PathWays PA Policy Blog

Yesterday,  Community Legal Services  issued a report looking at the TANF caseload decline in Pennsylvania. Timed around the 20th anniversary of welfare reform (aka The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, or PRWORA ), CLS looks at the reasons for caseload decline and makes recommendations on how Pennsylvania can ensure TANF actually helps poor families. Here are some of the findings: The PA TANF max grant (approx. $403/month) hasn't increased since 1990 In 2014, at least 35,000 PA families with children receiving SNAP (food stamps) were poor enough to qualify for TANF but didn't receive it Unless exempt because of disability or good cause, TANF recipients MUST spend 20/30 hours per week working or in a work program TANF cash grants may be small, but they can help pay the rent, cover utilities, or buy diapers - all things SNAP can't do The TANF caseload in PA has declined by over 300,000 adults and children since 1996, but since 2008, the number of p...

The Uncertain Hour, from American Public Media's Marketplace, is a new documentary-podcast (docu-pod) focusing on "the uncertainties of our economy today: who deserves what and why?" This season, they're shining a light on welfare reform, 20 years after it passed and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. You can listen to the stories  here,  but you can also learn more. The Uncertain Hour's website includes a deep dive into the data in welfare reform, and breaks it out by state. Below is some of the data from Pennsylvania.

Women make up half of America’s workforce. Two-thirds of America’s caregivers are female. Does the math not add up? Wait until you see the numbers on their access to sick time. 43% of female workers in the private sector do not have any paid sick time. 54% of working women have no paid time to care for themselves or their children. 82% of women earning under $8.25 an hour do not have one minute of sick time. When mothers try to care for their children, 42% find that they are unable to because they must work. Only 27% of daughters could take care of their parents. One in five women say that either they or someone they know has been fired or disciplined for taking time off to either recover from an illness or injury or to care for a family member. The hardest hit are women of color. More often than not, colored families have a woman as their main breadwinner. Many low-income families are of color, and 3.5 days of missed pay could mean a month without groceries. Job loss is devastati...

Pope Francis’ September visit to Philadelphia has spurred the creation of the Francis Fund in association with Project HOME and the World Meeting of Families Hunger and Homelessness Committee. Headed by sister Mary Scullion, the project has pledged to aid 50 human service organizations. Among the organizations receiving grants so far are Philly Restart, Women Against Abuse, Coalition Against Hunger, and Pathways to Housing PA . It is estimated that 650 homeless will be on the streets of Philadelphia. This number does not including those who have sought shelter. The organization has plans to eradicate this homelessness and hunger, along with stopping human trafficking and domestic violence. Want to donate or learn how to apply for the funding? Visit projecthome.org for more. Interested in PathWays PA blog posts on similar topics? 7/7/15 - Summer Food News 6/26/15 - New and Improved? House Bill 222 Remains Cruel 11/20/14 - Runaway Services at PathWays PA and Beyond

President Obama recently introduced a new White House initiative that brings communities, the private sector, and the federal government together to expand high-speed Internet access to more families across the country. The new program, ConnectHome , it is piloting in 28 different communities (27 cities and one tribal nation): Albany, GA; Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Baton Rouge, LA; Boston, MA; Camden, NJ; Choctaw Nation, OK; Cleveland, OH; Denver, CO; Durham, NC; Fresno, CA; Kansas City, MO; Little Rock, AR; Los Angeles, CA; Macon, GA; Memphis, TN; Meriden, CT; Nashville, TN; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Rockford, IL; San Antonio, TX; Seattle, WA; Springfield, MA; Tampa, FL; and Washington, DC. ConnectHome will bring high-speed Internet access to some quarter-million families living in government-assisted housing by partnering with regional broadband groups such as EveryoneOn, Internet service providers such as Google Fiber and CenturyLink, and pri...

The Making Work Pay PA Coalition invites you to a discussion about what policies government can implement to ensure PA working families thrive and what we can do to help advocate for those changes. There will also be an opportunity to hear and share personal stories. The event will be held in the Community Room of the College Center Building. The event is free and open to the public. Breakfast will be provided. This event is hosted by the Making Work Pay PA Coalition and sponsored by the New Choices New Option Program of Northampton County Community College. PathWays PA is a member of the Making Work Pay Steering Committee. For more information, please visit www.makingworkpaypa.org .

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. ...

The Half in Ten Education Fund this week launched www.talkpoverty.org a new blog and website to educate the public on poverty and solutions to dramatically reduce it. Please help spread the word! Here are some sample tweets you could share with your networks. Visit TalkPoverty.org : A must see for stories & solutions to build a stronger anti #poverty movement. #talkpoverty @talkpoverty Visit TalkPoverty.org & follow @talkpoverty for Real People, Real Stories, & Real Solutions. #talkpoverty Check out new TalkPoverty.org website & read contributions @tomcolicchio @sr_simone & @gregkaufmann contributions @TalkPoverty In addition to the blog, the site also includes:  Interactive maps with state-by-state data of the poverty indicators that we track as well  Demographic break-outs of how poverty affects different groups (i.e. AAPI, millennials, people with disabilities, LGBT population, etc... with more profiles to come.  A library of Half ...

From our friends at CLASP On Friday, January 10, from 3:00pm-4:00PM, Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity and Childcare Aware® of America will sponsor a national audio conference to explore exciting developments in child care as part of the Work Supports Strategies (WSS) initiative. The audio call will also examine issues such as how a conservative state embraced safety net programs; the effectiveness of particular streamlining strategies; and what lessons from WSS can be applied to child care and other programs in the other 44 states. For a sneak preview on WSS and child care, check out this j ust-released report from the Urban Institute and the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). Speakers Include:  Richard Armstrong, Director, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare  Olivia Golden, Executive Director, CLASP Hannah Matthews, Director of Child Care and Early Education, CLASP Register here . Space is limited.

From our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs Our American Story and Community Action Partnership to Host Webinar About the 50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty January 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, a time when our nation came together to make a national commitment to reduce poverty in America. Anti-poverty advocates must be well-equipped to face the challenge and opportunity that this important anniversary brings. War on Poverty Webinar Thursday, November 7 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Register Here To that end, Our American Story, a partnership of Half in Ten and Coalition on Human Needs, and the Community Action Partnership are co-hosting a webinar on Thursday, November 7, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., to provide participants with more information on the anniversary and the latest advocacy resources you can leverage to make the most of it, with a particular focus on how storytelling can help all of us push back on misinformation and lay the groundw...

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 .

Half in Ten and the Coalition on Human Needs are thrilled to announce the next phase of our work to collect and deploy personal stories to shape the national debate around poverty issues! As you may know, Half in Ten and the Coalition of Human Needs began collecting stories in 2011 from low-income families and service providers to illustrate the human cost of reckless budget cuts and highlight the need for proactive investment strategies to promote economic security and opportunity. Now, these groups are announcing their new name "Our American Story: A Storyteller Network." This rebranding effort reflects their renewed focus on the community of advocates, low-income families and service providers who have shared their stories about the American Dream as a way of shaping public policy. With attacks on vital programs like nutrition assistance set for this fall, and in advance of the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty in January 2014, Our American Story is looking to...

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.

From 11AM-Noon on Wednesday, August 7, the Coalition on Human Needs and National Council for Jewish Women will host a program call for anti-poverty professionals, local leaders, and activists about the impact of the federal budget and sequestration on vulnerable families in Pennsylvania and the potential impacts on programs and services. The discussion will surround what policies must be enacted in order to lower poverty rates and increase fairness. Please RSVP . If you have questions, please contact Angie Evans: aevans@chn.org

The city of Philadelphia is launching a five-point plan called Shared Prosperity to reduce poverty among Philadelphia families. U.S. Census figures show 39% of Philadelphia children live at or below the poverty line. Shared Prosperity is a vision for Philadelphia - a city that collaborates and works together to fight poverty. It means sharing responsibility to find a better, more coordinated approach. And share the benefits of a collective impact that results from our efforts. One part of the Shared Prosperity plan calls for wider availability of high quality childcare and public pre-k programs so that children enter elementary school prepared to learn. This is great news for Philadelphia's children. PCCY and other child care organizations laud the mayor because the plan can significantly improve the lives of Philadelphia's youngest generation if it is properly implemented.

Last week Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD)introduced the Half in Ten Act of 2013, calling for poverty reduction to be a national priority. The bill creates a coordinated effort across federal departments and offices to cut poverty in half in 10 years and eliminate child poverty and extreme poverty in the United States. The Half in Ten Act of 2013 will help to mobilize public and political will toward our shared goal of dramatically cutting poverty over the next decade, and we must seize the opportunity! Please ask your member of Congress to support the Half in Ten Act of 2013 and demand greater opportunity for all!

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 number of people on food stamps has gone up in most mid-state municipalities over the past year, according to figures provided to The Patriot-News by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. According to an analysis done by Mark Price, an economist with Keystone Research Center, the number of people on food stamps in high poverty municipalities in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Perry and northern York counties grew from 51,972 in July 2008 to 82,704 in August 2012, an increase of 59 percent. But the number of people on food stamps in low poverty municipalities in the same region climbed from 5,723 in July 2008 to 12,081 in August 2012, an increase of 111 percent. And according to Price's analysis, this trend is a result of unemployment. “Although college graduates still have lower unemployment rates and are much less likely to live in poverty than other educational groups, even they have faced increased difficulty finding work and thus it is not surpris...

On November 19 the Half in Ten campaign will release its second annual report. Tracking the nation's and each state’s progress toward cutting poverty in half over the next decade through indicators relating to good jobs, strong families, and economic security and opportunity. The report also outlines a pathway forward, outlining a set of policy priorities and explaining that poverty reduction can be achieved hand-in-hand with long-term deficit reduction if we make the right policy choices. Keynote Speaker-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles The event will be held at: Center for American Prosperity Action Fund 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005 10AM-11:30AM RSVP   to attend You will also have the opportunity to watch the Event Online- Click Here for details

Shannon Hardin earns $10.90 an hour at her part-time job.  “I can’t live on this,” she said. “It’s almost impossible.” -Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times- The widening use of part-timers has been a bane to many workers, pushing many into poverty and forcing some onto food stamps and Medicaid.  And with work schedules that change week to week, workers can find it hard to arrange child care, attend college or hold a second job, according to interviews with more than 40 part-time workers. In in two leading industries — retailing and hospitality — the number of part-timers who would prefer to work full-time has jumped to 3.1 million, or two-and-a-half times the 2006 level, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In retailing alone, nearly 30 percent of part-timers want full-time jobs, up from 10.6 percent in 2006. The agency found that in the retail and wholesale sector, which includes hundreds of thousands of small stores that rely heavily on full-time wo...