The Center for the Study of Social Policy has just released a fascinating report prepared by its Policy Matters project.
“Twenty State Policies to Create Bright Futures for America’s Children, Families and Communities” reviews a variety of successful policies and assembles
research on effective policies in the areas most important to a family’s opportunity and stability: employment, income and asset growth, health, education, and healthy family relationships … The policies included in this report not only rest on a strong body of objective evidence, they also offer the advantage of taking an early investment and preventive approach so that relatively small investments now can reduce more costly interventions later.
The report offers the following components (in PDF):
The authors detail the shift of “decision-making responsibilities” from the federal government to states.
In today’s economy … the opportunities available to America’s families are becoming more and more constrained. For example:
State policies have been crafted to help families overcome these barriers, effectively addressing everything from predatory lending practices and housing discrimination to minimum wages and children’s health care.
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