In 2024, a record 21.4 million people received their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces. Enrollment gains among Black, Latino, and people with low incomes drove the increased enrollment. Sustaining the policy choices that led to record enrollment and adding in long…
It’s no surprise that families need money to afford basic necessities, especially during COVID-19. One way states can provide immediate help to children in families with low incomes is to create emergency assistance grants using unspent TANF funds.
During COVID-19, everyday people are suddenly confronting zero-hour work weeks, unemployment, food shortages, housing fears, and lack of access to health care. This is what people in poverty have been experiencing for years. My fear is that the people whose lives were already hard, will…
The recently created Pandemic EBT helps families put food on the table for students. But for many immigrant families who’ve been excluded from unemployment assistance and stimulus checks, states must intentionally target their P-EBT outreach to immigrant families to have successful outcomes.
During COVID-19, many state agencies that oversee basic needs programs have been forced to close their assistance offices. As a result, states have had to rethink many of their processes to handle the increase in applications while adhering to social distancing guidelines. When local benefit offices…
Due to systemic inequities in our health and economic systems, marginalized communities have experienced the most severe consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic. The climate crisis poses a similar threat to these communities with even greater implications.
This blog post details Secretary of Education Devos' attempt to exclude undocumented students from emergency aid in the CARES Act and the need to support undocumented students during the pandemic.
This blog post presents 10 policy changes Congress should make in the next coronavirus pandemic stimulus bill to improve the fiscal stability of states and institutions of higher education, continue to provide much-needed emergency aid to students, and maintain college affordability.
Relatives play an important child care role for families of all backgrounds and incomes, even in the best of times. But in this public health and economic crisis, it is particularly important to recognize their value and critical role in an already-fragile child care system…
Text apps have the potential to increase utilization of mental health services by lowering costs and easing access. The technology can also support young people’s mental health needs using a familiar means of interaction. Maryland’s inclusion of texting for mental health telehealth is a pioneering…
The Black community is faced with the drastic and dismantling impact of COVID-19. This pandemic should serve as a call to action for increased awareness and a greater commitment to centering the lived experiences and needs of communities of color.
