Welfare and Work Supports


The Shriver Center is focused on making work pay for low-income individuals and families, and increasing access to and strengthening public benefits for those who are not working. National policy is predicated on work, and the Shriver Center helps advocates and states interpret federal laws in ways that are fair and helpful to people seeking self-sufficiency. We also design complementary state and local programs to ensure success at work. Individuals trying to work their way out of poverty need a fair wage along with adequate health care coverage, quality childcare, and decent housing. Only when these work supports are all in place can work become a path out of poverty.

Manuals and Training Materials

Administrative Failures Linked to Dramatic Decline in Chicago-Area Welfare Caseloads
Accessing the Safety Net: Administrative Barriers to Public Benefits in Metropolitan Chicago uncovers problems limiting access to the three major benefits programs: TANF, Food Stamps, and Medicaid.

Publications

Comments on 2006 TANF Regulations
The Shriver Center has filed comments with the Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children and Families, on the interim final rule for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program published on June 29, 2006.

Time Limits, Employment, and State Flexibility in TANF Programming: How States Can Use Time Limits and Earnings Disregards to Support Employment Goals, Preserve Flexibility, and Meet Stricter Federal Participation Requirements
Work participation rates may become stricter after Congress reauthorizes Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the welfare program mandated in 1996. States may have to adjust their programs to comply with the federal requirements and create work incentives for recipients. Maintaining state programming flexibility with state cash assistance, work supports, time-limit relief, income disregards, and other methods is critical to working recipients' adequate support. This article by John M. Bouman, Margaret Stapleton, and Deb McKee was featured in the September-October 2003 issue of Clearinghouse Review.

Advocacy Materials

Illinois Paid Leave Coalition
The Shriver Center is a member of the Illinois Paid Leave Coalition, a coalition comprised of local and statewide partners that support the creation of a paid leave program for workers who have a health or family need that requires time off from work. 

Background Materials on Family Care
In 2002, the Illinois Department of Human Services initiated a Medicaid waiver program that allows Illinois to provide health coverage to parents of children eligible for the state's KidCare or Medicaid programs.

Let's Get It Right!
Let's Get It Right! is the Center's initiative designed to ensure that welfare clients in Illinois receive the benefits and services they need to work.

FAIR Wage Bill
The Shriver Center is part of the coalition of advocates working to raise the minimum wage in Illinois.

Opinion Articles, Speeches, and Remarks

Child Care Advocacy with SEIU in the Ranks
On January 14, 2007, Senior Attorney Dan Lesser delivered the keynote address to the Founding Convention of Early Learning Division, Service Employees International Union Local 925 in Tacoma, Washington.