What Municipal Leaders Can Do to Connect Families with Public Benefits

One inexpensive way city officials can help is by helping low-income working families claim key federal benefits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Medicaid/State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and food stamps. These outreach and enrollment initiatives can bring millions of federal dollars into residents' pockets and the local economy. Key steps that municipal leaders can take include: 

• Building public awareness;
• Coalition building;
• Sponsoring Helplines or other referrals to assistance; and
• Volunteer-operated tax preparation or other enrollment services.

Goals of the YEF Institute's Family Economic Success Programs

The goal of the YEF Institute's family economic success program is to strengthen municipal leaders capacity to help low- and moderate-income families achieve financial stability. The Institute supports city leaders' efforts by helping them:

• Learn how other cities have conducted Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) outreach campaigns and volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) sites;
• Connect families with other public benefits by screening their eligibility for food stamps and state children's health insurance;
• Link efforts to help families access public benefits to broader asset-building initiatives that help families save for the futures; and
• Developing transitional jobs programs that help residents overcome barriers to employment through temporary, publicly-subsidized jobs that facilitate the transition into the private workforce.