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

• Staying Afloat in Tough Times
  What States Are and Aren't Doing to Promote Family Economic Security
  Report, August 2008
• Making “Work Supports” Work
  Project Description
  Fact Sheet, June 2008
• Child Care in Colorado
  Making Care More Affordable for Working Families
  Report, November 2007
• Improving Work Supports
  Closing the Financial Gap for Low-Wage Workers and Their Families
  Report, October 2007
• The Impact of Work Supports
  A Snapshot from Detroit
  Fact Sheet, August 2007