Bridging the Gaps: A Picture of How Work Supports Work in Ten States

October 2007, Randy Albelda and Heather Boushey, with Elizabeth Chimienti, Rebecca Ray and Ben Zipperer

Tens of Millions of Low-Wage Workers Fall Into Gap Left by Employers and Government

This report is the culmination of a multi-state study on the extent to which work supports—policies to ensure families can access basics, such as health care, child care, food and housing—fill in the gaps for families whose jobs offer low wages or inadequate benefits.

Co-author Heather Boushey, senior economist, CEPR, will present new findings on how well six work supports (child care assistance, Earned Income Tax Credit, Food Stamps, housing (public housing and section 8), Medicaid/State Children's Health Insurance Program, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) provide working families with the opportunity to bridge the gaps between their earnings and a basic standard of living. To learn more, visit www.bridgingthegaps.org. Or, listen to this podcast, featuring Heather Boushey, courtesy of Fairness Initiative on Low-Wage Work. 

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