University of Wisconsin–Madison
Progressive Local Government
For the 21st Century

ProGov21 Policy Library

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Child Tax Credit Enhancements Under the American Rescue Plan
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2021
Level National
State(s) All States
Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Children & Families
President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan, includes a significant expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC). The proposal provides a $125 billion boost in funding for the program, which would double the size of the existing federal credit for households...
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Expanding the Blueprint: the Role of Nonprofit and Private Organizations in Milwaukee’s Affordable Housing Landscape
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level City or Town
State(s) Wisconsin
Source Wisconsin Policy Forum
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Housing
Nonprofit and private organizations are playing an important role in combating Milwaukee's housing challenges. Through a series of surveys and interviews, this report outlines which organizations are most active in efforts to maintain and increase affordable housing supply and access;...
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Expanding State EITCs: Age Enhancements and a Credit Increase for Workers without Children in the Home
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level State
State(s) All States
Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Children & Families
In offsetting federal income and payroll taxes and supplementing the earnings of low-wage workers across the country, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the U.S. However, the EITC provides little or no benefits to workers without...
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Invest, Democratize, Organize: Lessons on Building More Equitable Cities From Nashville and Raleigh-Durham
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town
State(s) North Carolina, Tennessee
Source Partnership for Working Families
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Community Development, Housing
Citywide development that uses traditional business practices, which have historically benefitted from and perpetuated racialized inequality, can threaten to displace the most disadvantaged communities. This report provides tools and resources for groups that are advocating for more...
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Laying the Foundation: An Overview of City of Milwaukee Affordable Housing Programs and Priorities
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) Wisconsin
Source Wisconsin Policy Forum
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Housing
This report outlines the scope and scale of Milwaukee's affordable housing programs and initiatives, the people they serve, their finances, and their sustainability and/or expansion. Programs and initiatives include rent assistance, permanent supportive housing, eviction prevention...
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The Case for Extending State-Level Child Tax Credits to Those Left Out: A 50-State Analysis
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level State
State(s) All States
Source Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Children & Families
The current federal Child Tax Credit (CTC), which provides up to $2,000 per child, is designed to provide an income boost to parents or guardians of children and other dependents. However, many low-income families do not receive the full benefit of the federal credit due to an earnings...
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Wilson Hits a Fiber-to-the-Home Run with Greenlight Municipal Broadband Network
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) North Carolina
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Community Development, Data & Technology
Due to monopoly control of broadband technology, millions of Americans do not have internet access because it is not available or affordable. To circumvent this problem, the city of Wilson began building a citywide Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network called Greenlight in 2008, after...
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What Does Good Child Care Reform Look Like?
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2017
Level City or Town, State
State(s) All States
Source Center for the Study of Child Care Employment
Policy Areas Children & Families, Economic Justice, Education
Achieving high-quality early care and education for all children will require meaningful public policy interventions and investments. Effective childcare reform must tackle the current system's main problems: lack of resources for parents to stay home with very young children, lack...
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Basic Income in Cities: A Guide to City Experiments and Pilot Projects
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source National League of Cities
Policy Areas Economic Justice
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a cash payment granted to all members of a community on a regular basis, regardless of employment status or income level. This guide provides recommendations to cities looking to pilot UBI policies. In particular, it provides tips on how cities should...
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Local Policies for Environmental Justice: A National Scan
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source The New School
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health
While local zoning codes and land use policies historically have been tools for segregating people and concentrating pollution in low-income communities and communities of color, community-based advocacy can transform these same tools into means for addressing cumulative burdens borne...
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Parking: A Major Barrier to Equitably Oriented Transit
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source SPARCC
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Community Development, Transportation & Mobility
Parking policies are an integral part of implementing equitable transit-oriented development (eTOD). Policies such as “free parking” (which increases housing and consumer costs), zoning and land use regulations that require an overabundancce of parking, and the application of suburban...
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Block by Block: Milwaukee’s Amani Housing Pilot as a Model for Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level City or Town
State(s) Wisconsin
Source Wisconsin Policy Forum
Policy Areas Community Development, Housing
The Amani Housing Pilot aims to take a comprehensive and community-engaged approach to improve housing on one block in Milwaukee's Amani neighborhood. This report outlines the pilot's objectives, funding mechanisms, and partnerships; analyzes where the project has met its objectives...
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Building Resiliency Through Green Infrastructure: A Community Wealth Building Approach
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source The Democracy Collaborative
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development
Those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are those without living wages or access to political power. As a result, it is necessary for climate resiliency strategies to adopt a framework of community wealth building. Cities have recently integrated more green infrastructure...
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Broad-Based Ownership Models As Tools for Job Creation: A Guide to How Community Development is Using Broad-Based Ownership Models To Help Low and Moderate-Income Communities
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source The Democracy Collaborative
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Community Development
In an attempt to combat the growing challenge of wealth inequality, leaders and policymakers are looking to broad-based ownership models as tools to create jobs and build community wealth. These models are highly effective, with a positive impact for low and moderate-income individuals...
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Free College For All: Organizing Guide
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town, State
State(s) All States
Source People's Action
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Education
The higher education system is a major force in economic, racial, and gender inequality that serves the pockets of corporations and the ultra-wealthy. This report delves into the principles, membership, and strategies of Student Action, a group devoted to utilizing direct action,...
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How Telecom Monopolies are Blocking Better Internet Access, and What We Can Do About It
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Data & Technology
Monopoly control of broadband technology is leaving many Americans unable to access high-speed internet. In particular, the market power of the biggest cable companies allows them to lock customers into overpriced, underperforming Internet service contracts for which they don’t have...
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Summary of the Results from the Child Support for College (CS4C) Asset-Building Initiative
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2013
Level State
State(s) Texas
Source Child & Family Research Partnership
Policy Areas Children & Families, Education
This report presents findings from the Child Support for College (CS4C) pilot program, a public-private collaboration to promote college attendance and financial literacy among those in the Texas child support system. In particular, the program encourages college savings by providing...
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How Local Providers Built the Nation’s Best Internet Access in Rural North Dakota
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town, State
State(s) North Dakota
Source Institute of Local Self-Reliance
Policy Areas Community Development, Data & Technology
Rural North Dakota has some of the greatest internet connectivity in the country. In fact, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) data, rural North Dakotans are more likely to have access to gigabit speeds and fiber broadband than the state’s urban residents—even more...
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Preempting Progress in the Heartland: State Lawmakers in the Midwest Prevent Shared Prosperity and Racial, Gender, and Immigrant Justice by Interfering in Local Policymaking
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source EARN
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance
Across the midwest, conservative state lawmakers have increasingly used preemption—a tactic whereby a higher level of government limits or eliminates the power of a lower-level government to regulate an issue—to reduce the policy tools and power available to local lawmakers. This...
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10 Ways to Rebuild the Middle Class for Hard Working Americans
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2012
Level City or Town, State
State(s) All States
Source Partnership for Working Families
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Public Safety, Health
The U.S. economy is headed towards greater inequality as middle-class jobs are becoming increasingly scarce, while low wage jobs are growing. This report details ten proposals to strengthen the economy for the long term by creating “good” jobs and addressing the economic insecurity...
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State(s) of Head Start
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level State
State(s) All States
Source National Institute for Early Education Research
Policy Areas Children & Families, Education
Head Start is a comprehensive child development program that provides education and support services to children and their families. Despite the fact that Head Start is a federally funded, national program, this report reveals that access to Head Start programs, funding per child,...
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Building Resiliency: The Role of Anchor Institutions in Sustaining Community Economic Development
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2013
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Education, Health, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, Children & Families
Chester, Pennsylvania, a small, formerly industrial city located on the Delaware River, not far from Philadelphia, exemplifies the problems and possibilities faced by older manufacturing cities across the United States, especially in the Northeast and Midwest. Chester's problems of...
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Good Jobs in a Clean Energy Economy Through The Clean Power Plan
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level City or Town, State
State(s) California, New York, Oregon
Source Partnership for Working Families
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Energy
This toolkit discusses strategies that deliver high quality jobs with career pathways accessible to workers in low-income communities and communities of color. As the primary implementers of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), state governments play a critical role in ensuring that the expansion...
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Y-Plan Public Space Policy Brief
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source U.C. Berkeley Center For Cities & Schools
Policy Areas Community Development, Public Spaces, Health, Transportation & Mobility
Public spaces are crucial to a community’s collective well-being. Although public spaces are intended to be equally accessible, young people, particularly low-income BIPOC, are made to feel unwelcome or excluded in many public spaces by the built environment, police, and other users....
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Creating a Fairer State Tax System and Economy for All Families
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2013
Level State
State(s) Hawaii
Source Hawai'i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Democracy & Governance
Hawaii's lower-income families are faced with almost insurmountable structural challenges to escaping poverty. They face the highest cost of living and highest cost of shelter in the nation. At the same time, Hawaii's wages are the lowest in the nation when adjusted for the cost of...
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