Author: Gwen Rubinstein

Where are the bailouts for low-income families?

Posted on by Gwen Rubinstein

The Federal Treasury is on the verge of bailing out Wall Street with an infusion of $700 billion of taxpayer dollars.  Bad decisions by many actors (banks and lenders, consumers, insurers and others) have contributed to the crisis, we are told, and now it is an emergency.

What a difference a policy area makes.

In our nation’s social welfare programs, such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, bad decisions are grounds for sanctions and a denial of assistance–not a helping hand or a cash infusion (Just imagine!).  Certainly, our leaders have not treated poverty as an emergency or a reason for government action.

Other differences abound….

Corporate welfare: Corporate executives, mostly men, being bailed out.

Social welfare: Mostly low-income women with children, being given minimal assistance, and certainly not enough to help move them out of poverty.

Corporate welfare: Few restrictions on the money.

Social welfare: TANF beneficiaries face numerous restrictions, including having to sign a “personal responsibility” statement in some states (Something, personally, I’d like to see these corporate executive do).

Corporate welfare: It is a major “concession” not to cap compensation to the executives in the affected firms.

Social welfare: Under TANF, most states impose income and asset limits on eligibility.  For assets, these limits are generally between $2,000 and $3,000.  In some states, if your car is worth much more than this, you are not eligible. (States similarly limit eligibility for Food Stamps and Medicaid.)

So, how many of our corporate executives would be disqualified from the bailout if this were taken into account? 

Corporate welfare: Few details about the accountability required under this bailout are available. Given the lobbying frenzy around the agreement, don’t expect much.

Social welfare:  Significant oversight, including additional and burdensome requirements around supervision and documentation of program participation enacted in 2005 and codified in regulations earlier this year.

Corporate welfare: $700 billion.

Social welfare: $16 billion per year, which has not changed since 1996.

Just think what a $700 billion investment in poverty reduction could do.  Bailouts to help low-income single mothers get job training to move them into careers with good pay and benefits, and a lifetime of economic independence.  Bailouts to support access to quality child care so that single mothers could afford to leave their children in a safe environment while they go to work.  Bailouts to support transportation vouchers that would get low-income parents to job training sites or worksites so that they can gain access to the careers and salaries that would eventually make them economically secure.

If only…

Gwen Rubinstein is a program officer at The Women’s Foundation.

Prince George's Gazette covers child care strategy that's smart for businesses and families.

Posted on by Gwen Rubinstein

New economic development initiatives can present outstanding opportunities for new partnerships – including partnerships that support employers and low-income single working women and their children.

That kind of thinking led Prince George’s Child Resource Center (PGCRC), with support from The Women’s Foundation, to reach out to Gaylord Hotels as it developed the National Harbor project on the Potomac River in Oxon Hill.

The goal: to connect low-income single mothers working at National Harbor to early care and education providers nearby.

The outcome: PGCRC is providing brochures and other information to National Harbor for its workers, and National Harbor is promoting PGCRC’s services through its human resources office and its internal communications with employees.

The work has also recently drawn the attention of the Prince George’s County Gazette.

No wonder. This is a smart strategy.

Gaining access to more affordable, reliable and convenient services for their children means the women working at National Harbor can become highly dependable workers, which has significant benefits for their employer and the community.

Gwen Rubinstein is a program officer at The Women’s Foundation.

New Stepping Stones RFP released for Phase 2!

Posted on by Gwen Rubinstein

We at The Women’s Foundation are very excited to announce the release today of a new Request for Proposals under our Stepping Stones Initiative.

We have learned so much during Phase 1 of Stepping Stones (2005-2008) through our Grantee Partners, their clients, other stakeholders and our evaluators.

We hope Phase 2 (2009-2012) will deepen this work, as well as the learning, and build on the initiative’s success in increasing the economic security and financial independence of low-income, women-headed families in our region.

One of the greatest learnings from Phase 1 is the value of partnership and collaboration. That’s part of why Phase 2 and this RFP are so exciting: they seek to strengthen this learning.

Phase 2 is also exciting for us as funders because we are using it as an opportunity to broaden the frame of “place-based” philanthropy, which now concentrates giving in a particular geographic place, usually a neighborhood. Our approach will intentionally focuses instead on supporting organizations and collaborative efforts that reach low-income women where they work, attend school, engage or participate in professional or personal development services, or receive services for their children – not only where they live.

So welcome to the beginning of Phase 2 – we can’t wait to see what it brings!

Gwen Rubinstein is a program officer at The Women’s Foundation overseeing Stepping Stones’ grantmaking in the areas of jobs, early care and education, and strategic opportunity and partnerships.