Strategies

Provide education, information, counseling, and support for breastfeeding to women throughout pre- and post-natal care

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

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

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

Provide outreach and support to assist those whose employers do not offer affordable coverage, who are self-employed, or who are unemployed

Increase patients’ health-related knowledge via efforts to simplify health education materials, improve patient-provider communication, and increase overall literacy

Establish locally mandated wages that are higher than state or federal minimum wage levels

Regulate mental health insurance to increase access to mental health services, including treatment for substance use disorders

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