This means that policy needs to address the adequacy of benefit supports to supplement earnings from work (Whiteford and Adema, 2007). Until 1999, child benefits were universal and financed from the federal budget; since then benefits are income-tested with eligibility depending on per capita household income being less than the regional subsistence level. Public spending on child benefits has declined between 2000 and 2006 (Table 3.3), and the share of households with children receiving child benefits decreased from 88% in 1999 to 66% in 2004 because of a decline in poverty among households with children during that period. Spending on child and parental benefits doubled from 2006 to 2008, with the introduction of “family capital payments” (see below) further underlining the increased importance of families on the Russian policy agenda.