Low-Income Populations

This infographic illustrates the intersection of environmental justice with human services policies and programs. It presents key facts about how participants in human services programs are particularly affected by environmental injustice, and the ways in which these programs can help mitigate the effects of environmental issues, including climate change.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented economic and social impact on Americans, with particularly harsh effects on people in certain race and ethnic groups. Public programs intended to address these needs have also had uneven reach, with many less likely to benefit families of color.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented economic crisis with inequitable effects. Overall employment figures mask the disparate impacts on some communities of color, women, and low-wage workers. These groups were more likely to lose jobs, reduce hours worked, or withdraw from the labor market.

This factsheet presents estimates of access to internet services for low-income families, as well as differences by demographic characteristics and geography. Key takeaways include:

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020 Congress enacted emergency paid family leave (Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act) as well as emergency paid sick leave. This brief suggests lessons for facilitating the use of emergency paid family leave by lower-income families, drawing on research by ASPE on families’ participation in state paid family leave programs.

This research report presents the results of a mixed-methods study that drew on California state administrative data and findings from focus groups with low-income working mothers to 1) explore how lower-income parents interact with California's PFL program and 2) better understand the relationship between PFL and key elements of family well-being, especially for economically disadvantaged fami

This brief explores income and employment patterns of working families, potentially eligible for Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidies, over a 12-month period.  Analysis of the 2008 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) waves 8 to 11 (early 2011 to early 2012) followed a group of families who were assumed to be “eligible” for CCDF subsidies because they

This study used a rigorous difference-in-differences approach to examine the effect of child care policy on women's labor force participation.