The Economic Security Initiative

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The Work Supports Initiative EstablishingThe
Benefit Bank of North Carolina
Jackie Savage Ralph
Gildehaus Executive Director
Senior Fellow Connectinc.
MDC, Inc.
Battleboro NC
Chapel Hill, NC
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Connectinc. in Battleboro, NC

• Uses telephone-based outreach through a
  state-of-the-art telecommunications center to
  connect displaced workers and others with
• Local jobs in clients region of North Carolina
• Resume-writing and other job coaching
• Workforce development programs
• Trade Adjustment Assistance
• Health Care Tax Credit
• Prescription drug programs
• Foreclosure prevention

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Connecting North Carolinians, especially
displaced workers, with jobs
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Connecting North Carolinians, especially
displaced workers, with resources
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MDC, Inc. in Chapel Hill, NC

• Organizes regional and national initiatives
• Focused on
• Asset-building EITC Carolinas
• Education Achieving the
• Dream Community Colleges Count (120 million,
  multi-year initiative)?
• Employment Centers for Working Families
• Sponsoring new national effort called the Work
  Supports Initiative
• Using The Benefit Bank to connect people with
  work supports
• Builds on current operations in 6 states
• Led by former director of the Ohio Benefit Bank
  now at MDC

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TBB Helps People Complete

• Federal and state income tax returns, to claim
  the
• Make Work Pay Tax Credit
• First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
• Federal and North Carolina Earned Income Tax
  Credit (EITC)?
• Child Tax Credit (CTC)?
• American Opportunity Education Tax Credit
• Free Applications for Federal Student Aid
  (FAFSA), to claim
• Pell Grants
• Perkins and Stafford Loans, and most other
  scholarships and grants
• Work-study opportunities
• Applications for other work supports, including
  for claiming
• Food stamps and school nutrition programs
• Child care subsidies and Home Energy Assistance
• Medicaid and childrens health insurance
• Senior Community Service Employment and Medicare
  Part D LIS

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MDC and Connectinc. Partnering

• Sponsoring The Benefit Bank of North Carolina
  (TBB-NC), which combines
• Connectinc.s existing telephone-based outreach
• MDC's EITC Carolinas outreach
• Web-based service called The Benefit Bank (TBB)?
• Powerful integration of complementary services

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Budget on Low Wages Alone
Income minimum wage for 2002, 69 of Federal
Poverty Level Expenses do not include items such
as drivers license fees, gifts, entertainment,
school supplies and trip fees, after school and
sports activities, vacation, college application
fees and tuition, many more . . .
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Budget with Work Supports
Work supports raise income by 23,600 Income
exceeds basic expenses by 1,800 Adapted
from Sheila Zedlewski, Gina Adams, Lisa Dubay and
Genevieve Kenney, "Is There a System Supporting
Low-Income Working Families?" The Urban
Institute (Feb. 2006), at 8-9.
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Work Supports Proven Effective

• Decrease Poverty
• EITC lifts millions out of poverty (more than any
  other social program)?
• Without EITC, child poverty would be 25 higher
• Increase employment
• EITC spent on items like reliable car, education
• Food stamps, health insurance and child care
  subsidies improve welfare-to-work success rates

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Children in HHs at 2x FPL

• More likely to enjoy excellent physical and
  dental health
• More likely to read as young children
• More likely to participate in after-school
  activities and sports
• Less likely to repeat a grade
• Action for Children North Carolina, Profiles of
  N.C. Children Outcomes by Income (Dec. 2005)?

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Problem Supports Underutilized

• Only 7.2 of households eligible for EITC, food
  stamps, health insurance and child care subsidies
  claim all four
• 39 billion in work supports unclaimed by
  Americans annually
• 1 billion not claimed in North Carolina (mostly
  federal )?

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Reasons for Underutilizations

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Obstacles to Claiming Supports
Many offices, time missed from work
Home Energy Assistance
FAFSA
Help with Federal Taxes
Food Stamps
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Other Reasons

• Misperceptions
• Distrust of government (Bridges Out of Poverty)?
• Welfare stigma
• Employed not eligible
• Denied before
• Lack of knowledge (especially by displaced
  workers)?

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The Benefit Bank
Counselor-assisted, telephone-based or
self-service provides one-stop, personalized
service

• SNAP (Food Stamps)?
• Medical Benefits, including SCHIP
• Home energy assistance
• Child care subsidies
• TANF cash assistance
• School nutrition
• Federal Taxes, includingEITC Child Tax Credit
• FAFSA (student aid)?
• State Taxes

or
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TBB Service Guides Completion

• Client chooses/enters own access password
• Simple questions/answers - 4th Grade reading
  level
• Explanatory help pop ups
• Expertise is in the service - 1 day counselor
  training
• Electronic filing with printed copy for client
• Detailed follow up instructions for client

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The Benefit Bank - States

• Operational
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Kansas
• Mississippi
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania

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Where People Live, Work, Play Pray

• Faith congregations
• Health social service organizations
• Food and nutrition organizations
• Community-based organizations
• United Ways
• CDCs
• Job-training programs
• Homeless shelters

• Home ownership programs
• Asset building programs
• Prisoner reentry programs
• Education organizations
• Advocacy group offices
• Unions
• Employers
• Public agencies
• Child and Family CBOs

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TBB Outreach Delivers Results
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National Model

• Stacy Dean, Director of Food Assistance Policy at
  the Center for Budget and Policy
• The Ohio Benefit Bank is about five years ahead
  of everyone else. Every national conference I go
  to always highlights Ohios program. Its an
  amazing model that we send other states to
  examine.

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Why the Success in Ohio?

• Intermediary / State Affiliate skilled at
• Recruiting sites
• Training counselors
• Publicizing access
• Managing multiple funding streams
• Government relations
• Funding to pay for outreach
• Political leadership

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Ohio's State Affiliate Model
Govs Off
ST Agencies
ST Agencies
Fed Gov't

AmeriCorps VISTA
Grant Agreements
Foundations
Ohio Association of Second Harvest
Foodbanks State Affiliate Non-Profit
Subcontract w/ Solutions
FBCO
FBCO
FBCO
FBCO
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Work Supports Initiative

• National Structure
• State Affiliates to implement grassroots outreach
  using The Benefit Bank
• Partnership between MDC, Inc., World Hunger Year,
  Solutions for Progress, Inc.
• Support outreach organized by State Affiliates
• Recruitment
• Training Academy
• Annual Strategy Conference
• Technical support of Benefit Bank software program

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State Affiliates of WSI

• Recruit groups meeting requirements
• Coach State Affiliates on
• Funding TBB service, outreach
• Recruiting sites
• Training counselors
• Managing multiple funding streams
• Publicity
• Government relations

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MDC and TBB in NC

• Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation asked MDC to study
  implementing TBB in NC
• Ralph Gildehaus, former Director of OBB in
  Governor's Office, joined MDC
• Partnered with UNC-Chapel Hill
• Analyzed options for NC (view toward regional,
  national possibilities)?

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MDCs Feasibility Analysis

• Bundling of taxes, benefits, FAFSA
• Easy to use, requires modest training
• Free to all users, sites
• Combo of technology, civic engagement
• Counselor-assisted version
• One-on-one help
• Bridging digital divide
• Improves applications, reduces errors

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Connectinc. NC State Affiliate

• Existing telephone-based outreach
• Mission match
• Proven track record
• Rapid outreach
• Displaced workers in database
• 12-County Triad Partnership
• Waves of displaced workers coming off
  unemployment compensation rolls
• EITC tax outreach sites, MDC's network

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TBB-OH Impact in 1st 2 Years
Source Study in Fall 2008 by Ohio Universitys
Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs
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TBB-NC Impact in 1st 2 Years

• Directly connect people with jobs, earnings, and
  work supports
• Return economic impacts of over 60M
• Jobs
• Work supports
• Multiplier effects
• New state and local tax revenue
• Indirectly create over 450 jobs through
  multiplier effects
• Cost about 7.2 million over 2 years
• ROI gt 81

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Thank you!
Jackie Savage Executive Director,
Connectinc. [phone] jackie.savage_at_connect
inc.org Ralph Gildehaus Senior Fellow, MDC,
Inc. [phone] rgildehaus_at_mdcinc.org