Introduction

• Published date: 01 March 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00027162231205756
• Author: Margot I. Jackson,Susan L. Moffitt,Susanna Loeb
• Date: 01 March 2023

ANNALS, AAPSS, 706, March 2023 7

DOI: 10.1177/00027162231205756

Introduction

By

MARGOT I. JACKSON,

SUSAN L. MOFFITT,

and

SUSANNA LOEB

1205756ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYINTRODUCTION

research-article2023

American public benefit provision bears little resem-

blance to a safety net capable of preventing people

from experiencing economic devastation. It is not a

carefully planned machinery of complementary pro-

grams but individual threads of support, some of which

connect, many of which do not. The increased need for

public benefit provision during the COVID-19 pan-

demic has renewed national and state policy debates on

the importance of a comprehensive system of public

investment in children. This volume draws on perspec-

tives from various academic disciplines, both to identify

the public supports that children need to thrive and to

analyze existing models of complementary public sup-

port provision that do benefit children. The persistence

of individual program-based support provisions and

administrative burdens make it difficult for the current

system to operate as a comprehensive safety net, but

recent innovations offer hope: these include the expan-

sion of the Child Tax Credit and collaborations between

public agencies and organizations that help integrate

aspects of service delivery. Missing, however, is the

political will at all levels of government to invest in an

infrastructure of support.

Keywords: safety net; administrative burdens; child

poverty

Correspondence: margotj@brown.edu

Margot I. Jackson is a professor of sociology at Brown

University. Her research focuses on inequality and pub-

lic policy among U.S. children and families and the role

of childhood circumstances in contributing to intragen-

erational and intergenerational inequality.

Susan L. Moffitt is a professor of political science and

international and public affairs and the director of aca-

demic programs for the Watson Institute for

International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

Her research focuses on challenges confronting policy

development and implementation in government agen-

cies, especially in public education and public health.

Susanna Loeb is a professor at the Graduate School of

Education at Stanford University. She was previously

the director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown

University, where she was also a professor of education

and of international and public affairs. Her research

focuses broadly on education policy and its role in

improving educational opportunities for students.