PROJECTEconomic Security and Safety Net Programs

family grocery shopping 

America's low-income working families are struggling to get by, too often forced to make impossible choices among food, housing, health care, and child care. In addition, their economic well-being can be affected by sudden and unpredictable events such as illness and job loss, as well as periods of economic booms and busts. Our goal is to investigate the challenges that vulnerable households face –whether working or not- and to explore the policies, work supports, and family supports that can help families prosper. 

America's low-income working families are struggling to get by, too often forced to make impossible choices among food, housing, health care, and child care. Government safety nets were reformed in the mid-1990s with the promise that work would pay. But that promise remains unfulfilled for many families. Our goal is to investigate the challenges that vulnerable households face—whether working or not—and explore the policies, work supports, and family supports that can help families prosper.

The economic well-being of low-income families can be affected by sudden and unpredictable events such as illness or job loss. The Great Recession only highlighted the vulnerability of these families. One goal of the Low-Income Working Families initiative is to document the experiences of low-income working families during economic booms and busts and examine the factors that influence the economic security of these families in the changing economic climate.
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Research Areas Families
Tags Families with low incomes