Strategies

Provide financial assistance to working parents, or parents attending school, to pay for child care

Expand federal or state child tax credits by increasing credit amounts, making credits refundable, decreasing or eliminating the earnings threshold, or creating a fully refundable supplement

Use specialized courts to offer criminal offenders with drug dependency problems an alternative to adjudication or incarceration

Expand refundable earned income tax credits for working individuals and families with low to moderate incomes

Use specialized courts to work with parents involved in the child welfare system who may lose custody of their children due to substance abuse

Offer loan repayment, tuition assistance, competitive academic salaries, etc. to students who teach in nursing programs after completing an advanced degree

Adopt policies that allow custodial parents who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to collect all child support paid by the non-custodial parent; no portion is retained by the state

Increase wages and benefits for personal or home care workers, nurse aides, and others who provide direct care to patients in long-term care (LTC) settings

Provide medications such as methadone to individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder in outpatient, residential, and hospital settings, usually with counseling and behavioral therapies; often called MAT

Increase the lowest hourly, daily, or monthly compensation that employers may legally pay to workers