Local nonprofit Springfield WORKS and the Western Mass Economic Development Council have brought on a new director to lead their 'Bridge To Prosperity" pilot program. Krysten Joyce will lead the pilot as it guides low-income residents past the ''Cliff Effect"... which can often keep people trapped in poverty. Joyce explains how the program works, in a conversation with NEPM's Phil Bishop.
Krysten Joyce, Program Director, 'Bridge to Prosperity': The cliff effect is the sudden loss of public benefits when someone income goes up, and it really makes someone worse off when that happens. So, you know, a low wage worker might be relying on public benefits to make ends meet, and then they start making more money. Maybe they get a raise or start moving to full time work from part time work so their income increases. Then suddenly, and really often unexpectedly, they end up losing public benefits. We hear from workers and from employers that folks end up turning down promotions and not looking for higher wage jobs because they know it's not worth it, that they're going to be worse off and have less resources to support their families after after they have hit a cliff.
Phil Bishop, NEPM: The Bridge to Prosperity pilot program from Springfield Works is trying to bridge that gap between earned wages and necessary benefits. What are some of the solutions that the program is presenting?
So there are several components of the program. So one is they're importantly receiving monthly cash payments. We know that folks will start losing benefits when they start earning more. So we are providing benefits to folks on a monthly pay monthly basis to keep them stabilized. And they're also working with our coaching partners. They're receiving one on one coaching from coaches at the United Way of Pioneer Valley, Worcester Community Action Council and Women's Money Matters in Boston, coaching around the cliff to understand how they can manage around it when they lose those public benefits. Another really important part of the pilot is our employer partners, and we're really looking to expand that part of the pilot, because we really think it's an important piece that folks are connected to jobs and that their employers are at the table supporting this work.
And another part of this program is a larger cash stipend, aimed at long-term relief?
The final piece of the pilot, after two years of participating in this, receiving the payments, working with a coach, folks will receive a $10,000 payment at the end. We see this as an asset building payment, really helping folks bridge from the pilot into economic stability. They can use that payment to purchase a reliable car, to get to a better job or to move into a more suitable apartment.
So this pilot program is looking at the three major metropolitan areas of Massachusetts: Boston, Worcester and Springfield, and it's emphasizing Black and Latino residents. How are these populations disproportionately affected by the cliff effect?
So we know that more folks receiving public benefits, fall into those groups. One out of seven Massachusetts residents receive SNAP, but one out of three of those are Hispanic or one out of four are black residents. This is based on 2020 US census information. So we know that more folks that are Hispanic or black residents are more likely to receive benefits [due to the same economic factors that lead to increased rates of poverty among vulnerable populations]. So they're also more likely to hit the cliff, to be impacted by that, than white residents of the state.
Springfield Works says it wants the program to become a model for permanent policy change. What are the parameters that you will be looking at to see if this program is working as a sustainable solution?
What we really want is policy change to get rid of the benefits cliff, right? We shouldn't have these cliffs that are affecting people, suddenly pushing them off public benefits and getting them into a worse situation. So we want to test the concept of supporting people in this way to show that if folks are stable, as they're moving up the career ladder, that they will pursue higher paying jobs and they will seek jobs that can meet their needs, but they're just hamstrung in doing that right now because of the benefits cliff. So really, what we want to do is test this again as a concept. Understand more about the policy levers that can be changed to get rid of the cliff effect, and then this won't be a trap going forward, that folks can have a smooth transition off of public benefits and move into life-sustaining jobs.
What does this program tell us about the state of public benefits?
We are not criticizing the public benefits in general. We strongly believe in having a social safety net available to support children and families when they need it. Those are life-sustaining benefits. But what we are focusing on is transforming that social safety net into a launchpad to economic mobility for when families are ready for it.
That was NEPM's Phil Bishop speaking with Kristen Joyce, the director of the 'Bridge to Prosperity' pilot program. Springfield WORKS and the EDC say they are planning to enroll the first participants in the program this year.
