Publications & Resources

Clear all filters
Policy Paper

A ‘Godsend’: How Temporary Investments in the Child Tax Credit and Child Care Impacted Michigan Families

March 2022

To learn about the impact of the American Rescue Plan’s short-term investments in the CTC and child care, CSSP conducted interviews with low- and moderate-income (ranging from $0-$55,000/year) families of color, child care providers, and stakeholders in Michigan between September and December 2021. The findings make it clear: Robust, long-term investments in both the Child Tax Credit and child care are necessary so that all families—and particularly families of color—have the support they need to not just survive, but to thrive.

(24 pp)

A Godsend: How Temporary Investments in the CTC and Child Care Impacted Michigan Families thumbnail.
Policy Paper

What We Owe Young Adults Involved with Child Welfare: A Youth Thrive Policy Agenda

January 2022

We owe young people who age out of care the structure and supports that they need to thrive. To fulfill this obligation and to remove barriers to thriving, we need new investments to support these young people. This policy agenda highlights key opportunities to advance the health and well-being of young people who are involved with child welfare systems.

(8 pp)

What We Owe Young Adults Involved with Child Welfare: A Youth Thrive Policy Agenda thumbnail.
Policy Paper

The Lasting Legacy of Exclusion: How the Law that Brought Us Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Excluded Immigrant Families & Institutionalized Racism in our Social Support System

August 2021

In 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) radically transformed our system of social supports. In addition to decimating cash assistance for families, the law’s immigrant exclusions exacerbated economic and racial inequities and harmed children and families in the 25 years since. This reportpublished jointly with the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality Economic Security and Opportunity Initiativeexamines the racist roots of PRWORA’s anti-immigrant exclusions and highlights the law’s role in institutionalizing and legitimizing anti-immigrant exclusion in a range of public benefits and tax credits.

(32 pp)

The Lasting Legacy of Exclusion thumbnail.
Policy Paper

The American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit: Advancing Equity and Laying the Foundation for a Child Allowance

March 2021

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes a historic one-year expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), providing much-needed support to families with children. This brief provides an overview of the benefits as well as steps the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress must take to ensure that this expanded benefit reaches the children who need it most, including children in Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and immigrant communities.

(7 pp)

The American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit: Advancing Equity, Child Allowance thumbnail.
Policy Paper

Supporting the First 1,000 Days of A Child’s Life: An Anti-Racist Blueprint for Early Childhood Well-Being and Child Welfare Prevention

February 2021

To support the health and well-being of children and families of color, we must implement comprehensive strategies that address systemic and institutional racism. This report offers a blueprint for creating equity-centered, anti-racist policies that support the health and well-being of children and families of color.

(31 pp)

Policy Paper

Stronger Together: Building an Inclusive System of Supports for Immigrant Families During the Pandemic, and Always

July 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic demands federal action that includes protecting and promoting the well being of all families now, and into the future—especially for immigrant families. This brief explores how policymakers can begin to build a comprehensive and inclusive system of supports to protect immigrant families.

(10 pp)

Stronger Together: Building an Inclusive System of Supports for Immigrant Families thumbnail.
Policy Paper

A Critical Resource at Risk: Supporting Kinship Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

May 2020

As the current pandemic upends daily lives, among the families suffering the most are kinship caregivers. This brief explores kinship care and how this critical resource is at risk now and in the future.

(10 pp)

Policy Paper

Potential COVID-19 Funding Sources

April 2020

The following memo is in response to requests from child welfare agencies to identify opportunities within the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

(4pp)

Tag: COVID-19
Policy Paper

Paid Leave for All

April 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is throwing into sharp relief the need for paid sick days and paid leave, so that everyone can take time to care for themselves or loved ones who are sick, quarantined, and out of school as the nation confronts an unprecedented public health and economic crisis.

(6pp)

Tag: COVID-19
Policy Paper

Economic Security in Good Times and Bad: COVID-19 Demonstrates Why We Need a Child Allowance

March 2020

The United States needs a child allowance—now and always. The public health crisis brought on by the coronavirus outbreak demonstrates why we need a child allowance now more than ever.

(4pp)