PathWays PA Policy Blog

In the past few weeks, we've learned more about immigration policies in the United States that are separating children from their parents at the border. The  United Nations is calling it a human rights violation  and reports that several hundred children have been separated from their parents since October 2017.  According to the UN, the practice is illegal and needs to stop immediately. Take Action: Contact your member of Congress: The American Immigration Lawyers Association has a call and email script you can use available  here . Sign a letter from the ACLU asking for family separation to stop. Help to end family detention here in Pennsylvania: Learn more from the Shut Down Berks Coalition

As we mentioned a few weeks ago , Community Legal Services released a report on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, or cash welfare) and the caseload decline in Pennsylvania. 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. For those who did qualify, the maximum grants allowed were very low - approximately $403/month for a family of 3, a number that hasn't increased since 1990. The TANF caseload in PA has declined by over 300,000 adults and children since 1996, but since 2008, the number of people leaving because they had jobs has remained steady. So despite more people leaving TANF (or not entering the program), very low-income Pennsylvanians are not necessarily earning more. In order to address the problems with TANF raised by this report, CLS is sharing two sign-on letters to Governor Wolf - one for organizations and one for individuals . Please take a moment to share...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 23, 2016 PathWays PA joined together with 280 consumer, civil rights, labor, community, and non-profit organizations to emphasize strong and broad-based support for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s proposed rule to restrict the financial industry’s use of forced arbitration – a tactic used by Wall Street banks and predatory lenders to block consumers from challenging illegal behavior in court. In a joint comment letter submitted on the final day of the rule’s public comment period, the groups lauded the proposal as “a significant step forward in the ongoing fight to curb predatory practices in consumer financial products and services and to make these markets fairer and safer.” Read our letter here: http://ourfinancialsecurity.org/2016/08/letter-regulators-afr-280-groups-strongly-support-cfpb-action-forced-arbitration/ . In forced arbitration, banks and lenders bury “ripoff clauses” in the fine print of take-it-or-leave-it contracts to...

As we get closer to the November elections, Google searches on how to register are increasing, which begs the question: Are you registered? Do you know how to sign up? Pennsylvania and many other states require voter registration before Election Day - in Pennsylvania's case, voters must be registered one month ahead of time.  So if you recently moved, just turned 18, haven't voted in a while, or never registered before, the time to sign up is now. PathWays PA has partnered with Rock the Vote to offer voter registration through this blog! You can fill out the form below to register or to make sure that you are registered. Please take the time to register, and also consider pledging to vote in support of your economic values at wewontwait2016.org ! PS - click here to share a voter registration link on Facebook , Twitter , or Google+ !

In partnership with CFED and the Assets and Opportunities Network , PathWays PA is asking for signatures to a sign-on letter regarding an amendment to the Tax Fraud and Identity Theft bill. This amendment would help regulate the tax preparation industry and prevent unscrupulous tax preparers from preying on low- and moderate-income taxpayers’ hope for a large—and quick—refund. Please use this form to read the letter and sign on by Monday, and feel free to share it with your partners.

(h/t to our friends at Community Legal Services ) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is getting ready to issue rules that could end payday lending nationwide. Payday, car-title, and high-cost installment loans with annual rates of 300% or more can put borrowers in an impossible (and unpayable) position. You can sign on today to a letter that will ask the CFPB to make a strong national rule that will help families everywhere. The letter is available at  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JqUV_bXRrk7-AcnUmdvZ6E0F64q6hxvFmugAd34ud2Y/viewform . Sign ons are accepted until 5 PM today, October 16. As the letter states: "It’s time to end the scam and put rules in place that will end abusive practices and slam shut the debt trap." Let's work together to make that happen. If you have been a victim of payday or predatory lending, or if you need help escaping other debt traps, PathWays PA can help. Our Financial Path$ program offers financial education worksho...

From our friends at the National Women's Law Center Ask the EEOC it to act swiftly and issue immediate guidance on employers' accommodation obligations to pregnant workers under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. While such guidance has been promised for many months, it has yet to be issued. There is a critical need for the EEOC to move quickly, to provide clarity to employers, employees, practitioners, and the courts. You can sign-on by emailing Amy Tannenbaum at atannenbaum@nwlc.org by Friday, February 28. State and local organizations, as well as national organizations, are encouraged to join. Please feel free circulate to your networks.

From our friends at the National Skills Coalition If you support workforce development, please have your organization sign onto the letter asking Appropriations subcommittees to restore federal workforce programs to finally end the sequestration funding. Funding has been partially restored, but your help is still needed to help the programs receive the largest possible allocation. Time is of the essence. The more funding that is able to be allocated to the various departments that oversee workforce programs, that better chance the programs will see needed funding for programs across the country. Please sign on by March 7! Sign Here

From our Friends at PHAN Health care reform gives Pennsylvania tens of billions in federal funds to expand Medicaid to low-income workers - but only if we accept the money. Every state that touches Pennsylvania - including Ohio and New Jersey have agreed to expand. Governor Corbett recently came out with a proposal that will help hundreds of thousands of people get access to health care. However, this proposal is long and complicated and could take over a year to implement. Ask him to expand in 2014! Sign the card to Governor Corbett with the message to expand Medicaid NOW .

From our friends at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center The Federal Budget Conference Committee has been charged to come up with a budget plan by December 13. More than ever, it is important to make sure Senators and U. S. Representatives know the impact these cuts have had on human needs programs. PBPC is encouraging State Organizations in Pennsylvania to sign a state letter showing their support for a budget that protects vulnerable low income families. The letter, drafted in partnership with the Coalition on Human Needs, calls on Pennsylvania's Congressional Delegation to insist on a budget plan that ends harmful sequestration cuts and reduces spending on federal credits, deductions, and other tax breaks. In addition, please distribute the letter to your state partner organizations to sign.

Hilda Guzman and her child "You can't get special treatment since a man can't get pregnant." That's what Hilda Guzman was told when she asked to sit on a stool while working as a cashier on an 8-to-10 hour shift at a dollar store in Long Island. Unfortunately, as her pregnancy continued, Hilda began to experience complications. The pressure from standing all day caused bleeding and premature labor pains. These physical problems landed her in the emergency room and eventually on bed rest. This also forced Hilda's family to live on one paycheck at a time when every penny counted. Hilda believes this all could have been avoided if she could've had a stool. Enough is enough. It's time to take action  - for Hilda and for the thousands of women across the country who are forced to make a choice between losing their jobs and endangering their pregnancies. That's why PathWays PA is fighting back. We are joining forces with organizations across ...

Now is the time to add your organization to the letter in support of a FY '14 appropriation of $5 million for the State Paid Leave Fund in the U.S. Department of Labor budget. The fund would provide grants to states considering self-sustaining paid leave programs similar to successful paid family leave insurance programs in California and New Jersey and pave the way for a national paid leave program. National, state and local organizations are all encouraged to sign. Read and sign on to the letter ! Deadline is May 31st.

The National WIC Association encourages organizations to please SIGN our coalition partner to the Senate and House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Members, which urges them to fully fund WIC in FY 2014 at a level that ensures that no eligible applicants are turned away and which supports current and anticipated WIC participation levels. Serving nearly 9 million mothers and young children, including 53% of all infants in the country, WIC provides nutrition education, breastfeeding education and support, referrals to medical and social services and a small nutritious food package. Click here to view the letter. Click here to sign the letter. Please sign by close of business on Thursday, May 23rd.

All too often pregnant women are given an impossible choice - endanger your pregnancy or lose your job. That's because when some pregnant workers ask for adjustments in their job duties so they can continue safely working - like avoiding heavy lifting or staying off ladders - their bosses deny their requests, even when the adjustments were offered to other workers. As a result, some women who want and need to continue working throughout their pregnancies have been fired, forced to quit, or forced onto unpaid leave. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a commonsense bill that requires employers to make the same types of accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions that they already make for disabilities. Please contact your Members of Congress today and ask them to co-sponsor the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

The Foster Child Opportunity Act seeks to ensure that abused and neglected immigrant children have an opportunity to obtain the legal immigrant status to which they are entitled prior to aging out of the foster care system. Immigrant children involved in the child welfare system are often eligible for special forms of immigration relief, including Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) but early identification is critical given that a child can lose SIJS eligibility once the court terminates jurisdiction over the youth. More often than not, court and child welfare officials are unaware of immigration relief options available, leaving these children at risk of deportation at any time and drastically limiting their educational and work opportunities when they "age out" of the system. Sign-on here . The deadline is 6PM tomorrow! Email Shadi Houshyar atshadih@firstfocus.net to sign your organization on to the letter.

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.

The Philadelphia City Council just passed earned sick days legislation, ensuring that all Philadelphians can earn paid sick days. This important law will make sure that no one has to come into work while they're sick or have a sick child at home. Sign the petition asking Mayor Nutter to sign the bill into law!

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 .

Since 2009 , savings bonds became even more accessible to families with an ability to purchase them directly on the tax form. We need your help to ensure that the U.S. Treasury maintains its commitment to universal access to tax-time savings bonds and continues to protect access to this easy, convenient, and safe saving opportunity. The elimination of paper bonds in the U.S. Savings Bond Program has made it harder for Americans to access these tried and true savings tools.  Please sign the petition to protect the future of tax-time savings bonds. Don’t allow access to tax-time savings bonds to expire in 2013. We want to continue to save in U.S. savings bonds at tax-time, to save for our children, for emergencies, for our retirement, and for our financial security.

This post is from our friends at MomsRising .  Our thoughts at this time are with all those affected by the shooting in Connecticut, and with all those whose lives have been changed by violence.   We are beyond heartbroken as we think of the kindergarteners and others that died today in Connecticut. Today is the 3rd day this week when there's been a mass shooting in our nation. We are parents. Many NRA members are parents. And none of us want to live in a nation where children are gunned down. #Todayistheday for the NRA and for Congress to step up and start proposing laws that protect children and all people. *Sign on to our open letter to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and to Congress urging them to make today the last day that they block common-sense gun regulations that protect all of our families: http://action.momsrising.org/letter/newton_shooting1/?amp=&rd=1&t=2&referring_akid=3753.197376.BpXLjl It's time to put kids and common-sense fir...