SALT LAKE CITY (June 2, 2026) — Today, Sutherland Institute released a report showing a growing coalition of state and federal leaders is laying the groundwork for the most significant rethinking of America’s social safety net in 30 years. Utah is emerging as a leading force in the effort.

The report, authored by Sutherland’s Senior Fellow and Vice President of Strategy Nic Dunn, outlines how states across the country are increasingly pursuing reforms aimed at helping low-income families escape poverty by addressing benefit cliffs, simplifying government systems, and expanding state-led innovations.

The key components of the new welfare reform movement include:

• States pursuing legislation to address benefit cliffs, and to urge the federal government to grant states additional innovation authority
• States are exploring how to fix fragmentation in the safety net, including moving toward Utah’s integrated one door to work model
• Federal leaders are advancing legislation to equip states to test more aspirational reforms

“Most social welfare reform efforts focus on incremental changes to existing programs,” Dunn said. “While understandable, we also need an aspirational reform vision – one that leans into the innovative power of federalism to test new ways of making the American Dream within reach for the numerous families eager to escape poverty.”

Read the new report here: Tinker or transform: The new welfare reform movement 

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