Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) wants government to be even-handed. Her own state’s Governor Scott Walker would like to expand mandatory drug testing to participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and to some applicants for unemployment benefits. Wisconsin already requires drug testing for poor parents seeking cash assistance (Temporary…
Archives: Voices
What works to fight poverty?
Poverty has been in the news a lot lately. Two years ago we marked the 50th anniversary of LBJ’s famous War on Poverty. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which supplanted Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). And a GOP…
What Works – and What Doesn’t – to Reduce Poverty and Expand Opportunity
UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who watched and attended our event on Thursday, June 16. The recording will be available here shortly. Until then, feel free to check out the many resources we’ve compiled at the bottom of that page. At CHN, we’re busy getting ready for a big event this Thursday (hopefully you’ve…
Human Needs Report: Appropriations, Child Nutrition, Zika Funding and More
CHN just released our latest edition of the Human Needs Report, our regular newsletter on national policy issues affecting low-income and vulnerable populations. This edition includes articles on appropriations, the GOP poverty plan, child nutrition reauthorization, funding to fight Zika, and more. See below for the full analysis and links to each piece in the report….
Five Things You Need to Know About Payday Lending
Editor’s Note: This piece was originally posted on Medium on June 7, 2016 by Stop Payday Predators, a project of the Stop the Payday Loan Debt Trap Coalition, a national coalition of hundreds of groups and consumers seeking to stop the debt trap caused by payday, car title, and installment loans. CHN…
Rhetoric Versus Real Impact of Proposals to Reduce Poverty
Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on RESULTS’ blog on Tuesday, June 7. RESULTS is a co-sponsor of an event CHN is hosting on Thursday, June 16 at 1:00pm ET entitled, “What Works – and What Doesn’t – to Reduce Poverty and Expand Opportunity.” The event will be an evidence-based discussion…
Vague Pronouncements Do Not Reduce Poverty
Editor’s Note: In addition to the following piece from CHN’s Executive Director Deborah Weinstein, please see CHN’s resource page on what works – and what doesn’t – to reduce poverty and expand opportunity. The page contains information about CHN’s upcoming event on this topic, as well as CHN’s statement and statements and…
Head Smacker: Rental Assistance to Families with Children Falls as Need Rises
Earlier this week, we discussed a new report showing that affordable housing is out of reach for millions of renters across the US. And higher rents, especially when combined with flat wages and an economic recovery that hasn’t reached low-income families, means an increased need for rental assistance. Unfortunately, however,…
Fact of the Week: Three Quarters of Extremely Low Income Families Pay More than Half of their Income on Housing
According to the new edition of Out of Reach, an annual report produced by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), affordable housing is truly out of reach for millions of Americans — especially Extremely Low Income (ELI) renters earning less than 30 percent of the Area Median Income. In…
Human Needs Hero Reception: July 19, 2016
The Coalition on Human Needs invites you to the 13th Annual Human Needs Hero Reception Honoring: Ruth Flower and Wade Henderson Tuesday, July 19th, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. AFL-CIO, 815 16th St. NW, Washington, DC Please join us in honoring these amazing progressive leaders: Ruth Flower: Former Associate Executive…
SNAP, TANF and a Better Path
“The nation’s core economic security programs are highly effective: they cut poverty almost in half, improve nutrition and health care for millions of people, and promote work.” This is how Olivia Golden, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), began her testimony to the House Ways…
Fact of the Week: 1 in 3 Moms Struggle to Pay for Diapers
Everyone knows babies go through a lot of diapers. But for low-income families, the cost of diapers often forces them to go without another necessity, like food or heat. For many, it can force them to leave babies in soiled diapers longer than they’d like. This can lead to physical…