IWS Newsletter
February 2023

Main Feature
Enough is Enough. Law Enforcement and Carceral Systems Must Be Accountable
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Our nation simply can’t continue the endless cycle of tragedy, outrage, lip service, repeat. Policymakers at all levels must act with moral clarity and shift counterproductive resources for law enforcement toward systems that affirm Black life.

Secondary Feature
What You Can Do to Help Kids Stay on Medicaid in 2023
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When temporary continuous coverage protections end on March 31, 2023, states will resume normal Medicaid renewal processes for all enrollees. Policy advocates estimate that more than 6.7 million children are at risk of losing coverage if there is not a collective effort to ensure that all eligible children remain enrolled in Medicaid.

Congress and States Must Do More to Address EBT Skimming
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Congress included provisions in the year-end omnibus bill to address EBT skimming from SNAP recipients. While this is a good first step, lawmakers must do more to protect SNAP and TANF benefits from skimming in the long term and not treat EBT-card users as second-class consumers.

In the News
February 8, 2023 | Flatland
Medicaid Maze: Advocates and Recipients Brace for End of Continuous Coverage [[link removed]]

February 3, 2023 | C-SPAN
Indivar Dutta-Gupta and Rachel Greszler on 30th Anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act [[link removed]]

January 25, 2023 | Bloomberg
Scammers Rip Off SNAP Benefits, Keeping Americans Hungry [[link removed]]

January 18, 2023 | Nonprofit Quarterly
Ending Child Poverty: Lessons from a One-Year Expansion of the Child Tax Credit [[link removed]]

January 10, 2023 | News Break
Undocumented children can now get public health insurance in New Jersey [[link removed]]

January 9, 2023 | MSN
Food Stamps: While ‘Short-Term Fix’ Implemented, SNAP Benefits Largely Unprotected From Theft [[link removed]]

IWS updates
In late January, the White House announced in a letter that the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will officially end on May 11, 2023. When the PHE ends, many enhancements to public benefit programs will go away. Examples of these enhancements include Medicaid’s continuous coverage provision and the suspension of the 3-month time limit for certain adults (ages 18-49 without dependents) who receive SNAP. On a more positive note, the Biden Administration recently released several resources related to challenges faced by renters, signaling their intention to prioritize fair housing and renter’s rights, and an end to homelessness in the new year. The President also expressed his support for an expanded child tax credit in his State of the Union Address, though he failed to voice a commitment to immigrant justice.

Upcoming Events
Increasing Security and Equity in Electronic Benefits Transfer
Digital Benefits Network Quarterly Call
February 15th at 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET

Register here: [link removed]

Headlines across the country demonstrate there has been exponential growth in benefits theft by criminals who are “cloning and skimming” EBT cards, leaving thousands of families with drained accounts and limited recourse in getting back their benefits. Thankfully Congress included short term reimbursement for EBT theft victims in the most recent omnibus package. State SNAP agencies now face a pressing deadline to submit plans to the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) by the end of February outlining how they will process theft claims, track data, and adopt future security measures.
Join our panel of experts, which includes Senior Policy Analyst Ashley Burnside, to discuss:
• What’s happening on the ground with benefits theft
• What states can do right now to improve EBT security
• How states can use data to analyze theft patterns
• How EBT payment technology needs to evolve to ensure efficiency, security, and dignity for beneficiaries
• Cybersecurity trends in consumer banking technology

Key publications and blogs
January 31, 2023 | Sapna Mehta
America’s Lack of Paid Leave Is Devastating Women and Families [[link removed]]

January 19, 2023 | Emily Andrews and Lorena Roque
Despite Surge in Organizing, Union Membership Rates Dropped in 2022 [[link removed]]

January 17, 2023 | Sameer Gadkaree and Indivar Dutta-Gupta
In Praise of Income-Driven Repayment Reforms [[link removed]]

January 12, 2023 | Isha Weerasinghe, Kayla Tawa, and Emily Kim
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: Mental Health Wins Undermined for Black and Brown Youth [[link removed]]

What we’re reading
This American Life | The Runaround (at 9:30-minute mark is a story about EBT skimming)
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New York Times | Black Americans Are Much More Likely to Face Tax Audits, Study Finds
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation | Engaging People with Lived Experience to Improve Federal Research, Policy, and Practice [link removed]

Urban Institute | Customer Service Experience and Enrollment Difficulties Vary Widely across Safety Net Programs [link removed]

Can We Still Govern? | When policymakers add administrative burdens while expanding access [link removed]


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