Poverty Commission - Emerging Recommendations by Kathleen McCabe

Childcare educator wages

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:40:21 UTC

Increase childcare educator/staff wages through Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants and reimbursement rates.

Universal Basic Income

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:41:46 UTC

Provide a universal basic income through the state tax system.

Eliminate asset limits for benefit programs

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:42:31 UTC

Eliminate asset limits for all benefit programs where the state has the authority to do so.

Increase public housing units

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:43:03 UTC

Increase public housing units and available vouchers especially for older adults and people with a disability

Integrated online application

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:43:27 UTC

Develop an integrated online application and portal for needs-based benefits and services, including a screener and outreach efforts, and establish an interagency council on conferred eligibility to maximize the benefits of integrated eligibility.

Common application

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:44:11 UTC

Implement a common application for core entitlement programs and a “no wrong door” application process.

Support and expand investment in early education and care

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:44:46 UTC

Support and expand investment in early education and care, including afterschool programs, to disrupt poverty and restore subsidized slots for lowincome children to pre-pandemic levels.

Support statewide food infrastructure

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:45:09 UTC

Support statewide food infrastructure, including Universal School Meals, SNAP, HIP, community food programs, Food Security Infrastructure Grants, and MassHealth Flexible Services

Raise TAFDC and EAEDC grant levels

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:45:34 UTC

Raise TAFDC and EAEDC grant levels to 100% of the federal poverty level.

Promote childcare and ASOST workforce development

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:46:11 UTC

Promote childcare and ASOST workforce development by investing in training, fostering partnerships, and subsidizing educators' childcare to meet labor market needs.

Improve and fund housing programs for extremely low-income households

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:47:02 UTC

Assist extremely low-income households with housing by improving and funding programs like RAFT, HomeBASE, Emergency Shelter, MRVP, and AHVP.

Improve data availability, transparency and integration at state level

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:48:43 UTC

Expedite state efforts to make data available, transparent, and integrated across relevant agencies to improve policy decisions for poverty aid programs.

Implement basic income program

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:49:13 UTC

Implement a basic income program for families with incomes below 250% of the Federal Poverty Line to supplement the existing TAFDC, ensuring broader and more sustained financial support.

Change tax system to benefit lower-income families

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:49:49 UTC

Enact changes to the tax system that benefit lower-income families and narrow wealth disparities, including expanding the refundable EITC and allowing ITIN holders to file.

Invest in vocational education

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:50:18 UTC

Expand capacity at vocational schools to meet the high demand and reduce waiting lists, ensuring more students have access to vocational education.

An Act to Advance Health Equity

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:50:49 UTC

Pass An Act to Advance Health Equity. (i.e., structural drivers of health inequities)

Advance asset building programs

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:51:19 UTC

Advance asset building among low-income families through programs such as matched savings accounts, baby bonds, and retirement savings programs

Increase access to early college programs

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:51:47 UTC

Increase access to early college programs that blend high school and college coursework, reduce the time and cost of earning a degree, and provide comprehensive support for success.

Increase tax credits to boost household financial resources

kathleenemccabe — 2025-05-05 19:52:24 UTC

Increase tax credits like Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Childcare Tax Credit (CTC) to boost household financial resources.