Census Poverty Data 101 –
What You Need to Know to Advocate for Vulnerable People and Families

• • • • • 46.2 million people [15.1%] were poor in 2010, per new Census Data

According to the US Census Bureau’s Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 report released September 13, there were 46.2 million people in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009—the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published. In addition, the number of people without health insurance coverage in 2010 was 49.9 million, up from 49.0 million in 2009.

Unemployment and the recession are pushing more people into poverty, especially those ages 25-34. Of those young adults, 5.9 million lived with their parents, and nearly half of them were living below the poverty line when their parents’ incomes were excluded.

There were 16.4 million children under 18 in poverty last year, up from 15.5 million in 2009. However, poverty did not increase for senior citizens 65 and older—some experts credit this to the effectiveness of programs like Social Security, which kept nearly 14 million seniors out of poverty last year.

For more information:

• read the news release http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb11-157.html
• read the report, http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf

• • • • • Census Bureau to release local and state poverty data on September 22

On Thursday, September 22, the US Census Bureau will release one-year estimates–including poverty and income data—from the 2010 American Community Survey*. Estimates will be available for all 50 states, every congressional district and metropolitan area, and all counties and places with populations of 65,000 or more. For more information, read:
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb11-135.html

*The American Community Survey provides annual, up-to-date socioeconomic information, and—along with 2010 Census statistics— forms the basis for the annual allocation of more than $400 billion in federal funds to state and local governments.

• • • • • Check out these resources on the Census Data from our partners

Now more than ever, we need to make the case for programs like Community Action that are helping low-income people achieve economic stability, especially during these challenging economic times. Below are resources from our friends and colleagues at the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) and Save for All campaign, and the Spotlight on Poverty that will help you craft your messages and take action.

• Write a letter to the editor using CHN’s samples and suggestions, http://www.chn.org/pdf/2011/LTEPacket9_13_11.pdf.

• Utilize the analysis, charts and other resources from national nonprofits and policy organizations on CHN’s 2010 Census and Poverty Data http://www.chn.org/issues/statistics/povertyday2011.html to compile messaging and talking points for discussions with elected officials, members of the media, and community representatives about what the poverty data means for your program participants and local community.

• Additional resources can be found on Spotlight on Poverty’s Poverty Data Resource Guide page, http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org/poverty_day_resources.aspx. The page features Spotlight’s Twitter feed, and the organization is asking those who “tweet” about the Census data to use the #povertydata hashtag.

 

The National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP) has published the 2010 Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Annual Report.

The report highlights how local and state Community Action Agencies utilized federal CSBG funds to help 20.3 million low-income individuals achieve economic stability. It features measurable outcomes, such as gaining employment and building assets, of CSBG’s effectiveness based on data from NASCSP’s Community Services Block Grant Information Survey (CSBG IS)—which includes responses from all 52 CSBG grantees.

To read the highlights, go to
http://www.nascsp.org/data/files/csbg_publications/annual_reports/highlights/nascsp%2010%20csbg
%20highlights%20final.pdf

To read the state facts sheets, go to
http://www.nascsp.org/data/files/csbg_publications/annual_reports/action_reports/2010%20state%20fact%
20sheets_final.pdf

To read the report, go to http://www.nascsp.org/data/files/csbg_publications/annual_reports/annual%20report%2010%20final.pdf

September is Hunger Action Month – Help End Hunger in America

A significant number of Americans are "food insecure" and struggle to provide food for themselves and their families, according to recently released reports from the Food Action and Research Center, http://frac.org/pdf/aug2011_food_hardship_report_children.pdf and US Department of Agriculture, http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR125/ERR125.pdf.

September is Hunger Action Month—Join Feeding America, its national network of food banks, and other organizations and individuals across the country in raising awareness and working to end hunger in America. For details, check out this Feeding America blog post,
http://blog.feedingamerica.org/2011/09/its-hunger-action-month/. Information is also available at hungeractionmonth.org and feedingamerica.org; and on Twitter, @FeedingAmerica, and Facebook, www.facebook.com/FeedingAmerica.

Share stories on how the economy is affecting young people for
State of Young America report

From the Young Invincibles, a national organization representing the interests of 18 to 34 year-olds, here is an opportunity to share how the economy is affecting your young program participants and community members.

The organization is writing a report called State of Young America on the economic challenges facing young adults—which will discuss issues such as unemployment, student loans, credit card debt, the cost of living, and health care.

They’d like to hear directly from young people so their thoughts and ideas can be included.

Ask the young adults you know who have been hit hardest by the economy to go to http://www.younginvincibles.org/TakeAction/index.html and share their stories and concerns.

For more information, go to http://www.younginvincibles.org/ or visit the organization’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/together.invincible?sk=wall

August 12, 2011

Honorable [First Name] [Last Name]
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative [Last Name]:

We are writing to express our disappointment with the Census Bureau’s proposed funding level in H.R. 2596, the Fiscal Year 2012 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill, and to encourage you to restore all or some of the funds the Administration requested for this essential scientific agency when the full House considers this bill in the coming weeks. As you can see from the diverse range of organizations signing this letter, the Census Bureau’s work touches virtually every community and every economic and social sector in this country.

The committee’s recommendation of $855.4 million, which is 25 percent below the Census Bureau’s FY 2011 spending level, puts vital data collection programs in jeopardy and could cripple the agency’s ability to achieve significant savings in the future through innovative methods and greater use of technology. Specifically, the Census Bureau is likely to cancel the 2012 Economic Census, a cornerstone of the nation’s economic measurements and source of data for the Gross Domestic Product and national income accounts.

The Census Bureau has already demonstrated its commitment to reducing costs by taking bold steps to streamline operations. In June, the Director announced plans to realign the agency’s field structure by permanently closing six regional offices, reducing costs by an estimated $15 million to $18 million annually beginning in 2014. Further, in its FY 2012 budget request, the Census Bureau outlined plans to terminate nine programs, including popular products such as the Statistical Abstract and Current Industrial Reports, reaping over $15 million in savings this year. In addition to eliminating programs, the Bureau has demonstrated its determination to use its funding wisely, making modest investments in required activities to help save billions of future dollars, especially with respect to conducting the 2020 Census and the ongoing American Community Survey. For example, continuous updating of the Master Address File throughout the decade — a proposed new initiative — would save hundreds of millions of dollars alone by eliminating the need for comprehensive pre-census address canvassing in 2019.

The committee mark for the Census Bureau will compel the agency to cut core programs. The cut of $169 million from the President's request puts in doubt the Census Bureau's ability to conduct the 2012 Quinquennial Economic Census, required by Congress in 1954. The Economic Census provides core information on virtually all non-farm businesses and related data on business expenditures, commodity flows, and minority and women-owned businesses. It is a fundamental building block of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and national income and product accounts. Fiscal Year 2012 is the third year of the six-year 2012 Economic Census funding cycle. This benchmark census cannot simply be scaled back because public and private sector decision-makers would be left without a thorough picture of the nation’s economic health and prospects. Abandoning plans for this important assessment of economic activity across diverse sectors would be foolhardy at a time when data are an essential component of the roadmap to economic recovery and progress and job creation.

Alternatively, the Census Bureau would have to eliminate key final components of the 2010 Census, such as the Count Question Resolution Program, under which local governments have challenged potential undercounts, and Census Coverage Measurement results, which will tell us how accurate the 2010 Census was and guide methodological decisions for the next enumeration. Other core programs at risk include the American Community Survey (ACS), the seminal source of annual socio-economic and demographic data about the nation used by decision-makers in the private sector and at all levels of government to allocate limited resources. For FY 2012, the Bureau requested $5 million to test innovations in the American
Community Survey, such as an Internet response option, that will contribute substantially to controlling the cost of the 2020 Census.

We understand the fiscal environment requires Congress to make difficult decisions and curtail current spending. The Census Bureau clearly appreciates the dilemma facing Congress, having already proposed cuts in its FY 2012 budget and significant streamlining of operations through administrative actions. Additional cuts will be counterproductive to an agency whose data are essential to running our government, informing our policies, and influencing economic productivity. We encourage you to support sufficient funding to preserve key Census Bureau programs, as proposed by the President in his FY2012 budget request, and to reject any attempts to cut the agency’s budget further in the full House.

Thank you for your consideration of our views on this important and urgent matter.

Sincerely,

American Association for Public Opinion Research American Association of People with Disabilities Asian Pacific American Legal Center, a Member of Asian American Center for Advancing Justice American Educational Research Association American Planning Association American Sociological Association American Statistical Association Arab American Institute and Foundation Asian American Justice Center, member of Asian American Center for Advancing Justice Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations Association of Population Centers Association of Public Data Users Association of University Business and Economic Research Community Action Partnership Consortium of Social Science Associations Council for Community and Economic Research Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics Demos FairVote Human Rights Campaign Japanese American Citizens League

Latino Census Network Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Marketing Research Association Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc. National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund National Coalition on Black Civic Participation National Congress of American Indians National Education Association National Institute for Latino Policy National Low Income Housing Coalition National Urban League Nonprofit VOTE Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) Population Association of America Population Reference Bureau Population Resource Center Prison Policy Initiative Project Vote South Asian Americans Leading Together South Asian Network Southern Echo Southwest Voter Registration Education Project Voto Latino William C. Velasquez Institute

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The Honorable Ron Wyden
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Wyden:

We are writing to thank you for your leadership on and continued attention to the needs of America’s children, and to express our support for the Promoting Accountability and Excellence in Child Welfare Act of 2011. As representatives of organizations committed to improving the health and well-being of children and families, we are pleased that the Promoting Accountability and Excellence in Child Welfare Act seeks to provide incentives for States to improve the well-being of children in the child welfare system through systemic reforms and innovations, increased collaboration between State agencies, and incorporation of higher standards of accountability.

Since the authorization of the very first federal grants for child welfare services in the 1930s, states have made considerable strides to address the needs of children and families entering the child welfare system, but we need to do more. Critical limitations of the existing federal child welfare financing structure limit the ability of states to provide a diverse array of services to families in need and call attention to the need for a comprehensive reform of the fiscal system. While reform is needed, it may take time for Congress to pass comprehensive child welfare financing legislation. Absent a broader reform of the financing structure, states are now in need of greater flexibility to implement comprehensive reforms to existing child welfare programs.

We are pleased that the Promoting Accountability and Excellence in Child Welfare Act would establish a 5 year grant program to give states and localities greater flexibility to implement comprehensive reforms to existing child welfare programs provided they can demonstrate success in improving child well-being. Among other provisions, we are pleased that the bill establishes annual performance measures that must be achieved, with an emphasis on implementing reforms and methods for achieving significant results that improve the well-being of all children in the child welfare system. Additionally, it encourages: (a) partnerships between participating State and local agencies and organizations and a demonstration of shared accountability for child well-being; and, (b) collaboration among agencies responsible for administering programs that affect the child welfare system by requiring an inter-agency working group that includes representatives from the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in order to identify existing Federal financial resources that can be used to provide additional resources to grantees.

We are also pleased that the Promoting Accountability and Excellence in Child Welfare Act requires that the Secretary provides a report to Congress on recommendations for legislative or administrative action necessary to eliminate the AFDC income eligibility requirements for purposes of foster care maintenance payments under title IV-E. We believe that changes to the eligibility requirements for title IV-E foster care payments are long overdue. As it stands, eligibility for federal foster care assistance remains tied to the defunct AFDC program. As a result, the federal commitment to foster care has followed a steady downward trend, and each year a greater share of the burden to provide for children in care shifts onto states. The percentage of children eligible for federal foster care assistance was estimated to be less than half of all children in foster care in 2006 (43%) as compared to a high of over 50% in the mid-to late 1990s. As such, states are forced to compensate by drawing funds from other programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and the Social Security Block Grant (SSBG) to provide for children in care.

The Promoting Accountability and Excellence in Child Welfare Act provides states with critical funding to improve the well-being of children in the child welfare system through systemic reforms and innovations, and paves the way for broader reforms to the child welfare system. We are grateful for your leadership in introducing the Promoting Accountability and Excellence in Child Welfare Act, and we look forward to working with you to ensure passage of this critical legislation.

Sincerely,

AAdvocates for Children and Youth Advocates for Children of New Jersey Arkansas Voices for the Children Left Behind Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Black Administrators in Child Welfare Brighter Beginnings California Council of Churches IMPACT Casa Esperanza Center for the Study of Social Policy Child and Family Policy Center Child Welfare League of America Children First for Oregon Children's Law Center Clinical Social Work Association Community Action Partnership Community Partnerships for Children and Families Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption First Focus Florida Equal Justice Center Forum for Youth Investment Foster Care to Success Foundation Foster Family-based Treatment Association Healthy Schools Network Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition

Juvenile Law Center Kentucky Youth Advocates Maine Children's Alliance Mental Health America Michigan's Children Results Leadership Group Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Rhode Island Foster Parent Association School Social Work Association of America Shriver Center on Poverty Law StandUp For Kids Texans Care for Children TexProtects, The Texas Association for the Protection of Children The Black Children's Institute of Tennessee The Children's Partnership The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families The Every Child Matters Education Fund The National Policy Partnership for Children of Incarcerated Parents Voices for America's Children Voices for Children in Nebraska Voices for Utah Children Voices for Virginia's Children Wisconsin Council on Children and Families

 

Social Enterprise Webinar #1:
Where To Look For Good Income-Generating Ventures for Our Agency

September 22, 2011
Time: 2 pm ET
Length: 60 minutes
Speaker: Rolfe Larson

This webinar, the first in a two-part series, will provide training on how to determine if your agency is positioned to start a new (or expand an existing) income-generating social enterprise to increase your impact and generate resources to support that impact. It will also explain where and how to look for social enterprises that would be suitable for your agency to develop. The next webinar will focus on market research, feasibility testing and business planning for a social enterprise.

Register here

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Social Enterprise Webinar #2:
Market Testing, Feasibility Analysis and Business Planning for Income-Generating Ventures

October 20, 2011
Time: 2 pm ET
Length: 60 minutes
Speaker: Rolfe Larson

This webinar, second in the two-part series, will provide training how to do market research, feasibility testing and business planning for a social enterprise.

Register here

Congressman Hal Rogers Receives "Keeping the Promise" Inaugural Award from Kentucky CAAs

Last month, nine Community Action Partnership agencies in Eastern Kentucky bestowed upon Hal Rogers, U.S. Congressman from Kentucky's 5th District, the inaugural "Hal Rogers Keeping the Promise Award."

This award will be given yearly to an individual whose life service fits the Promise of Community Action. In his online newsletter, Congressman Rogers stated, "I appreciate this award and will continue to work with these agencies that are so vital to our region. The Community Action Agencies in the 5th Congressional District touch over 30% of the people in the district each year. They are the true heroes."

Click here for Congressman Rogers’ newsletter article on the award.

Sitting, left to right: Mike Howell, Big Sandy Area Community Action Program; David Carroll, Northeast Kentucky Community Action Agency; Donna Pace, Harlan County Community Action Agency; Rick Baker, LKLP Community Action Council.

Standing, left to right: Peggy Capps, Bell-Whitley Community Action Agency; Hal Rogers, Paul Dole, CCAP, KCEOC Community Action Partnership; Darrell Shouse, Middle Kentucky Community Action Partnership; Mike Buckles, Daniel Boone Community Action Agency; and Dennis Gulley, Gateway Community Action Agency.

Take a moment to read this piece from Representive Brent Yonts on isurfmuhlenburg.com regarding ARRA and Community Action.

Go to: http://www.isurfmuhlenberg.com/news/local-news/10224-legislators-log-sept-11-2011.html

Be a part of the future of Community Action!

Why Join Community Action Partnership?

Agencies like yours continue to shape the vision and the future of Community Action. A strong network puts you in touch with your colleagues across the country and gives your agency a unified voice... and a vital communications link to federal agencies and other organizations, both public and private, that share or support the mission and the Promise of Community Action.

Your energy and involvement have helped to keep Community Action Partnership responsive to your needs and built the strongest Community Action Network ever. Membership gives you more than ever before ... access to training, publications, educational resources, and management tools which help you run a CAA more productively.

Take an active part in your network. Complete your application and become a member of Community Action Partnership today. Click here for the 2012 Post-Convention Special Membership form!