Child Poverty Council

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Child Poverty Council
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Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions
• Review Public Act 04-238
• Review and Discuss Council Structure
• Review and Discuss Draft Workplans
• Review and Discuss Fact Sheet
• Review and Discuss Analysis of Effects
• Next Steps

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Public Act 04-238

• Establishes a Child Poverty Council to develop a
  10-year plan to reduce child poverty by 50
• Composed of OPM,DCF, DSS, DOC, DMR, DMHAS, DOT,
  DPH, SDE, DECD, OHCA, DOL, BOGHE, OCA, Prevention
  Council, Childrens Trust Fund, Commission on
  Children and legislative appointees

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Public Act 04-238

• The plan shall contain
• Identification and analysis of the occurrence of
  child poverty in the state
• Analysis of the long-term effects of child
  poverty
• Analysis of costs of child poverty to
  municipalities and the state

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Public Act 04-238

• Plan requirements (continued)
• Inventory of statewide public and private
  programs that address child poverty
• Percentage of target population served by such
  programs
• Identification and analysis of any deficiencies
  or inefficiencies of such programs

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Public Act 04-238

• Plan requirements (continued)
• Procedures and priorities for implementing
  strategies to achieve a 50 reduction in child
  poverty, including
• Vocational training
• Educational opportunities
• Housing
• Day Care and After School programs
• Health care access
• Treatment Programs and Services
• Child Nutrition

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Public Act 04-238

• In developing the plan, the Council shall consult
  with experts and service providers
• The Council shall submit the plan to the
  legislature by January 1, 2005
• The Council shall report annually beginning on
  January 1, 2006 on the implementation of the plan

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Council Structure

• Monthly meetings on the 3rd Wednesday of each
  month between 7/04 and 12/04
• Council will set direction based on the public
  act
• Council will establish and provide guidance to a
  subcommittee.
• Council will review, modify and approve all
  subcommittee work.

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Council Structure

• The subcommittee will meet monthly in between
  Council meetings, unless more frequent meetings
  are needed.
• The subcommittee will serve as a working
  committee to execute activities tasked by the
  Council
• The subcommittee will develop the Child Poverty
  Plan with guidance from the Council

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Draft Workplan

• First Council Meeting 7/28/04
• Discuss P.A. 04-238
• Review Council Structure and Meetings
• Review and Approve Role of Subcommittee
• Select Subcommittee members
• Review Draft Fact Sheet on Child Poverty
• Review Draft Analysis of Long-term Effects of
  Child Poverty

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Draft Workplan

• Second Council Meeting 8/18/04
• Review outline of plan
• Approve fact sheet on child poverty
• Approve analysis of effects of child poverty
• Review analysis of costs of child poverty
• Review questions and methods for inventory
• Review recommendations on participation of panel
  of experts

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Draft Workplan

• Third Council Meeting 9/15/04
• Approve analysis of costs of child poverty
• Review draft inventory of statewide programs that
  address child poverty
• Discuss any deficiencies or inefficiencies of
  statewide public and private programs with panel
  of experts and service providers

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Draft Workplan

• Fourth Council Meeting 10/20/04
• Approve identification and analysis of any
  deficiencies or inefficiencies in statewide
  programs
• Review potential strategies to achieve a fifty
  percent reduction in child poverty in the state
  by 6/30/14

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Draft Workplan

• Fifth Council Meeting 11/17/04
• Public Hearing
• Sixth Council Meeting 12/15/04
• Review and approve plan
• Next steps

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Draft Workplan

• First Subcommittee Meeting 8/5/04
• Review P.A. 04-238
• Discuss charge and deliverables
• Identify approaches, resources and meetings
• Develop outline for plan
• Modify fact sheet and analysis
• Develop analysis of costs of poverty
• Develop methods for inventory
• Develop participation for experts

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Draft Workplan

• Second Subcommittee Meeting 9/1/04
• Revise analysis of costs of child poverty
• Prepare and conduct inventory
• Third Subcommittee Meeting 9/20/04
• Revise inventory based on Council comments
• Develop description of deficiencies or
  inefficiencies of programs based on discussion
  with experts
• Identify potential strategies to achieve a 50
  reduction in child poverty

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Draft Workplan

• Fourth Subcommittee Meeting 10/22/04
• Revise strategies based on Council comments
• Fifth Subcommittee Meeting 11/10/04
• Prepare for public hearing
• Sixth Subcommittee Meeting 12/8/04
• Incorporate all necessary changes from public
  hearing comments
• Draft final plan for review by Council

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Draft Fact Sheet

• Connecticut Population in 2002
• Total state population 3,460,503
• Children under 18 872,853
• Poverty in Connecticut
• Children in poverty 87,285
• 2004 poverty level for family of 4 18,850
• Child poverty rate in CT decreased from 14 in
  1996 to 10 in 2001

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Draft Fact Sheet

• Demographics of Child Poverty
• In 2002, child poverty rate in Hartford was 41,
  in New Haven was 32, and in Bridgeport was 25.
• In 2002, child poverty rate for Latinos was 31,
  for African Americans was 25, and for whites was
  4.
• 24 of CT children live in households with income
  at or below 200 of the federal poverty level.

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Draft Fact Sheet

• Family Income
• In 2000, the median family income in CT was
  64,692.
• The median family income for married couple
  families was 78,587 and the median for single
  female headed households was 24,626.
• It takes two full-time, year round jobs at 9/hr
  to raise a family of 4 above the poverty level

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Resource List

• Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count Data Book,
  2004
• U.S. Department of HHS, Poverty Level Guidelines
  for 2004, www.uscensus.gov
• Connecticut Association for Human Services,
  Investing in FamiliesInvesting in Our Future
• Annie E. Casey Foundation, Latino Children and
  African-American Children State Level Measures
  of Child Well-Being 2002
• National Center for Children in Poverty,
  Investing in Children by Supporting Work
  Information Forum on Child Poverty 2004

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Effects of Child Poverty

• The Context
• The United States has the highest child poverty
  rate out of the 17 wealthiest countries
• Between 2002 and 2003, the number of poor
  children in the US rose from 11.7 to 12.1 million
• In 2002, the state child poverty rate was the 7th
  lowest in the nation
• In seven of the states communities, more than
  one-fifth of the children live in poverty

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Effects of Child Poverty

• Health Effects
• Children in poverty are 3.6 times more likely to
  have poor health and 5 times more likely to die
  from an infectious disease.
• Connecticut ranks 22nd among states with babies
  of low birth weight.
• Infant mortality, serious physical disabilities,
  grade repetition and learning disabilities are
  more prevalent among low birth weight children.

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Effects of Child Poverty

• 34 of children from lower income households are
  obese, compared to 19 of children from higher
  income households.
• Poor children are at a higher risk for asthma,
  and lead poisoning.
• Poor children who go hungry perform significantly
  below non-hungry low-income children on
  standardized tests.
• Children under the age of 6 whos parents exhibit
  depression are at two to five times greater risk
  for homelessness, use of food banks, lack of
  medical care, unreliable child care and placement
  in foster care.

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Effects of Child Poverty

• Learning Effects
• High school students from low income families
  drop out of school six times as often as students
  from high-income families.
• In Hartford, Bridgeport, New London and New
  Britain the high school drop out rate is between
  29-31
• Children that live below the poverty level are
  1.3 times more likely to have developmental
  delays or learning disabilities that non-poor
  children
• A child growing up on welfare hears about 3,000
  words by age 6, while children from higher-income
  families have a 20,000 word vocabulary

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Effects of Child Poverty

• Effects of Teen Pregnancy
• Poor teens give birth 3 times the rate of
  non-poor teens.
• Children of teenage mothers are more likely to
  perform poorly in school.
• Children of teenage mothers are more likely to
  repeat a grade, score lower on standardized tests
  and are less likely to complete high school.
• Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high
  school and are less likely to receive a college
  degree.