Direct certification has been described by policymakers and academics as a tool which may replace National School Lunch Program (NSLP) eligibility data (Douglas Geverdt, National Center for Education Statistics, personal communication, August 28, 2023). It suggests a policy future in which we change the metric of how we identify disadvantage. On…

This study investigates the implementation and impact of the community eligibility provision (CEP) in Maryland schools. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a federal school-based meal service option that allows high poverty schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost. CEP was introduced over the period 2015 to…

States are seeking alternative means to identify low-income students for supplemental funding, as many schools no longer need to verify household income to determine students' eligibility for free and reduced-price meals. Instead, states can identify students whose families participate in social service programs with income criteria at or near 200…

When Coloradans get their ballots in the mail this fall, they could potentially vote on two measures that would have disastrous consequences for Colorado kids and families if passed. Initiatives 108 and 50 would dramatically limit the resources available for critical services and programs that support children and their families at the state and…

Free and reduced-price meal (FRM) eligibility is commonly used in education research and policy applications as an indicator of student poverty. However, using multiple data sources external to the school system, we show that FRM status is a poor proxy for poverty, with eligibility rates far exceeding what would be expected based on stated income…

Budgets are moral documents, reflecting our priorities as a nation by deciding where to allocate resources. Congress is targeting cuts and policy changes that limit access to health care, nutrition programs, and basic financial stability for millions of children, including Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the…

This exploratory study used the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) to compare the financial well-being of families of adolescents with and without autism. Recognizing the gap in autism research, which predominantly measures financial well-being through household income, this study employed a multidimensional approach, including…

Tennessee has long recognized the importance of early childhood care and education (ECCE) that children receive prior to school entry. Access to high-quality early teaching and learning contributes to the Tennessee Department of Education's (TDOE) goal that all children become successful readers by third grade, and moreover, better prepares…

The well-being of Texas children is essential to the future of our state. Recent years have presented significant challenges for Texas' youngest residents, particularly in areas of economic stability, health, and education. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Texas declined from 43rd to 45th in national rankings for overall child…

Previous research has shown that investments during the early childhood period are likely to have the highest social return. We use administrative data from Virginia to document participation in SNAP and TANF among children born between 2007-2010 during their early childhood period, which we define here as birth to age six. We find that…

Weakening federal assistance programs that provide children with affordable health care, nutritious food, stable housing, and early childhood education by imposing funding cuts, work requirements, unreasonable time limits, and other unnecessary bureaucratic barriers undermines access to services for low income families and undercuts opportunities…

Many college students struggle to make ends meet while enrolled and sometimes must turn to a wide variety of safety net resources, including official government programs, borrowing from family, and selling belongings. This brief examines data from 63,751 undergraduate students who responded to Trellis' Fall 2021 Student Financial Wellness Survey…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously called the Food Stamp Program) is a key component of the U.S. social safety net. SNAP is the only social safety net program universally available to low-income Americans, and is intended to help families meet their basic nutritional needs. It can also help to stabilize the economy…

This document discusses a range of policy and practice options that states can undertake to increase college student access to public benefits. The Center for Law and Social Policy, Inc. (CLASP) has leveraged its hands-on policy and cross-issue technical assistance expertise to identify these options. Many states have already implemented one or…

The Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN) contracted with the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the youth workforce development system within the state. The study documents how the youth workforce system developed in New Jersey since the federal…