PathWays PA Policy Blog

(from our friends at the Keystone Counts Coalition ) Pennsylvania is at risk of an undercount in the 2020 Census, and this could mean a significant loss of federal funds for healthcare, nutrition assistance, transportation, housing, education, programs for children and parents, and much more! We can't afford to put these programs needlessly at risk. That's why Pennsylvania needs to take immediate action to prevent an undercount. If you're concerned about about health care, nutrition assistance, transportation, housing, education, child welfare programs and more. tell lawmakers to support a public fund in the state budget to ensure a fair and accurate #2020Census .  Take action today!

Our action items often focus on calling or contacting your legislators, but that's not the only way your voice can be heard. Another way to share your opinion and make a difference is through public comment. Public comment periods give people the chance to articulate their opinions on proposed rules or laws and to offer advice on how they could be changed. You may speak up at a local town council meeting to discuss a proposed park in your neighborhood, or you might submit an electronic comment to show how a proposed rule would affect your life. Taking part in a public comment period is an effective way to ensure legislation is implemented in a way that helps everyone affected. Your thoughts go directly to people making the rules, and those thoughts shape the final version of the law. We have three ways to take action through public comment this week - on Overtime , Census 2020 , Title X . Take a look and see what is interesting to you! Overtime The Pennsylvania Department ...

Those of us who like statistics know that it's getting to be that time of year - the time when the Census Bureau releases poverty figures from last year. As always, CHN has us covered - they are offering a webinar on September 11 to help everyone get up to speed on the best ways to use this data. From our friends at CHN : Get ready for the September 16 and 18 release of Census Poverty data with CHN’s annual webinar training , co-sponsored by Community Action Partnership . Join expert Jared Bernstein, former Chief Economist and Economic Advisor to Vice President Biden, to hear what the new data will likely show about poverty, income, health insurance and much more. You’ll also learn how you can access and utilize national, state, and local data. The training is free and all webinar registrants will receive timely follow-up information before and after the data is released. This training will be available on-demand. Be sure to register to receive all materials and updates. ...

Here is what we're reading as the shutdown continues: How the Shutdown is Impacting Specific Federal Workforce Programs : Based the information that is currently available, here is the National Skills Coalition's best understanding so far of the impact of the shutdown on certain employment and training programs. Domestic Violence Programs See Their Funding End : The Office of Justice Programs, the Office on Violence Against Women, and other federal agencies funding domestic violence programs planned to fund the programs through Friday, October 4, 2013. Since the shutdown has not ended, many programs must rely on any funds they have in hand to see them through the fiscal crisis. If You Rely On Government Websites, Sorry:  Along with the government shutdown has come the shuttering of many websites, ranging from the American Community Survey database to NASA.gov.  If You Rely on Government Programs, You May Not Have Them for Much Longer : As we enter week 2 of the shutdown,...

CLASP has created a new fact sheet which interprets the newly released 2012 U.S. Census poverty data.  They have found: Nearly 6 million young kids (almost 1 in 4 under age 6) live in poor households The number of children in poverty has increased by nearly 3 million and 6% since 2007 If SNAP benefits had been counted as income in the official rate, they would have lifted 4 million people out of poverty  For more information, see the new fact sheet .

On Tuesday, September 10, beginning at 2PM, The Coalition on Human Needs, the Community Action Partnership, and the Children's Leadership Council will host an important training webinar will be held to prepare for the new poverty data that will be released by the Census Bureau on September 17 and 19.  Congress will also be grappling with a set of urgent deadlines, and deciding whether to cut or protect human needs programs. You can use the new information to show the extent of need in your state or community, and why Congress should invest, not cut. This webinar will show you how. The webinar will be 90 minutes and there will be time for questions.  Register here and see a list of presenters.

The Census Project will have a one-hour briefing call on Friday, April 19 at 1:30 p.m. via toll-free number at 213-493-0800, pass code 112918#. The project will review the administration's budget request and update stakeholders on Census Project plans to support the Obama budget. They will also talk about bills already re-introduced by Representative Poe and Senator Paul to make the American Community Survey voluntary. On these points, the Census Project also wants to remind you about the sign-on letter that we have circulated backing the administration's Census Bureau budget. To sign your organization onto the letter, contact jason.shevrin@gmail.com by COB on Wednesday.

From our friends at The Census Project: Below is a link to a sign-on letter outlining the effects of the so-called sequestration on the FY 2013 federal budget for Census 2020 planning. The Obama Administration has requested a small change in how the sequestration affects the Census Bureau budget, called an "anomaly." The effects of sequestration and the need for the anomaly are outlined in the letter. We are asking for organizations to sign onto the letter by COB this Friday, March 8. If you can join in signing on, please contact Jason Shevrin ( jason.shevrin@gmail.com ) by COB Friday, March 8. The sign-on letter can be viewed at http://thecensusproject.org/letters/Census_Project-FY13_CR_ltr_to_Congress-FINAL.pdf .

Nearly a third of the nation’s working families earn salaries so low that they struggle to pay for their necessities, according to a  new report . Analyzing 2011 data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the report said that 32% of working families earned salaries that put them below double the poverty threshold. For a family of four, double the poverty threshold was $45,622. That percentage has crept up from 28% in 2007, the year the recession began. Families that are below 200% of the poverty level are considered "in poverty".  The report has made a clear distinction that working families are falling within the poverty lines, increasing the number of working poor families in the country. The growth in the ranks of the working poor coincides with continued growth in income inequality. Many of the occupations experiencing the fastest job growth during the recovery also pay poorly. Among them are retail jobs, food preparation, clerical work and customer a...

The new poverty, income, and health insurance Census data will be released on September 12, with more state and local data available on September 20. Has poverty risen to its highest level since the 1960's? (Many economists say yes.) Which parts of the country and which population groups have experienced the most poverty? Has the number of people without health insurance risen? The  Coalition on Human Needs ' annual training webinar can't tell you the answers before the data are released, but they can show you how the find national and state data quickly -- fast enough so you can make same-day comments to the press. And with enough context and background so you can apply the findings to policy choices now and in the coming months. You'll learn what to expect and the policy implications, and how to find what you need on the Census website. Moderator Ellen Teller, Director of Government Affairs at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), will make sure we answer...

(via The Census Project ) Next Tuesday, June 19 is an important date to mark on your calendar. The Congressional Joint Economic Committee is holding a public hearing on the economic impact of eliminating the American Community Survey (ACS) at 2:30 p.m., in Room 210 of the Canon House Office Building. Witnesses that will be speaking in opposition to the move to eliminate the ACS are Vincent Barabba, former director of the Census Bureau in two GOP administrations and Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Association of General Contractors and also representing the National Association of Business Economists. It is very important that we pack the congressional hearing room! If you cannot come, please urge your colleages to come. If you represent a non-DC organization contact your friends in Washington and urge them to attend. Also on Tuesday of next week some of our congressional supporters will be holding a noon press conference in the so-called House Triangle right outside the Cap...

Each year when the Census Bureau releases new numbers on poverty in the United States, the day of the release is called (rather unimaginatively) "Poverty Day."  Today's Poverty Day shows some sobering data- especially when we consider that these are families living below the Federal Poverty Level, which is far lower than what families need to make ends meet . We'll be sharing statistics from Pennsylvania over the coming days and weeks, but here is an overview from the Census for the nation: Poverty The poverty rate in 2010 was the highest since 1993.... Since 2007, the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points. In 2010, the family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty were 11.7 percent and 9.2 million, respectively, up from 11.1 percent and 8.8 million in 2009. The poverty rate and the number in poverty increased for both married-couple families (6.2 percent and 3.6 million in 2010 from 5.8 percent and 3.4 million in 2009) and ...

A recent U.S. Census Bureau report, Living Arrangements of Children:2009 , explores the changes in living arrangements for children in the United States over the last several decades, and the ways in which these living arrangements affect the well-being and development of these children. The most notable change detailed in the report was the large increase in the percentage of children living with at least one grandparent. Since 1991, there has been a drastic 64% increase in the number of children living in the same household as a grandparent, rising from 4.7 million in 1991 to 7.8 million in 2009. According to the report, grandparents often play an important role in taking care of the children in the household, although households containing a grandparent did have a slightly smaller chance of being in poverty (22% versus 20%) than those that contained no grandparents.

“ Map Your Community ” is a mapping interface developed by PolicyMap and provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia that allows users to easily create custom maps for user-defined locations. These custom maps provide a snapshot of current and historical economic and demographic conditions and can be used to conduct data analysis for community development activities. Information is available for many socioeconomic variables, including, but not limited to, poverty levels, census tract income levels, post office vacancies, and educational attainment.

With 43.6 million Americans living in poverty and millions more struggling to make ends meet, it is more important than ever to educate the public on the problem of poverty, debunk stereotypes, and make the case for proven policy solutions that can increase economic opportunity for all Americans. To that end, Half in Ten has developed this fun, interactive quiz designed to raise awareness of the problem, fight false notions, and illustrate policy solutions that work. We need to do everything we can to educate the public and policymakers and to build the grassroots movement to advance policies that create good jobs, promote economic security, strengthen families, and ultimately, cut poverty in half in ten years. In that process we need to keep in mind that outdated measures of poverty – like the federal poverty level – may not show the entire picture of those struggling to make ends meet. A new census formula has over 4 million more people living in poverty than recently thoug...

A new widget from the Census gives you an opportunity to look at population changes over the years.  This interactive tool shows population change in the US and in each state as well as changes in population density and apportionment (the number of people per representative).  You can view the widget below, or get your own copy at http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/ . <p><p><p><p>IFRAMES not supported</p></p></p></p>

Today marks what has come to be known as "Poverty Day," the day when the newest statistics from the American Community Survey show the changes in the Federal Poverty Level. While the complete data will not be released until late September, reports indicate that over 1.37 million or 11.1% of people were living below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) in Pennsylvania. Nationally the number stands at 43.6 million and is the largest population living below the FPL since poverty estimates began being published 51 years ago. In just this last year the number of people living in poverty nationwide increased by 3.7 million and for the last two years that increase has totaled 6.2 million. While this Great Recession has hurt many families, it is clear now just how much worse it could have been. According to the Center on Budget and Policy , 3.3 million more individuals would have been living in poverty in 2009 without the expanded unemployment benefits. During this recession, th...

Federal Use This Congressional Recess to Weigh In on SNAP (from our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs ) When Congress returns from recess they will prepare to tackle Reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act (HR 5504) . Now is the time to contact your members of Congress and ask them to move forward with the bill without cutting SNAP (food stamps). The recess provides a number of opportunities including: - Schedule Site Visits and District Appointments . Members of Congress are home until September 13. Scheduling a site visit at a school, agency or out-of-school time program is a great way for Members to see the great activities that include the nutrition programs. Or schedule a time to meet with your Member in person or through a "community conference call." For more information on either of these options, contact Etienne Melcher or Ellen Teller . - Paper Plate Campaign . Use FRAC's food hardship data to highlight the need in your congressional dist...

(From our friends at the Census Bureau) If you haven't received your Census form in the mail, you can call today and give your answers over the phone or request a form be sent to where you live. Please make the call to ensure you can mail it back in time to avoid a census taker coming to your door. Don't be left out of the count for your community .  When you fill out and mail back your census form, you’re making a statement about what resources your community needs going forward. Accurate data reflecting changes in the community are crucial in apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and deciding how more than $400 billion per year is allocated for projects like new hospitals and schools. That's more than $4 trillion over a 10-year period for things like new roads and schools, and services like job training centers. If you haven't received your Census form, call the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance (TQA) today: ENGLISH - 1-866-872-6868 C...

Today, April 1, 2010, is Census Day, the kickoff to the most important period of the Census operation. The choice you make to return or not return your Census form will determine federal funding for communities, school locations, political districts, jobs and more for the next 10 years, as well as the demographic picture of our country. In honor of Census Day, please make sure that you return your Census form, and please check in with clients and friends to make sure they have returned it as well. The Census Bureau has set up Questionnaire Assistance Centers for people who need help - Census employees will be stationed there to help individuals fill out their questionnaires. Also, there is the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance Center (they can take calls in 6 languages + TDD calls). Please return your Census today so that funding is available for the services everyone will need tomorrow.