We’ve partnered with The Urban Institute to provide continuing information and resources related to the goals of Stepping Stones. Below you’ll find a summary of the latest research on issues of economic security and financial independence for women and their families. This research is summarized and compiled for The Women’s Foundation by Liza Getsinger of The Urban Institute, NeighborhoodInfo DC.

The following are excerpts of the research update.  For the full update, including summarized key findings, click here.

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News
The median household income in the District of Columbia rose from $56,400 in 2007 to $57,900 in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey; however, DC residents with the lowest levels of education saw their incomes fall significantly from 2007 to 2008. (Full text)

Jobs and Business Ownership News
One fifth of all families with children are headed by working single mothers. The families of single mothers have a high poverty rate – 28.3 percent. The persistent gender wage gap continues: in 2007, women who worked full-time, year-round earned only 78 cents for every dollar earned by full-time, year-round male workers. These findings suggest that a number of changes in policy and practice are needed to improve women’s earnings. You can read the details about these findings by clicking here.

Child Care and Early Education News
A new Child Trends research brief explores the issues that judges consider when making decisions about termination of parental rights (TPR) and adoption of foster children. Several judges reported that the absence of TPR limits the adoption recruitment efforts of the child welfare agency. Some judges report a need for more discussions with older children to explore and address their concerns about adoption. (Full text)

Health and Safety News
Today, there are about 1.1 million people with HIV/AIDS living in the U.S., including nearly 280,000 women. Women of color, particularly black women, are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. The impact of HIV on younger women is particularly notable – more than 6 in 10 new HIV infections among women were among those ages 13-39 in 2006. 76% of women with HIV/AIDS who were receiving medical care had children under 18 in their homes, which may complicate their ability to manage their illness. (Full text)

Other News and Research
The Urban Institute surveyed District permanent supportive housing (PSH) agencies and specific PSH projects. The research includes a look at how the District might move forward toward fulfilling its commitment to create 2,500 new units of PSH and eliminate chronic homelessness. (Full text)

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit TheWomensFoundation.org for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.

Here’s this week’s news:

• Andrea Castaneda is one of several mothers participating in a Head Start program that seeks to help impoverished families replace unnecessary trips to the emergency room with home care, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

• Deborah Stiell, a 55-year-old low-income grandmother, has cared for her three grandchildren their entire lives. She tells the Detroit News that, like many grandparents in her situation, she struggles to pay the bills.

• The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that thanks to increased state funding, a clinic run by the University of Tennessee College of Medicine’s obstetrics-gynecology department has been able to reach out to more low-income patients, resulting in a 20 to 35 percent increase in patient visits.

• The Boston Globe celebrates the achievements of Elisabetta Mitrano, who lifted her family from poverty by opening a salon that would allow her children a better upbringing than she had.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org  

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here. 

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.”  It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit TheWomensFoundation.org for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every week.

Here’s this week’s news:

• The Washington Post tells the story of how Lawanda Madden and her children became homeless. Her family joins an influx of recently homeless single-mother families now relying on relatives for shelter and food.
• The Times-Picayune profiles Looking Good, a nonprofit founded by Hope Encalada that provides low-income women with professional clothing, makeovers and a self-confidence boost in preparation for job interviews.
• Many low-income mothers will be left without affordable childcare if day care centers close due to budget cuts, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• The Boston Globe features a piece on a movement in Providence to close down “spas,” or thinly veiled brothels.  Rhode Island is the only state in the U.S. that permits indoor prostitution.
• The Times Picayune reports on a teen panel on poverty and drugs, which included suggestions from several young women living in impoverished neighborhoods.

To learn more about Spotlight, visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.  To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

As part of our ongoing commitment – in partnership with The Urban Institute – to providing information and resources related to the goals of Stepping Stones, please find below a summary of recent research on issues of economic security and financial independence for women and their families. This research is summarized and complied for The Women’s Foundation by Liza Getsinger of The Urban Institute, NeighborhoodInfo DC.

Below are excerpts of the research update.  For the full research update, including summarized key findings, click here.

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News

The National Council of Negro Women conducts a study to identify potential lending disparities in gender and race among African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian borrowers, particularly as the foreclosure crisis spreads.  (Full text) 

Jobs and Business Ownership News

The Brookings Institution publishes research on the extent to which the recession has affected urban and suburban communities across the country and looks looks within the nation’s 100 largest metro areas to examine recent unemployment trends in their cities and suburbs. (Abstract) (Full text)

Child Care and Early Education News

A new Child Trends study commissioned by the Council of Chief State School Officers finds disparities between poor, at-risk children and more advantaged children as early as 9 months of age–extending prior research that primarily focuses on disparities at kindergarten entry and beyond. (Abstract) (Full text)

Health and Safety News

The Urban Institute identifies ways to reduce obesity using many of the same strategies used in the war against tobacco.  (Introduction) (Full text)

Other News and Research

The Economic Mobility Project investigates neighborhoods and the black-white mobility gap, including whether neighborhood poverty in childhood impacts the ability of both black and white adults to move up or down the income ladder relative to the position their parents held and whether changes in neighborhood poverty rates experienced by black children affected their adult incomes, earnings, and wealth. (Abstract) (Full text)

As part of our ongoing commitment – in partnership with The Urban Institute – to providing information and resources related to the goals of Stepping Stones, please find below a summary of recent research on issues of economic security and financial independence for women and their families. This research is summarized and complied for The Women’s Foundation by Liza Getsinger of The Urban Institute, NeighborhoodInfo DC.  

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News

The Urban Institute provides statistics on the work effort, earnings, health care access and other characteristics of low-income families. (Abstract) (Full Text)

 Jobs and Business Ownership News

The Brookings Institution investigates the accessibility of middle-wage jobs — good paying jobs for the less-educated workers — for those without bachelor’s degrees in 204 metropolitan areas. (Abstract) (Full Text)

Child Care and Early Education

The National Institute for Early Education Research examines the journeys of six states — Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, New York, and West Virginia — in achieving a plan for preschool for all. (Intro) (Full Text)

Health and Safety News

The Urban Institute explores the unique experiences of women exiting prison, focusing on a representative sample of 142 women who were released from Texas prisons and state jails in 2005 and returned to Houston communities. (Intro) (Full Text)

Other News and Research

The Urban Institute provides comprehensive data indicators and analysis on the state of older youth (age 12-24) in the District and examines  the role of area nonprofits that work with young people, their families, and neighborhoods. (Abstract) (Full Text)

As part of our ongoing commitment – in partnership with The Urban Institute – to providing information and resources related to the goals of Stepping Stones, please find below a summary of recent research on issues of economic security and financial independence for women and their families.

This research is summarized and complied for The Women’s Foundation by Liza Getsinger of The Urban Institute, NeighborhoodInfo DC.

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News
The Urban Institute looks at the likelihood that nonelderly individuals in families with children experience substantial drops in family income and recoveries from such drops. (Intro) (Full Text)

Jobs and Business Ownership News
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research looks at wage differences between men and women across several different occupations. (Full Text)

Child Care and Early Education News
ChildTrends shows research findings on the link between program quality and children’s outcomes among state and federal government invested programs in early care and education. (Intro) (Full Text)

Health and Safety News
The Kaiser Family Foundation explores how problems obtaining oral health and dental care disproportionately affect low-income and minority children. (Intro) (Full Text)

Other News and Research
The Urban Institute documents the extent to which foreclosures in Washington D.C. have occurred in renter-occupied homes and apartments, and outlines several policy options for helping renters during this difficult period. (Abstract) (Full Text)

Shakira has made early childhood development a priority!

And I like to think I have helped make it a priority in the Washington metropolitan area.

Shakira has made policy a focus — policies that have long lasting impact on children’s well being such as nutrition, medical care and early education.

I like to think the Early Care and Education Funder’s Collaborative’s focus on advocacy will make long lasting impact on the well-being of children in low-income communities in the region!

Shakira believes in collaboration and thinks that private charities cannot do it alone!  She thinks public government implementing many of the early childhood programs should be partners in creating long-term change.

I like to think that the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative is a model of collaboration working in partnership with the public government to make long-term systemic changes.

Shakira has made the least glamorous issue fashionable – how can early childhood development and teaching very young poor children be glamorous to those who have influence?

I like to think I helped make early childhood development “fashionable” here at The Women’s Foundation.  It has been an important issue for the region for many years, and now a priority for The Women’s Foundation!

Would you ever think that Shakira and I were kindred spirits — motivated by the same hope that every child, especially in desperate situations — receive quality early education to ensure they are prepared for school, but more importantly for life?

Well, think again!  When it comes to early care and education, Shakira and I are on the same page!

HyeSook Chung is The Women’s Foundation’s Program Officer for Early Care and Education.  (And from now on, her nickname at the office will be Shakira.)

Over the last couple of weeks, there has been a lot of dialogue both on the regional and national level about what early care and education is. What should it be?  What should it focus on?

With the recent emphasis on a Birth To Five agenda by President Barak Obama and a focus on child care by First Lady Michelle Obama, is it any wonder so much attention is placed on the very young? 

It’s about time!

But I do worry that all the confusion and debate will fail us.  I worry we will miss the opportunity to finally have a national agenda that promotes the health of the very young and underserved.

Last week, The Washington Post had a piece by Charles Finn, entitled, "Slow the Preschool Bandwagon," which made me think about the recent universal preschool activities in VA, MD and D.C.  Mr. Finn cautions about advocating for universal pre-school.

I am in total agreement that more emphasis needs to be put on infants and toddlers, as well as existing programs that have consistently been proven to be effective, like Head Start and Early Head Start.

But there are a few points I struggled with. I worry about the push for social service programs to become more educational focused. Is advocating for Head Start preschoolers to learn their numbers and letters going to ensure they are going to succeed in school?

I do want to figure out how to ensure children in impoverished communities learn what they need to be prepared to succeed, but I worry  that the social service component (i.e. health, family support services, prenatal care, etc. ) will be compromised.

I would hope that it would not be the only focus.

And a few weeks ago, I was listening to the Kojo Nnamdi Show about the child care challenges in the region.  By the end of the show I was so frustrated. BB Otero, Founder and Executive Director of CentroNia (a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation), tried to explain the complicated debate that is taking place around early care and education and the need to be very clear about how we define this debate.

Is it child care for infants and toddlers? Is it universal preschool for three or four year olds? What does quality mean for infants and toddlers?  What does quality mean for preschool classrooms?

It is not an easy task!  

Callers missed this message completely.  Calls were about their own personal struggles about finding a nanny or an au pair. One caller even advocated for all mothers to stay home to ensure their infants and toddlers get the quality care they need.

How does a conversation about access to affordable, quality child care for all almost turn into a show about nannies?

Whether you are poor or rich, we all need access to quality care.  We all need opportunities to ensure children are afforded the opportunities they need, whether it is child care or preschool.

I could not find quality care for my children in Arlington. I was absolutely shocked that after spending thousands of dollars in application fees, and waiting for months, I never found a slot for my five-year old in either a child care or preschool program.

It simply brought more meaning to the work I was doing.  I had the information and the resources and still struggled to find the care I hoped for for my daughter and son.

And the children in impoverished communities needed far more support than I did.

I absolutely want more support for working middle class families, but the current debate is not about me. The debate we are engaged in is for the children who need it most! 

There are plenty of children whose parents do not have the means or the knowledge that early education is critically important to their children’s long-term growth and development.  By the time a child is three, he/she has grown dramatically by producing billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of connections, or synapses, between these cells.  We know enough from the research that a young child’s brain takes years to complete, but providers and parents can ensure children get off to a right start to establish patterns for life-long learning.

Why should we all care about the current debate for higher quality early care and education, including child care?

• An increasing numbers of children, including infants and toddlers, spend hours each day in various arrangements because their parents work or attend school;
• Research has shown that in the majority of infant care arrangements in the U.S., children are not talked to and played with enough, and they do not have the opportunity to form the kind of comfortable, secure relationships with a caregiver who will promote their healthy emotional development;
• Parents should be given information about how to choose quality care for their children;
• Special attention should be given to the development and enforcement of standards that promote high-quality care, including adequate professional development for caregivers, low child-to-teacher ratios, and small group sizes; and,
• Finally, child care reimbursement rates for families moving from welfare to work must be high enough to fund well-trained staff who can deliver developmentally appropriate care and education.

HyeSook Chung is Program Officer for Early Care and Education at The Women’s Foundation.

Low-income families can face numerous challenges as they work toward stable and gainful employment. Child care subsidies are designed to help them overcome one major barrier they face—affording child care for their children—as they seek to become or remain employed.

Research suggests that subsidies can play an important role in this effort, as subsidy use is associated with higher rates of employment and better employment outcomes.

As such, child care subsidies—mostly funded through the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) with related state funds, and funds that states allocate from their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs—are a key public investment in a safety net for America’s working families, and for families moving from welfare to work.

As highlighted in previous Urban Institute studies, however, despite the importance of subsidies for low-income families, only some families that are eligible for services receive assistance.  This disparity results from a number of factors, including insufficient funding in some states to serve all families that want services, as well as some families not wanting or needing assistance.

Yet, it appears that even when funds are available, some eligible families that want subsidies do not receive them, families that do receive them often stay on subsidies for relatively short periods, and some families that do not stay in the program appear to remain eligible even after they leave.

While, again, multiple factors likely contribute to these patterns, research suggests that subsidy policies and practices can contribute to whether some eligible families receive subsidies in the first place, as well as whether eligible families that receive subsidies are able to retain them over time. These include policies and practices in areas such as what families must do to apply for subsidies, to recertify their eligibility, and to report changes in circumstances that may alter their eligibility, as well as how often families must take these steps; how easy or difficult their interactions are with the subsidy agency; and, how agencies define eligibility when families experience changes in their circumstances. 

The growing understanding of the importance of these issues has led states and localities to focus more on identifying ways to improve their services and design their programs to make it both easier for eligible families to receive services in the first place and to keep them once they receive them.

My presentation at the researching briefing on May 20 will focus on highlighting a number of these strategies. 

In addition to making processes easier for parents, several strategies appear to help administrators meet other critical program goals, such as reducing staff workload, keeping program costs down, and reducing improper payments. 

Some strategies that better support parents—for example, decreasing paperwork, simplifying interactions with parents, reducing inadvertent terminations or needless churning of clients—can also minimize unnecessary procedures that result in administrative costs.

Finally, strategies that help subsidized families retain subsidies also seem likely to affect CCDF program goals to support child development.  While low-income families on subsidies may change providers while in the system, inadvertent terminations of subsidies can mean at least some children experience disruptions in their care arrangements that would not have otherwise occurred. Given the central role that having a stable relationship with a loving caregiver has on a child’s well-being, minimizing those disruptions is clearly important for child development goals as well.

Join me when I present and discuss more on this issue at The Women’s Foundation’s 2009 Stepping Stones Research Briefing on Wednesday, May 20 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Katharine Graham Conference Center of the Urban Institute at 2100 M Street, NW on the 5th Floor.   A light breakfast will be provided.

Please RSVP here.

Then help us spread the word. We have an Event, "2009 Stepping Stones Research Briefing," on Facebook.  We’re also on Twitter @TheWomensFndtn.

Gina Adams is a researcher with The Urban Insitute, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation and co-sponsor of the Stepping Stones Research Briefing.

“DC Doesn’t WORK Without Child Care!” is more than a slogan for Empower DC’s Child Care for All Campaign, it’s the harsh reality facing thousands of low and moderate income working families who rely on child care assistance to ensure their ability to work.

Unfortunately, recent changes by the Fenty Administration and the Mayor’s proposed budget for FY 2010 are only contributing to the challenges already faced by families working to make ends meet.

Empower DC’s grassroots membership base is raising their voices to educate policy makers that child care is not a luxury, but rather a necessity for all working people, and it must be made a priority.

FY 2010 Child Care Budget
The DC City Council is wrapping up budget hearings this week, and getting down to the business of making changes to the city budget, the final version of which is expected to be voted on May 12th.  DC’s budget is made up of $6.25 billion in local dollars collected from taxes and fees, plus federal money bringing the total budget to $8.97 billion. Revenue projections forecast an $800 million decline in revenue from FY 2009, causing the city to raise fees and cut programs to make up for the budget short fall.

Child care is among many social services and community programs that face cuts.

The Mayor’s budget proposes a 4.8 percent reduction in child care funding from FY 2009.  Despite Adrian Fenty’s support for child care funding when chairman of the Council’s Human Services Committee, since becoming Mayor he has proposed cuts to child care in each budget he has submitted to the Council. The child care budget was cut by over $4 million going into FY 2009, and reduced further mid-year. The number of children being served by child care programs declined by 1,300 from FY 2007 to FY 2009. The Administration has not said how many more slots will be lost due to cuts in the FY 2010 budget, but clearly the number will continue to decline under the Mayor’s proposal.

The FY 2010 Early Care and Education Administration totals $89 million, a reduction of $4.5 million from FY 2009, and a reduction of $12 million when compared to the original FY 2009 budget. After adjusting for inflation, the budget for child care has declined by $20 million, or 20 percent, since 2007.

Additionally, the proposed FY 2010 budget for the Pre-K for All Initiative is only $5.1 million, down from $9.5 million at the start of FY 2009, and will not support an expansion as intended in the Pre-K for All legislation passed by the Council in 2008.

More information on the Child Care budget is available here.

Other Child Care Challenges
The child care community is also concerned about other changes affecting DC residents, including:

• The proposed elimination of child care services at Parks and Recreation sites.  Mayor Fenty abruptly closed four child care programs in December, impacting hundreds of children and workers. The Mayor’s FY 2010 budget proposes to eliminate the remaining 15 programs, displacing more than 100 additional workers and several hundred children. According to Neil Rodgers, staff of Harry Thomas Jr., who chairs the Council Committee on Parks and Recreation, the child care centers proposed to be eliminated are all gold-quality, accredited centers that are funded by federal, not local, dollars. The budget for these programs, $5.1 million, has been directed to cover other child care activities in the Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) budget.The Administration has not said where they expect impacted families to go to receive this care;
• The abolishment of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee.  Members of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Early Childhood Development (MACECD) were notified by letter in March that the commission, originally established in 1979, had been dissolved. MACECD had been an active body, working to bring together early childhood professionals, consumers and advocates to draft policy and budget recommendations on numerous topics including accreditation, setting rates, family child care, before and after school care, professional development, and more. Empower DC submitted a sign-on letter to the Mayor and Council calling for the reinstatement of MACECD. Approximately 200 individuals and organizations endorsed the letter and we await a response from the Administration; and,
• The Child Care Development Block Grant.  The Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary source of federal money provided to states for the provision of child care assistance to support low to moderate income working families. D.C. is required to create a CCDBG State Plan every two years outlining how the state will utilize CCDBG funds.

Upcoming opportunities for residents to weigh-in on the use of CCDBG funds are as follows:

Wednesday, April 22 6-8 PM
Child Care Development Block Grant Informational Meeting
Office of Unified Communications
2720 Martin Luther King Jr., Ave., S.E.
For more information call Diane Paige:  (202) 727-1839 .

Thursday, April 30th 6-8 PM
Child Care Development Block Grant Informational Meeting
Bell Multicultural School
3101 16th Street, NW, 6-8pm
For more information call Diane Paige  (202) 727-1839 .

Monday, May 4th 6:30-8:30 PM
Child Care for All Campaign Meeting
Preparation for Block Grant Hearing
Child Care Provided – call for address and RSVP
Empower DC –  (202) 234-9119 

Saturday, May 16th Noon-2 PM
Child Care Development Block Grant Hearing
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library
901 G Street, NW, A-5
For more information or to sign up to testify call  (202) 727-1839 .

Parisa Norouzi is the Co-Director/Organizer of Empower DC’s District of Columbia Grassroots Empowerment Project.  Niccola Reed is the Child Care for All Campaign’s Child Care Organizer.

Empower DC is a city-wide, membership based grassroots organizing project whose mission is to enhance, improve and promote the self-advocacy of low and moderate income residents in the District of Columbia in order to bring about sustained improvements in their quality of life. Empower DC is currently engaged in grassroots advocacy campaigns on the issues of affordable housing, preserving public property, and ensuring quality, affordable and accessible child care for all DC families. For more information contact Parisa Norouzi, CoDirector, at  (202) 234-9119  or Parisa@empowerdc.org, or visit www.Empowerdc.org.

Empower DC is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.

For current information on how the issue of child care is being handled in Virginia, click here.