Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity and The Women’s Foundation are teaming up to provide the latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families!

Spotlight, 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 each week.

The country’s economic downturn has taken a particularly harsh toll on low-income families. During this past campaign season, Spotlight tracked the growing focus on the issues of poverty and economic opportunity by candidates running for office. Now, with the transition to a new president and Congress, Spotlight has re-launched its Web site to ensure that our political leaders take significant actions to follow though on their pledges.

Our new site features a section focused on the role of family well-being in fighting poverty, including key research, analysis and news on efforts to strengthen America’s poor working families, the majority of which are headed by single mothers. We will also continue to highlight these issues in our “Exclusive Commentary” section. Just this week, Andrea Kane, senior director for policy and partnerships at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, contributed a piece detailed the link between poverty and unplanned pregnancy.

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

Here are this week’s top stories on women and poverty:

o Single working moms have had it toughest, reports the New York Times, in a piece about how the working poor have been especially hard hit during the economic crisis.

o The Contra Costa Times covers a dispute between California and the federal government that may imperil a successful family planning program for the poor.

o The economic downturn is creating tension within working families (from the Toledo Blade).

o The Wichita Falls Times-Record writes about a child care agency that helps single working parents provide for their kids during a meager holiday season.

o Parents, many of them single moms, have been forced to pull kids from day care during the economic crisis, according to the Buffalo News.

o The Kansas City Star covers a study of women’s career and financial literacy.

o The Detroit News says that the growing homeless population includes large numbers of pregnant women and families.

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.

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

Last week, I was one of the lucky people who participated in the “Conversation on Poverty in Montgomery County” that Rebecca Wagner, Executive Director of Interfaith Works, blogged about last week.

The session that I attended was wonderful.

The room was filled with a cross-section of the Montgomery County community — concerned citizens, religious leaders, government representatives, philanthropists, advocates, direct service providers–the list goes on. And, everyone was committed to having a very serious conversation about poverty in Montgomery County.

Now, I must make a confession. Generally, I am not a big fan of facilitated meetings like this. Far too often, they consist of hours of talk that often veer off subject and lead to nothing happening.

And a year later, we have the same meeting and the same discussion again.

The conversation that Rebecca organized was just the opposite.

I participated in in-depth discussions about the challenges of bringing attention to the needs of the poor in Montgomery County when the public perception is that there isn’t much poverty in the County because it is so wealthy.

Sadly, the fact is that there are tens of thousands of people living below the federal poverty line in Montgomery County. And, because the cost of living in the County is so high, there are even more people who live there but cannot afford to support themselves and their families.

In addition, the County is very large and its population is very diverse (we tend to forget that there are still farms in Montgomery County), which poses unique obstacles to providing services that are accessible and appropriate. And, the demographic make-up of the County has been changing rapidly, which makes it hard for service-providers to keep up with the need.

The great news is that these Conversations have accomplished Interfaith Works’ goal – as a result of these convenings, other meetings are going to be held.

Most notably, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services is going to host a meeting on October 10th to discuss an agenda to address these problems. For more information about this meeting, please contact Diana Day at the County HHS.

Here at The Women’s Foundation, this conversation feeds into our work in many ways.  It sets the stage for some meetings we will be holding on women and poverty later this year. It informs us of the needs in the County as we formulate our funding priorities for the next year.  And, it gives us the opportunity to learn about the work being done by nonprofits that we may not have worked with yet.

All in all, the Conversation on Poverty was a true success.

Sharon Levin is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Policy Advocacy.

In a new report released last week by the D.C. Women’s Agenda, ninth grade girls residing in Hillcrest, Naylor Gardens and Woodland Terrace challenged DC Council candidates for Wards 7 and 8 and At-Large positions to answer questions about daily hardships they must confront.

The girls’ questions included issues related to lack of concentration in schools due to no walls; rats and mice in the school; the need for extra tutoring and teachers; unsanitary bathrooms in schools; security on metro buses; surveillance cameras at street intersections; neighborhood watch programs; curfews for youth; and, other questions relating to health insurance and affordable housing.

All of the candidates offered numerous proposed solutions to the many problems raised by the girls. In response to the problems of rats in the school, Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander planned to work with Allen Lew, head of the new Office of Public Education School Modernization to “ensure that our schools are rodent free.” She encouraged students to “e-mail [her] every time a rodent is seen in a school.” Ward 8 Candidate Howard Brown offered a different solution: “I would recommend that the school include rodent and pest control in the curriculum. I would propose an educational program that teaches the science of why rodents dwell in our facilities, and how to eliminate the problem.” Ward 8 Candidate Charles Wilson said he, “will work with the District rodent task force to rid our schools of mice, rats and other rodents.”

I spoke up and noted that while it is important to examine the candidates’ responses to these problems, it is essential for the D.C. community—including all elected officials—to take note of what these girls are experiencing.  The D.C. Women’s Agenda believes that these questions go to the heart of the policy matters that must be addressed when the DC Council enacts legislation addressing problems of youth in our city.  We will continue to bring these concerns to all of the newly elected and sitting officials in the Council this fall, I explained.

The report, 2008 Election Guide/ Supplemental Questions and Candidates’ Responses from Girls in Wards 7 & 8, details candidates’ responses to questions that came directly from girls in Wards 7 and 8. The guide is designed to help voters understand candidates’ positions on girls issues related to schools and libraries, safety, health, and housing.

Debbie Billet-Roumell is the coordinator of the DC Women’s Agenda, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation that is a coalition of advocacy organizations, service providers, and individuals working to promote the advancement of equality, safety and well-being for women and girls in the District. It is chaired by the DC Employment Justice Center and Wider Opportunities for Women.

The Election Guide is available online or by requesting a hard copy at DBRoumell@wowonline.org.

In an election guide released this week by the DC Women’s Agenda, DC Council candidates were challenged to find solutions to staggering issues confronting women and girls in DC, including the facts that 12% of DC women lack health insurance; 25,000 individuals, primarily women, are on the DC Housing Authority wait list for affordable housing; and, 9% of babies born with HIV/AIDS nationwide come from DC.

In response to a proposed policy that would support the adjustment to inflation each year for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (currently at 19% of the federal poverty line), the At-Large candidates offered different point of views. Councilmember Kwame Brown said he would “consider supporting this option but would like to have more information…to ensure that this is the best option to improve the quality of life for our local parents and children,” and Candidate Patrick Mara said he “would need to assess the implications of such a policy change in light of the present budget situation.” Councilmember Carol Schwartz said she “favored adjusting the amounts of TANF benefits to account for inflation” and Candidate David Schwartzman said “a cost of living adjustment every year for TANF benefits is absolutely necessary.”

This issue is especially important when you consider that for a family of three, to meet their basic living expenses, they must pay $4,386 per month, according to Wider Opportunities for Women. Even with a variety of public benefits, including food stamps in the amount of $426 per month, Child Care and Development Fund Subsidy and Medicaid, families’ expenses are more than they can afford with the TANF benefit of only $427 a month.

The 2008 Election Guide/ Issues Affecting Women and Girls details candidates’ responses to questions related to women’s issues in the upcoming election and is designed to help voters understand candidates’ positions on issues related to health care, housing/homelessness, wages, benefits and economic self-sufficiency, teens and child care. The D.C. Women’s Agenda calls for candidates to focus on the issues facing women and girls and encourages D.C. residents to expect the same of the candidates – both now and after the elections in the fall.

Debbie Billet-Roumell is the coordinator of the DC Women’s Agenda, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation that is a coalition of advocacy organizations, service providers, and individuals working to promote the advancement of equality, safety and well-being for women and girls in the District. It is chaired by the DC Employment Justice Center and Wider Opportunities for Women.

The Election Guide is available online or by requesting a hard copy at DBRoumell@wowonline.org.

I hope you all have had a chance to read Phyllis’ commentary in the Spotlight on Poverty.

I am one of the staff here at The Women’s Foundation working on the Women’s Economic Security Collaborative (WESC) and I think it is a very exciting project.  We have the opportunity to really help low-income women and their families throughout the country by bringing greater attention to the issue and the policies that affect it.

One of the things that I love about this project is that I get to work with some of the other really incredible women’s foundations from other cities. Our partners are The Women’s Foundation of California, the Chicago Foundation for Women and the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis.

Already, we are learning so much from one and other – and I think the fact that we will be able to meld all of our experience and focus it on one common goal makes the WESC a very powerful group. Also, it gives Washington Area Women’s Foundation the opportunity to take the best of our partners’ work and use it here in the Washington metropolitan area.

I want to share with you just a few of the great projects that our collaborators are working on:

• The Women’s Foundation for Greater Memphis is the only women’s foundation in the nation to lead the fundraising for a Department of Housing and Urban Development HOPE IV project (these projects provide funds to revitalize some of the country’s most distressed housing projects). In Memphis, the women’s foundation has partnered with the Memphis Housing Authority to redevelop two of the largest public housing developments in Memphis and to provide comprehensive community support services.
• In Illinois, the Chicago Women’s Foundation has launched a state-wide public awareness campaign to address domestic violence called “What Will It Take”. Their goal is to end the abuse of women and girls, and they have used a wide-range of tools– including town-hall meetings, PSA’s, an action packet, concerts and more- to educate and involve the people of Illinois.
• The Women’s Foundation of California houses The Women’s Policy Institute – the only project in the nation of its kind. It is a year-long program for community leaders in California that combines advocacy training sessions and actual work to develop and implement policy advocacy projects. Thus, the Institute meets the twin goals of increasing the number of women’s advocates in the state and increasing the number of policies that reflect the needs and realities of low-income women and their families.

And, of course, our partners are learning from us as well. In fact, the Stepping Stones Initiative’s success in helping single-women low-income families increase their financial independence is not only influencing the work of our partners, but of many other women’s foundation around the country as well (including Colorado, Maine and the Nokomis Foundation to name a few).

Over the next year, we will be working locally with Grantee Partners, poverty experts, policymakers, women throughout our region and other key stakeholders to review the local landscape and to discuss ways to improve policies that impact low-income women – including the use of a Poverty Impact Statement.

Then, we will meet with our partners in the WESC so that we can all share what we have learned in our communities and what we have learned nationally. Our goal is that, by working together, we can each exponentially increase our knowledge and our ability so that we can have a deeper impact on the lives of women and girls at home.

I think we will.

Sharon Levin is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Major Events and Policy Advocacy. 

The Women’s Foundation congratulates Casa de Maryland on its victory Tuesday before the Montgomery County Council, when the Council unanimously approved a bill that will provide new legal protections for domestic workers.

This bill is believed to be the first legislation nationally of its kind.

The Washington Post covered the back story that led to this tremendous advocacy effort here.

With support from The Women’s Foundation, CASA led the advocacy efforts for this breakthrough legislation for women who work in other people’s homes.

As CASA’s Alexis De Simone noted, “The nannies, housekeepers, and elder companions who keep our homes and our families safe and secure are routinely denied overtime pay, minimum wage, sick days, and health insurance. They work in isolation, and are in some cases forbidden to interact with the outside world. Many are physically, sexually, and verbally abused.”

Thanks to a four year campaign by CASA and their coalition partners, these employees will no longer be so vulnerable.

The bill requires an employer to present the domestic worker written notice of their legal rights guaranteed under state law and a written contract specifying the terms and conditions of employment. Support for this policy was strengthened after the County Council released a 2006 report that found that domestic workers often did not know their rights – a fact that often resulted in their being paid less than the minimum wage or not receiving overtime pay.

The bill also requires that live-in domestic workers have a separate bedroom with a door that can be locked, and reasonable access to a kitchen, bathroom and laundry facility. In addition, the bill prohibits retaliation against a domestic worker who requests a written contract, attempts to enforce the terms of a contract, files a complaint or participates in an investigation of a complaint.

County Executive Isiah Leggett has said that he will sign the bill. That could happen as early as tomorrow, and then the bill would go into effect in 180 days.

Sharon Levin is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Major Events and Policy Advocacy.  Casa de Maryland is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.