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Discussion Paper
Restructuring the Eligibility Policies of the Child Care and Development Fund to Address Benefit Cliffs and Affordability: Florida as a Case Study
This paper explores how the current eligibility policies of the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) create benefits cliffs that act as barriers to economic self-sufficiency. By examining Florida data and policies, the authors demonstrate how the program’s existing co-payment schedule affects the same hypothetical family living in two contrasting Florida counties: one with state median living costs and one with high living costs. The authors find that the CCDF income eligibility exit threshold is too low, particularly in high-cost counties. That occurs because the exit threshold ...
Discussion Paper
From Barrier to Bridge: Approaches to Address Benefits Cliffs
Working families can experience a variety of financial barriers that limit economic mobility. One significant barrier occurs when career advancement puts a family above the income-eligibility threshold for public assistance programs. Career advancement, and the wage gains that come with it, can create a scenario in which a family is financially worse off due to the partial or complete loss of benefits–a phenomenon known as a benefits cliff. In other instances, the loss of benefits may largely erase (but not entirely offset) the financial gains associated with career advancement, a dynamic ...