Dennis Matthews’ life is unrecognizable since he enrolled in the IDA program. In 1999, Dennis was $10,000 in debt, had lost his job and had taken a new job with a 45% salary reduction. “I was in so much trouble,” he says. “The cost of living was so high.”

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What States Should Do: Help Struggling Families and Change the Trajectory of Our Economy
Opinion by Jennifer Brooks, CFED Policy Director, March 2009

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With the unemployment rate continuing its uptick, record increases in the foreclosure rate and losses on Wall Street, the prospects for economic security look dim to many families. The American people are looking to government – at all levels – both to help struggling families and to help change the trajectory of our economy. The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act enacted in February will go a long way to do both. Now it is up to the states to make wise use of that assistance.