How the Great Recession Has Changed Life in America: A Balance Sheet at 30 Months was a report released by the Pew Research Center. A new Pew Research survey finds that 30 months after it began, the Great Recession led to a downsizing of Americans' expectations about their retirements and their children's future; a new frugality in their spending and borrowing habits; and a concern that it could take several years, at a minimum, for their house values and family finances to recover. The survey also finds that more than half of the adults in U.S. labor force have experienced some work-related hardship — be it a spell of unemployment, a cut in pay, a reduction in hours or an involuntary move to part-time work.
PolicyforResults.org is a website dedicated to helping policymakers make sound decisions that contribute to better outcomes and opportunities for all children and families. The site is a project of The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP)a public policy, research and technical assistance organization.The site includes issues related to child and family well-being: Strategies for Tight Budget Times;Creating Economic Opportunity for Families and Reducing Poverty; Improving Grade Level Reading, Exits from Foster Care; and Reducing Juvenile Detention, among other issues.
A Template for Success: the FDIC's Small-Dollar Loan Pilot Program was a featured article that highlighted the final results of the FDIC's small-dollar loan pilot program. The small-dollar loan pilot program was designed to show how banks can profitably offer affordable small-dollar loans as alternatives to payday loans and other high-cost credit products. The pilot study resulted in the creation of a template of safe, affordable and feasible small-dollar loans. For example, the parameter for the amount of a safe, affordable and feasible small-dollar loan is $2,500 or less and the term is 90 days or more.
Texas Tuition Promise Fund: Using College Savings to Increase College Success was a policy paper published by the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP), a Poverty and Economic Security Roundtable and Texans Care for Children member. The paper discusses an analysis of the Texas Tuition Promise Fund's first two years and how students who need college savings accounts the most are not enrolled in the program. Specifically, the paper focuses on how state-run college savings plans like the Texas Tuition Promise Fund have failed to increase access to higher education for low-income families. According to the paper, the state must align its college savings plans and master plan for higher education to provide incentives for low-income students to begin college savings.
