. [[link removed]]
National Health Law Program | The Ongoing Racial Paradox of the Medicaid Program [[link removed]]
Institute for Research on Poverty | Why Early Financial Support For New Parents Is A Good Investment [[link removed]]
CLASP.ORG [[link removed]] | MAKE A DONATION [[link removed]] | UNSUBSCRIBE [unsubscribe: [link removed] ] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
CLASP • 1310 L St. NW, Suite 900 • Washington, D.C. xxxxxx • (202) 906-8000 or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe: [link removed] .
