Work Supports

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Work Supports

San Francisco has among the highest cost of living in the country. Thus, the wages earned by many entry-tier and lower-income workers are not sufficient to support their families.

By either bolstering income or reducing expenses, work supports help low-income workers and families to make ends meet and stay in the workforce. Work supports incorporate a range of programs, including, but not limited to: subsidized health insurance and child care, utility discounts, transportation and nutrition assistance, and tax credits.

SF Works’ policy activities relevant to work supports focus on eliminating barriers to access and expanding resources. The San Francisco Working Families Credit exemplifies these efforts.

Learn more:

• Eliminating Barriers to Access

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    The challenges of supporting a family on low wages are particularly pronounced in San Francisco, where the cost of living is among the highest in the nation. At the same time, workers in San Francisco have among the lowest take-up rate for work supports (e.g., tax credits, Food Stamps, etc) in the nation. For example, with just 23% of eligible individuals enrolled, San Francisco is tied for last place among the nation’s big cities for take-up of Food Stamps.

    In focus groups for the Working Families Credit, applicants indicated that the most common reasons for not applying for work supports are

    access barriers

    frustrations with benefit amounts, and

    misperceptions about eligibility criteria. Through our policy efforts, SF Works seeks to improve communication about publicly provided work supports and reduce barriers to participation.

    
    
    
• Expanding Resources

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    In early 2008 SF Works will launch a screening tool that will boost San Francisco employers’ ability to support their entry-tier and low-wage employees. SF Works will make it possible for workers to access tax credits, community resources and public benefits through a single, web-based portal. In phase two of the product launch, SF Works will help businesses access hiring tax credits valued from $2,400-$32,000 per eligible employee. Learn more about the benefits portal.
    
    
• Working Families Credit

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    In 2003, SF Works partnered with Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth to lead a coalition of public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders in advocating for the creation of a local supplement to the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. Announced by Mayor Gavin Newsom shortly after his election, the San Francisco Working Families Credit was first implemented during the 2005 tax season.

    Since then SF Works’ has succeeded in getting the City to expand its goals for the Working Families Credit from increasing take up by eligible San Franciscans of the federal EITC to also helping low-income families connect to work supports, financial services and asset-building opportunities. More information about the Working Families Credit is available at www.workingfamiliescredit.org.

    Reports and articles about the Working Families Credit, can be found in our publications.