Education Pays 2010, a report released by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, presents the benefits of higher education in terms of several criteria. Central to their report, are the statistical differences in earned income and unemployment rates between high school graduates and those who possess a four-year degree. Additionally they report further benefits correlated with a postsecondary education, including: greater job satisfaction, greater civic engagement, healthier lifestyles, more engagement in the education of their children, increased tax revenue for the government, and less government expenditure on public assistance. Despite increases in rates of enrollment, large demographic-linked gaps in participation and completion of higher education persist. In an effort to close these gaps, the College Board recommends providing high-quality primary and secondary education, postsecondary training opportunities, and generous financial support to encourage postsecondary success.

On October 10, 2010, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and the National Consumer Law Center, with the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, hosted a forum titled “Working Cars for Working Families: Real Progress, Real Opportunities.” This event focused on efforts to provide working families the opportunity to access safe and reliable vehicles, under fair terms. Panelists discussed the importance of car access in improving economic outcomes for families. Struggling families, however, are facing multiple-barriers to vehicle ownership; barriers created by the recession-era car market and current financing regulations. Despite these challenges, the forum noted solutions in the form of policy changes, market-improvements, and the emergence of successful nonprofit ownership programs.

It is expected that by the year 2018, sixty percent of all American jobs will require at least some college education. It has also been projected that if the current rates of degree completion continue, the American workforce will fall three million workers short of meeting the demands of this changing labor market. In this report from the Center for American Progress and the Council for Adults & Experiential Learning, the authors outline mechanisms and policies necessary to ensure postsecondary success among non-traditional and mobile learners. Among these mechanisms are articulation agreements between institutions allowing for easy credit transfers, methods for awarding credit to learning occurring outside of the classroom, resources that make educational options more apparent to students, and the development of programs based on competencies rather than credit hours. The authors stress that these changes are necessary both to meet the needs of the growing numbers of non-traditional students and to address the demands of the changing American economy.

From the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, this report provides findings from the implementation evaluation of Head Start programs that participated in the "I Am Moving, I Am Learning" trainings. From the programs that participated in the spring 2006, program administrators, classroom teachers, and home visitors across many programs reported that they had increased children’s movement time and improved the food choices available to children.

This session at the National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics National Conference focused on presentations on how the social safety net can address poverty in the United States. Researchers from the Urban Institute presented on the effects of States’ safety nets on poverty. Liz Schott from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities spoke on how TANF funds can be used to address family homelessness. Samantha O’Neill-Dunbar, Colorado Works, Colorado Department of Human Services, spoke on how the TANF Emergency Fund is supporting interagency collaboration in Colorado. Swati Desai at Columbia University spoke on the role of non-custodial fathers and TANF.

Abstract: Using Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data in an input-output (IO) model, this paper assesses the economic impact and foregone economic impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the 58 counties in California in 2006, the most recent year for which data are available. Findings show EITC payments received by California residents contributed over $5 billion in output and nearly 30,000 jobs to the state economy in 2007. The foregone economic impact of unclaimed payments is substantial as well. Foregone claims are estimated to total $1.1 billion in 2007. If claimed, the payments would have contributed $1.2 billion in output and 7,500 jobs to the state economy. This foregone impact was likely 20% to 25% higher during the year 2010, due to the recession and accompanying legislation. The foregone economic impact is not spread uniformly across counties, but is more acute in counties where the presence of likely nonclaimants is higher. Revamping and increasing efforts to increase the participation rate in the federal EITC program is probably a cost effective policy approach in terms of labor force participation and poverty reduction per state tax dollar spent. Please note that in order to download and access this paper, there is a financial cost to the requestor.

This joint letter was signed by program heads in HHS and Agriculture providing information related to the health insurance exchanges, Medicaid eligibility information technology systems, the advance planning process for information technology procurements and how these and other programs can work together.

This commentary was authored by Caroline Ratcliffe and Signe-Mary McKernan of the Urban Institute on children born into poverty. Poverty often starts at birth, which can lead to unstable housing, schooling, and nutrition; and data show that children born into poverty are more likely to drop out of school, have a child as a teenager, and be underemployed. The authors argue that social services can help alleviate the long-term effects of poverty for lower-income children.

Sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, this study examined the effect of the distribution of income and race/ethnicity across households and neighborhoods on the change in crime rates over a 30-year period in 352 cities. Cities with higher levels of inequality have a higher prevalence of crime, including aggravated assaults, robberies, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts. However, as the study shows, in cities with lower inequality, heterogeneity in the local neighborhood by income level leads to higher levels of crime.

This resource is a presentation given by the Keynote speaker, Eugene Bardach, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley at the National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics 50th Annual Workshop. The meeting occurred September 28-29, 2010 in Los Angeles, California, and the presentation was entitled, "Interagency Collaboration and Coordination in Social Policy Research and Practice."