On May 25, 2010, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families released its report entitled “Child Poverty in Arkansas 2010: A Deepening Problem.” According to the report, 24.9 percent of Arkansas children, or nearly one in four, lived in poverty in 2008. The high rate of poverty not only impacts the ability of individual children to grow into successful adults, but the related health and education impacts can limit growth in Arkansas’ economy. And in our current economic recession, the problem is only getting worse.

Years of research have shown that there are successful methods of reducing the impacts of poverty on children. Examples of such methods include encouraging quality early education and expanding after school and summer programs to help children gain a stronger foothold on their current and future schoolwork.

In addition to enacting solutions that directly benefit children, we must also create an environment in which parents have the tools and ability to provide for themselves and their children. AACF’s report addresses several initiatives aimed at reducing poverty among parents including improved quality childcare, work and income support for parents, adult education, and job training.

AACF’s report can be viewed by clicking here.

On Friday, June 4, 2010, the Half in Ten Campaign sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to support funding for a supplemental federal poverty measure and for the development of an additional economic indicator reflecting what it takes to “make ends meet.” Already, 349 organizations from 42 states have signed onto this letter in support of this funding.

A new supplemental poverty measure will enhance the ability of policy makers to allocate resources by providing a more adequate account of the constraints American families face today and how well federal programs are working in providing pathways out of poverty. The additional “make ends meet” indicator would represent a more secure level of income for families not only to meet their basic needs, but to get a foothold on the bottom rungs of the middle class. Together these two indicators would provide better information to Members of Congress in crafting policy to promote family economic security.

Read the full text of the letter below.

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The Minnesota legislature finished its session on May 17. The state had a $3 billion budget deficit this year, but the Minnesota Half in Ten partners and our allies mounted a “Stand Together Minnesota” campaign that helped to defeat proposals from the governor and the House to make serious and deep cuts to the income-assistance provisions in the state’s General Assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs.

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Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is an active member of the Arkansas Legislative Task Force on Reducing Poverty and Promoting Economic Opportunities, a committee made up of 22 bipartisan state legislators, service agencies, and advocacy groups. This taskforce will be hosting six town hall meetings throughout Arkansas during the summer months to hear low-income families’ stories and struggles, and voice the views of community leaders, elected officials, and concerned citizens on how to end poverty in our state.

The task force is also working with community-based organizations to hold smaller focus groups with low-income citizens to hear personal struggles, identify major barriers to getting out of poverty, and discuss how we can work together to abolish poverty. The findings from these town hall meetings will help inform the analysis and recommendations included in the task force’s final report.

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families also continues to hold “Policy Cafés” throughout the state to share information about the Half in Ten campaign with local advocates and concerned citizens. Many participants take extra copies of the endorsement forms to pass out to elected officials, co-workers, and family members.

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families will also officially release its “Child Poverty in Arkansas 2010: A Deepening Problem” report on May 25, 2010. AACF is holding a luncheon for local advocates and elected officials to present the report. This report, along with Half in Ten resources, will be used to introduce newly elected lawmakers to AACF’s work in November. The materials will also be used during the summer months when AACF staff makes visits with lawmakers gearing up for the January session. This report and the Half in Ten resources will also be available to assist the Legislative Task Force on Reducing Poverty and Promoting Economic Opportunities’ town hall meetings.

Colorado’s Half in Ten Campaign has trained women across the country on the importance of passing legislation for job creation! Specifically, 9to5, the National Association of Working Women, has trained over 50 women at the 9to5 Annual Leadership Conference and 10 women throughout the Denver metro area about how to take action to extend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Fund, which is slated to expire on September 30th. Women have been calling their Representatives asking for their support on legislation to extend TANF. They plan next to tell their personal stories of perseverance to the community, legislators, and over the web to gain a broad support.

Colorado’s Half in Ten coalition tried ferociously to keep the Economic Opportunity and Poverty Reduction Task Force, a legislative group dedicated to reducing poverty over the next 10 years, ongoing this summer. The coalition supported an amendment that was introduced to exempt the task force from being suspended over the summer. The Campaign met with legislators to express their concerns about suspending the task force for one year. Despite the Half in Ten Campaign’s efforts the Economic Opportunity and Poverty Reduction Task Force will be suspended over the summer. However, the task force plans on finding a way to continue to meet this summer possibly as an ad hoc committee.

“Justice We Pursue” was the theme of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition’s annual day on Capitol Hill. JRLC is one of the Minnesota groups working on the Half in Ten campaign. Its day on the hill has always been focused on state-level policies, but this year it used the Half in Ten logo on its outreach materials and on the jumbo screen at the convening and briefing sessions. Brian Rusche, executive direction of JRLC, spoke to the 750 participants about Half in Ten and our fairly new A Minnesota Without Poverty campaign. Read more »

Debilitating poverty continues to be painfully present in Arkansas. Staff members from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families recently traveled to the Arkansas Delta region to lead discussion groups on various subjects. AACF’s Pat Bodenhamer led the discussion, “Cutting Poverty in Half by 2020.” She asked three questions: What are the negative effects of poverty? What are the causes of poverty? And what can we do?

The answers were similar and heartbreaking. One woman from Helena-West Helena summed it up best when she describes her life in the delta, “We seem to be a people without vision and a town without hope.” As heartbreaking as her answer was, it unfortunately rings true throughout many parts of the state. But the rallying cry from many of the participants at the end of the discussion in Helena-West Helena was quite different—there can be hope in the delta, and they do have the will to abolish poverty. They joyfully joined the Half in Ten Campaign.

AACF will release a report in May from Senior Policy Analyst Kim Reeve, “Child Poverty in Arkansas 2010: A Deepening Problem.” This report addresses the increasing number of children living in poverty in Arkansas. AACF includes information about the Half in Ten campaign in the report, and highlights policy solutions such as revenue for quality child care, the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and other poverty fighting strategies.

Pat Bodenhamer also gave a presentation to the Arkansas Legislative Task Force on Reducing Poverty and Promoting Economic Opportunities, a committee made up of 22 bipartisan state legislators, service agencies, and advocacy groups. She handed out Half in Ten resources and encouraged all the members and organizations serving on the task force to sign on to the Half in Ten pledge. She is contacting each member by phone or email to further encourage members to read more in depth about the Half in Ten campaign and to endorse their efforts.

The summer months will be dedicated to meeting with elected officials and candidates to inform them of the importance of working together to cut in half by 2020. AACF is committed to working with and finding solutions to help our families step up out of poverty.

Colorado’s Half in Ten campaign has been working closely with the state legislature’s economic opportunity and poverty reduction taskforce to make gains for low-income families. Half in Ten’s state partner 9to5: The National Association of Working Women’s Colorado chapter has already trained dozens of members to contact their state representatives on the eight bills introduced to the state legislature to fight poverty.

Colorado organizer Bridget Kaminetsky will be meeting with 9to5 members across the country this weekend to educate them about the Half in Ten campaign. Kaminetsky spent March and April holding meetings with organizational leaders across the state to educate them about the Half in Ten goal, and together they are developing a plan to reach out to members via email, the web, tabling events, and trainings on specific legislature goals such as the reauthorization of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

The Minnesota Half in Ten coalition has been very active the past month, holding several events and educating hundreds of Minnesotans on the Half in Ten campaign and our shared policy priorities.

The Joint Religious Legislative Coalition just last week held a Day on the Hill at the Minnesota state capitol, where more than 1,000 activists learned about the Half in Ten campaign and advocated on state and federal issues to reduce poverty.

Nancy Maeker, the executive director of A Minnesota Without Poverty, keynoted three Bread for the World workshop events in late February, helping to gather more than 200 letters in support of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

And A Minnesota Without Poverty also hosted a statewide gathering in late February on five sites to report on the progress toward ending poverty and to issue a call to action. Affirmative Options Coalition and Joint Religious Legislative Coalition were two of the co-sponsors for the event which drew more than 400 people in St. Paul, Duluth, Moorhead, Willmar, and Rochester, with additional supporters joining the webcast program online. The call to action highlighted coordinating the Minnesota legislative agenda with the Half in Ten issues and encouraged advocates to support the Half in Ten campaign. After the formal program, all participants gathered around tables for discussion, letter writing, phone calling—and food.

You can view photos and an introductory video from the gathering on Facebook.

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9to5, National Association of Working Women hosted a meeting of the Colorado Half in Ten statewide coalition this month to share the campaign’s top policy priorities and begin discussing ways Colorado can build out the movement to end poverty in the state.

Those attending the meeting included representatives from a wide and diverse group: service providers who run food and shelter programs, employment specialists, mental health counselors, economic justice activists, and faith leaders. They agreed to focus on three main concerns:

• Incorporating current actions and advocacy efforts into a broader campaign to cut poverty in half in Colorado during the next decade
• Developing a plan to reach even more community leaders with the coalition’s antipoverty message
• Reframing poverty by talking about how many issues intersect, including hunger, home foreclosure, faith, child care, education, and jobs

The coalition will soon begin to conduct an online and social media marketing campaign around raising awareness of the Half in 10 work in Colorado.
To get involved, email [email protected].