Related UI Researchers

Publications on Family/Parents

Children of incarcerated parents are often an invisible population, but analyzing and mapping local-level data on these children and their parents can help policymakers and advocates better understand their experiences and needs. This brief discusses the mapping of community data on these families, drawing on the experiences and insights of partners in the Urban Institute’s Reentry Mapping Network (RMN). The brief discusses the value of analyzing and mapping data on children of incarcerated parents, outlines potential data sources, and explores the process of working with and mapping data on this population.

While the increase in gas prices has increased costs for all commuters, workers from households whose income is below the federal poverty level pay a larger proportion of their income for gas. This fact sheet uses data from the 2006 American Community Survey to quantify the relative burden of gas use for commuting.

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) officially expired in 2003 but has not yet been reauthorized. With a new administration and Congress due in 2009, what should they consider regarding workforce development and the disadvantaged population? This brief reviews the arguments for a workforce development system, examining both the strengths and weaknesses of the current WIA program. Among the proposals are expanded funding, and planning grants which states could use to target industries and sectors with unmet demands for skilled workers. They would then identify potential "pathways" for different groups of disadvantaged workers to meet those demands.

Food stamp benefits can provide an important supplement to the income of working families (families with children under 18 and earnings), who now make up nearly 40 percent of program participants. States can take advantage of Food Stamp Program policy options that increase eligibility and benefits. Seven policy options are particularly important for working families: more liberal vehicle rules, expanded categorical eligibility, transitional benefits for families leaving cash assistance, outreach, longer certification periods, reduced reporting requirements, and waivers of the required face-to-face interviews at recertification.

Low-income families have scant savings to cushion a job loss or illness, and can find economic mobility impossible without funds to invest in education, homes, or businesses. And though a lack of resources leaves such families vulnerable, income-support programs are often closed to those with a bit of savings or even a car. Considering welfare-to-work reforms, the increasingly advanced skill demands of the American workforce, and our stretched Social Security system, such an approach is inadequate to lift families out of poverty. Asset-based policies—allowing or even helping low-income families build wealth—are an increasingly popular strategy to facilitate financial stability.