Please join First Focus in an upcoming webinar: Ending Family Homelessness Webinar: Identifying Effective Interventions  Wednesday, June 18th 2pm EST – 3pm EST Headlines are filled with indicators that our economy is improving, but the effects of the Great Recession continue to linger for millions of homeless children and families, with over 1.1 million children identified as homeless in the 2011-2012 school year.  In order to end child and family homelessness in the United States, policies [...]

The Earned Income Credit has grown to become the nation’s  most successful anti-poverty program since its creation in 1975.  The federal Earned Income Credit is the nation’s single most effective tool for reducing poverty among working families and children. In 2012, the Earned Income Credit lifted more than 6 million people across the nation out of poverty, over half of them children.  In 2012, the federal credit benefitted more than 410,000 Kentuckians – almost 25% of tax filers –and put more than $912 million [...]

Economic security means a family is able to meet financial needs in a way that promotes their children’s well-being by addressing their physical, emotional, and educational needs. All children deserve to have these needs met, yet many parents require temporary help to do so. Whether due to unemployment or underemployment triggered by the recent recession, low wages, or a family crisis, parents seek help in meeting their children’s basic needs from programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps) or the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP, formerly called [...]