Given these factors, researchers and policymakers are considering how both the private and public sectors can support working families and, at the same time, encourage productivity and organizational competitiveness. But questions remain about:
At this May 2007 roundtable, sponsored by the Urban Institute's Low Income Working Families project through support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, about 45 business leaders, practitioners, national policy experts, researchers, and advocates discussed problems and potential solutions, striving for constructive discourse rather than a final consensus.
Public and Private Roles in Supporting Working Families, by Karin Martinson, Pamela Winston, and Susan Kellam
This overview lays out the salient issues and themes that arose and summarizes the papers that were prepared for the event.
Low-Income Workers and Their Employers: Characteristics and Challenges, by Gregory Acs and Austin Nichols
This paper finds that low-wage workers who reside in low-income families with children are substantially less educated than the average worker, are concentrated in industries with low wages, and have limited prospects for wage growth. Many policies aimed at low-wage workers are not well targeted at workers in low-income families with children, but those policies may have broad benefits nevertheless.
Access to Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance among Low-Income Families: Who Has Access and Who Doesn't?, by Lisa Clemans-Cope, Genevieve M. Kenney, Matthew Pantell, and Cynthia D. Perry
Lack of health insurance can affect the health and productivity of workers as well as the health of workers' families, especially for low-income families, who are more likely to have members in poor health. For these families, children are twice as likely—and parents are nearly three times as likely—to be uninsured compared to families with an employer-sponsored insurance offer.
Place Matters: Employers, Low-Income Workers, and Regional Economic Development, by Nancy Pindus, Brett Theodos, and G. Thomas Kingsley
Spatial factors and location are often missed, but critical, pieces of the puzzle in developing public and private policies that support working families. This paper summarizes factors determining locational decisions of businesses and workers, as well as local economic growth, and suggests how employer needs as well as opportunities for low income workers might be served by successful policies in the areas of housing, transportation, education and workforce development.
Building Skills and Promoting Job Advancement: The Promise of Employer-Focused Strategies, by Karin Martinson
This paper examines why employer-focused training is a promising strategy for boosting the earnings of low-income individuals while also providing benefits to employers. Three employer-focused models are examined: incumbent worker training programs, sectoral training programs, and career ladder programs.
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance and the Low-Income Workforce: Limitations of the System and Strategies for Increasing Coverage, by Linda J. Blumberg
As the number of uninsured grows, and the share with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) falls, questions arise about the future viability of our largely employer-based insurance system. Expanding coverage will require a combination of policy options: income and health status related subsidies; a guaranteed source for all individuals to obtain coverage; requiring at least a minimum level of insurance; requiring employers contributions; increasing enrollment and retention in existing insurance options; and cost containment strategies.
Meeting Responsibilities at Work and Home: Public and Private Supports, by Pamela Winston
Public or private policies to help working parents balance job and family responsibilities are substantially more limited in the United States than in other industrialized nations—particularly for low-income working parents. This paper summarizes what we know about families' access to supports, employers' experiences, and public and employer efforts to expand them. It explores paid sick leave/paid time off, paid parental leave at the birth of a child, workplace flexibility, child care assistance, and initiatives to link low-income working families with public benefits.
Latest Research
While the vast majority of low-income parents today work steadily, many still struggle to support their families in jobs that offer few benefits or links to public supports. At the same time, employers are balancing their financial and productivity objectives in an increasingly global, competitive market.