2008 Reports

Staying Afloat in Tough Times: What States Are and Aren't Doing to Promote Family Economic Security

Fass, Sarah; Briggs, Jodie; Cauthen, Nancy K.

Staying Afloat in Tough Times tracks state-level policies that help families both avoid and cope with economic hardship. The report examines three categories of policies: work attachment and advancement, income adequacy, and asset development and protection. Although states have taken the lead over the last decade in policy efforts to help low income families, this study demonstrates that assistance is extraordinarily uneven across the states. The authors conclude that America needs a national vision of family economic security — and the leadership to implement it.