This post was co-authored by Myya Helm, 2021 Summer Research Associate Last week, the Legislature provided a one-year relief to county governments by freezing the current regional jail per diem at $48.25, rather than allowing it to increase as scheduled to reflect the true daily cost of jail incarceration, nearly $55. In addition to the…
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The American Jobs Plan, which Congress will consider this year, outlines a bold set of initiatives to invest in America’s infrastructure and renewable energy while ensuring there will be well-paying jobs for generations to come, including for West Virginia workers who have been displaced by the decline of coal. However, these investments will fail to…
The last time a permanent national policy was passed to address the need for family and medical leave was 28 years ago. In 1993, Congress passed the Family Medical Leave Act, which provided some private sector employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the arrival of a child, time off for one’s…
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will allocate more than $1.355 billion in federal relief funds to the state of West Virginia to address the ongoing economic and health impacts of the pandemic. Recently, members of legislative leadership have called for a special session to fulfill the mandate set forth in House Bill 2014, which provides for…
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides crucial nutrition assistance to low-income individuals and households whose incomes are at or below 130 percent of the Federal Poverty Level ($16,744/annually for an individual and $28,548/annually for a household of three). Along with unemployment insurance, SNAP is the most responsive aid program providing assistance during economic downturns.…
May is National Foster Care Month. Federally recognized since 1988, National Foster Care Month recognizes the 463,000 children and youth in the foster care system across the country, as well as their caretakers and families, policymakers, and the countless individuals who coalesce to support them. West Virginia has been one of the leading states in the number…
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law in March 2021, is a tremendous and unprecedented opportunity to invest in programs and projects that will increase public health and public safety as communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The $1.9 trillion package’s flexibility allows for state and local governments to fund a wide range…
Last month, President Biden announced the American Families Plan (AFP) proposal, featuring major investments in K-12 education, child care, higher education, health care, and paid leave, as well as extended tax cuts for families and workers with children. The AFP also includes revenue-raising proposals that would affect only very high-income taxpayers. And while the benefits…
Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the April jobs report, showing that job growth slowed significantly in April and raising concerns about the economy. Following these disappointing jobs numbers were anecdotes from businesses claiming to struggle to find workers willing to work, particularly in the restaurant industry. "Generous" unemployment benefits were quickly blamed,…
The American Families Plan framework as outlined by the Biden Administration represents the single biggest investment in the economic security of workers and families since FDR’s New Deal. Two specific policies, permanent expansions of both the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), will directly increase the household incomes of hundreds of…