Slackers?

The campaign for a “Real Bottom Line of How Much Money it takes to Survive” has provided a much-needed resource to define what amount of money a family needs to meet its basic needs. The research and hard work put into this effort are to be commended. If nothing else, it confirms the inadequacy of our financial safety net of public assistance programs. It also explains the constant struggle our working poor families are facing in their effort to make ends meet. It further suggests that government programs should look to this new higher standard as a guide for eligibility. This would, of course, expand the benefits many of our financial assistance programs offer to many more families, which is a worthy goal. No one in America should do without basic human necessities.

Unfortunately, in a sample letter to the editor (see below) issued by the supporters of this plan, there seems to be very inappropriate comments about “welfare” and those receiving cash assistance as being “slackers.” Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines a “slacker” as “a person who shirks work or obligation.” The writer seems to be making the point that somehow the assistance we give to working families is not welfare and in the process chooses to malign those families who currently must rely on cash assistance.

The term “slacker” cannot be applied to folks receiving assistance under the “reformed” welfare system adopted in this country ten years ago. Welfare reform added time limits, work requirements, reporting requirements, and sophisticated computer monitoring systems to resolve the issues of who “deserved” public assistance raised by all the old myths about welfare. Folks receiving public assistance benefits cannot and do not shirk work or their many other obligations. However, apparently some of the advocates for the poor have adopted the currently fashionable political posturing of some that public assistance given to folks who are more like “us” is not welfare and, therefore, is acceptable. Folks who are more like “us” are more “deserving” of our help.

Instead of trashing the poorest people, those on cash assistance, we need to build stronger coalitions among all low-income families and individuals. The truth is that all means-tested financial assistance programs are welfare. That includes Medicaid, child care subsidies, housing assistance, earned income tax credits and HEAP. It baffles me as to why some programs are seen in such a positive light and others denigrated. Someone receiving financial assistance due to limited income is in the same boat as millions of other people who are sick, disabled, unemployed, divorced, elderly or just working at a low wage job. We should all be proud that we live in a country that feels a responsibility to help its less fortunate citizens. Pitting the poor against each other does not advance our efforts to create a just and fair society.

Jack Frech 11/10/08
Director, Athens County Department of Job and Family Services

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DRAFT Op-ED for Submission to Daily Newspaper Editorial Editor by Low Income Advocate
Please review carefully and personalize with individual country information

What’s the REAL Bottom Line of How Much Money it Takes to Survive Here in XXXXX County and Why It Matters

As ______[job title and organization]_____________________________, I’ve learned that how we as a nation define, measure and report poverty is emotionally charged and can often generate more heat than light.

Many times, when the conversation turns to poverty here in America and in our community, logic and rationality can go out the window. And when that happens the possibility of any useful follow-up discussion about what, if anything, can and should be done to assist those who are not making it financially becomes almost impossible.

But in these scary and challenging economic times, it’s even more critical to have these kinds of discussions as more and more Ohioans find themselves closer to the margins and living on the edge.

I’ve seen it many times. Just using terms like “poverty”, “poor” or “low-income” can conjure up arguments, resentments, political agendas and a host of other distractions that don’t help us get any closer to answering the real question that we as citizens of any income level or political viewpoint should want to know: Exactly how much money does it take to be economically self-sufficient right here in our community? In other words, exactly how much money is required to be able to pay the basic bills without any family, charitable or government assistance?

If conservatives, liberals and everybody else could just find common ground on what economic self-sufficiency really means in the real world – what the REAL bottom line for survival is – then we could discuss and debate what we should do about it in a more meaningful way. We might not agree on the policy prescriptions or action agenda for helping people become more self sufficient but, at least, we could start the discussion on the same page.

With a new President and Congress (on the horizon) the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies (OACAA) – the organization representing Ohio’s XX locally-governed poverty-fighting organizations – believed the time was right to answer this question for each of Ohio’s 88 counties. So, they asked the University of Washington to develop something called The Ohio Self Sufficiency Standard for 2008.

The Ohio Self-Sufficiency Standard uses a proven formula and real world data to determine exactly the minimum amount of money it takes to pay the rent, buy food, cover child care, get to work and just cover the basics without any savings, fun or frills in each of Ohio’s 88 counties.

Right here in XXXXXX County, for example, two working parents with an infant need to earn at a minimum of $XX,XXX a year to be considered self sufficient; that’s $X.XX per hour per parent. Again, this represents the REAL bottom line of what it takes to just get by. That figure is well above the federal poverty guidelines, which determine eligibility for programs like Head Start and Medicaid that can help low income working people better be able to hold onto a job. That figure is well above the minimum wage. In fact that figure is more than most jobs in Ohio pay.

The Ohio Self Sufficiency Standard presents a budget and the necessary income to meet that budget for various family sizes and configurations in every Ohio county along with full information on how the researchers determined each county’s self-sufficiency budgets. You can access the full report at: www.oacaatraining.org (or newspaper web site, if posted there).As you look through the report and digest the numbers keep these things in mind:

• The families who live below the self-sufficiency standard or even below the federal government’s definition of poverty – which is usually around half of the self-sufficiency standard – are by-and-large working families. They aren’t on welfare. They aren’t slacking off. They work low wage jobs and are treading water. Sadly today, with fewer jobs and lower wages in every corner of Ohio, working is too often not a ticket to true self sufficiency;
  
• In order to survive and be able to raise a family on wages that pay below the self-sufficiency standard, we believe – especially now -- that a solid system of work supports needs to be in place – child care assistance, health care, job-training and skills development, housing vouchers, etc. – to reward work and help assure families can cover the basics that low wages do not until additional training and job success moves them toward real self-sufficiency;
  
• We also believe that the federal Poverty Guidelines used to determine eligibility for these kinds of work supports should be adjusted to be closer to the self-sufficiency family budgeting standard in the report rather than the artificially low and outdated methods used to calculate them today.

Look through the self-sufficiency standard for your county and ask yourself if the numbers make sense as a way to determine a survival baseline. If they do, then join us in the coming dialogue on how we can assure more Ohio working families meet and ultimately exceed this standard.

XXXXXXX is XXXXXXXXXXXX

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How can you help?

People have been asking, "how can I help those in need?"

Be a voice for many who often aren't able to make their own voices heard. Don't let our state and federal elected officials turn away from their responsibility to ensure all Ohioans and all Americans have their basic needs met when they need a safety net. Use the links below to contact your elected officials and express your support to focus on basic needs as a first priority.

Thank you!

Looking for more poverty information?

Looking for more poverty information and data? Be sure to check out the Athens County Job & Family Services' blog: http://athensjfs.blogspot.com/.

Harmful Effect of Poverty

Athens County Children Services is the county agency responsible for protecting children from abuse and neglect. The agency provides an array of services to support families to keep children safely in their home. We know that research has identified several stress factors that can lead to abuse and neglect of children1. One of the stress factors is a family’s inability to meet their basic needs: food and shelter for their children. With the increasingly severe situations of poverty, we believe the risk of abuse and neglect are also increasing.

In July, 2008, Athens County Children Services caseworkers were asked whether or not poverty, the inability of parents to meet basic needs, were putting children at risk of abuse and neglect. The following are some of the responses from agency staff:

“I am so scared for families this winter. Although there is HEAP and other programs, some families face their utilities being turned off all the time. With the rise in gas prices, I fear for families this winter.”

“Transportation in this rural area is huge. How can they get to a job without a care and how can they save to buy a car without a job? It’s a vicious cycle.”

“I have seen families running out of food stamps well before the end of the month due to high food costs. I have shopped with a mother who did not buy her six children milk because it is too expensive.”

“80% of the elementary students in the school district qualify for free/reduced lunches this year, compared with 67% last year.”

“Transportation is a huge problem. Families become isolated and bored; parents become stressed and depressed. Even if we give families free pool passes, how do they get there?”

“I recently worked with a single mother with several children on cash assistance and food stamps. This family has no transportation, relying on others for transportation. They live in a two bedroom trailer in poor repair and inadequate furniture. The mother needs mental health services, but cannot get transportation for service or the funds to pay for medication….The family does not have the resources to function successfully: no bank account, no money to save, no transportation, medical bills they cannot afford and housing which is not suitable.”

“Families are often unable to afford housing, so they move from family to friends. The children do not have a home, no regular schools and no consistency. Some of these moves put children in homes with adults who are not safe around children.”

“The local homeless shelter has been full for the past several months, so homeless families have no place to go.”

“Parents have no medical cards and cannot get treatment for depression or other mental health problems.”


1. The Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3; Andrea J. Sedlak and Diane D. Broadhurst, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, Washington, DC, 1996), the most comprehensive federal source of information about the incidence of child maltreatment in the United States, found poverty/family income was significantly related to incidence rates in nearly every category of maltreatment. Reseachers noted that there are a number of problems associated with poverty that may contribute to child maltreatment: more transient residence, poorer education, and higher rates of substance abuse and emotional disorders. Moreover, families at the lower socioeconomic levels have less adequate social support systems to assist parents in their child care responsibilities.

SE Ohio local government agencies stress need to “Focus on the Basics”

The directors of Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Perry, Ross, Scioto and Vinton County Job & Family Services, Children Services and the 317 Board of Athens, Hocking & Vinton Counties, along with other local government officials and area human services agencies met for a news conference on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, in the conference room of the Ross County Jobs One-Stop, 150 E. Second St., Chillicothe, Ohio for a “Focus on the Basics” news conference.

Their message: we must “focus on the basics” and place a greater priority on local, state and federal resources for the poorest of the poor. The gaping holes in the government safety net for Ohio families has many without sufficient income to meet their basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Our government’s failure to prioritize the needs of the poorest of the poor is causing increased hardships among those least suited to survive them. Simultaneously, other challenges facing many of these same families are growing worse as they must focus all of their energy on simply surviving. We must provide sufficient benefits through our safety net programs to meet all basic needs for these families. This is already a crisis for the people affected by these issues.

We call upon our state and federal elected representatives to not turn away from these serious problems.

We must take immediate action!

Please contact your federal and state elected officials to urge them to address these issues!