Fact Sheet A companion to the report The Cliff Effect: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, this sums up the report's basic message about how the sudden loss of benefits like child care assistance - called the cliff effect - can act as a disincentive for hard-working families trying to lift themselves out of poverty. Also includes policy recommendations for mitigating the cliff effect. (State-level data on the child care assistance program)

Report How can a $1 raise in pay throw families into poverty? When they are at the ceiling for child care assistance eligibility, a tiny raise can mean they go from paying 18 percent of their income on child care to 38 percent. Work supports like child care assistance should help families achieve economic stability. But the sudden loss of benefits - called the cliff effect - can have the opposite effect. (State-level data on the child care assistance program)