South By North Strategies, Ltd.

A recent policy brief from the Center for Law and Social Policy reviews the impacts that selected provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have had on low-income workers and families.  Below are summaries of two provisions of interest to readers of Policy Points.

The Workforce Investment Act

The Recovery Act provided $2.95 billion for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult, Youth and Dislocated Worker employment and training programs, including $500 million for Adults, $1.25 billion for Dislocated Workers and $1.2 billion for summer jobs and youth activities. The legislation boosted the level of training and services to those affected by the recession and set new policy priorities.
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Effects for Adults: More than 8 million adults and dislocated workers received a range of employment and training services in 2009-2010.1 More than two-thirds (69.6 percent) of adults and more than three-2quarters (75.6 percent) of dislocated workers who entered education and training landed jobs, despite a difficult labor market.

Unemployment Insurance

The Recovery Act expanded and extended unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who lost jobs through no fault of their own during a deep economic recession. Individuals who exhausted regular state benefits (typically after 26 weeks) were eligible for a federally funded extension of benefits. In addition, a $25 weekly benefit was made available to all individuals receiving regular state benefits. As a result of the Recovery Act enhancements, 1.3 million Americans did not fall below the poverty line during 2009.
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The Recovery Act also provided up to $7 billion in incentive payments for state adoption of laws expanding access to benefits for low-wage workers, part-time workers and workers who leave jobs for compelling family reasons, such as domestic violence. More than 200,000 additional unemployed workers are likely to have access to the unemployment insurance system as a result of the Recovery Act provisions.