Income Supports Can Dramatically Increase Resources Available for Lower-Income Working Families

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As legal services clients move from cash assistance into the low-wage labor market, many government-funded income supports remain available to them. Despite the potential of these programs to bolster family stability and new workers' capacity to retain jobs, the benefits often go unused for a variety of reasons. Four of the most important income supports—the Earned Income Tax Credit, child care subsidies, food stamps, and unemployment insurance—are reviewed, and suggestions are offered to legal services practitioners who want to ensure that their clients have access to these resources.

By Maurice Emsellem, Sherry Leiwant, Rick McHugh, Michael A. O'Connor, and David Super From January - February 2001