Policy For Results blog

New Resources on the Budget!

2012-01-25T10:09:00.001-05:00

While the long and unconventional Congressional budget process for FY2012 is barely over (4 months into the fiscal year) – we are fast approaching the release of the President’s FY2013 Budget Proposal. In an attempt to simplify what is an increasingly confusing process we thought we would assemble a list of common budget vocabulary to help untangle some of the terminology frequently used. Additionally, CSSP’s Investing in Community Change blog is also running a series on the FY2012 budget process aimed at assisting community members and community-based organizations. As the 2013 process moves forward we will continue to provide resources and updates on the policy agenda articulated through the President’s Budget Proposal as well as appropriations as they are addressed in Congress.

For a great introduction to the federal budget process visit the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

For a breakdown of the key budget issues for children and families in the FY2012 Budget visit the American Humane Association.

For policy solutions to meet the needs of children and families in difficult economic times visit PolicyforResults. Click here for PfR’s Federal Budget Vocabulary Tip Sheet.

The Impact of the Recession on Children

2012-01-18T10:07:00.001-05:00

The Brookings Institution’s Julia Isaacs recently published a report on the impact of the recession on children, The Recession’s Ongoing Impact on America’s Children: Indicators of Children's Economic Well-Being Through 2011. The report asserts that the impact of the recession on children can be hard to see; in part because some economic statistics do not include children (such as the unemployment rate) while others come out after a long time delay (the poverty rate). In order to get a sense of the economic well-being of children during and following the recession, Isaacs’ report tracks three state-by-state indicators: children with an unemployed parent, individuals receiving nutrition assistance benefits, and child poverty.

Isaacs’ report found that “many families have at least one parent out of work, are turning to SNAP benefits to put food on the table, and/or have cash income less than the poverty threshold ($17,000 per year for a family of three). Two of these three indicators are worse in 2011 than in 2010, indicating a continued deterioration in children’s economic well-being.” However Isaacs’ found that “one positive trend is that the number of children with an unemployed parent in 2011 is lower than a year ago” but goes on to state that “SNAP caseloads continue to rise, and child poverty is also is rising.”

For policymakers this work provides great context for the ongoing debates over federal and state budgets. As state policymakers engage in these debates and address issues of government size and spending, and the appropriate balance of spending cuts and tax increases to address budget deficits, it is important to consider that many families with children have not yet recovered from the recession and are in greater need of government supports and services than they would be in normal economic times.

For results-based policy strategies for difficult economic times visit the Policymakers’ Corner on PolicyforResults.org.

Public Safety and Public Spending: Asking the Wrong Question?

2012-01-11T10:41:00.001-05:00

A Brookings Institution issue brief, More Prisoner Versus More Crime is The Wrong Question, by Philip Cook and Jens Ludwig addresses whether or not the debate around criminal justice has been framed by a false choice. The brief states that framing the incarceration debate as a tradeoff between public safety and public finance is far too narrow – and that in fact the best evidence suggests the prison population would be substantially reduced with negligible effects on crime rates.

The brief states that the research community has made significant gains in identifying the causal effects of crime-related policies, and establishing proven alternatives to prison for controlling crime. The recommendations listed in the report include:

The resources currently dedicated to supporting long prison sentences should be reallocated to produce swifter, surer, but more moderate punishment. This approach includes hiring more police officers -we know now that chiefs using modern management techniques can make effective use of them.
Increased alcohol excise taxes reduce not only alcohol abuse but also the associated crime at very little cost to anyone except the heaviest drinkers. Federal and state levies should be raised.
Crime patterns and crime control are as much the result of private actions as public. The productivity of private-security efforts and private cooperation with law enforcement should be encouraged through government regulation and other incentives.
While convicts typically lack work experience and skills, it has proven very difficult to increase the quality and quantity of their licit employment through job creation and traditional training, either before or after they become involved with criminal activity. More effective rehabilitation (and prevention) programs seek to develop non-academic ("social-cognitive") skills like self-control, planning, and empathy.
Adding an element of coercion to social policy can also help reduce crime, including threatening probationers with swift, certain and mild punishments for illegal drug use, and compulsory schooling laws that force people to stay in school longer.

In an economic climate that requires an increased focus on making both effective and cost efficient policy decisions – informing policy with research is an important tool. It is ever more important to ask the right questions – in order to ensure that public policy is leading to the desired outcomes for children, families and community. Public safety is an important part of ensuring communities are places where children and families can thrive – and the policy decisions that can achieve that aim are much broader than are often addressed. By reviewing the research and making decisions that are both effective and cost efficient policymakers can address problems in ways that might allow for investment in other needed areas.

For state policy guidance that is grounded in research and based on today’s economic realities visit the Policymakers’ Corner on PolicyforResults.org.

The Affordability of Food

2012-01-04T10:00:00.001-05:00

The ability to afford food is a critical basic need for families, however new research shows that food spending is decreasing. In a new white paper by the Food Resource and Action Center, their analysis of federal data found that a growing number of Americans have been struggling and unable to afford an adequate and healthy diet and that food spending by the average household fell significantly over the past decade. While this is a circumstance that is impacting families across the country, there are some families struggling more than others. The report found:

Spending on food by the median household fell from 1.36 times the Thrifty Food Plan level in 2000 to 1.19 times that level in 2010.
By 2010 median spending on food by Black households and Hispanic households had fallen to the point where it was only a tiny bit above (101 percent for Black households) or was actually below (96 percent for Hispanic households) the Thrifty Food Plan level.
Other groups of households whose median food spending dropped from above the Thrifty level in 2000 to below it in 2010 were: households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line; and food insecure households.

Policies that increase access to affordable healthy food are one of the many ways that policymakers can work to reduce hardship and promote health for the families living in their states.

For results-based strategies to increase access to health foods visit PolicyforResults.

Measuring Opportunity

2011-12-28T10:00:00.002-05:00

Opportunity Nation has developed an Opportunity Index, based on the principal that looking at the country’s GDP and poverty rate are an inadequate way to determine opportunity. The index includes an interactive map and a state ranking list. The opportunity index measures a number of indicators at the county and state levels that contribute to economic opportunity and mobility. The index includes indicators that have a demonstrated connection to expanding or restricting economic mobility and opportunity and measures the opportunities that are present in different communities (including: employment, education, access to medical care, etc.).

In considering what policy actions are needed in a state or community – it is critical to have data to understand the current circumstances. Collecting and disaggregating data enables policymakers to have a sense of what the current trends are and how those trends are impacting different communities.

For more information on the importance of data and for state data tied to results-based policy solutions, visit PolicyforResults.org’s state data center.

Rental Assistance and Economic Opportunity

2011-12-19T10:10:00.000-05:00

In collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation’s How Housing Matters Initiative, Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is running a series of commentaries on How Housing Matters to Families and Communities. The series includes information on the intersection of housing and health, economic opportunity and education. The latest piece in the series is Rental Assistance: A Drag on Work or a Platform for Economic Opportunity? by Jeffrey Lubell from the Center for Housing Policy. In the piece Lubell comments on the concern expressed by some that receiving housing vouchers might have a negative impact on earnings. The issue brief states that there are aspects of housing assistance that promote and hinder work efforts and, over the long-term, these aspects more or less offset each other; resulting in no persistent long-term impact. The brief goes on to suggest that by addressing the aspects that negatively impact work and building up the positive ones that rental assistance could become a platform for greater economic opportunity.

To learn more about how housing impacts families and communities.

Visit our Investing in Community Change blog to read about the impact of housing and health in the post: Funders and Policymakers Increasingly Support Innovative Models to Address Housing and Health .

For results-based strategies to promote affordable housing visit PolicyforResults.

Preventing Childhood Obesity – My Plate

2011-12-05T09:36:00.000-05:00

MyPlate is a new resource from the Let’s Move Campaign and the USDA. The tool is intended to help simplify making healthy eating choices. The icon, built off of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for all Americans can also be used to consider the nutritional needs of specific audiences such as pregnant and nursing mothers, preschoolers, children and those who are interested in healthy ways to loose weight. MyPlate also includes resources to learn more about healthy foods, ways to eat healthy on a budget and resources in Spanish, among others.

Tools like MyPlate and the efforts around the Let’s Move Campaign are important in light of the significant research around health in the United States. The Trust for America’s Health Report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future, 2011 states that, two-thirds of adults and nearly one-third of children and teens are currently obese or overweight, putting them at increased risk for more than 20 major diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It’s not just our health that is suffering however; it is also impacting our economy. The report goes on to state that obesity-related medical costs and a less productive workforce are hampering America’s ability to compete in the global economy.

For state policy strategies to prevent childhood obesity, visit PolicyforResults,org.

TANF Benefits Continue to Decline

2011-11-28T09:31:00.001-05:00

According to a recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, TANF benefits for poor families with children are worth less than they were in 1996 when the TANF program began. The report states that after adjusting for inflation, benefit levels in 2011 are at least 20 percent below their 1996 levels in 34 states. While most states froze benefit levels this year, six states and the District of Columbia cut them, reducing assistance for more than 700,000 low-income families that represent over one-third of all low-income families receiving such assistance nationwide. The report includes state specific information as well as detailed information about the reduction of TSNF’s worth and how that is impacting poor families, including:

TANF benefit levels are so low that they are not sufficient in any state to raise a family's income above 50 percent of the poverty line.
In all but two states, a poor family relying solely on TANF to provide the basics for its children (such as during a period of joblessness, illness, or disability) is further below the poverty line today than in 1996.
Almost all states have adopted "make work pay" policies under which TANF benefits phase out gradually as family earnings increase. However, families become ineligible for TANF cash assistance at very low income levels in nearly all states.

With the re-authorization of TANF likely on the horizon, an economic climate that has led to significant state budget cuts, and the impact that this program has on poor families – it is important to consider the changes needed to ensure the needs of the nation’s poorest families are met. For state policymakers the upcoming TANF debate will be critically important – and provides an opportunity for policymakers to ensure that their state is able to best serve poor children and their parents.

For a series of fact sheets that provide guidance to state policymakers that is grounded in research and based on today’s economic realities visit our Policymakers’ Corner.

School Nutrition Policy – Pizza and Vegetables or Pizza as Vegetables

2011-11-22T09:05:00.000-05:00

It is much easier to reach agreement that children should be eating nutritious meals during the school day – then it is to agree on what constitutes nutritious. There is guidance to ensure that children eat enough calories during the school day – but also that those calories come from nutritious foods. For instance, under the new nutrition standards proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, schools would need to use about one-half cup of tomato paste on pizza in order for the sauce to count as a serving of vegetables. This upset groups like the American Frozen Food Industry – who argued that the amount was too great and has lobbied Congress to stop the standard from moving forward. Congress apparently agrees, as the House of Representatives' agriculture appropriations bill was released last week, and the bill will prevent the new rule on tomato paste from taking effect.

With the incredible childhood obesity rates in the United States –nutrition advocates are strongly opposing the legislation. Margo Wootan, the Director of the Center for Science and the Public Interest issued a statement regarding the bill saying; “It's a shame that Congress seems more interested in protecting industry than protecting children's health, and continued to say that “if finalized, this legislation may go down in nutritional history as a bigger blunder than when the Reagan Administration tried (but failed) to credit ketchup as a vegetable in the school lunch program. Pizza should be served with a vegetable, not count as one.”

Keeping child nutrition at the forefront is important for the health of our children and of our country. No matter how nutrition is defined, States will be responsible for adhering to the federal regulations and so engaging in the conversation at the national level is a good opportunity to ensure that the values of your community are considered.

For related results-based policy strategies visit our Policy for Results section on preventing and reducing childhood obesity.

New On PolicyforResults.org! Promote Youth Civic Engagement

2011-11-15T09:10:00.009-05:00

Youth civic engagement leads to reduced risky behavior, increased success in school and greater civic participation later in life. However, youth today are less likely than those in earlier generations to exhibit many important characteristics of citizenship. A study from the National Conference of State Legislatures found that more young people can name an American Idol winner than know the political party of their state’s governor.

State policymakers across the country are working to engage youth in positive opportunities for civic participation, which is important for healthy youth development and for the health and performance of democracy. By creating opportunities for youth civic engagement, policymakers promote the healthy development of young people. Civic engagement provides young people with opportunities to gain work experience, acquire new skills, and to learn responsibility and accountability—all while contributing to the good of their communities.

PolicyforResults.org now provides results-based policy strategies for promoting youth voter registration, establishing authentic youth voice in government, promoting diverse youth service and policies to promote youth engagement.

Community-Based Solutions for Juvenile Offenders

2011-11-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted that in the past decade the rate of juvenile offenders that are held in detention facilities has dropped by 25 percent, in some states the rate has decreased by more than 50 percent. This is due in part to states addressing the policies that have led to young people being detained.

Research states that many youth are detained because of status offenses, violations of court orders related to status offenses and probation violations. Young people who experience detention have higher rates of attempted suicide and psychiatric disorders; that often go untreated or are inappropriately treated. Youth who are held in detention also have higher recidivism rates and are more likely to engage in adult criminal behavior than youth who are not detained. Reducing the inappropriate or unnecessary use of juvenile detention improves public safety and reduces the likelihood that youth will engage in adult criminal behavior.

For state policy strategies for preventing delinquency and ensuring quality juvenile justice services visit our homepage to sign-up for e-mail updates for new and updated results-based policy regarding Juvenile Justice - coming soon!

Mapping Poverty: A New Tool

2011-10-31T09:40:00.000-04:00

The release of the new poverty data by the Census Bureau in September – confirmed what we already feared – that poverty has continued to rise over the past several years. In 2010 more than 16 million children in the United States –22 percent of all children – lived in families with incomes below the federal poverty level (which was about $22,300 a year for a family of four). Research shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice that level to cover basic expenses. Research also shows that living in poverty has a significant impact on immediate and long-term outcomes for families. According to Child Trends, poor children are more likely to have low academic achievement, drop out of school, and to have health, behavioral, and emotional problems. Furthermore, these linkages are particularly strong for children whose families experience deep poverty, who are poor during early childhood, and/or who are trapped in poverty for a long time.

The impact of poverty on children, families and communities is significant. However public policy aimed at supporting low-income working families, high quality early care and learning experiences and addressing families in greatest need all can help reduce poverty and mitigate its impact.

Half in Ten, recently released interactive tools that allow for users to map poverty by state and by Congressional District. The maps include data on the total population as well as demographic data including women, children, and racial/ethnic groups (where available).

For policymakers, working to support children and families living in poverty in their states is critical – to ensure a thriving population today – and in the future.

For more strategies to Ensure Children Grow Up in Safe, Supportive and Economically Successful Families visit PolicyforResults.org.

NEW on PolicyforResults.org! Increasing College Completion.

2011-10-13T09:00:00.003-04:00

More than 40 million people now receive food stamps, an increase of nearly 50 percent since 2007, and economists predict that 1 in 4 children will be living in poverty in the near future. The brunt of this economic devastation is being borne by workers with the least education, who have suffered the greatest and most persistent job losses, plunging formerly working, self-sufficient families into poverty. Post-secondary education and training has kept more people competitive in this most recent recession but studies show that the United States will have one million fewer college graduates than will actually be needed to rebuild a strong economy for the future. As jobs change to require more education and as states transition to knowledge-based economies, policymakers need strategies to ensure improved college graduation rates. Policyfor Results.org now provides state policies to improve college readiness, access, persistence and completion.

TANF in Rural America

2011-10-11T09:39:00.000-04:00

With TANF reauthorization on the horizon it is important for policymakers to consider the program’s impact and effectiveness across geographic areas. The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire released a report, TANF in Rural America Informing Re-authorization, to serve as a resource in considering the program’s affect in rural communities. The brief provides a new look at rural-urban differences in poverty rates and welfare receipt, as well as TANF’s impact on poor families. The Carsey Institute states that the report’s new appraisal is important for three reasons. First, there are persistent labor market disadvantages and barriers to work in rural areas. Second, the nation is enduring one of the deepest and most persistent economic downturns since the Great Depression and nonmetropolitan populations are often left out of the media spotlight. Third, the federal government will soon debate the reauthorization of TANF, which presents an opportunity to bring the unique circumstances of struggling rural Americans into policy discussions. The report spotlights data regarding the rural poverty and TANF including:

24 percent of rural children living in poverty compared with 15 percent in suburban areas and 26 percent in central cities in 2009.
Poverty rates are particularly high among non-white children, with nearly half (49 percent) of rural black children and 37 percent of rural Hispanic children under age 18 living in poverty.
In 2009, just over 11 percent of poor rural families reported receiving any income from TANF, as compared to nearly 14 percent of poor urban families.
Cash assistance from TANF relieves, but does not eliminate, poverty because benefit levels are far too low to lift families above the poverty threshold. These ameliorative effects are weaker in rural than urban areas. Over time, the positive impacts of TANF receipt have continued to decline.

The report provides recommendations for the reauthorization of TANF including:

Keep America’s rural poor in mind
Acknowledge differences in ameliorative effect.
Re-establish the TANF Emergency Fund
Reinvigorate the Contingency Fund
Reconsider TANF Supplemental Grants

State policymakers are uniquely positioned to address the needs of urban, suburban and rural residents. Considering the resources available to guide decision-making so that the families in greatest need are supported is important – TANF reauthorization is a critical opportunity to address these needs.

For more strategies to Ensure Children Grow Up in Safe, Supportive and Economically Successful Families visit PolicyforResults.org.

Youth and Equity

2011-10-03T09:35:00.002-04:00

An article from the Center for American Progress, Demographic Change Demands Equitable Policies for Youth of Color: Groups Are Increasing but Still Face Barriers to Opportunity, addresses the shifts in demographics in the United States and what that means for our country moving forward. The article states that while the country continues to become more diverse – there are still significant economic inequalities, and that these inequalities are particularly impacting young people. The article states that economic inequities continue to disproportionately affect young people of color—even those young people who successfully complete high school and those who graduate from college. The report highlights relevant data including:

Joblessness for African-American college graduates was at 19 percent, more than double what it was for white college graduates (8.4 percent), while 13.8 percent of Latino graduates were out of work.
Unemployment for African-American high school graduates under the age of 25 and not enrolled in college was 31.8 percent. Latino graduates were next with 22.8 percent in overall unemployment, compared to their white counterparts, at 20.3 percent.

The article suggests policy measures aimed at investing in newer generations of Americans so that they too have the opportunity to influence public policies that will directly affect their futures and those of the generations to follow, such as protecting immigrants’ rights and promoting youth civic engagement. For policymakers, promoting youth civic engagement not only helps to ensure the next generation of engaged and active citizens, but also promotes the health and well-being of the young people in their community.

For results-based policy strategies to increase high-school completion visit policyforresults.org.

For state policy strategies for both increasing college completion and promoting youth civic engagement visit our homepage to sign-up for e-mail updates - coming soon!

STEM education and equity

2011-09-26T09:31:00.001-04:00

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers are essential to American innovation and competitiveness in an increasingly dynamic and global economy. Recently the Department of Commerce released their third and final report on STEM jobs and education. In the report, they examine demographic disparities in STEM education and find that educational attainment may affect equality of opportunity in these important, high‐quality jobs.

This report follows an analysis of labor market outcomes and gender disparities among STEM workers. The report found that regardless of race and Hispanic origin, higher college graduation rates are associated with higher shares of workers with STEM jobs. However, non‐Hispanic Whites and Asians are much more likely than other minority groups to have a bachelor’s degree. The Department of Commerce states that by increasing the numbers of STEM workers among currently underrepresented groups through education can help to ensure America’s future as a global leader in technology and innovation.

Key findings in the report include:

Non-Hispanic Whites comprise the largest group of STEM workers, accounting for about seven out of 10 STEM workers, which aligns closely with their share of the overall workforce.
Non-Hispanic Asians are most likely (42 percent) to graduate college with a STEM degree, while the propensities of other groups are all fairly similar (17-22 percent).
Half of all non-Hispanic Asian workers with STEM degrees have STEM jobs, compared to 30 percent of Hispanics and non-Hispanic Black and American Indian or Alaska Native workers.
One in five STEM workers is foreign born, of which 63 percent come from Asia.
STEM workers in all demographic groups, including the foreign born, earn more than their non-STEM counterparts. Hispanics and non-Hispanic Blacks receive a significantly larger STEM premium than do non-Hispanic Whites.

The President’s 2012 budget proposes $206 million in STEM training programs. This includes funding for the U.S. Department of Education to develop teacher training in grades K-12 around STEM-related topics, as well as funding for the National Science Foundation to conduct research on effective teacher training in STEM fields.

For state policymakers – considering strategies to increase high school and college completion are critical to increasing the number of people entering into the STEM workforce. For results-based policy strategies for increasing high school completion click here, and visit our homepage to sign-up for e-mail updates for results based policy strategies for increasing high school completion- coming soon!

High School Completion

2011-09-19T09:18:00.002-04:00

The beginning of the school year offers new opportunities for students and communities across the country. For young people, completing high school is an important step in preparing for adulthood. However, according to America’s Promise, one in four public school children drop out before they finish high school; amounting to 1.3 million students a year – one every 26 seconds, 7,000 every school day. The rate of high school drop-out is a crisis impacting the young people, families and communities that make up this country; and the economic impact for the U.S. is significant (costing society billions of dollars and endangering the country’s ability to compete in the 21^st century workforce). Grad Nation, an initiative of America’s Promise, has two goals related to improving rates of high school completion: achieving a 90 percent graduation rate nationwide by 2020, with no school graduating less than 80 percent of its students, and to regain America’s standing as first in the world in college completion. Through this initiative, America’s Promise released, Building a Grad Nation, a report that highlights successes in raising the graduation rates in rural, suburban and urban school districts across the country.

There are a number of resources available for policymakers considering ways to ensure students are supported and successful in school.

A report from the Alliance for Excellent Education, Ten Elements of a Successful High School, offers a check-list to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of community schools and provides a guide for determining the actions needed to help improve them.
To get a sense of the severity of high school drop-out rates in your community, Education Week’s Research Center offers a Graduation Rate Map. This interactive tool allows users to review data for the last ten years including the demographic profiles of school districts and graduation rates, and allows for comparison with the national average.
The Harvard Family Research Project report, Partnerships for Learning: Promising Practices in Integrating School and Out-of-School Time Program Supports, is a great resource for guidance on implementing partnerships aimed at improving learning through the connection of in-school and out-of-school time.
The National Governors’ Association issue brief, State Policies to Reengage Dropouts, provides state-level strategies and state examples for reengaging young people who drop-out of school as well as information on the degree of cost associated with the proposed strategy.
For results-based public policy strategies for increasing high school graduation rates, including ways to support student success from pre-school to adulthood and strategies for targeting high need students and schools, visit PolicyforResults.org.

The 2010 Poverty Numbers

2011-09-13T13:19:00.004-04:00

Earlier today the Census Bureau released the 2010 data on income, poverty and health insurance coverage. For most of the past ten years poverty has risen annually, and this year was not an exception with the rate rising to 15.1 percent (up 0.8 percentage points from 2009). Predictors of poverty, such as long-term unemployment, worsened from 2009 to 2010, so the poverty rate increase, while unfortunate, is not surprising. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, after recessions, increases in poverty typically persist longer than increases in unemployment. Furthermore, in each of the previous three recessions, the poverty rate did not begin to fall until a year after the annual unemployment rate began to decline.

While poverty in 2010 did not rise as steeply as it did in 2009, the rate of people living in deep poverty rose to a record high with 6.7 percent of all people living in deep poverty (deep poverty is defined as a family earning an annual income below half the poverty line). Fortunately government assistance programs have mitigated some of the affects of the economic crises on families in and near poverty. According to the Census Bureau, Unemployment Insurance and Social Security Income (both considered in the poverty estimates) kept poverty rates from growing even higher; UI lowered the number of people in poverty by 3.2 million people and SSI by 20.3 million people. The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are not calculated into the poverty rate but if they were they would have reduced the number of people living in poverty by 5.4 million and 3.9 million respectively.

The poverty numbers suggest that while the aftermath of the recession is impacting people across the country, it has been experienced in different ways and to differing degrees.

The 2010 poverty data showed that:

In 2010, 46.2 million people were in poverty, up from 43.6 million in 2009—the fourth consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty.
In 2010, 6.7 percent of all people, or 20.5 million, had income below one-half of their poverty threshold, up from 6.3 percent, or 19.0 million people, in 2009. This group represented 44.3 percent of the poverty population in 2010.
The poverty rate and the number in poverty increased for both married-couple families (6.2 percent in 2010 from 5.8 percent in 2009) and families with a female householder (31.6 percent in 2010 from 29.9 percent in 2009).
Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites (from 9.4 percent to 9.9 percent), for Blacks (from 25.8 percent to 27.4 percent), and for Hispanics (from 25.3 percent to 26.6 percent).
Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased for children under age 18 (from 20.7 percent to 22.0 percent).
Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased for adults aged 18 to 64 (from 12.9 percent to 13.7 percent).

Considering the Data in Context

In considering the data released by the Census Bureau it is important to also consider the context. A recent post by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities highlights that the figures released today tell us how many people are poor but do not explain the experiences of those living in poverty. The CBPP post highlights other government data that suggest families living below, or only modestly above, the poverty line (which was about $22,300 for a family of four in 2010) are likely to face daily hardships and that living in poverty can have damaging consequences over the long term. They highlight, for example:

Nearly half (44 percent) of poor households with children were “food insecure” in 2010, according to the Agriculture Department, meaning that at times they had trouble affording sufficient food. For households with incomes above 185 percent of the poverty line, this rate was 9 percent.
About half (48 percent) of all poor households with children in 2005 reported one or more of four major hardships: they faced food insecurity with hunger, lived in overcrowded conditions, were behind on rent or mortgage payments, and/or were unable to go to the doctor or hospital when they needed to.
Poor children were more than 70 percent more likely to lack health coverage than non-poor children in 2009. Over 15 percent of poor children were uninsured, compared to under 9 percent of non-poor children.
Research shows that poverty among young children not only slows them down in school but also may significantly shrink their earnings as adults.

While budgets are tight and falling short, and while unemployment rates and poverty remain high, it is important for policymakers to continue to work on supporting the families in greatest need - all while considering the feasibility within the current economic climate. Understanding how communities are being most affected and why will help policymakers create safety-net programs that will meet family and community needs. Creating policy with a focus on results will help to do this in a way that also efficiently allocates scarce resources and improves the odds that problems will be addressed effectively.

To read CSSP's Statement on the New Poverty Data and Implications for Children and Families please click here.

For more strategies to Ensure Children Grow Up in Safe, Supportive and Economically Successful Families visit PolicyforResults.org.

More from our blog: a primer on poverty measurement and the Census instruments used.

Tracking the Warning Signs: High School Dropouts

2011-09-12T09:47:00.000-04:00

Every year, nearly one quarter of high school students (approximately 1 million students) in the United States fail to graduate on time; and close to 5 million young adults ages 18 to 24 currently lack a high school diploma. Recent progress on increasing graduation rates has stalled, and while the drop-out rate has not changed significantly, a recent report by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) notes that what makes current graduation rates alarming is the reality of the new U.S. economy. The report states that it is practically impossible for individuals lacking a high school diploma to earn a living or participate meaningfully in civic life. If the current trends continue, nearly 13 million students will drop-out of high school over the next decade, costing the U.S. $3 trillion.

These trends have led to an increased focus on improving high school graduation rates by both educators and policymakers. Several states have started tracking, reviewing, and establishing trends that amount to warning signs that a young person is on the path to dropping-out of school. The ECS report highlights these efforts and summarizes the statewide early warning indicator systems in Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama and the Philadelphia Public Schools district-wide system.

For results-based policy strategies to increase high school completion, visit PolicyforResults.org.

Supporting Working Families: Supplemental Income

2011-09-06T09:40:00.000-04:00

The most recent poverty numbers (2009) indicate that the official poverty rate was 14.3 percent, or 1 in 7 Americans, and that there were 8.8 million families living in poverty. Even with work supports such as child care and transportation assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food Stamps) many working American families still struggle to meet their basic needs. In response to this need, states have implemented programs or enacted policies that provide an additional supplement to individuals’ earnings. These provide cash assistance to working individuals, usually on a monthly basis, to supplement their earnings and raise their income. Typically, these programs are targeted at low-income parents who are unemployed and the supports are provided when they begin working; earnings supplements are designed to encourage employment and increase the payoff of low-wage work. These supports can also provide an important incentive for a parent to stay employed. A brief, Providing Earning Supplements to Encourage and Maintain Employment, by MDRC presents their findings, and lessons for policy and practice, from studies of five programs that provided earnings supplements and that have been rigorously evaluated: The Canadian Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP), the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Milwaukee’s New Hope Project, the Texas Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) program, and the United Kingdom Employment Retention and Advancement (UK ERA) program.

Through these evaluations, MDRC developed lessons learned including:

Earnings supplements substantially increased employment and income and, in many cases, employment retention.
For the most part, the earnings supplement programs had limited effects on employment advancement.
The increased income that individuals typically obtained through the earnings supplement programs improved the well-being of families and their children.
Earnings supplements, when combined with employment services, have larger effects than earnings supplements alone.

As well as specific lessons for policy and practice, including:

Consider strategies to lengthen the period that individuals receive supplements, and provide additional supports after the supplements end.
Market earnings supplements aggressively.
Establish relatively straightforward service and eligibility rules and nonwork requirements to maximize take-up rates.

To read the remainder of MDRC’s lessons learned and for additional information on earning supplements or the programs evaluated review Providing Earning Supplements to Encourage and Maintain Employment.

For additional strategies to ensure that Children Grow Up in Safe, Supportive and Economically Successful Families visit PolicyforResults.org.

Resource for Policymakers: The American Human Development Project

2011-08-31T09:25:00.002-04:00

The American Human Development Project offers policymakers a number of tools to help design and evaluate programs and policy aimed at improving the well-being of, and available opportunities for, their constituents. AHDP translates complex data into powerful and compelling narratives told in accessible language. AHDP’s site includes data and research about: demographics, economics, health, education, environment, politics, and criminal justice, as well as other subjects.

The tools available from AHDP include national analysis, as well as research focused on specific geographic areas including - communities, metro areas, congressional districts, and states. The site includes geographically specific information on key community indicators such as life expectancy at birth, obesity, unemployment, high school enrollment, and incarceration rates. In a recent report, A Portrait of California, AHDP goes beyond addressing the state’s fiscal and budgetary woes to examine the well-being of Californians, using their American Human Development Index; a measure based on official government data on health, education, and living standards.

The AHDP provide technical assistance for policymakers on how to best use their tools and research. For more information, visit measureofamerica.org.

For more data on children and families visit PolicyforResults’ Data Center.

Unemployment and SNAP: A Fact Sheet

2011-08-29T09:48:00.000-04:00

According to the Urban Institute, approximately 45 million people receive food supports through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is an increase of about 69 percent since the beginning of the recession in late 2007. The Urban Institute states that caseload increases reflect; high unemployment (increasing the number of people eligible for benefits), increased participation rates (more eligible households enrolling in the program) and recent program changes that allow states to make it easier for families to get and keep SNAP benefits.

The increase in SNAP participation makes the Urban Institute’s Fact Sheet: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Counters High Unemployment, a great resource for policymakers and others interested in learning the program’s basics, seeing the relationship between the program and the growth in unemployment, reviewing the changes in SNAP participation by state, and for considering potentially issues moving forward.

For results-based policy strategies for Ensuring Children Grow Up in Safe, Supportive, and Economically Successful Families visit PolicyforResults.org.

Preschool Matters

2011-08-24T09:25:00.001-04:00

A recent segment and blog post on National Public Radio (NPR) highlighted preschool as the best job-training program currently available. The segment included, James Heckman, a Nobel-Prize winning economist, who found that when comparing a group of workers that had gone through a job training program with a group that hadn't, the training program did nothing to help the workers get better jobs and in some cases even led to worse outcomes. Heckman notes that the students in the training program could not learn the new information provided because they lacked what he determined to be “soft skills” (the ability to focus and pay attention, being curious and open to new experiences, and the capacity to control ones’ temper). Heckman further discovered that these skills are not developed at the secondary or elementary school level, but are learned earlier - in preschool.

In Heckman’s original report about the Perry preschool program in Ypsilanti, Michigan in the 1960’s, he cites the long-term impact of early childhood education. As noted in the NPR segment, the project divided children from the same community into two randomly assigned groups: the first group went to preschool for two hours a day, five days a week (treatment group) and the second group did not attend preschool (control group). Following the experiment, both groups of children went to the same public schools and grew up with similar community conditions. After following the children for 30 years, researchers found that boys in the treatment group were half as likely to be arrested and earned 50 percent more in salary. The girls in the treatment group were 50 percent more likely to have savings accounts and 20 percent more likely to have a car. In all, the preschool group was less likely to become sick, experience unemployment, and go to jail. The study found that the public gained $12.90 for every $1.00 spent on the program. A report by NCSL further concludes that early childhood care and education has a higher return to unit dollar invested than any skill development investment including school, college, and job training.

The report by Heckman displays the importance of early childhood education. However, many families in the United States cannot afford quality preschool programs. Head Start was created to provide preschool programs for children and families living in poverty; however, the program is not large enough to reach all the children in need. When compared to other western countries the United States’ preschool attendance rates are low: in the United States attendance rates are only 70 percent, while in Western European countries attendance rates are between 90 and 100 percent. The high rates of children in the United States that do not attend, or have access to, high-quality pre-school are at a disadvantage from very early on, and as Heckman points out, this strongly affects the development of employment skills and job readiness in adulthood.

Creating a competitive workforce in the United States is important for all Americans and universal pre-school is an important step in ensuring that children in the United States grow into productive, successful adults; leading to both more stable and secure families and a stronger economy.

For more information on increasing quality early care and education and improving K-3 academic success, visit PolicyforResults.org.