Share your cliff effect story


Photo: Mikhail Nilov, Pexels

It’s time to share cliff effect stories!

The cliff effect is what happens when an increase in workers’ wages results in a disproportionate decrease in their public benefits. This leads many workers, including early childhood professionals and parents with young children, to turn down promotions and pay increases for fear of losing a child care subsidy or other public benefits, including MassHealth insurance, housing vouchers, and WIC.

To publicize this problem, Springfield WORKS is working with Strategies for Children to collect stories from early childhood professionals who have experienced the cliff effect. Springfield WORKS manages the state-funded Cliff Effect pilot.

So please share your own cliff effect challenges on this form and encourage others to do the same.

“Specifically, we are interested in how the cliff effect has influenced your decisions related to employment, professional growth, or accessing child care services,” Springfield WORKS explains. “Your insights will help illustrate the real-life challenges and inform better policy decisions.

Springfield WORKS will be drafting a two-pager on the cliff effect to share with the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Early Education and Child Care Task Force. “We hope to include a few personal stories in the 2-pager. Responses can remain anonymous if preferred.”

For more information on the Cliff Effect Pilot, check out these slides from a recent 9:30 Call.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Hannah Reuter (the Bridge to Prosperity Pilot Director at Springfield WORKS) at [email protected]



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