Work Supports

“Work support” benefits—such as earned income tax credits, child care subsidies, health insurance, and food stamps—can help families close the gap between low earnings and basic expenses. NCCP’s Family Resource Simulator illustrates how critical these benefits can be in helping low-income families make ends meet.

But work supports are means-tested, so families lose eligibility as they work and earn more. Small increases in earnings can trigger sharp reductions in benefits, leaving families no better off—or even worse off—than before. In short, working more doesn’t always pay.

NCCP’s Making Work Supports Work project helps policymakers find solutions. Working in collaboration with state partners, NCCP identifies and models policy alternatives. The goal is to create a work support system that enables full-time workers to provide for their families and ensures that earning more always improves a family’s financial bottom line.

Publications

• Making Parents' Health Care a Priority
  Fact Sheet, April 2009
• Making Work Supports Work
  Project Description
  Fact Sheet, March 2009
• Paid Leave in the States
  A Critical Support for Low-wage Workers and Their Families
  Brief, March 2009
• Budgeting for Basic Needs
  A Struggle for Working Families
  Brief, March 2009
• Making Maternal and Child Health Care a Priority
  Fact Sheet, March 2009