Building a System That Rewards Progress
Imagine getting a raise at work—and ending up poorer because of it.
That is the reality of the benefits cliff, a systemic flaw in America’s public safety net that punishes the very progress it is supposed to support. When an individual’s income rises even modestly, they can lose government assistance—SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies—that extra dollars on their paycheck won’t make up for. An estimated one in four individuals receiving public assistance have reduced their working hours, turned down a promotion, or quit a job to avoid the immediate loss of life’s essentials like healthcare, childcare and food access.
The Martha O’Bryan Center (MOBC) in Nashville decided to prove there is a better way.
In 2022, MOBC launched the Tennessee Alliance for Economic Mobility, a public-private partnership that brought together 30 organizations to provide family-centered coaching, benefits counseling, resource navigation, and transitional assistance to 1,300 families across 16 Middle Tennessee counties. The model treats families as whole people with strengths and aspirations—not as case numbers at risk of losing a benefit.
Kent Miller, CEO (formally COO who led the work), said, “We envision a public benefits system that stimulates career advancement and economic mobility, ultimately strengthening communities and the American economy.”
The results have been striking. In the alliance’s first three years, 41 percent of enrolled families increased their household income by an average of $20,000. And through careful benefits counseling and illustration—helping families see exactly how income changes affect their full financial picture—93 percent of those who earned more were able to avoid the cliff entirely.
We envision a public benefits system that stimulates career advancement and economic mobility, ultimately strengthening communities and the American economy.”
Kent Miller, CEO, Martha O’Bryan Center
With Kresge support, MOBC took what it learned in Tennessee and built a national initiative. In 2023, the center launched Beyond the Cliff, a coalition that began with 13 promising pilot programs across the country. In less than three years, it has grown to 70 partners working across 27 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico—sharing lessons, testing interventions, and advancing policy reform together.
In October 2025, the coalition released a federal policy agenda featuring six key solutions to eliminate the benefits cliff. The agenda arrives at a moment of growing bipartisan recognition that government assistance should align with the realities of achieving financial stability, not work against them.
The road ahead requires more. MOBC and its partners are calling on Congress to invest in long-term evaluation of cliff solutions, building the evidence base that sustainable policy change demands. They are also expanding the table—creating affinity groups for policymakers, employers, and practitioners to deepen coordination and widen the movement.
What started as a local demonstration in Middle Tennessee has become a national blueprint for a public benefits system that gives people the freedom and confidence to move forward.
