PathWays PA Policy Blog

The Women's Bureau is pleased to inform you of the following resources: " A Guide to Women's Equal Pay   Rights " and " An Employer's Guide to Equal Pay ". Translations of these resources can be found on the following site: www.dol.gov/equalpay/ . Their resources are available in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese. The Women's Bureau strives to improve the working conditions of women through research and education. Their priorities are equal pay, workplace flexibility, higher paying jobs for women, and women veterans. Throughout the year, the Women's Bureau Region 3 office conducts outreach and research on these issues within the states they cover (PA, DE, MD, WV, VA, and DC).

Join the discussion on Tuesday, April 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at CCP in the Center for Business and Industry, Room C2-28, for Honoring Our HERoes: Giving Service for Your Service. There will be a panel discussion and reception sponsored by The Links, Incorporated, Philadelphia Chapter , in partnership with the Community College of Philadelphia Veterans Resource Center . The panel will discuss the challenges of women veterans and the process of successfully transitioning from military life. This event is open to males and to spouses of women veterans. please RSVP: women.veterans.links@gmail.com For more information, contact 215-751-8462 or sbachovin@ccp.edu .

The Social Security Administration is conducting a free seminar for disability advocates, social services workers, congressional staffers, attorneys and other professionals who work with the disability community in Philadelphia. Anatomy of a Disability Claim will focus on the Social Security and SSI disability benefit programs, eligibility factors and the application process. WHEN: Thursday, August 23rd, 9:00 – 12:30 WHERE: Temple University Hospital For more information, email Richard Gaudiosi or call 1-866-964-7397, ext. 22429.

Federal Policy Updates  CONGRESS LEAVES WITHOUT A FARM BILL Congress has been working on the reauthorization of the Farm Bill, which includes funding for the food stamp, or SNAP, program. The House Agricultural Committee passed a bill out of Committee that cuts $16 billion from the program. If that bill becomes law 2 to 3 million people would lose their food assistance and 280 million children would no longer qualify for free school lunches. This at a time when in the United States 1 out of every 7 and in Philadelphia 1 out of every 4 people are struggling with hunger . Congress left for the August recess without coming to agreement on a Farm Bill. The current 5-year bill is set to expire on September 30th. That leaves the SNAP funding and other farm programs unresolved until Congress returns in September. If you support funding for SNAP there is still time to contact your legislators and urge them not to cut these important programs. State Policy Updates  ...

State TAKE ACTION REGARDING COSTLY VOTER ID BILL The Pennsylvania House of Representatives may vote as soon as this week on legislation that would enact a costly voter identification law in the state. This program may move forward despite its pricetag of $11 million for a measure that will put up barriers to people who want to exercise their right to vote. Discuss this bill with your representative today. The state Senate approved the bill by a vote of 26 to 23 on Wednesday. It now heads back to the House for a concurrence vote since it was amended in the Senate. If passed by the House, it will go to Governor Corbett's desk for a final signature. Learn more in this Philadelphia Inquirer article. This could be the last chance to take action on this bill in the Legislature. Please email and call your House Representative today. JOIN PBPC FOR THE PHILADELPHIA BUDGET SUMMIT ON MARCH 16 Get the inside scoop on the 2012-13 state budget and what it means for the Philade...

Federal Updates WOMEN STILL BEHIND MEN IN NEW ECONOMIC RECOVERY The latest figures from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) have found that economic recovery has been slower coming to women: According to the most recent Quick Figures on the topic (released in November), men have regained 30 percent of the jobs they lost since December 2007; while women have only regained 17 percent. In sheer numbers, the job gap between men and women stands at 1.5 million. The IWPR/Rockefeller survey showed that many women and families are facing hardships in the recovery. In some cases, women and mothers are being forced to cut back on items such as insurance or visits to the doctor for themselves and their children. For more information on the IWPR/Rockefeller Survey, please visit the website .  For more information, visit the IWPR website . HELP PRESERVE SNAP AND OTHER NUTRITION PROGRAMS Congress is currently debating the content of the next Farm ...

From the IRS and our friends at The United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania : The IRS publishes a list of organizations that have had their federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked for failing to file an annual information return or notice with the IRS for three consecutive years. The Automatic Revocation of Exemption List (Auto-Revocation List) provides the organization's name, employer identification number (EIN), organization (subsection) code, last known address, effective date of revocation, and the date the organization's name was posted on IRS.gov. The list will be updated monthly as organizations lose their tax-exempt status for not filing. Additional updates will be made as necessary. The date at the bottom of this web page indicates when this page was last updated. You can download the list of Pennsylvania organizations in Excel or Adobe Acrobat .

At yesterday's antihunger symposium organized by Philabundance, PathWays PA was among several organizations who spoke on the need for more access to food, especially in "food deserts" where fresh produce and healthy options are hard to come by. Lyn Kugel of PathWays PA also discussed the high cost of making ends meet for Philadelphians: Others speakers included Lyn Kugel, a senior director of PathwaysPA, a social service agency in Holmes, Delaware County. Citing the high costs of housing, food, and child care in the area, Kugel said a single parent with one school-age child and one preschool child would need to make $54,705 annually to live without using public assistance. "That's startling," Kugel said, saying few single parents in the area make that much money. To read the full article, please visit  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/130398213.html .

FEDERAL POLICY UPDATES HELP PRESERVE FUNDING FOR ANTI-HOMELESSNESS PROGRAMS Next Tuesday, July 26, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-H) Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled to vote on its draft FY 2012 funding bill. This is the first proposal from Congress on funding levels for key programs targeted toward people experiencing homelessness and we need YOUR help to make sure it's as good as possible. Specifically, we need to make sure that this bill includes $135 million for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Programs and $75 million for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program. What You Can Do: NOTE: Congressional office phone numbers can be found by dialing the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. Click here for more information on contacting your Member of Congress. Find out if your representative is on the Labor-H appropriations subcommittee. Click here to see a list of committee members. If so, call your repre...

A new site – Generocity.org – aims to empower local non-profits with news, networking and easy fundraising tools. The site, which is still in its beta stages, bills itself as “Inspiration’s hometown.” For it’s news section, it focuses on the beneficial work non-profits are doing in the community, sorting by focus area. So for those who want to find out what’s happening within the worlds of advocacy & civil rights, animal welfare, arts & culture, education, the environment, health & recreation or social services, they’ll be able to have a clearinghouse for much of the work being done in the Delaware Valley. The site goes about funding in much the same way as Kickstarter – a goal is posed, and funds are raised through pledges of microdonations, and it’s all done on a project-basis. Popular current projects include a spay and neuter program, a soccer scholarship for under-priveleged children, a diabetes walk and the Mural Arts Program. In addition to these capacity b...