A 2019 Connecticut law required that the Office of Policy and Management develop a Two-Generational Interagency Plan to address intergenerational poverty and support families in overcoming barriers to economic success. The plan is designed to improve interagency data sharing and community engagement with cross-agency indicators focused on collaboration, economic self-sufficiency, and racial and socioeconomic equity. The initiative began with proof of concept pilots, designed to use or build evidence.
The 2Gen Benefits Cliffs Work Group, formed in June 2019, has led statewide efforts to address benefits cliffs through data collection and analysis and development of policy solutions. In summer 2020, the 2Gen Benefits Cliffs Work Group in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta created Connecticut’s Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecaster (CT CLIFF) to illustrate the interaction among wages, public benefits, and tax credits in bringing (or failing to bring) families to economic stability, as well as potential taxpayer savings that result from career advancement.
The 2Gen work group beta-tested use of the CT CLIFF tool at four sites in Connecticut, including an early childhood education center, high school, and two job centers. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta was able to simulate state policy proposals along family type, public benefits package, career pathway, and region, therefore demonstrating value for policymakers in leveraging the tool to understand the impact of policy.