Call your representative TODAY: 1-877-442-6801, toll-free. Ask them to support a final jobs bill that:

• Extends unemployment insurance and COBRA health benefits
• Provides relief to states in the form of Medicaid funding
• Extends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Fund, which is slated to expire on September 30
• Includes funding for youth summer jobs

You can read a quick explanation of what’s in the bill and why each piece is important or listen to a podcast with more information.

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To combat the economic difficulties of the Great Recession, leaders across many different sectors of society have developed creative anti-poverty solutions that allow them to deploy the unique tools at their disposal. Listening to these voices from the field illuminates the successes of each sector and simultaneously suggests the need for greater federal leadership to continue make progress in the future.
The Half in Ten campaign’s briefing “Voices from the Field: The Need for Federal Leadership in Cutting Poverty and Promoting Economic Opportunity,” will highlight the innovative anti-poverty work carried out by leaders across various sectors, including state legislatures, philanthropic organizations, and communities of faith. It will call attention to the need for greater federal leadership to provide a cohesive vision and to scale up the best practices developed within each sector. This is the third briefing in the series, “Restoring Economic Opportunity: The Need for a Recovery that Cuts Poverty in Half in Ten Years.”

At this event, Delaware State Representative Terry Schooley (DE-23) will share some of the best practices that have developed in Delaware’s poverty commission as an example of how state government can play a role in fighting poverty. Andrea Silbert, the president of Massachusetts’ Eos Foundation, will offer a glimpse into the work of the nonprofit sector in supporting children and families. Stacey Stewart, the executive vice president at United Way Worldwide, will explore the impact of the philanthropic sector in shaping a global response to poverty.

Date: May 14, 2010

Time: 11:00 AM -12:30 PM

Room: Congressional Meeting Room SOUTH (CVC 217)

Speakers

Terry Schooley, Delaware State Representative (DE-23)

Andrea Silbert, President, Eos Foundation of Massachusetts

Stacey D. Stewart, Executive Vice President at United Way Worldwide, Center for Community Leadership and Community Impact Leadership

Please RSVP to [email protected].

The U.S. Census Bureau plans to develop a supplemental poverty measure based on recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences. The new measure, to be released in the fall of 2011, will be used alongside the current poverty measure and will provide a better determination of whether a family has enough resources to meet its most basic needs. On April 14 and April 21, 2010, the Half in Ten Campaign and its coalition partners hosted a two-part free webinar series that provided subscribers with a thorough review of the supplemental poverty measure.

Part One-A Supplemental Poverty Measure: What it Will and Won’t Do (slides and audio)

This webinar shed light on why we will benefit from a new poverty measure as well as how the supplemental poverty measure compares to the official poverty measure. Participants also heard how the poverty threshold for each measure will differ and what role Congress will play.

Part Two-Behind the Scenes: Adopting a Supplemental Poverty Measure (slides and audio)

This webinar provided insight from these experts into the administration’s key issues and allowed participants to learn how the process of developing a supplemental poverty measure will work. During the webinar, participants found out why the supplemental poverty measure has already gotten support from across the political spectrum and why it deserves even more support. Participants also learned about state and local efforts to adopt more accurate measures of poverty.

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Last Friday, April 9, the Half-in-Ten Campaign’s briefing on Capitol Hill shed light on the rural, suburban, and urban faces of poverty and illuminated place-based strategies to combat poverty in every type of district. Not all communities experience poverty in the same way, and so it is essential to recognize the particular challenges experienced within different regions in order to create more effective policy solutions.

Listen to a podcast featuring anti-poverty experts Beth Mattingly, Elizabeth Kneebone, and Daniel Dodd, as well as Half in Ten Campaign Manager Melissa Boteach.

View the slides presented by Beth Mattingly, Elizabeth Kneebone, and Daniel Dodd at the April 9 briefing.

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The Great Recession has brought poverty and economic insecurity to every kind of community, but not all communities are experiencing the crisis in the same way. As Congress considers strategies to increase economic opportunity, it is important to recognize that different types of regions are facing different challenges.

The Half in Ten campaign’s briefing “Strategies to Tackle Poverty in Your State and District: Rural, Suburban, and Urban Solutions,” will focus on place-based solutions to cut poverty and promote economic opportunity. This is the second briefing in the series, “Restoring Economic Opportunity: The Need for a Recovery that Cuts Poverty in Half in Ten Years,”
At this event, Step Up Savannah Executive Director Daniel Dodd will offer best practices in fighting poverty in urban areas, using his experiences in Savannah, Georgia as an example of how government can work with different sectors to help families achieve self-sufficiency. Beth Mattingly of The Carsey Institute will address the specific needs of low-income families in rural communities. And the Brookings Institution’s Elizabeth Kneebone will address the growing issue of suburban poverty and economic insecurity. Read more »

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Family is in full electoral advocacy mode this spring. The message of cutting poverty in half by 2020 is receiving resounding affirmation throughout the state, individuals are signing the Half in Ten pledge, and there is a plan on the horizon to tell the story to a widespread audience.

AACF’s federal policy and outreach teams had the opportunity while in Washington D.C. this past month to meet with congressional staffers from the offices of Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR), and Rep. John Boozman (R-AR). Their staff spoke with the Arkansas congressional delegation about the Half in Ten goals and discussed concrete policy solutions that could cut poverty in half by 2020. Their federal team is planning ways to educate community leaders in Arkansas and enlist them in building out the campaign statewide.

AACF’s outreach team has also been traveling around the state hosting Policy Cafés. We are asking local experts and AACF staff members to facilitate small group discussions around different issue areas. Jokingly referred to as “speed dating for advocates,” participants discuss topics for 30 minutes, then once a bell rings they move to a new “date,” or issue area. Cutting poverty in half has been a popular date so far and individuals are asked to sign a pledge form and then share one with a friend. We have held two Policy Cafés and plan to host at least five more.

Next month, The Arkansas Advocates for Children and Family Steering Committee will meet to review goals and set forth an aggressive plan to educate lawmakers and candidates on the fundamental principles of the Half in Ten campaign. AACF will also release its Child Poverty Report early this spring and submit an op-ed in several local newspapers on the topic. And staff are excited to be invited by the Arkansas Legislative Poverty Task Force to come and discuss the Half in Ten campaign and how we can work together on antipoverty efforts.

On March 26, 2010, 9:30am – 11:00am please join the Center for American Progress’s Doing What Works project and the Half in Ten campaign (a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Coalition on Human Needs) for a panel discussion on how innovative policymakers are already reshaping the antipoverty safety net, and what additional steps government must take to reform antipoverty programs.

Click here to learn more, RSVP or watch the live webcast the day of the event.
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Testimony to the Congressional Black Caucus

Half in Ten Campaign Manager Melissa Boteach testifies and shares why the extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund, summer jobs, and investments in National Service deserve serious consideration as a part of a national strategy to tackle youth unemployment and growing poverty. Read her testimony to the Congressional Black Caucus here.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will be developing an alternative way to measure poverty. This new method will better reflect the realities facing struggling families and ways in which current government programs can help them to get back on their feet. Unlike the traditional poverty measure, which is based in a 1960s reality, this supplemental measure will provide a more accurate accounting of household budgets and better determination of whether a family has enough resources to meet its most basic needs.

A majority of Americans polled in 2008 by the Half in Ten Campaign knew of a family member who was experiencing poverty. The situation has since worsened, with unemployment near double digits and data revealing one in six Americans living in a household struggling against hunger. These circumstances demand congressional action.

As we develop policies to promote economic recovery and create jobs, it is essential that we recognize the hard truth about poverty in so many of our nation’s communities. That is why I hope you can attend the first in the Half in Ten campaign’s briefing series, “Restoring Economic Opportunity: The Need for a Recovery that Cuts Poverty in Half in Ten Years”

The first briefing in the series is entitled “The Starting Line: Poverty and Economic Opportunity Before, During, and After the Recession.” At the briefing, Center for American Progress Action Fund economist Heather Boushey will discuss how the recession has brought economic hardship to many American families, the labor market problems underscoring this hardship, and policy solutions to help jumpstart job creation. She will be joined by Dr. Deborah A. Frank of Boston Medical Center’s Grow Clinic for Children, who will describe the long-term health effects on children of growing up with hunger and poverty and federal programs that can help in mitigating some of these effects. Finally, Kelly Dolberry, a resident of DC’s Park Road Family Shelter, will discuss how the recession has affected her family.

Date: March 12, 2010

Time: 11:00 AM -12:30 PM

Room: Capitol Visitors Center, Room HVC-200, Washington DC

Heather Boushey, Senior Economist, Center for American Progress Action Fund

Kelly Dolberry, Resident, Park Road Family Shelter

Dr. Deborah A. Frank, Director, Boston Medical Center’s Grow Clinic for Children

Moderated by Wade Henderson, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Half in Ten partner.

Please RSVP to [email protected].

And save the date for the next briefing in our series, which will be held on April 9!