Human Services News

Brookings Institution

In 2003, a coalition of public, private, and not-for-profit actors in San Francisco began work to create a local city/county supplement to the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.

In addition to putting more money in the pockets of working families living in a high-cost city, the coalition sought to use the program to boost participation by eligible recipients in the federal EITC and to help low-income families connect to financial services and asset-building opportunities.

This paper tells the story of San Francisco's Working Families Credit---now in its second year---explaining how the program worked in its first year of operation, summarizing program outcomes and outputs thus far, and describing lessons learned and best practices for those considering developing a similar program in their own local jurisdictions.