Connect for Kids / Child Advocacy 360 / Youth Policy Action Center - Low Wage Families & Poverty

Parents Preserve Affordable Housing for Low-Income Families

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:24:38 -0600

In California, the journey from parent to activist starts at home: the Los Angeles Community Action Network won a citywide law to preserve affordable housing in residential hotels targeted for luxury development.

The Measure of America

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:00:40 -0500

This book marks the first time a human development approach to measuring well-being has
been applied to an industrialized nation. Published by the Social Science Research
Council and Columbia University Press, it ranks states and congressional districts

New York City to Implement New Poverty Measure

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:56:31 -0500

Mayor Bloomberg has a new plan and it's the first time any local government has put in
place an alternative to the country's 40-year- old standard for measuring poverty, the
National Academies repo

How Does the US Measure Poverty? A Child-Focused Perspective

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:29:29 -0500

The National Center for Children in Poverty has a 2008 fact sheet that outlines how the federal poverty measurement works, why it is inadequate and examines alternative ways to measure poverty—and child poverty—more effectively.

Official Poverty Measure Undercounts the Nation's Poor

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:06:29 -0500

To give context to the 2008 Census data on poverty, this chart from the Economic Policy Institute illustrates that millions more people face poverty than the federal measurement finds.

Paul Krugman and the "P Word"

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:09:17 -0500

To be poor "is to be an outcast in your own country. And that, the neuroscientists tell us, is what poisons a child's brain," Paul Krugman wrote in a 2008 New York Times op-ed. Here, Hershel Sarbin wrestles with the often-daunting task of communicating about child poverty—and why a renewed, solutions-based focus on child poverty may be around the corner.

The Real Math of Child Poverty In America

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:12:02 -0500

I was somewhat surprised when I recently came across the following paragraph on the Voices for America’s Children Website: “As a society we pay a steep price for allowing one in five of our nation’s children to live in poverty. Economists estimate the annual national cost of persistent childhood poverty due to lost adult productivity and wages, increased crime, and higher health expenditures is massive: approximately $500 billion or four percent of the nation’s gross domestic product”...

Anti-Poverty Advocates Cheer Minimum Wage Increase

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:19:02 -0500

For the first time in 10 years, the federal minimum wage will get a boost—from $5.15 to $7.25 in 2009. It’s not enough to end poverty in America, but it is a start. Just ask Julie Smith, who took a job as cashier after dropping out of college to raise her daughter. The increase is also expected to benefit an estimated 6.4 million children whose parents earn minimum wage, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In an article for OneWorld, Caitlin Johnson reports.

Skills to Live by: Participant Reflections on the Value of their Sectoral Training Experience

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:14:58 -0500

Here�s something you don�t see every day: a recent Aspen Institute report looks at the impact of job training programs on low-skilled and low-income workers � but this time, it�s from their own perspectives.

Work-Plus: Boosting the Bottom Line for Low-Wage Working Parents

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:38:52 -0500

The 1996 welfare reform bill was designed to move public assistance participants from welfare to work, often quickly and without adequate supports to help families truly rise out of poverty. This policy brief from the National Assembly's Family Strengthening Policy Center looks at "work-plus" strategies (as opposed to work-first approaches) that offer work supports like child care assistance, transportation help, tax assistance, etc. in addition to employment services. The brief includes recommendations for policymakers, businesses, and community organizations.

Getting On, Staying On, and Getting Off Welfare: The Complexity of State-by-State Policy Choices

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:11:02 -0500

How does welfare work? The answer often depends on the state � states vary, for example, in the amount of hours participating parents must work, what counts as �work,� rules about emergency cash assistance, and other areas.

Understanding Changes in Child Poverty over the Past Decade

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 13:16:45 -0500

Child poverty dropped dramatically from 1993 to 2000 and rose again from 2000 to 2004, especially among black children, according to a recent Urban Institute report. Why these ups and downs? Work, e

When Work Doesn't Pay: What Every Policymaker Should Know

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 13:06:23 -0500

One reason for the problem above is that while government work supports�like public health care, the earned income tax credit, child care assistance, and food stamps, to name a few�help millions, many families are caught in a Catch-22 of sorts: as their earnings rise, their eligibility for these programs drops.

U.S. Child Poverty Among the Worst, Government Support Less Effective

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 13:04:00 -0500

This one-page Economic Policy Institute snapshot offers a look at child poverty in industrialized nations with similar economies before and after government support; it finds that without government assistance, the United States ranks among the top four countries with the highest rates of child poverty. More troubling is that after government assistance is considered, the United States has higher child poverty rates than other developed nations. That doesn�t mean government support should be tossed out with the bathwater; it means that the most effective programs need to be able to reach more children and families. The chart makes the picture hard to ignore.

Marriage as Anti-Child-Poverty Program

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:31:09 -0500

Congress recently allocated $750 million over five years to promote marriage and fatherhood initiatives among low-income groups. As a result, federally-funded marriage promotion programs are springing up around the country, including in Washington, DC. Roshin Mathew, an Emerson Hunger Fellow working with Connect for Kids this year, wondered about the connection between marriage promotion and better lives for low-income children. Here are her findings, and her thoughts.