Government safety net programs aim to protect families during tough times—before they fall into poverty. But rising unemployment, foreclosures, and economic distress are putting pressure on a system already in need of updates and repairs.
Urban Institute experts, building on decades of welfare reform research, evaluated public safety nets and proposed new initiatives to bolster work supports and help families gain a stable financial footing. Read more.
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Low-Income Working Families Project Focusing on economic security, the safety net, improving life chances for children, and racial and ethnic disparities
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As Congress again tries to draft comprehensive immigration reform legislation, lawmakers should balance the protection of children and the integrity of their families with immigration law enforcement objectives, according to a new Urban Institute study. "Facing Our Future: Children in the Aftermath of Immigration Enforcement" takes a hard look at current immigration policies' impacts on children of unauthorized immigrants, a part of the immigration picture that has so far been left out of focus. The report chronicles the experiences of more than 100 children affected by six worksite raids or targeted arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This report examines the consequences of parental arrest, detention, and deportation on 190 children in 85 families in six locations, providing in-depth details on parent-child separations, economic hardships, and children's well-being. The contentious immigration debates around the country mostly revolve around illegal immigration. Less visible have been the 5.5 million children with unauthorized parents, almost three-quarters of whom are U.S.-born citizens. Over several years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intensified enforcement activities through large-scale worksite arrests, home arrests, and arrests by local law enforcement. The report provides recommendations for stakeholders to mitigate the harmful effects of immigration enforcement on children.
Questions persist about how well Social Security Disability Insurance, workers' compensation, Supplemental Security Income, and veterans' benefits protect people who are unable to work. This study examines disability benefit receipt, income, and poverty status for a sample of Americans as they age. The results underscore the precarious financial state of most people approaching traditional retirement age with disabilities. Fewer than half of people who meet our disability criteria ever receive disability benefits in their fifties or early sixties. Poverty rates for those who do are more than three times as high after benefit receipt than before disability onset.
A patchwork of public programs, including Social Security Disability Insurance, workers’ compensation, Supplemental Security Income, and veterans’ benefits, provides income supports to people with health problems who are unable to work. Yet, many Americans who develop disabilities in their fifties or early sixties fall into poverty. With millions of boomers entering their sixties—when work disability rates peak—it’s time to fix the social insurance safety net for disabled workers.
Record numbers of older men and women began collecting Social Security benefits in 2009. New awards surged last year partly because the age-62 population grew rapidly. More importantly, older Americans were much more likely to claim Social Security in 2009 than recent previous years, probably because many seniors were unable to find work. Social Security benefits provide an important safety net for unemployed older adults, but early claimants receive permanently reduced benefits, threatening their future economic well-being.
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Government safety net programs aim to protect families during tough times—before they fall into poverty. But rising unemployment, foreclosures, and economic distress are putting pressure on a system already in need of updates and repairs.