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.

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 in an op-ed in The Hill following her testimony to a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Other experts at the hearing 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.

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.”

In the News

MAY 5, 2022 | THE WASHINGTON POST

Why success couldn’t save the child tax credit expansion

MAY 19, 2022 | FIVETHIRTYEIGHT

The Work-From-Home Era Left Them Out

MAY 24, 2022 | THE NATION

Child Care Providers Are Organizing, Demanding More, and Winning

...

IWS Updates

Indivar 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 University of Michigan's 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!

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.

Our team has been overcome with grief and rage for the lives lost to mass shootings in Buffalo, NY; Uvalde, TX; and several 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.