June 2008: New York's Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) released Working Families and Economic Security in New York: How Effectively Do Work Supports Bridge the Gaps?. Trudi Renwick, FPI, presented the report's findings to the governor's Economic Security Cabinet during their first regional town hall meeting in Schenectady, NY. According to the report, nearly one-in-three people in working families in New York--5.7 million New Yorkers--are unable to make ends meet, even after receiving work supports.
March 2008:
Did you know there is no North Carolina county in which the average family with children can meet basic expenses for an amount less than 1.7 times the federal poverty level or 2.7 times the state's minimum wage? Get the facts on what it takes for families to bridge the gaps in Making Ends Meet on Low Wages: The 2008 North Carolina Living Income Standard, by our partners at the NC Justice Center.
February 2008: According to a new report by Policy Matters Ohio, approximately 2.8 million Ohioans live in working families that do not earn enough to make ends meet. Bridging the Gaps in Ohio 2008 examines how public work supports help families get ahead, and offers policy recommendations to ensure that all working families have the opportunity to meet their basic needs.
January 2008: Informed by conversations with advocates, the Seattle Jobs Initiative's Bridging the Gaps in Washington: A Research Brief of Findings and Policy Recommendations for Work Supports that Work, is an excellent resource for Washington state's new legislative session.
December 2007: The Minnesota Policy Research & Analysis Network has released a new concise report on their quantitative and qualitative findings for the Bridging the Gaps project. The report can be found under Publications or on the JOBS NOW Coalition's website.
October 31, 2007: The Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston released their report, Bridging the Gaps Between Earnings and Basic Needs in Massachusetts, at the State House in Boston. For more information about the event, please click here. The full report and executive summary is available electronically on this website or at www.umb.edu/bridgingthegaps.
October 18, 2007: The Bridging the Gaps conference was a big success! Over 90 researchers and advocates from around the country participated in a day-long discussion of the future of work supports. Thank you to co-sponsors Senators Kennedy and Brown and Representatives Tierney and Miller for making the event possible. Audio recordings are available online. Video recordings will be available soon!
October 10, 2007
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston (CSP) hosted a national press teleconference to release the 10-state Bridging the Gaps Report. Contact Alan Barber for more information.
September 25, 2007
As Congress votes on SCHIP, Heather Boushey draws from the results of the forthcoming Bridging the Gaps Project to stress the importance of Medicaid and SCHIP and the fact that millions who need these programs are ineligible. Read more in her latest issue brief.
August 30, 2007
What does it take to get by in Texas? The Center for Public Policy Priorities' new report explains, and includes Bridging the Gaps findings on the eligibility gap in Texas.
June 26, 2007
Today the Iowa Policy Project released Bridging the Gaps in Iowa. The Quad City Times, Sioux City Journal, Mason City Globe Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette, and Radio Iowa all reported on the event. Over the course of the day, Heather Boushey, CEPR, and Elaine Ditsler, IPP, also met with state legislators, administrators, and staff from Iowa Community Action Agencies to discuss the study's findings.
March 28, 2007
CEPR and the Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI) met with a dozen researchers to discuss the methodology and initial findings for the Bridging the Gaps project in Washington state. SJI will release its report this summer.
March 21-22, 2007
CEPR and the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) presented the Bridging the Gaps project's research goals and received helpful feedback from over 30 researchers and advocates in Albany and New York City. In addition, FPI's Deputy Director James Parrott arranged for Heather and Liz to brief the staff of New York City's Center for Economic Opportunity on the project and the possibility of generating specific data for New York City. Given the large population of city, Bridging the Gaps researchers believe it may be feasible to get that level of detail (with relatively large standard errors). Over the next few weeks, the Bridging the Gaps team will incorporate recent feedback and finalize the New York state research. The Fiscal Policy Institute will work with its allies to determine when and how the New York state report will be released.
February 15, 2007
How many people are eligible and not recieving Food Stamps, housing support or TANF in Illinois? Read the Heartland Alliance's new Report on Illinois Poverty to find out. And click here for an article in the Macomb Journal on the report.
January 22-24 , 2007
CEPR and the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center presented our initial take-up rates to meetings of researchers and advocates in Raleigh, Charlotte and Asheville, NC. We also received feedback on the project from several of the governor’s staff. The trip was so successful that we even got a write-up in the Asheville Citizen-Times.
December 4-5, 2006
CEPR and Policy Matters Ohio held two meetings with researchers and advocates in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Attendees responded our initial take-up rate estimates, and discussed how our findings may be useful in working with their new governor.
July 19-20, 2006
CEPR and the Minnesota Policy Research and Analysis Network held three meetings in St. Paul with over a dozen researchers and advocates to introduce them to the Bridging the Gaps project and get feedback on our initial take-up rate estimates for the state.
February 22-23, 2006
CEPR and the Ray Marshall Center spoke to two groups of advocates and practitioners in Houston and Austin, Texas. At the meetings, the National Center for Children in Poverty spoke about their Family Resource Simulator for Texas cities and the Center for Public Policy Priorities spoke about their work on how much it costs to make ends meet in Texas. The Ray Marshall Center - CEPR presentation is available to download, and the full set of presentations can be found at CPPP.
June 14, 2005
CEPR held two meetings with DC-based advocates working on national policy issues to get feedback on the Bridging the Gaps project.
May 10-11, 2005
CEPR and the Center for Social Policy, University of Massachusetts - Boston, met with advocates and practitioners in Boston to discuss the findings from the first phase of the Bridging the Gaps project in Massachusetts.
April 27-28, 2005
CEPR and the Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois - Chicago, hosted a roundtable discussion for policy advocates and service practitioners to discuss the findings and messaging for the Bridging the Gaps project in Illinois.