Transcript Poverty Awareness - South Carolina Department of Mental Health

Poverty Awareness
South Carolina
Cross Cultural Conference
Mr. James T. Darby, Jr.
Executive Director
Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments
Generational Poverty and Situational
Poverty are Different
“Generational poverty is defined as being
in poverty for two generations or longer.
Situational poverty exists for a shorter time
and is caused by circumstances like
death, illness, or divorce.”
Source:
No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty
Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“The environment of generational
poverty (two generations or more)
requires
that
an
individual
become reactive, sensory-based
(physical) and dependent on nonverbals as a primary information
source because those three
things help one survive the
environment.”
Source:
No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty
Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
Comparison of Rural and Urban Tax
Base Millage Value Against S.C. Median
Urban county
Rural county
425,000
375,000
160,000
Dollar amount
Dollar amount
170,000
150,000
140,000
130,000
120,000
325,000
275,000
225,000
175,000
125,000
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Rural county
140,000
155,260
160,548
164,582
162,803
145,990
S.C. median
125,252
129,198
138,316
143,976
142,221
151,515
75,000
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Urban county 264,000 271,000 294,000 343,000 352,000 413,000
S.C. Median 125,252 129,198 138,316 143,976 142,221 151,515
Year
Year
Rural county
Source: S. C. Association of Counties
2005
S.C. median
Urban county
S.C. Median
Threshold
Counties (4)
(12)
Average 22.3%
Persistent Poverty
(34)
Average 12.7%
Other
“Two nations, between whom there is no
intercourse and no sympathy; who are as
ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts,
and feelings as if they were dwellers in
different zones, or inhabitants of different
planets; who are formed by a different
breeding, are fed by a different food, are
ordered by different manners, and are not
governed by the same laws … the rich and
the poor.”
1845 , Benjamin Disraeli
British Prime Minister and author
Source:
The Impact of Poverty: The Poor Among Us; Leslie Cantu, Senior Staff Writer
The Item, October 8, 2006
Projected Under 18, 65 & Over
Population (2030)
Under 18
65 & Over
Under 18
Percent of Population
Population Total
Population
65 & Over
Percent of
Total
Population
Percent
Difference
Under 18
and 65 &
Over
Georgia
3,146,624
26.2%
1,907,837
15.9%
10.3%
North
Carolina
3,080,611
25.2%
2,173,173
17.8%
7.4%
South
Carolina
1,143,807
22.2%
1,134,459
22.0%
0.2%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Projections
The U.S. labor force totaling 165 million
people in the year 2021, will not include
any child born in 2006 or later. It will,
however include nearly 100 million people
who today are already out of school and at
work. About two-thirds of these workers
are likely to be part of the active workforce
at least through the next decade.
Source:
Tough Choices or Tough Times
National Center on Education and the Economy, 2007.
Percent of Persons 25 Years & Over Without a
High School Diploma by Race (Santee-Lynches Region)
50.0%
48.1%
45.5%
45.0%
40.0%
35.5%
35.0%
35.0%
26.1%
30.0%
21.4%
25.0%
20.4%
17.7%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
African-Amer
White
Clarendon
Kershaw
Lee
Sumter
Note: White percentages are for White Non Hispanic Population
“African Americans today can serve as
secretary of state, CEO of a major
corporation, president of an Ivy League
university, chief surgeon at a major
hospital. But their access to positions of
power and prestige – and to well-paying
jobs in general – will be limited if they
typically leave high school with an eighthgrade education.”
No Excuses, Closing the Racial Gap in Leaving, Abigail Thernstrom and Stephan Thernstrom
Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2003
High School Non-Completers
For purposes of this report, we have used the South Carolina Kids Count
definition of non-completer/dropout: eighth grade students not enrolled
in grade 12 four years later.
S. Carolina
Clarendon
County
16,648
Lee County
169
Sumter
County
122
Three-County
Area
524
815
HIGH SCHOOL NON-COMPLETION - 2003
30.0%
USA
35.6%
S.C ar.
41.7%
Sumter
47.3%
Lee
33.5%
C larendo n
0.0%
5.0%
Source: SC Kids Count 2003
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
50.0%
Dropout Percentages for South Carolina,
Clarendon County, and Lee County
60
54.7
55.2
55.6
47.3
40
33.7
42 39.5
35.6 33.5
35.9
31.8
24.5
28
26.1
26.7
20
0
White Male AA&O MaleWhite Female
Source: S.C. Kids Count Report 2003
AA&O = African-American and Others
AA&O
Female
Total
S. Carolina
Clarendon
Lee
According to author Ruby K. Payne, ‘being
poor brings out a survival mentality, and
turns attention away from opportunities
taken for granted by the middle class and
wealthy.’
Source:
A Framework for Understanding Poverty; Payne, Ruby K.
Aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“The environment of generational
poverty (two generations or more)
requires
that
an
individual
become reactive, sensory-based
(physical) and dependent on nonverbals as a primary information
source because those three
things help on survive the
environment.”
Source:
No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty
Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“Planning is key to the tasks that get
finished and to the control of impulsivity.
Even more importantly, brain research
indicates that the primary filter for what
gets noticed by the mind is closely
correlated with the goals of the person.
So when there is no planning, there are no
goals. Emotional need or association,
then, determines activities.”
Source:
No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty
Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“Being proactive (ability to plan), verbal
(use of specific language) and abstract
(ability to represent the sensory) are all
learned. They can be taught. Many
students who are assigned to special
education are from poverty and cannot do
these three things. Rather than teach
these things, educators tend to assign the
student to a different placement.”
Source:
No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty
Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“To survive in the school and work
environment, one needs to be
proactive, verbal and abstract.”
Source:
No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty
Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
The Region’s Population is Aging
Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee and Sumter Counties
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
66,610
14.997
1950
74,893
65,224
57,949
18,013
22,411
30,536
1960
1970
1980
55,229
36,379
1990
18 Yrs & Under
56,726
44,604
2000
55 Yrs & Over
Source: US Census Bureau – 1950-2000 Census
There is also a racial dimension to the potential lack of sufficient young
workers to replace the aging workforce.
While the African-American
population accounts for 44.2% of the region’s total population, they account for
55% of the region’s youth 18 years and under.
Aging Population (cont.)
County Median Age by Race – Census 2000
Population
Clarendon Co.
Kershaw Co.
Lee County
Sumter Co.
Black
31.7 Years
35.0 Years
31.5 Years
30.7 Years
White
43.3 Years
38.5 Years
42.3 Years
36.2 Years
Combined
Average
37.0 Years
37.4 Years
35.7 Years
35.2 Years
The African American portion of the area’s population is significantly younger
than the White population. Therefore, African Americans will make up a
disproportionately larger share of the future labor force available to fill the jobs
vacated by retiring workers. This will require a much greater commitment on
the part of the minority youth, local educators and business leaders to insure
that these young people are fully prepared to meet this situation.
WEIGHING THE COSTS
INCARCERATION - VERSUS - EDUCATION
1 Adult Inmate
Incarcerated
In State
$41.52/day
$15,156/year
1 Juvenile
Incarcerated
In State
$135/day
$49,275/year
1 Student
Educated
In State
$21.26/day
$7,759/year
THE DIFFERENCES
Juvenile/Student
Adult Inmate/Student
Cost per day more than
Cost per day nearly double
six times expensive
(1.95 times as expensive)
Sources: S.C. Department of Corrections, S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice,
S. C. Department of Education
Ranking of State Incarceration Rates
-- S.C. 6th highest in U.S. --
900
824
800
703
700
682
655
587
600
538
488
500
361
400
300
200
100
0
La.
Texas
Miss.
Okla.
Ala.
S.C.
Rates per 100,000 residents
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics 2005 report, U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Avg.
N.C.
“No more applause for
predicting rain,
only for building arks”
Don Carstensen
Interim Vice President
Workforce Development Division
American College Testing system (ACT)
From speech at 2007 Southeastern WorkKeys Conference Charleston, SC