November 13, 2019
Work, Family, and Community
Abstract The contributions to this volume make clear that the social safety net in the…
August 1, 2018
How Effective Are Work Requirements?
US safety-net programs already use work requirements to address potential work disincentives, and evidence suggests they increase employment and earnings among recipients capable of work. Critics often cite welfare-to-work experiments from the 1990s as evidence against work requirements, but the most relevant programs in those evaluations—“jobs-first” approaches that emphasized rapid employment—produced substantial gains in work and earnings. Although research on work requirements in programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid is more limited and subject to measurement challenges, broader evidence indicates that participation in safety-net programs can reduce employment incentives, implying that work requirements could offset those effects.
March 20, 2018
The Truth About Medicaid Work Requirements
Following up on an important policy change to reorient safety net programs toward work, the…
January 12, 2018
New CMS Medicaid Work Requirement Guidance Offers States an Opportunity
This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) formalized what Administrator Seema Verma…
November 29, 2017
Congress Needs a Pro-Work Agenda for Financial Security of Americans
At the time this piece was prepared, labor force participation had fallen to a 20-year low, raising concerns that job creation from tax reform may not translate to sustained economic growth without more workers entering the labor force. This piece argues that increasing labor force participation, particularly among low-income and nonworking adults, requires a pro-work policy agenda that reforms safety-net programs to encourage employment and expands tax provisions that reduce the cost of working, such as refundable childcare tax credits. Strengthening work incentives in welfare and tax policy is essential for supporting economic growth and employing more Americans.
January 9, 2017
Are Most Poor People Incapable of Work?
A recent blog post by the Hamilton Project describes the poor population (as defined by the official…
March 15, 2016
Work Rules Benefit Many SNAP Recipients
Over the past several months, the reinstatement (or pending reinstatement) of work requirements in the…
August 11, 2015
Why It’s Not yet Time to Relax TANF Work Requirements
Congress seems poised to reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program this year….
April 17, 2015
It’s Time to Reinstate the SNAP Work Requirements
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides food assistance to almost 23 million households and…