PathWays PA Policy Blog

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.

The most recent report from the Department of Agriculture shows that 1 in 7 American households had problems feeding their families at some point in the last year - a number that adds up to 17.5 million families . Even more troubling, these numbers are virtually unchanged from last year. In fact, even though the United States is in a period of job recovery, hunger and food insecurity remain at the same level as in the recession . While the percentage of food insecure households in Pennsylvania is below the national average, more than 1 in 10 PA families are struggling to access the food they need. If you or someone you know need food help, there are many resources available to you. In Pennsylvania, you can apply for SNAP (food stamps) online via the COMPASS system. Families in southeastern PA can also call PathWays PA at 610-543-5022 for assistance in applying for SNAP. Pennsylvania families can also visit  http://www.foodpantries.org/st/pennsylvania  to find local ...

The 2012 nationwide Mary Kay Truth About Abuse Survey showed that "8 out of 10 domestic violence shelters nationwide reported an increase in women seeking help." The economy has had an effect. Not only is demand up while "funding, services and prevention efforts are down," but the survey went on to report that "74 percent of women stayed with an abuser longer for economic reasons, [and] 58 percent of shelters reported that the abuse is more violent now than before the economic downturn." Read More If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

The KIDS COUNT Infographic Challenge is a crowdsourced competition for young people and adults to use KIDS COUNT data to illustrate the story of America's children. It's easy to enter: 1. Visit the KIDS COUNT Data Center and find national trends on topics like education, health and economic security, or data that offers insight into your state or community. 2. Turn the data into a compelling infographic or image. (For help or inspiration, check out visual.ly  and Pinterest .) 3. Upload your infographic (or video) to the Challenge platform . Then share it with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and ask them to vote for your entry. The winners, chosen by your networks, will receive a new laptop decked out with a graphics suite. The Challenge launches on September 5, 2012 and voting will begin on October 1. So don't wait. Enter today. The KIDS COUNT Infographic Challenge. Show off your creative sparks and win! sparkaction.org/in...

New polling data (pdf) released today by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) show overwhelming majorities opposing SNAP cuts. The majorities are as strong as other polls in 2010 and early 2012, despite several intervening months of criticism of the program and false charges by conservative Members of Congress, conservative media outlets, and others. In particular, when asked "[t]his year, Congress will consider cutting billions of dollars from the food stamp program in an effort to reduce federal spending. Do you favor cutting food assistance to low-income families and seniors, or do you think that is the wrong way to reduce government spending," 75 percent say it is the wrong way to reduce spending. That number was 77 percent in January 2012 and 71 percent in November 2010. This poll comes on the same day as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released new data showing more than 50.1 million Americans lived in households struggling against hunger in 2011. ...

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...

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...

From our friends at  USICH USICH is excited to announce a new interactive map that allows users to access state level data on homelessness and important contacts for each state and territory. Ending homelessness requires the coordination of many different federal and state partners. This map provides contact information for key partners on the ground in each state with the numbers of people experiencing homelessness in the four key populations targeted by the four goals of Opening Doors: chronic, Veterans, families, and overall homelessness. The map includes contact information for different programs at the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and Education as well as state leads on homelessness and information on the state homelessness planning process. We hope you find the tool useful as we work together towards achieving the goals and objectives of Opening Doors. View the map at http://www.usich.gov/usich_resources/maps/overall_homelessn...

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 ...

The Working Poor Families Project (WPFP) has recently provided updated data on the conditions of working families in the U.S. a whole, the fifty states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. These data are the quantitative data generated for WPFP by the Population Reference Bureau from American Community Survey (ACS) 2009 and the Current Population Survey (CPS) 2010. The data give a comprehensive picture of the economic and demographic realities of Pennsylvania’s working poor families. Working poor families often earn too much to qualify for significant government benefits, but often they do not earn enough to make ends meet. The data below are a snapshot of the challenges faced by Pennsylvania’s working poor families and highlight the areas where these families are particularly vulnerable. The following data are for Pennsylvania: • 69.5% of families who earn less than 200% of the federal poverty line (FPL) are working families (334,650 families <200% that are working/ 4...

In recognition of National Nutrition Month, the Community Health Data Base released data on adult nutrition and access to fresh food from the 2010 Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey. The data show that many adults in our region may not be getting the nutrition their bodies require. Survey results also show that in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, some adults don’t have access to the fresh fruits and vegetables they need for a healthy diet. Findings from the study include: - Nearly half of adults (18+) in Southeastern Pennsylvania eat fewer than three servings of fruits or vegetables each day. - About one in eight (12.9%) SEPA adults living below the Federal Poverty Line describe their experience finding fruit and vegetables in their neighborhood as difficult or very difficult, compared to one in twenty five (3.8%) adults living above the Federal Poverty Line. - 30.6% of adults who have a difficult time finding fruits or vegetables in their neighborhood d...

“ 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.

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/ . &lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;IFRAMES not supported&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

This Sunday's Delaware County Daily Times featured an article on a recent symposium held by PathWays PA, and specifically on the need for more families to learn about the Earned Income Tax Credit : Thousands of tax filers are reaping millions of dollars in earned income tax credit here in Delaware County, although about a fifth of those eligible don’t take advantage of this refund. “$76 million came back to workers in this county alone,” John Wancheck of the Washington-based Center on Budget & Policy Priorities said at PathWays PA’s Network for Strategic Asset Building Symposium at the Drexelbrook Corporate Events Center. In Pennsylvania, through Oct. 21, 905,123 filers received the earned income tax credit to the tune of $1.8 billion. That’s a 13 percent increase over the previous year, compared to the 4 percent increase between 2008 and 2009. Wancheck added, however, that 20 to 25 percent of the workers who qualify for the earned income credit don’t apply for it. “T...

On the heels of our post about KIDS COUNT data on child poverty, the Half in Ten Campaign has also issued an interactive breakdown of the number of people in poverty in each Congressional District in the country.  The data shows the number in poverty and in child poverty, and shows whether the change in poverty is statistically significant.  Additional information includes the number of women, African Americans, and Latinos living in poverty in each district.