A college education can provide a path out of poverty, but low-income students face many obstacles along the way. Many face difficulty selecting the best college for them, and some have trouble navigating financial aid options. While overall college graduation rates are rising, the gap between the top and bottom income groups has widened considerably over the past four decades. This article reviews research on policies that could help increase college completion for low-income students, such as interventions to increase college preparedness and providing on-campus support to help students stay on track and eventually graduate.

With many soldiers returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the late 2000s, the risk of homelessness significantly increased for veterans. The Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and Labor collaborated to implement the Veterans Homelessness Prevention Demonstration (VHPD). This interactive feature from the Urban Institute highlights the findings from the evaluation report.

This webinar, hosted by the National Disability Institute, provides background information and resources on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) time limits and their effects on low-income adults with disabilities.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wrote a blog for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) highlighting the importance of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for rural families. Not only is the EITC important for individuals and families, but it can be a boost to rural economies because it essentially raises wages for a significant number of workers in the community.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) has released the TANF work participation rates for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. Nationwide, more states met the work requirement in FY 2013 than in FY 2012, but the work participation rates declined slightly compared to those from FY 2012. Thirty-two states and territories met their work requirement in FY 2013, compared to 29 states and territories in FY 2012.

This brief explores kinship families and the importance of TANF to those families, the two types of TANF grants a relative caregiver may receive (child-only and family), and a Kinship TANF Model that draws from different state and county efforts to stabilize and support kinship families. Additionally, the brief recommends separate kinship policies, programs, and practices that are designed to help kinship families specifically.

In 2014, only about half of youth and young adults ages 16-24 held jobs, and about one in five were neither working nor in school. This problem most severely affects disadvantaged groups, including individuals with less education, lower incomes, and minority young people, specifically young men of color. In June 2014, MDRC and the Rockefeller Foundation convened a group of academics and experts to discuss potential demand-side approaches to youth employment. Some themes that emerged were: employers are a heterogeneous group with diverse needs and preferences; incentives are unlikely to be the only force motivating employer decisions; employers are more likely to engage in youth employment efforts if it is easy for them to do so and if they believe it will positively influence their businesses; and disadvantaged young workers need assistance communicating their skills and experience and support in entry-level jobs.

The 2015 National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) State Organizational Structure Survey shows how workforce and partner programs are organized within State Workforce Agencies across the United States. This map includes data and details about each State’s workforce programs.

Compared to a few decades ago, low-income children today have better access to healthcare, fewer are born to teen mothers, fewer live in foster care, and their parents have more education. However, the circumstances and outcomes of higher-income children have advanced even more rapidly, leading to expanding inequality in the resources that boost child development. Additionally, in some ways, the circumstances of low-income children have gotten worse. This report consists of a consensus plan from researchers at the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute. The plan would reduce poverty and improve opportunities for those at the lowest income levels.