Federal funding for child care subsidies has increased substantially since 1996. Although many more low-income families receive help paying for child care, there is little rigorous evidence to guide states’ decisions on structuring subsidy…

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities authored this report on the effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for individual families. State-level data show that the Recovery Act has protected many families from poverty by raising…

As part of their Rural Communities Initiative Technical Assistance Action Plan, the Montana team identified the prevalence of substance abuse challenges within their TANF caseload as among one of their chief concerns. The site was particularly…

From the U.S. Census Bureau, this report offers the latest statistics on income, poverty, and health insurance in the United States. The real median household income in the United States fell 3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50…

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this report provides information on food insecurity among children in the United States. Researchers found that around 85 percent of households with food-insecure children had a working adult, including 70…

From the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan, this policy brief outlines the health effects of social and economic policy. Non-health related policies may have positive impacts on the health and wellbeing of the beneficiaries of…

In light of the recent recession, this paper examines the effect that financial strain can have on the occurrence of domestic violence and in turn, how domestic violence impacts an individual or family's financial situation. Though being low…

Much of the success of the Federal child support program is contingent upon the ability or willingness of noncustodial parents (NCPs) to provide financial support for their children. As a result, the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) has…

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this study looks at low-income families in Detroit in relation to economic coping strategies. Conducting three rounds of interviews with 35 women, researchers found that a majority of the sample were…

While the child support program has been recently successful in supporting low-income single parents, many single parents still do not receive child support. Child support can often be a vital financial resource for families in poverty. In this…