New Report: Impact of Social Safety Net

Posted by on August 19, 2005

[posted from National Community Tax Coalition listserv]

What Does The Safety Net Accomplish?
New Series of Reports Examines Research Findings

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has issued the first set of reports in a new series examining research on the effects of public benefit programs that assist low-income families and individuals. As policymakers consider budget reductions in some of these programs in September, these reports highlight the accomplishments of these programs and discuss ways in which they can be improved.

Each report includes state-by-state data on the number of the people assisted by each program. The reports from the series issued today cover Medicaid and the State Children?s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), food and nutrition programs, the Supplemental Security Income Program for the elderly and disabled poor, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. A fifth report in the series also released today examines the combined impact of the nation?s system of public benefit programs on poverty and health insurance coverage. This report finds, for example, that public benefit programs cut the number of poor Americans nearly in half and reduce the severity of poverty for those who remain poor, while also providing health coverage to tens of millions of people who otherwise would be uninsured. Future reports will cover areas such as housing programs, child care, child support enforcement and TANF.

These reports are all posted to a Special Series page: http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/accomplishments.htm