Introduction Ezra Rosser; Part I. Welfare and Federalism: 1. The tools in the battle: federalism, entitlement, and punishment across the US social welfare state Wendy Bach; 2. Laboratories of suffering: toward democratic welfare governance Monica Bell, Andrea Taverna, Dhruv Aggarwal and Isra Syed; 3. The difference in being poor in red states versus blue states Michelle Gilman; Part II. States, Federalism, and Anti-Poverty Efforts: 4. States' rights and state wrongs: SNAP and Medicaid work requirements in rural America Rebecca H. Williams and Lisa Pruitt; 5.

State and local tax takeaways Francine Lipman; 6. Early childhood development and the replication of poverty Clare Huntington; 7. States diverting funds from the poor Daniel Hatcher; 8. States' evolving role in SNAP David Super; Part III. Advocacy: 9. Federalism in health care reform Nicole Huberfeld; 10. Poverty lawyering in the states Andrew Hammond; 11. Conclusion.

A way forward Peter Edelman.