[MCAEnews] new report finds disjointed public support system can lead to greater family economic instability

[The MCAE Advocate]

 The following message includes a link to an important new report from
the Crittenton Women's Union and The Center for Social Policy at the
John W. McCormack Graduate School, UMass Boston.
 Kenny Tamarkin 
 Executive Director 
 MCAE 
 KTamarkin at mcae.net 
 978-979-1906 
	New report finds disjointed public support system can lead to 

	greater family economic instability 

	The report can be downloaded at  
http://www.liveworkthrive.org/docs/Fits_and_Starts_BRIEF_Nov2008.pdf
[1]  

	BOSTON— A single working parent with two children in Greater
Boston earning $16,000 a year, the state's minimum wage, and receiving
all the major public support programs available to her can better
support her household than she could earning $16 an hour ($32,000 a
year) and receiving aid because of the disjointed public work support
system, according to a new study released by Crittenton Women's Union
and The Center for Social Policy at the John W. McCormack Graduate
School, UMass Boston. 

	"Fits & Starts: The Difficult Path for Working Single Parents" also
reports that a single parent not receiving housing and child care aid
will find herself up to $1,666 a month short of meeting her basic
living costs when making the $8 an hour minimum wage, and will not
earn enough to meet all her family's living expenses until she earns
$29 an hour or $58,000 a year. Two-thirds of eligible families do not
receive housing and child care assistance, primarily because of lack
of available funding to meet the demand, though they may be more
likely to receive some public supports. 

	"Fits & Starts" highlights the tough choices Massachusetts low-wage
workers must make between taking higher paying jobs and losing
critical work supports before they can afford to meet their basic
living expenses. Among the report's key recommendations is a call for
greater, more sustained investments in critical work support programs,
chiefly by pegging eligibility to the real cost of living for low-wage
workers in the state. The report also recommends improving access to
financial aid for education for low-income adult students, in
combination with expanded child care and housing supports. 
	Chelsea Lettieri, MSW 

	Public Policy Coordinator 

	Crittenton Women's Union 

	One Washington Mall 

	2nd Floor 

	Boston MA, 02108 

	Tel: (617) 259-2936 

	Fax: (617) 247-8826 

	Web: www.liveworkthrive.org  [2] 
	Live.Work.Thrive. 
	   

Links:
------
[1]
http://www.liveworkthrive.org/docs/Fits_and_Starts_BRIEF_Nov2008.pdf
[2] http://www.liveworkthrive.org%20
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