Control Household Costs
Family economic success requires that households can meet their basic needs as affordably as possible. Because most households rely on employment as the primary source of income, costs associated with going to work are critically important. Public policy can enhance the ability of parents to make work pay by improving the affordability of quality child care. All low-income households are affected by requirements for core expenditures. This includes items that consume a large portion of any family’s budget but also what has been found to be the additional “high cost of being poor.”
What Can Policymakers Do?