Rubber Stamp Justice:  Can’t we stop this abuse? Human Rights Watch released a report in January entitled Rubber Stamp Justice:  U.S. Courts, Debt Buying Corporations and the Poor.  This Report does an excellent job shining a light on problems that legal aid attorneys and their clients have been complaining about for years. “Every year, several […]

A big “THANK YOU!” goes to Governor McAuliffe and Secretary Hazel. Their leadership and support of efforts to increase access to affordable health coverage throughout Virginia made it possible to achieve such strong enrollment numbers in the Health Insurance Marketplace. “Having access to health care coverage is critical as we work toward improving the health […]

See the faces and read the stories of everyday Virginians’ struggle with healthcare access under our current system without Medicaid expansion. ‘Faces of Virginia’s Coverage Gap’, is a storybook that highlights the real need for expanding coverage to the many people of the commonwealth caught in the gap. They are hard-working, in need of basic […]

VPLC is once again working with Voices for Virginia’s Children on foster care issues.  Below is a guest blog from Amy Woolard , Legislative Director for Voices for Virginia’s Children, previously posted on their website. A column was just published in the Richmond Times Dispatch by Delegate Jennifer McClellan on the need for funding youth […]

Each legislative session in recent years has ushered in multiple proposals to drug test TANF recipients. This year was no exception.  A House subcommittee on Health, Welfare, and Institutions considered three such measures earlier this week, but declined to advance either of them.  The subcommittee got it right and here’s why: There is no statewide […]

This year, multiple legislators have introduced bills designed to increase TANF benefits; and for good reason.  TANF, which provides cash-assistance for low-income families with children, has weakened considerably as a safety net.  Since 1996, the value of program benefits has declined by 28% in Virginia.  Current benefit levels can leave family incomes well below the […]