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8 Contextual Factors That Influence the Effects of Anti-Poverty Policies and Programs
Pages 227-256

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From page 227...
... In this chapter, we consider a more general set of contextual factors that can promote or impede the effectiveness of anti-poverty policies and programs. For example, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
From page 228...
... SIX MAJOR CONTEXTUAL FACTORS Through internal discussions, public information-gathering sessions, and a review of the scholarly and policy literatures, the committee identified six major, often co-occurring contextual factors that policy makers and program administrators are advised to consider when designing and implementing anti-poverty programs of the sort discussed in Chapters 5, 6, and 7: 1. Stability and predictability of income -- Unstable and unpredict able income makes it difficult for families to juggle everyday chal lenges, diminishes the quality of everyday decisions, and renders the poor vulnerable to financial ruin.
From page 229...
... The chapter summarizes why each of these six contextual factors matters, how each of them might affect the administration of anti-poverty policies, and what conclusions the committee has reached. Research recommendations on these contextual factors are provided in the final chapter.
From page 230...
... . Finally, more than one-half of all low-income families living in rental housing spend more than one-half of their income on housing costs (Desmond, 2016)
From page 231...
... Moreover, although the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) can help families pay down debt or purchase needed durables by providing credits annually as a lump sum (Halpern-Meekin et al., 2015; Mendenhall et al., 2012)
From page 232...
... To take maximal advantage of work supports like the EITC and child care subsidies, parents need to be able to sustain steady employment. The barriers to such employment, discussed above, also generate barriers to receiving the public program benefits of work-encouraging programs.
From page 233...
... Programs that provide regular income support, whether through tax credits, cash, or vouchers, may be more helpful to families if they pro vide adequate benefits at well-timed intervals. Further, programs that are easily accessible and that facilitate savings or provide emergency cash assistance or credit at a modest cost can help families cope with unexpected emergencies and may prevent them from falling deeper into poverty.
From page 234...
... . Moreover, some states supplement federal programs, whereas others do not; 26 states have their own version of the EITC, increasing the benefit families receive (Internal Revenue Service, 2018b)
From page 235...
... , a privately funded multistate initiative, is another example of how automation can improve the uptake of public assistance programs. The WSS initiative, which began in 2011, was developed to determine whether the implementation of technology improvements could better help qualifying families connect to work support programs (Isaacs, Katz, and Amin, 2016; Loprest, Gearing, and Kassabian, 2016)
From page 236...
... , although commercial tax preparers charge large fees and remove their fees before their clients receive their refunds. The Internal Revenue Service has also provided specific information for tax preparers to help reduce errors (Internal Revenue Service, 2018c)
From page 237...
... . Moreover, Black and Hispanic families have on average one-sixth of the wealth of their White counterparts (McKernan et al., 2013)
From page 238...
... Further, if minority families are steered toward housing in neighborhoods with access to fewer job opportunities, then housing subsidy programs will be less successful in promoting economic mobility. Indeed, research has found that White families receiving Housing Choice vouchers are more likely to find rental units in low-poverty neighborhoods (those with poverty rates under 10%)
From page 239...
... Discrimination in hiring and employment may undermine policies that aim to increase or subsidize wages and policies that require beneficiaries to work. Housing discrimination reduces racial/ethnic minority families' access to and benefits from housing programs.
From page 240...
... Reviewing the most rigorous studies on the effect of parental incarceration on children's behavioral problems, academic achievement, and delinquency, Wildeman, Wakefield, and Turney (2013) found that paternal incarceration has consistently negative effects on child well-being and that the effects are greater than if the father were merely absent from the household (e.g., due to divorce)
From page 241...
... , and Housing Choice Voucher housing assistance is not available to ex-convicts (who are not
From page 242...
... Prior incarceration may render some parents ineligible for ben efits that could reduce child poverty and leave them unable to secure housing or work and thus provide for their children. NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS Why It Matters Neighborhood conditions -- particularly those associated with high concentrations of families living in poverty -- are a potentially important context both for families and children and for the anti-poverty programs that serve them.
From page 243...
... (2018) found that White and Hispanic families are more likely than Black families to move up in the income distribution across generations.
From page 244...
... . Housing programs can also have a considerable effect on the level of neighborhood poverty that families experience.
From page 245...
... living in poverty in the United States were almost four times as likely in 2016 to report that they were in fair or poor health (28.2%) 9 as adults with family incomes above twice the official poverty line (7.76%)
From page 246...
... from 2001 to 2011, children living in poverty are more likely than other children to have a disability. Results from this analysis also show that the number of children with disabilities living below 100 percent of the federal poverty level increased by 10.7 percent between 2001 to 2011 (Houtrow et al., 2014)
From page 247...
... According to a recent National Council on Disability (2012) report, additional family and work supports such as assistance for child care, transportation, and job training may help parents living with disabilities comply with TANF work requirements.
From page 248...
... , although this amount may not be enough to enable a family to rise out of poverty. CONCLUSION 8-8: Because parents who are in poor health or caring for a child in poor health may be less able to work and care for them selves or their children, anti-poverty programs that require employment to maintain eligibility or that have cumbersome eligibility requirements may be less effective for these families.
From page 249...
... The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
From page 250...
... . Explaining recent declines in Food Stamp Program partic ipation.
From page 251...
... . Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates: Fiscal Year 2010 to Fiscal Year 2014.
From page 252...
... . Periodic Payment of the Earned Income Tax Credit Revisited.
From page 253...
... . Electronic filing, tax preparers and participation in the Earned Income Tax Credit.
From page 254...
... . The Effect of State Food Stamp and TANF Policies on Food Stamp Program Participation.
From page 255...
... . Punishment and welfare: Paternal incarceration and families' receipt of public assistance.
From page 256...
... . The Decline in Food Stamp Program Participation in the 1990s.


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