Strategies to Reduce Child and Family Poverty

1
Strategies to Reduce Child and Family Poverty

• Jack Tweedie
• National Conference of State Legislatures
• [phone]
• jack.tweedie_at_ncsl.org

2
Building on the New Hope Model- state trends

• Taking on child poverty
• making work pay
• supporting job retention and career advancement
• child care and early education
• health insurance coverage
• Community-based

3
Taking on Poverty

• State councils/commissions
• New York City
• Connecticut
• Vermont
• Minnesota
• Delaware
• Commitments to reducing poverty
• Cutting child poverty in half in ten years
• Poverty/deep poverty/low-income families
• Effects of poverty
• Research-based strategies

4
Four goals

• Safety netproviding for those who cannot work
• Chronically unemployed making a place for them
  in the workforce
• Supporting work and economic mobility
• Improving outcomes for children who grow up in
  poverty (or families in dysfunctional situations)

5
Challenges facing new initiatives

• State budgets
• exceptions
• TANF work participation rates
• Attention of state policymakers
• Post-TANF earnings supplements
• 16 states

6
Prepare workers for good jobs

• Strengthen connections between TANF and workforce
  programs
• Consult with local employers and business to
  assess needs and opportunities
• Work with community and technical college system
• Develop career pathways based on local economic
  and labor conditions
• Develop training and education modules to move
  workers into the workforce and up the career
  pathways
• Moving workers beyond entry-level jobs better
  jobs

7
LPN Wright College
RN schools
12 months
NCLEX-PN
NCLEX_RN
75
24-27
50
GED, Compass test
BIO 226, Math 118 ENG 101, PSY 201
16 weeks
81/ 56
16 weeks
Pre LPN B IDPL
ENG Grade level 10-12 Pre LPN-A or CNA
PCT
10-16
22
EKG, Phlebotomy
Pre LPN A IDPL
16 weeks
ENG Grade level 8-10, CNA
40
CNA HPVEC
9-12
16
12
VESL CNA context IDPL
ESL Grade level 6th
16 weeks
ESL Health Context IDPL/HPVEC
Carreras en Salud Model Prepared by Dr. Ricardo
A. Estrada, Project Director Salary Data from
MCHC April, 2004 report
16 weeks
8
Make Work Worthwhile

• Cliff effects (lost benefits and assistance) of
  increasing earnings
• Child care subsidy and eligibility levels
• Earned Income Credits and outreach
• Earnings disregard for TANF
• Post-employment assistance for new workers
• Work-family benefits (sick days, paid leave,
  flexible time)

9
Family resources -- Colorado
10
Arkansas Work Pays

• Families eligible after leaving cash assistance
  if they worked enough to meet the federal work
  requirement
• Cash payment for up to 24 months
• Child care and transportation supports
• Employment services designed to keep them in work
  and to help them find better jobs
• Access to better employers
• Transition to work rather than welfare
• Program for working families
• Department of Workforce Services

11
Support unemployed parents moving into work

• Substance abuse and mental health treatment
• Supported worktransitional jobs
• Programs for Young Males
• EITC
• Prisoner re-entry programs
• Education, training and job placement for
  disconnected youth
• (or adequate safety net programs)

12
Make Adequate Housing and Utilities Affordable

• Affordable housing
• Increased benefits for TANF families who do not
  receive public housing subsidy
• Increased low-income energy assistance
• Low-cost options for fuel delivery and low-volume
  orders

13
Support Fragile Families

• Overlap between cash assistance and child welfare
  families
• Child support collection
• Magic moment services
• Fatherhood programs
• Youth programs to reduce teen pregnancy
• Relationship skills

14
Help Families Build and Protect Assets

• Provide opportunities for savings including
  Individual Development Accounts (IDA's),
  childrens savings accounts and education savings
  accounts
• Restrict predatory lending
• Connect families to mainstream banking
  opportunities
• Provide financial literacy programs

15
Prepare Children for School

• Expand access to pre-kindergarten
• Improve the quality of child care
• Establish community-based family literacy
  programs
• Home visiting

16
Help Families get to Jobs and Child Care

• Vehicle repair and purchase programs
• Increased public transportation and use of van
  pools
• Employer-specific transportation

17
Support Economic Development and Job Creation

• Include "good job" creation as criteria in
  offering economic development incentives
• Increase consultation with local business and
  employers in developing workforce programs aimed
  at growth job sectors
• Develop career pathways to increase middle and
  high skilled workforce in growth job sectors

18
Looking Forward

• New Hope
• Integrated community based
• income supports
• child care access
• health insurance