Transcript Children in Poverty - Loyola University New Orleans

Children in Poverty
Law and Poverty
Median Income of Families with
Children
• US
• Louisiana
• $51,000
• $37,000
Poverty Rates - USA
• Ages 18-64
• Ages 0-18
• 11%
• 17%
Historical Poverty Rates -USA
Total
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1960
1970
1980
1990
2002
22%
13
13
13
12
Aged
35%
24
16
12
10
Children
27%
15
18
20
17
Child Support
Of the 11 million moms eligible for child support,
only 63% even have any
sort of court awarded child support order
- leaving out 5 million mothers right off the top
Of the 6.2 million mothers who have an order of
support,
only 75% received at least one payment
and only 25% actually received the amount due.
So only 1 in 4 of ALL WOMEN receive full child
support.
Female Headed Households
Receiving Child Support
• US
• 35%
• Louisiana
• 31%
Enforcement of Child Support
Primarily state responsibility
Feds provide some $, monitoring
Welfare Reform required more enforcement of child support on state levels
US assists states in their collection efforts
Federal Child Support Assistance
Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) gives US
government assistance to help locate absentee
parent to secure and enforce child support
obligation.
Federal Income Tax Refund Offset: allows states
to capture tax refunds for outstanding child
support obligations
Passport denial for people who have support
orders more than $5000 in arrears
Big Variation by State
Children who have CS order and receive full
amount
Range from high of 30% in WI, 29% in MN
To low of 14% in CA, 15% in NY
Child Care
Importance of Child Care
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Labor participation by mothers has increased
After WWII, 1/4 of all mothers worked
Now, 3/4 of all mothers work
(Incl 64% of mothers of pre-school children)
Rise in single parent homes
In 1970, 11% of families headed by single moms
In 2002, 31% of families headed by single
parent, mostly moms (dads 11% of single
parents)
• Today one-third of all kids live in single parent
homes, 23 million
Federal Child Care Assistance
• Child Care and Development Block Grant
CCDBG (Arose out of welfare reform)
• About $5 billion a year in discretionary and
entitlement funding
• (enough $ to help 1 out 7 eligible children with
subsidized child care)
• DHHS says 15 million children meet criteria, 2.2
million received it
• LA has $ for 44,500 kids: application on-line
Child Care Standards and
Quality
• First understand that only about 1 in 4
children are in paid child care providers for
child care (most are with family or in
private homes - often paid but
unregulated)
• Child care is primarily regulated on state
level: licensing, health care, visitation
AFDC Welfare to TANF
AFDC into TANF
• Aid to Families with Dependent Children
1935- 1996
• 1935 AFDC was enacted
• federal - state matching grant
• for needy children
• without fathers at home
• Was entitlement
• unlimited time period of eligibility
TANF
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
• 1996 TANF was enacted
• federal block grants to states
Dramatic Reductions in Welfare
• US has reduced number of people on TANF by
50%
• 1996 were 12 million people in 4.5 million
families, now 2.1 million families
• Great Job of Reducing Families on welfare in LA
(much more than 50%) from 68,000 to 20,000
• In July 1996, there were 68,000 families on
TANF in LA
• LA averages about 20,000 families/month on
TANF
TANF
Ends entitlement to AFDC
Terminates federal benefits
after 5 years of eligibility
State option for less time
Instituted a work requirement
More state control
TANF Requirements
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Must have child under 18 - no adults without kids
Must be in needy family
Must be US citizen
Work usually disqualifies everyone
Must not live in family where adult has received TANF for
more than 5 years
• Not receive federal funds, state funds are ok (NY
problem: people still on tanf paid for by state these are
usually the least employable)
• Adult must start work within 24 months of receiving aid
• Statewide: 50% of all families must be working
Impact on Single Mothers
• In 1993, 44% of
single mothers were
working
• By 1999, 71% were
working
TANF in Louisiana
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Income earning limit- $3,720/year
Assets $2000 (excluding car)
Work within 24 months of enrollment
Benefit for 1 person $122/month
benefit for 2 person $188/month
benefit for 3 persons $240/month
in LA 20,000 families are on TANF- FITAP
(Out of 276,000 low income families in LA)
Work and Poverty
“Poorest fifth of the nation’s female
headed households have less
disposable income in 1999 than in
1995.” – NYT
• SO, WE HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB OF
GETTING PEOPLE TO WORK;
• NOW THE JOB IS GETTING WORK TO
PAY
Welfare & Legislative Goals:
• Family? Help kids stay with mom (better than apprenticeship) But
do not really allow moms and dads together
• Charity? Give something to those in need. But shame them & not
enough to live on (stigma)
• Work? Do not want to discourage working poor, so require work but
once work, on way to losing benefits (better now with CHIP)
• Child support? Have moms report dads so we can collect but if dad
does contribute, grant is reduced & if dad does contribute govt
collects first
• Honesty? We demand monthly/quarterly reporting, turn in
delinquent dads but we know people are cheating, they have to!
Hunger in USA
& Response
Reality of Hunger in US
• USDA (Agriculture Department)
information on poverty and hunger in US:
• over 9 million people in US actually hungry
at some point in year;
• According to U.S. government estimates,
38.2 million Americans live in hungry or
“food insecure” households. (FRAC)
• In 3.8 million families last year, someone
skipped meals because they could not
afford them
• Including children in 265,000 families
• American Second Harvest reported that it
serves over 20 million people a year at
food banks
Food Stamps
(Electronic Benefits Transfer Cards)
• Federal Program
• Federal Funding & Rules
• Mostly federal funding (100% federal
funding of food stamp benefits)
• States pay for 50% of administrative costs
• States have some limited options in
additional program choices
Food assistance for poor families
Poverty defined by :
monthly income and
liquid assets
(excluding home, car under $4650 value)
TANF & SSI are automatic eligible
(already determined low income and assets)
Others must be certified as eligible
Sliding scale of benefits
size of family
more income, less benefits
Additional Food Stamp Reqs:
• There is a work requirement (welfare
reform of 1990s) for all able bodied
adults
• Citizenship Issues (Part of Welfare Reform
of 1990s)
Administration
US Department of Agriculture
Size of Food Stamps:
• Size of program: 2006 $36 billion
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• 26 million people received food stamps 2006
• Four out of ten people eligible for food
stamps do not receive them (FRAC)
Emergency Food Stamps
• Available in 5 days if sudden change in
family situation
Louisiana Food Stamps
807,000 people received food stamps
2006
Roughly 69% of those eligible
Average benefit in LA $100.96
US $ to LA Food Stamp Program:
$978m
source FRAC
School Lunch and Breakfast
• Federal money for public and private
school free or reduced price meals for low
income children
• free meals if below 130% of poverty
guidelines
• reduced cost meals if below 185% of
poverty guidelines
School Breakfast Lunch in LA
• 211,000 children in free or reduced School
Breakfast
– US pays LA $48 million
421,000 children in free/reduced School Lunch
- US pays LA $151 million
WIC Program
• Special
Supplemental
Nutrition
Program for
Women,
Infants and
Children
WIC
• Federally funded
• Administered by the States (state and local
health agencies)
• Provides food assistance and related services
• (medical screening & nutritional education) &
• WIC vouchers that can be redeemed for specific
foods (milk, cheese, eggs, infant formula,
cereals, fruit and vegetable juices)
WIC Eligibility
• low income pregnant women and children
under 5
• low income is 185% of poverty level
Louisiana WIC
• 143,000 people receive WIC
• US pays LA $97million for WIC