Low-income youth and adults have less access to and lower rates of completion in higher education in the US than do others. What are states and local community college systems doing to deal with these problems? In this paper, we review a wide range of efforts by community colleges and the states, with funding from private foundation as well as the federal government, to improve enrollments and completion rates among disadvantaged students. We review the extent to which such efforts are "proven" (based on rigorous evaluation evidence) or "promising" (with impressive outcomes that require strong evaluation). We then consider policies by states and the federal government that can advance opportunities for the disadvantaged in this area.