Resources

>>>CDF – Minnesota Publications
CDF – Minnesota Publications2018-09-05T09:56:05-06:00

We are in the process of updating this section to include all of our Research and Publications. Please check back later for this section to be updated and to included a comprehensive listing of CDF-MN publications. In the meantime, if there is something you’re looking for please contact Jennifer Bertram at jbertram@childrensdefense.org.

  •   Flexible Cash – The Tax Credit Opportunity

    Flexible cash is what families need to be able to create a nurturing, stable platform from which they and their children can successfully launch.  There are multiple ways to deliver flexible cash to families. CDF-MN is working on three: improving the cash assistance portion of the Minnesota Family Investment Program, guaranteed income pilots, and tax credits. In this brief we focus on tax credits.

  •   One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Addressing the Benefits Cliff Barrier to Family Economic Stability and Mobility

    Many experts point to cliff effects as the primary reason low-income families fail to achieve self sufficiency. Cliff effects occur when benefits from public work support programs (such as medical assistance, SNAP, child care assistance, etc.) decrease or end completely as household income increases. Because program eligibility and benefit amounts are based on income, as families earn more money, public work support benefits phase out or end abruptly. Often the increased amount of income a family may receive by accepting a new job, getting a raise or increasing hours worked does not make up for the loss or decrease of benefits. The result is that families are stuck on a one-step forward, two steps back pathway that delays their progress toward economic stability and prevents them from successfully making the transition to self-sufficiency.

    Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota recommends a variety of approaches that could be taken to address the benefits cliff challenges faced by struggling families. Using our Economic Stability Indicator (ESI) tool, we are able to build scenarios that allow us to analyze and evaluate potential solutions that would soften the impact of cliff effects.

  •   2022 CDF-MN Policy Agenda

    We ALL benefit when children and families thrive, including those growing up in Black, Indigenous and communities of color. At Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota, we believe everyone has a role to play in ensuring every child has a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. The Children’s Defense Fund envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.

  •   2021 CDF-MN Advocacy Agenda

    As COVID has upended our communities and families, Minnesota state and local leaders have responded with urgency and creativity. We at CDF-MN are ready to work with policymakers to continue the extraordinary leadership and vital investments in families necessary to meet this moment.

  •   2018 Minnesota KIDS COUNT Data Book: Building Community in a Time of Changing Needs

    The 2018 Minnesota KIDS COUNT Data Book entitled “Building Community in a Time of Changing Needs” focuses on trends in key indicators of child and family well-being […]

  •   Voices and Choices for Children 2018 Equity Election Guide

  •   2018 Election Guide: Creating a Strong Start for Minnesota Children

  •   Ending Child Poverty Now – Minnesota Supplement

  •   Family Economic Security Act – 2013

  •   2017 MN Kids Count by County – Aitkin

    Aitkin

Jump to a Policy:

  •   Understanding and Strengthening Minnesota’s Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health System of Care

    Over the last several decades, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of supporting the social and emotional well-being of young children and their families. Through a public-private project, Building Strong Foundations for Families, Minnesota’s team developed policy recommendations to strengthen the infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) system and recommended a systems map of the current system. These report recommendations were derived from interviews with 19 stakeholders representing the Minnesota’s early childhood mental health system, including advocates, state government staff, early childhood educators, mental health professionals, pediatricians, and others.

  •   2022 CDF-MN Policy Agenda

    We ALL benefit when children and families thrive, including those growing up in Black, Indigenous and communities of color. At Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota, we believe everyone has a role to play in ensuring every child has a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. The Children’s Defense Fund envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.

  •   2021 CDF-MN Advocacy Agenda

    As COVID has upended our communities and families, Minnesota state and local leaders have responded with urgency and creativity. We at CDF-MN are ready to work with policymakers to continue the extraordinary leadership and vital investments in families necessary to meet this moment.

  •   Voices and Choices for Children 2018 Equity Election Guide

  •   2018 Election Guide: Creating a Strong Start for Minnesota Children

  •   Five Ways the Affordable Care Act Ensures Health Coverage, Care and Cost Savings in Minnesota

  •   2022 CDF-MN Policy Agenda

    We ALL benefit when children and families thrive, including those growing up in Black, Indigenous and communities of color. At Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota, we believe everyone has a role to play in ensuring every child has a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. The Children’s Defense Fund envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.

  •   Summer 2021 Freedom Schools Impact

    During Summer 2021, CDF Freedom Schools® in Minnesota continued to meet the needs of the community by providing safe, culturally relevant programming & resources to scholars & their families amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

  •   2021 CDF-MN Advocacy Agenda

    As COVID has upended our communities and families, Minnesota state and local leaders have responded with urgency and creativity. We at CDF-MN are ready to work with policymakers to continue the extraordinary leadership and vital investments in families necessary to meet this moment.

  •   2018 Election Guide: Creating a Strong Start for Minnesota Children

  •   2022 CDF-MN Policy Agenda

    We ALL benefit when children and families thrive, including those growing up in Black, Indigenous and communities of color. At Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota, we believe everyone has a role to play in ensuring every child has a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. The Children’s Defense Fund envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.

  •   2021 CDF-MN Advocacy Agenda

    As COVID has upended our communities and families, Minnesota state and local leaders have responded with urgency and creativity. We at CDF-MN are ready to work with policymakers to continue the extraordinary leadership and vital investments in families necessary to meet this moment.

  •   2022 CDF-MN Policy Agenda

    We ALL benefit when children and families thrive, including those growing up in Black, Indigenous and communities of color. At Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota, we believe everyone has a role to play in ensuring every child has a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. The Children’s Defense Fund envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.

Explore other Policy Priorities

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