EPI’s 2022 Candidate Briefing Book

Every election presents an opportunity for positive change. The question is: What type of change do you want to see in Rhode Island? We all share the common value of fair treatment and economic prosperity for ourselves and our families. We want to live in healthy and vibrant communities where we can thrive. Elections remind us that policies have significant …

FY2023 Budget and 2022 General Assembly Session In Review

Rhode Island’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget makes some substantial investments in Rhode Island and Rhode Islanders, while leaving on the table some important proposals. EPI has just released its in-depth review of the FY23 Budget and 2022 General Assembly session. This major report takes an in-depth look at legislative priorities that affect the lives of everyday Rhode Islanders. The report …

Ten Wins in 2022 Legislative Session

The Economic Progress Institute celebrates all of the organizations, advocates and legislators who helped to bring about these ten key wins to promote equity and economic security for all Rhode Islanders during the 2022 Legislative Session. Investments in Children and Families 1. More families eligible for child care assistance; better pay for providers. The RIght from the Start Campaign, co-led …

EPI Report details four transformative and equity-centered ways Rhode Island can invest ARPA funding

UpRise RI As Rhode Island lawmakers are engaged in final negotiations over the FY2023 state budget, the Economic Progress Institute (EPI) has published a report outlining how Rhode Island can shift expenditures of some American Rescue Program Act (ARPA) State Fiscal Recovery Funds (SFRF) as proposed in the Governor’s recommended budget to items that both embrace transformation and center equity. …

RI has resources to lift children from extreme poverty

Elizabeth Lange Special to Providence Journal (Print Edition) The time to act is now to lift more than 5,000 children in Rhode Island out of extreme poverty. The measure commonly used to define poverty is the federal poverty level (FPL), and equates to $1,919 per month for a family of three. Extreme poverty is defined as half of FPL — …

The Economic Progress Institute Announces New Executive Director

PROVIDENCE, RI—The Economic Progress Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies as its new Executive Director. Succeeding Rachel Flum and Interim Executive Director Margaux Morisseau, Nelson-Davies will lead the Economic Progress Institute in the next phase of its work to provide research, education, and advocacy on policies that improve economic security and opportunity for Rhode Islanders. Since …

RI Foundation: Use federal COVID aid to build homes, not to fix Superman Building

Patrick Anderson The Providence Journal PROVIDENCE — Rhode Islanders had plenty of ideas — more than 400, in fact — on how the state should spend its $1-billion American Rescue Plan windfall. They ranged from writing every resident a $600 check to investing in nuclear reactors to renovating the “Superman” building. But after six months of studying and compiling ideas, policy experts convened by the Rhode …

RI Foundation: Use federal COVID aid to build homes, not to fix Superman Building

The state needs to correction issues residents faced long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation’s president and CEO said By Alexa Gagosz Globe Staff,Updated October 19, 2021, 9:30 a.m. PROVIDENCE — Lawmakers in Rhode island are about to meet in committee hearings to develop ways in which Governor Dan McKee’s administration can spend the state’s $1.13 billion in federal dollars. …

RI Foundation panel sees housing, mental health, training as best uses of $1.1 billion federal windfall

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Affordable housing and support for hard-hit communities should be top priorities for Rhode Island leaders as they spend the state’s $1.1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funding, according to a highly anticipated report released Tuesday. General Assembly leaders have been awaiting the recommendations from the 15-member steering committee — which was convened by the Rhode Island …