As the United States begins to recover from the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, many individuals and families continue to experience economic hardship. Many were stretched thin before the pandemic, while for others, things like a sudden job loss meant navigating living at the economic margins for the first time.  Despite the increased hardship that millions of Americans faced, predatory payday lenders continued their deceptive practices during many borrowers’ time of greatest need. While payday loans were a harmful financial product before the pandemic, COVID-19 exacerbated and magnified the disproportionate and devastating impact of predatory lending on working families. Unfortunately, a […]

BY ESTHER LAGERWEY  As the United States begins to recover from the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, many individuals and families continue to experience economic hardship. Many were stretched thin before the pandemic, while for others, things like a sudden job loss meant navigating living at the economic margins for the first time.  Despite the increased hardship that millions of Americans faced, predatory payday lenders continued their deceptive practices during many borrowers’ time of greatest need. While payday loans were a harmful financial product before the pandemic, COVID-19 exacerbated and magnified the disproportionate and devastating impact of predatory lending on […]

On December 17, 2020, the outgoing Trump administration published a consolidated Final Rule amending the equal treatment regulations governing federal funding in the major agencies that support social assistance programs. These include the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Education, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and the Agency for International Development. The revised regulations clarify the right of faith-based organizations to participate equally with secular organizations in those funding programs. These changes stem from recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. They further the goal of the faith-based initiative to ensure the government partners with civil society […]

Anna Cole was a 2020 recipient of the Center for Public Justice’s Hatfield Prize. Cole (Wheaton College ‘21) and faculty advisor Timothy W. Taylor, Ph.D., researched the impact of predatory lending on under-resourced communities and identified promising models for responsible credit options in DuPage County, Illinois. DISCOVER It all started with a flyer advertising “Cash Today!”. Dave, a young, divorced father of two, just needed $200 to get extra groceries because it was his weekend with the children. He was working full-time as a sales representative, but an unexpected car repair had recently drained his savings account. His bank didn’t offer […]

The coronavirus pandemic has been especially challenging for child care providers. With the lockdown, many families were out of work or working from home and stopped using child care. Providers had to cope with sick or quarantined staff. New intensive cleaning methods had to be implemented. Building spaces needed to be reconfigured and their capacity downsized. At the same time, expanded child care hours were needed by some essential workers, and governments wanted to be sure that enough daycare programs remained open even if the child counts were way down. Unfortunately, in providing that needed extra funding, Congress chose a funding […]