Legislative Update January 7, 2011 Meeting

The Economic Opportunity Poverty Reduction Task Force met ad hoc during the summer and fall months of 2010. Amidst travels to the Western Slope, the I-70 corridor and along the Front Range, it became increasingly clear that there are community solutions all over the state and that the promotion of what is working is key to meeting the 2019 goal. Summaries of the ongoing work will be presented at the Task Force meeting currently scheduled for the afternoon of January 7, 2011. Workgroup members and legislators will present ideas for removing barriers to economic opportunity in the areas of employment, consumer protection and education. All are welcome.

2:00 pm -4:00 pm
Capitol Building (200 Colfax)
Committee Room 0109
Denver

Number of Colorado children under 6 needing child care, as parents work, is 244,279

Federal welfare reform, which was enacted in 1996, stressed the importance of work and job preparation for achieving financial self-sufficiency. Realizing that the cost, availability, stability, and quality of child care can act as barriers for low-income parents, as part of welfare reform, Congress established the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). CCDF is block grant money that states can use to encourage the availability of quality child care services. In Colorado the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP), administered by county departments of human services, uses CCDF funds to offer subsidies to low income families. In 1997 the Colorado General Assembly declared that “the state’s policies in connection with the provision of child care assistance and the effective delivery of such assistance are critical to the ultimate success of any welfare reform program” (Section 26-2-802(1), C.R.S.) and the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program was created.

The Colorado Child Care Learning Group is reviewing options to maintain the Colorado Child Care Assistance program during this economic downturn. The Child Care Assistance program is suffering from proposed statewide cuts and projected county shortfalls in TANF funding. A loss of child care assistance to a low-income family will likely include the loss of employment and a fall into poverty.

Making Ends Meet on $250,000

It may be true that pain is relative. Follow this link to see how a family of four suffers at $250,000 a year because of high taxes: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/10/AR2010121004197.html?sid=ST2010121006920

WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT, ALPHIE?

Over the last four months the Economic Opportunity Poverty Reduction Task Force has been discussing the effects of poverty, the barriers to economic self-sufficiency and the potential solutions for increasing economic opportunity. The one thing that we all agree on is that we don't understand the full complexity of poverty, nor do we comprehend its pervasiveness. See what you know by taking this illuminating quiz from the "Half in Ten Campaign". Oh, and the spoiler alert--IT'S ARTIFICIAL FOLKS!

http://halfinten.org/issues/articles/how-much-do-you-really-know-about-poverty

Some Other work on Poverty

What's going on around the country for working people?

Worker Rights and Poverty: When Wages Just Aren’t Enough | Sloan Work and Family Research Network http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/blog/andrea-lindemann-blog.

IL Poverty Commission's New Recommendations: Building a Pathway to Dignity & Work

The Working in Retirement Study: Five Assumptions the Study Contests
By Ellen Galinsky Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes and Melissa Brown