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Elder Benefits Programs -- BBT Training

CLA, DLC, GBLS, MLRI, GSSSI
Materials from the April 30, 2024 Elder Benefits training, presented as part of the MLRI/MCLE Basic Benefits Training Series: Agenda Presentations Elder Basic Benefits Training: Additional resources for older adults (pdf of slides) Elder Basic Benefits Training: Medicare part D and…

Massachusetts State Supplement Payment Levels

Disability Law Center
Massachusetts State Supplement Payment Levels for 2024

Medicare Savings Programs: QMB, SLMB, and QI

Medicare Advocacy Project
The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) and Qualifying Individual (QI) programs are federal Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) which help low income elders and younger Medicare beneficiaries access Medicare benefits. This brochure is an overview of…

Medicare Amounts

Medicare Advocacy Project
The attached chart shows information on Medicare costs for 2024, including deductibles, premiums, co-insurance, and amount in controversy thresholds. Older chart(s) also included.

Medicare Part D Cost Sharing

Medicare Advocacy Project
Listed please find information on Medicare Part D costs for 2024.   Prior years also included.

House Ways and Means FY 2025 Budget Proposal: MLRI's Preliminary Analysis of Selected Issues

MLRI
On April 10, 2024, the House Committee on Ways and Means released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 (FY 25), which is referred to as House 4600.  MLRI offers this preliminary analysis of selected budget topics affecting low-income residents of the Commonwealth.   Download…

The new census racial categories ‘erase’ Afro Latinos

Tanya Kateri Hernandez
The new OMB standard now combines both inquiries into a single question of “What is your race and/ or ethnicity?” and collapses Latino/Hispanic ethnic identity into the list of ethno-racial categories with Black, White, Asian, American Indian, Middle Eastern, Native Hawaiian. While the OMB…

Immigrants and Public Benefits -- BBT Training and Resource Materials

MLRI
The following are materials are for the March 27, 2024 Immigrants and Public Benefits training. These are the core materials presented as part of the annual Mass Law Reform Institute and Mass Continuing Legal Education Basic Benefits Training (BBT) Series.  We've also added some…

FCC rule against broadband digital discrimination goes into effect

Linda Hardesty
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law required the FCC to adopt rules to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination in regard to access to broadband, and those rules went into effect on March 22. According to the FCC, the rules will “help to ameliorate a digital divide that has…

Adult Foster Care and SNAP

MLRI
Low-income persons who provide in-home care to disabled adults through the Adult Foster Care (AFC) program may be entitled to higher SNAP benefits. A household has the choice to include or exclude adult foster care members in the SNAP application.  The attached flyer gives additional…

Infographic flier: The Added Benefits of SNAP Benefits - in Five Languages

MLRI
MLRI infographic fliers in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, and Portuguese that explain the additional benefits of SNAP for Massachusetts--including Summer EBT food benefits, utility discounts, MBTA Youth Pass, museum discounts and more!  These fliers may be using in…

Health Benefits for All Massachusetts Residents Regardless of Citizenship

MLRI
A list of health programs available to all Massachusetts residents regardless of US citizenship or immigration status with a short description of each program and information on how to apply; in English, Spanish & Portuguese. Revised in March 2024 with updated COVID-19 information. 

Narrative Toolkits

The FrameWorks Institute
With sample language and user notes, FrameWorks’ issue-based toolkits offer practical framing strategies that communicators can put to immediate use.

2024 Upper Income Limits for MassHealth and other Coverage Programs

MLRI
Attached is MLRI's March 1, 2024 update of the upper income limits in MassHealth, MSP, Health Safety Net, CMSP and ConnectorCare.  MassHealth's Desk Guide with the updated March 1 2024 figures is attached and is also posted with other program financial guidelines at the website linked to…

Health Care Access Programs -- BBT Training

HLA, BPHC, HCFA, GBLS, MLRI
Materials from the February 29, 2024 Health Care Access Programs training, presented as part of the MLRI/MCLE Basic Benefits Training Series: Handout Materials Agenda (pdf) How to Apply for Public Health Insurance Benefits in Massachusetts (pdf of slides) ConnectorCare:…

Work Requirements Are Rooted in the History of Slavery

Ife Finch Floyd and Suzanne Wikle
Work requirements—or requiring people to find employment in order to access public benefits—force people to prove that they deserve a social safety net. But where did they come from, and why are they still a central part of economic policy today? 

Sworn Statement for Declaring Shelter Expenses for SNAP

MLRI
Households applying for SNAP benefits are not required to submit a lease, landlord verification or rent receipt to verify shelter costs. Instead, households can self declare rent, mortgage, and type of utility costs by sending DTA a written statement or providing the information to DTA over the…

Helping Families Get The TAFDC Children's Clothing Allowance

MLRI
Good news for families participating in the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) program! For the month of September, the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) increases the income eligibility limits and payment standards for the TAFDC program. This…

The Racial Wealth Divide And Black Homeownership: New Data Show Small Gains, Deep Fragility

Joseph Dean
KEY TAKEAWAYS: Black households had the largest percentage increase of any group in median net worth from 2019 to 2022, up 60% to $44,900. Black wealth gains did not, however, narrow the racial wealth divide to any meaningful degree: A three percentage-point contraction in the Black-White…

State SNAP Benefits: Resources for Massachusetts Immigrants

MLRI
Many low-income Massachusetts immigrants are eligible for SNAP food benefits - including federal SNAP and the newly available state-funded SNAP program. MLRI, Greater Boston Legal Services, and La Colaborativa have 2-page FAQs in English and Spanish to share with your clients.  Click here…

The DTA Assistance Line: Information for Clients and Community Organizations

MLRI
MLRI knows that right now it can be very hard to reach DTA by phone. Click here for a list of tips from MLRI on how to get help if you can't get through the DTA Assistance Line.  How do I reach DTA? DTA has one main phone number called the DTA Assistance Line: …

Online SNAP Calculator

MLRI
MLRI's revised and simplified online calculator gives you the monthly SNAP benefits amount a household typically receives based on their countable income and expenses.  Go to the  Massachusetts  Online SNAP Calculator  For a paper worksheet and an Excel calculator,…

Income and Benefit Standards for SNAP

MLRI
SNAP benefit levels, gross and net income tests, and deductions.

MA SNAP Calculation Worksheet

MLRI
Use the attached worksheet for  manual SNAP calculations. This worksheet is accurate starting February 1, 2024.   

Massachusetts SNAP Calculators

MLRI
Three ways to do the SNAP math for MA residents! 1. Online SNAP calculator: Here is a link to an online SNAP calculator that you can use right from your browser or mobile device, without downloading anything!  2. SNAP Excel calculator: You can download our…

At-a-Glance SNAP Benefit Charts

MLRI
Follow the links below to view "at-a-glance" SNAP benefits charts with sample SNAP amounts for: households with older adults or persons with disabilities,  working families, and households receiving unemployment. And, here is a chart that helps advise older adults and…

Governor's FY 2025 Budget Proposal: MLRI's Preliminary Analysis of Selected Issues

MLRI
On January 24, 2024, Governor Healey released her budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 (FY 25), which is referred to as House 2. MLRI offers this preliminary analysis of selected budget topics impacting low-income residents of the Commonwealth. Download MLRI's preliminary analysis…

National Trends of School Pushout: Summary of Discipline Data for Girls in U.S. Public Schools, 2011-2018

National Black Women's Justice Institute
A snapshot of national disciplinary trends among girls in public schools broken down by race and ethnicity across four school years between 2011 and 2018.

Why DEI Leaders Are Burning Out — and How Organizations Can Help

Kelly Pledger Weeks, Nicolina Taylor, Alison Hall Birch, Myrtle P. Bell, Anna Nottingham, and Louwanda Evans
Our in-depth interviews with 23 HR and DEI professionals across various industries in the United States offered evidence that the mantle of DEI work is emotionally taxing. These professionals shared vivid accounts of stress and frustration and expressed the need for near-constant emotional…

What Is Marginalization & What Can You Do About It?

Beth Castle
Marginalization, as we currently define it, is the act of relegating someone to an unimportant or powerless position—making them feel, if you will, like they’re the notes squeezed into the margins of society. Scrawled. Practically unreadable. Small. At work, marginalization happens because a…

Federal Poverty Guidelines - 2024

MLRI
The charts below set forth the annual, monthly and weekly 2024 Federal Poverty Guidelines (based on HHS thresholds).  In addition, the annual, monthly and weekly 115% of poverty, 125% of poverty,  187.5%, 200% of poverty and 300% of poverty amounts are listed. Finally, you can…

SNAP 101: Basic Benefits Training (BBT) Materials - January 2024

MLRI
Below are the powerpoints and materials from the January 24, 2024 SNAP training, presented as part of the MLRI/MCLE Basic Benefits Training series. Advocates are also encouraged to review the MLRI SNAP Advocacy Guide also listed below. About the Faculty SNAP 101 Presentation Slides…

Utility Advocacy for Low-Income Households in Massachusetts

MLRI, et. al.
Materials from the January 18, 2024 Utility Advocacy for Low-Income Households in Massachusetts training, presented as part of the MLRI/MCLE Basic Benefits Training Series: Agenda About the faculty Utilities Advocacy for Low-Income Households in Massachusetts (pdf of…

Building Narrative Power

Color of Change
Papers and Presentations Focused on Strategy, Infrastructure & Content for Culture Change and Narrative Change Strategies

Who lives here: Digging deep into Boston's demographics

Simón Rios
More than 650,000 people live in Boston — tiny by comparison to other major cities — but nearly 5 million inhabit the metro area. Boston itself officially became a majority-minority city in 2000, meaning fewer than half of residents identify as “non-Hispanic white.” Latinos, Black and…

Cash Assistance: TAFDC BBT Training

MLRI
Materials from the December 04, 2023 Cash Assistance training, presented as part of the MLRI/MCLE Basic Benefits Training Series: Training Presentation Materials Agenda  Faculty Bios  TAFDC Cash Assistance Program 2023 Training (pdf of slides) TAFDC Basic Rules (pdf of…

Are You Constantly On Guard at Work? You Might Be Experiencing Emotional Tax

Stephanie Olsen
Emotional tax is defined as a psychological burden, usually as a result of being different from those around you in terms of race or gender.  Are you always on high alert, defending and explaining yourself when you really shouldn’t have to? Maybe you hide your true self, trying to deflect…

Race Relations in Mexico- The Color Hierarchy

LibreTexts
Explanation of how racial relations in Mexico have been influenced by the colonial caste system.   Document date unknown.

How Tone Policing is Used to Silence Marginalized People

Nicole Cardoza, Anti-Racism Daily
Tone policing is one of many ways that dominant culture “polices” marginalized people. Either subconsciously (informed by one’s unconscious bias) or intentionally, some people use tone policing to deflect from their own inappropriate misconduct and put the person reacting to their…

Diversity Nudges The transformational power of small changes in attracting, recruiting, and onboarding new employees can deliver a diversity dividend

Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio
Despite their commitments to diversifying their workforces, many companies continue to struggle with attracting, hiring, and retaining employees from underrepresented groups. Achieving workplace diversity is not easy, but leaders can target, address, and nudge specific data points and…

Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrants

Amnesty International
There are many reasons why people around the globe seek to rebuild their lives in a different country. Some people leave home to get a job or an education. Others are forced to flee persecution or human rights violations such as torture. Millions flee from armed conflicts or other crises or…

Settlement: SNAP lawsuit against DTA about use of SNAP out of state

MLRI
  This information is for people who got a notice titled "Notice of Class Action Settlement in SNAP Lawsuit Against the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA)." These notices were mailed by DTA on July 3, 2023. Click here to see the notice in English.  Para leer esta…

Haitian Immigrants in the United States

Beatrice Dain and Jeanne Batalova
The recent increase in immigration to the United States from Haiti is the latest chapter in a decades-long story of migration in response to an array of disasters and crises. The United States is the world’s top destination for Haitian migrants. The nearly 731,000 Haiti-born U.S. residents are…

White patients are more likely than Black patients to be given opioid medication for pain in US emergency departments

Trevor Thompson and Sofia Stathi
White people who visit hospital emergency departments with pain are 26% more likely than Black people to be given opioid pain medications such as morphine. This was a key finding from our recent study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. We also found that Black patients were…

I studied 1 million home sales in metro Atlanta and found that Black families are being squeezed out of homeownership by corporate investors

Brian Y. An
It turns out that while Wall Street firms control just a sliver of the single-family rental market nationally, they can have much more influence at the local level. In the Atlanta metro area, these firms own nearly one-third of all single-family rental properties. They’re even more…

2023 Upper Income Limits in MassHealth and Health Connector

MLRI & MassHealth
MassHealth updates its income standards with the current year's poverty level on March 1. Attached is MLRI's table showing the upper income levels for MassHealth and Health Connector programs, updated to show the cost of living adjustments for 2023 that take effect in MassHealth…

How to think about race and administrative burdens

Don Moynihan
Administrative burdens limit access to resources and generate negative experiences of government. A related concern is that these burdens reinforce patterns of inequality. Indeed, the first formal guidance the the Biden administration offered on reducing administration burdens was in…

Racial bullying in schools is on the rise — including here in Mass.

Alexis RickmersOren Sellstrom
At a tranquil pond on Cape Cod this summer, a white teenager invoked George Floyd’s name. But it wasn’t to support the Black Lives Matter movement — it was to torment a Black youth, mocking him as his white friend allegedly trying to drown him. Earlier this month, white students at Concord…

CORI Basics: Criminal Record Sealing, Expungement & Related Issues

GBLS, VLP/ERLI and DCJIS
Materials from the October 17, 2023 CORI training, presented as part of the MLRI/MCLE Basic Benefits Training (BBT) series. Training Presentations and Handouts CORI Faculty Bios (pdf) MCLE CORI Presentation (pdf of slides) CORI Sealing and Expungement (pdf of slides)  Sealing at…

Income/Food Benefits and Immigrant Eligibility: Chart on Eligible Statuses

Pat Baker, MLRI & Naomi Meyer, GBLS
Cash and food stamp/SNAP eligibility chart by immigration status for Massachusetts residents.