Ensuring Good Jobs and Access to Services
In the Headlines
27 April 2012Helping Low-Income Families Access Work Support Benefits
The Paramus Post looks at what lies ahead for the six states—Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, Rhode Island and South Carolina—that have received grants as part of the Work Support Strategies: Streamlining Access, Strengthening Families initiative. With lead funding from Ford, the five-year initiative is designed to allow states to experiment with new approaches to more efficiently deliver benefits critical to low-income families, including health coverage, nutrition benefits and child care subsidies. “This effort holds tremendous potential to advance two important goals simultaneously: increasing innovation and efficiency in government while better meeting the needs of families working hard to make ends meet,” Helen Neuborne, director of the foundation’s work on Quality Employment, told the paper.
More Information
- Learn more about Work Support Strategies (WSS)
- Browse a recent WSS study examining the effectivenesss of public work support programs for low-income families
- Read the announcement about the launch of this five-year initiative
- Explore our Ensuring Good Jobs And Access To Services initiative
Media Contacts
Press Line
- Tel
- (+1) 212-573-5128
- Fax
- (+1) 212-351-3643
- pressline@fordfoundation.org
Joshua Cinelli
- Media Relations Chief
- j.cinelli@fordfoundation.org
Six States Experiment With New Tactics And Tools To Streamline Low-Income Families’ Access To Work Support Benefits
April 25, 2012 By Mel FabrikantFragile households seeking solid footing in a weak economy will receive reinvigorated support as Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and South Carolina take up the challenge of streamlining services aiding low-income working families.
The six states have been awarded three-year grants to test and implement easy-to-navigate, quick-to-deliver public benefit systems. The grants, the centerpiece of the Work Support Strategies: Streamlining Access, Strengthening Families (WSS) initiative, average about $460,000 per state for each year.
The initiative aims to boost the share of families who receive and keep all the public benefits for which they qualify (especially Medicaid, children’s health insurance, food stamps, and child care subsidies), minimize states’ administrative burden delivering benefits, and disseminate lessons to inform state and federal policies and practices.