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Public-benefit programs should ensure that families headed by grandparents and other caregiver relatives receive sufficient support for economic security and well-being.
Efforts to reform entitlement spending should recognize the following factors:
Higher levels of government should provide adequate resources when mandating functions to lower levels of government.
Services should be implemented and operated by the level of government that can most appropriately and efficiently deliver them.
Congress should increase funding for the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) programs. Funding should reflect the increased population of older Americans.
Policymakers should explore new, more consumer-centered systems for providing low-income assistance.
Congress and state legislatures should ensure that all lawfully present non-citizen residents who qualify for essential low-income benefits have access to them.
Asset limits for public-benefit programs should be increased to ensure that they do not discourage saving. These limits should then be indexed to keep up with inflation.
The federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit levels should be increased to bring beneficiaries up to the poverty level. States should supplement those benefit payments.
Federal and state policymakers should maintain fairness in the Electoral College. They should maximize voter participation and encourage public engagement with candidates and issues.