RESEARCH
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WORKFORCE/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Many Texans are poor, not because they don't work, but because their work pays too little to raise a family out of poverty. To ensure economic prosperity, Texas must support work, make work pay, and help families build their assets.
View Recent Workforce/Economic Development Publications >>
Related Subcategories:
Work Supports/Child Care
Labor Market/Wages
Asset Building
PUBLIC BENEFITS
The center focuses on health care access, immigrants' access to services, food and nutrition, the state's eligibility and enrollment system, and TANF.
View Recent Public Benefits Publications >>
Related Subcategories:
Health Care Access
Food/Nutrition
Immigrants' Access to Services
Eligibility/Enrollment Delivery
TANF
CHILD PROTECTION
The center is deeply comitted to safeguarding Texas' six million children from abuse or neglect.
View Recent Child Protection Publications >>
SCHOOL FINANCE
The center believes that equitable and adequate school funding is essential to our economic prosperity.
View Recent School Finance Publications >>
BUDGET
The center's work on state budget issues helps policy makers, advocates, the media, and the general public understand the effect that Texas' two-year budget will have on low- and moderate-income families.
View Recent Budget Publications >>
TAXES
Improving the adequacy and fairness of our state and local tax system is a cornerstone of the center's mission. Here you will find our analyses of tax proposals.
View Recent Taxes Publications >>
FAMILY ECONOMIC SECURITY
The center works to identify and define the issues facing Texas' large low-income population. Whether it's documenting the actual amount of money it takes to support families' basic needs in every metropolitan area in Texas, or chronicling the real compromises working families make in order to survive, the center provides the data and the stories behind low- and moderate-income Texans.
View Recent Family Economic Security Publications >>
FEDERAL ISSUES
The federal government contributes significantly to our state's economy through federal spending in Texas for things like Social Security and Medicare. In addition, the federal government provides over a third of the money in the state budget, helping to support, for example, education and health care. Federal issues are growing increasingly urgent. The federal government is running a significant budget deficit while fighting wars and cutting taxes. This course is not sustainable. Over the next several years, reality will require critical decisions about federal spending and taxes. To keep you informed, we will post links on this page to useful analyses of timely issues by reliable experts. Check with us to stay current.
Hot Links on Federal Issues
January 11, 2008
Community VITA Sites Get Big Federal Boost; CPPP Develops New Local Materials
The recently enacted 2008 budget bill includes a boost for community tax centers that help working families file tax returns for little to no cost. The bill authorizes an $8 million matching grant demonstration program for Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs through the end of Federal Fiscal Year 2009 (September 30, 2009). Community VITA programs play a critical role in Texas and across the nation by helping lower-income individuals claim valuable tax credits and refunds, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child Tax Credit.
Learn more about the amendment at http://www.cppp.org/research.php?aid=742. Here you can also access CPPP's short and user-friendly presentation to educate volunteer tax preparers about the impact of savings on public benefits eligibility, as well as access CPPP's new flyers (in English and Spanish) that volunteer tax preparers can give to their low-income clients when helping prepare their taxes.
View Recent Federal Issues Publications >>
KIDS COUNT
The Center for Public Policy Priorities is the Texas home to KIDS COUNT, a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the U.S. funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In addition to publishing annual reports, the center also offers access to an interactive, comprehensive database of county-by-county and state data on child well-being.
View Recent KIDS COUNT Publications >>