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EVENTS
New Report Recommends Improvement to the EITC
FEATURE STORIES
County Develops New Economic Drivers to Create Family-Supporting Jobs
PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS AND OTHER RESOURCES
New Tookit Provides Advice, Examples, Lessons Learned for Community-based Work-Support Programs
Healing Communities Play Unique Role in Supporting Former Prisoners' Reentry
Shared Ownership Strategies Can Expand Investment Options for Low-Income Families
The Future Holds Great Challenges and New Opportunities for Philanthropic Work
WIA Discretionary Funds May be Used to Develop Innovative Program Models
Credit Unions Can Expand Their Business by Providing Affordable Car Loans
Lessening Attention to Workforce Development Examined in Narrative Project
Quality of Free Tax Preparation Programs Improves With On-Line Training and Review
Driver’s License Suspensions for
Non-Safety Reasons Impact Families and the Economy The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s quarterly
Family Economic Success (FES) Newsletter provides updates on activities, developments and resources in the three major areas of FES—workforce development, family economic supports and asset building. The goal of Casey's FES work is to promote specific strategies that enable parents to get jobs and advance in the workforce, increase their income, and build and protect a base of assets sufficient to secure a better future for their families.
Events
New Report Recommends Improvement to the EITC A new report on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) was released this summer at a policy forum on Capitol Hill. "Metro Raise: Boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit to Help Metropolitan Workers and Families," written by the Brookings Institution and supported by the Casey Foundation, proposes specific expansions to the EITC that would especially help low-income people in urban areas. The event included a panel discussion with experts from Capitol Hill, state advocacy organizations and the United Kingdom. The report recommends that Congress make three improvements to the EITC program: 1. Increase the EITC for childless workers;2. Reduce the EITC disparity for dual-earning married couples; and3. Provide additional EITC benefits to families with three or more children.It also recommends streamlining the distribution of the EITC so a portion would be available throughout the year, rather than only in a one-time lump sum.Read the report Read an editorial from the Philadelphia Inquirer
Feature Stories
County Develops New Economic Drivers to Create Family-Supporting Jobs
A new feature story in the rural FES section of the Casey website, “Diversifying the Economy to Create Jobs and Help Families Prosper in South Dakota,” describes the innovative ways Miner County, SD, has reshaped its local economy to harness the region’s strengths and tap into residents’ skills. Facing the common rural challenges of outmigration and a dying agricultural-based economy, the residents of Howard, SD and the surrounding county looked to the economic engines of the future to create employment opportunities and increase income. From developing wind energy-related businesses to organic beef production, Miner County has re-energized its citizens, revitalized its economy, and recaptured some former community members. Read the story
Publications, Presentations and Other Resources
New Toolkit Provides Advice, Examples, Lessons Learned for Community-based Work Support Programs
Communities that are interested in making work supports part of their mission to improve the lives of low-income families will be interested in a new toolkit from the Casey Foundation.
Based on lessons learned by pilot efforts in Casey-affiliated places, the new toolkit, Work Supports: Helping Families Reach Self-Sufficiency, looks at work support programs that enhance the purchasing power of low-income families, either monetarily or by offsetting basic expenses, such as food stamps and energy credits.
Each section of the toolkit includes a “ready or not” question which gives the reader an opportunity to assess whether or not to move to the next section. The toolkit was designed for use by community-based organizations interested in taking on work supports as a new endeavor, or looking to expand existing programs. It also considers the practicalities, political realities, and philosophical differences that make this work complicated and challenging. Read the ToolkitHealing Communities Play Unique Role in Supporting Former Prisoners' ReentryThe Healing Communities model encourages communities of faith to minister to members of their own congregations who are affected by crime and the criminal justice system.
The goal is to enlist them in caring for victims of crime, individuals who have committed crimes, and their children, families, and friends. This is not a small challenge. Each year, nearly 700,000 individuals return from prison – usually to their former neighborhoods. They face formidable challenges in finding and keeping good jobs, reuniting with their families, and building productive futures. With Casey’s support, three handbooks have been developed for those wanting to create a Healing Community within their faith community.
One version was developed with the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), “What Shall We Then Do? A Family Freedom Kit for Creating Healing Communities;” the second version is interdenominational and for a broader audience, “What Shall We Then Do? An Interdenominational Guide and Kit for Creating Healing Communities;” the third is more secular and designed for interfaith and other faith communities, “Balancing Justice with Mercy: A Toolkit for Creating Healing Communities.” Read more about Healing CommunitiesRead the PNBC's Family Freedom KitRead the Interdenominational GuideRead the Interfaith and Other Faiths ToolkitShared Ownership Strategies Can Expand Investment Options for Low-Income FamiliesA new paper from the Casey Foundation, “Expanding Asset-Building Opportunities through Shared Ownership: A Framing Paper,” examines how low-income individuals can invest in themselves and their communities through shared ownership strategies. Building assets is one of the key pillars for building family economic success, but families who earn low wages have difficulty moving beyond meeting their basic needs.
To date, the asset-building field has focused primarily on individual ownership strategies and paid only limited attention to the array of shared ownership strategies that lower barriers to investment for low-income families by reducing risk and the amount of capital, expertise or other resources needed to invest. Shared ownership strategies provide a variety of ways for low-income households to share risks and rewards with neighbors, community-based nonprofits, local government, the private sector and other investors. Read the paper The Future Holds
Great Challenges and New Opportunities for Philanthropic WorkA new report prepared by Casey’s FES unit provides insights into emerging trends that will affect the foundation’s work in the years to come. The report grows out of a long-term planning process Casey began this year. As part of that process, FES interviewed colleagues around the country to identify emerging trends that will affect vulnerable families and children. Numerous published materials about future trends, both national and global, also were examined. The final report summarizes the findings, outlines key issues and concerns, and identifies strategies that Casey and the broader philanthropic community might consider in the years ahead.
The report makes a clear case that action is urgently needed. Increased globalization, financial stresses, and growing pressures on the federal budget will make the American economy even more treacherous for low-wage families in the years to come. However, there also are new opportunities due to technological advances and the new focus on the environment.Read the reportView the trends summaryWIA Discretionary Funds May Be Used to Develop Innovative Program ModelsThe Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is the primary federal resource for supporting job training and employment services in the United States.
However, in the 10 years since its passage, it has come under criticism for its burdensome procedures and seemingly illogical restrictions. Annual appropriations for WIA services have declined, and it faces an uncertain future. A new report from the Working Poor Families Project, “Using the WIA to Develop and Foster Innovative State Workforce Policies and Programs,” discusses using WIA discretionary and incentive funds to support incumbent workers who are trying to advance their skills as well as jobseekers who are not currently employed.
The report describes several interesting state programs and provides recommendations for putting WIA dollars to good use.Read the reportCredit Unions Can Expand Their Business by Providing Affordable Car LoansIn order to attain self-sufficiency, build financial stability and move up the economic ladder, low-income workers must be able to reach good jobs and meet family responsibilities. In many cases, having a car is a necessity. But low wages and/or low credit scores make it difficult for low-income workers to buy a car without resorting to “buy-here-pay-here” car lots or “auto title” outlets. A new report from the National Credit Union Foundation and the Aspen Institute, and funded by Casey, “Steer Clear: How Credit Unions Help Car Buyers Avoid Predatory Loans,” examines how not-for-profit credit unions can expand their markets, build net income and attract new loyal members by providing fairly-priced loans and helping low-income workers avoid predatory lenders.
The report identifies lending techniques to expand auto lending to nonprime borrowers, and showcases innovative product features and practices.Read the reportLessening Attention to Workforce Development Examined in Narrative ProjectAccording to management and workforce expert Paul Osterman, the rationale for investing in workforce development is no longer evident: “What is missing…is a broader vision and a compelling mission for the system. In the past, the Employment and Training system for all of its weaknesses was connected in the public mind to important national concerns. That is not true today.” (“Employment and Training Policies: New Directions for Less Skilled Adults,” MIT Sloan School, Oct. 2005, p. 35)
The Casey Foundation recently undertook a two-year initiative to explore ideas for a new rationale and to examine policymakers’ diminished attention to workforce development. The result is a set of papers that frame and examine the problem, offer new ways of thinking about workforce development, and provide ideas and insights for strengthening federal, state, local, private and philanthropic investments. The papers will be available soon, and subscribers to the FES Newsletter will receive a special announcement and link.Quality of Free Tax Preparation Programs Improves With On-Line Training and ReviewA new study, “Quality in EITC Campaigns: Results from the 2008 Tax Season,” presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of the on-line training and review process at 12 free tax preparation sites in four campaigns affiliated with the National Tax Assistance for Working Families Campaign launched by Casey in 2003.
For the past four years, Casey has supported an annual study of tax returns prepared by a subset of the national campaign. All four local campaigns agreed to incorporate quality review procedures at their sites, assign staff or volunteers to the quality review role, and have those individuals take the on-line training course developed by the Aspen Institute at the request of Casey. At each site, returns were reviewed after tax preparation was complete but before the filer left the site, and the review covered all aspects of each federal return. The study found that on-site quality review made a clear difference, leading to a reduction in the number of errors by 75 percent at repeat sites.Read the studyDriver's License Suspensions for Non-Safety Reasons Impact Families and the EconomyDriver’s license suspension has increasingly been used as a deterrent to non-driving offenses.
All 50 states now use suspensions to discourage or sanction non-safety-related violations, such as: failure to pay parking fines or court fees, failure to appear in court, failure to comply with child support orders, failure to maintain insurance, and truancy. Suspending licenses for non-safety reasons can, however, have detrimental effects on economic strength and employment, especially for low-wage employees. “Access to Driving and License Suspension Policies for the Twenty-First Century Economy,” a new report from The Mobility Agenda, sponsored by the Casey Foundation, looks at the impacts of driver’s license suspensions on the community, the court system, law enforcement, employers and individual workers. It spotlights several state and local initiatives for license reinstatement and provides recommendations for policymakers, community leaders and other stakeholders.Read the report
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