Economy

Stepping Stones Research Update: May 2008

Posted on by Liza Getsinger

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 summary of recent 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.

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News

The Cost of Maintaining Ownership in the Current Crisis: Comparisons in Twenty Cities
By Dean Baker, Danilo Pelletiere and Hye Jin Rho
Center for Economic and Policy Research
April 2008

The collapse of the bubble in the U.S. housing market is creating chaos in financial markets, while throwing the economy into a recession. It is also threatening millions of homeowners and renters with the loss of their homes. This paper compares ownership and rental costs in twenty major metropolitan areas.

Key Findings:

  • In many markets, homeownership costs are in line with rental costs. In these areas, it is practical and desirable to focus on policies that keep homeowners in their homes.
  • Prices are now falling rapidly in many of these markets; homeowners are unlikely to accumulate equity. In fact, it is likely that many homeowners will end up selling their homes for less than their outstanding mortgage, even if new mortgages are issued with substantial write-downs from the original mortgage.
  • In bubble-inflated markets, homeownership is not only a costly and risky proposition, but continuing price declines mean that homeowners will not accrue any equity.
  • A policy of ensuring suitable rental options is likely to be more helpful to many current homeowners. This policy can encourage the rapid conversion of vacant and abandoned units to rental properties, as well as policies that facilitate the conversion of ownership units to rental units for the same households.
  • Many of the properties facing foreclosure are already rental properties. In these cases, foreclosures often result in the displacement of the current tenants. Congress should recognize this problem and consider policies that provide greater security to tenants in such situations.

Abstract, introduction and key findings
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Jobs and Business Ownership News

Hometown Prosperity: Increasing Opportunity for DC’s Low-Income Working Families
DC Appleseed and DC Fiscal Policy Institute
January 2008 (Released April 14, 2008)

This report describes working poor families with children in the District and the barriers they face to economic advancement, and lays out essential policy changes that could improve their situation.

Key findings and Policy Recommendations:

  • Nearly one in three working families in the District was poor in 2005.
  • In fact, a higher proportion of working families in the District is poor compared to the proportion of working families in neighboring states or in the nation as a whole.
  • Enhance access to community college educational offerings for its residents by encouraging and developing regional partnerships and/or investing in the creation of a local community college as a branch of or separate from the University of DC.
  • Make a priority of raising wages in women-dominated sectors and moving women into non-traditional careers.
  • Set wage and benefit standards for all economic development programs.
  • Implement paid sick leave for all District workers and consider developing a paid disability/family leave program.
  • Continue to address the affordable housing crisis in the city, and promote housing for low-income families that takes into account access to transportation, jobs, and educational resources.

Abstract, introduction and key findings
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Human Capital and Women’s Business Ownership
By Darrene Hackler, Ellen Harpel, and Heike Mayer
Small Business Administration- Office of Advocacy
April 2008

This article begins to shed light on the relationship between different elements of human capital and self-employment among women.

Key Findings:

  • The study finds that self-employed women have more education and increased their educational attainment at a faster rate compared to other working women.
  • The percentage of self-employed women in managerial occupations consistently exceeded the rate for other working women, and self-employed women participated in different industries than other working women.
  • More self-employed men hold an advanced degree compared to self-employed women over the study period, but the gap narrowed considerably by 2006.
  • Self-employed minorities were slightly more likely than self-employed whites to have a college degree throughout much of the study period.
  • Earnings data show that the self-employed were most likely to be either in the first (lowest) or fourth (highest) quartile.
  • A lower percentage of self-employed women hold managerial occupations than do self-employed men, and there are lower rates of self-employment in industries where there is less overall female participation (such as communications, transportation, wholesale trade, manufacturing, and construction).

Abstract, introduction and key findings
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Child Care and Early Education News

Planning for Quality Schools: Meeting the Needs of District Families
By David F. Garrison, Marni D. Allen, Margery Austin Turner, Jennifer Comey, Barika X. Williams, Elizabeth Guernsey, Mary Filardo, Nancy Huvendick, and Ping Sung
Brookings Institution, The Urban Institute, and 21st Century School Fund
April 24, 2008

This report is the first phase of a three-part project to help the District of Columbia create a firm analytical basis for planning for quality schools to meet the needs of the city’s families.

Key Findings:

  • The District’s population has increased since 2000; the total number of school-age children has declined slightly. Conditions in both the housing market and the public school system contribute to this trend.
  • The District’s population is becoming increasingly diverse, with rising numbers of whites and Hispanics and a declining share of blacks. Still, the District remains highly segregated along both racial and income lines. The populations of Wards 7 and 8 are over 90 percent black, while nearly all of the city’s white residents live in Wards 2 and 3. And in 2006, median household income for the city’s white residents was $92,000, almost three times as high as the $34,000 median household income of the city’s blacks.
  • Almost half of all white public school students live in Ward 3, and almost none live East of the River. In contrast, more than half of all black public school students live East of the River, while Hispanic students are heavily concentrated in Wards 1 and 4.
  • There are 234 public schools and distinct public school programs in the District serving pre-school students through adults without high school diplomas, a significant expansion of supply since 1997.
  • In 2006-07, 72, 378 students were enrolled in DCPS and public charter schools, close to the same number as the previous year, but substantially lower than a decade earlier. Since 1997-98, the number of students attending DCPS schools has dropped by almost one-third, while public charter enrollment has grown by over 400 percent.
  • In 2006-07, there were 10,857 public special education students in the District, just over 15 percent of all public school students. This is on the high end compared to other high-poverty urban school districts. Special education students, like the general student population, are concentrated East of the River, and a disproportionate share of black public school students are classified as special education students (compared to white and Hispanic public school students).

Abstract, introduction and key findings
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The Impact of the Mortgage Crisis on Children and Their Education
By Julia B. Isaacs and Phillip Lovell
Brookings Institution
April 2008

By examining past research, this article examines the potential impacts of these foreclosures on children are their education, behavior and health.

Key Findings:

  • Research shows that children who experience excessive mobility, such as those impacted by the mortgage crisis, will suffer in school.
  • The National Assessment of Educational Progress (known as the Nation’s Report Card) has found that students with two or more school changes in the previous year are half as likely to be proficient in reading as their stable peers.
  • One study found that frequent movers were 77 percent more likely than children who have not moved to have four or more behavior problems.
  • One study found that working families spending more than half of their income on housing have less money available than other families to spend on such crucial items as health care and health insurance
  • The mortgage crisis is more than a blow to our economy. It is crippling our children, their education, and as a result, the nation’s future. And while our government is working to alleviate the financial damage caused by this calamity, the impact on the nation’s children is going unnoticed. As economists focus on solving the problem, policy-makers must make an effort to mitigate the damage of this disaster on our young people.

Abstract, introduction and key findings
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Health and Safety News

Medicaid, SCHIP and Economic Downturn: Policy Challenges and Policy Responses
Kaiser Family Foundation
April, 28 2008

Examines the implications of a downturn for health coverage and state programs and projects the impact of one percentage point rise in the national unemployment rate on Medicaid and SCHIP and the number of uninsured individuals.

Key Findings:

  • Economic Downturns Increase Medicaid Enrollment and Spending – This analysis shows that a 1 percentage point rise in the national unemployment rate would increase Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment by 1 million (600,000 children and 400,000 non-elderly adults) and cause the number of uninsured to grow by 1.1 million.
  • Economic Downturns Reduce State Revenues – Medicaid and SCHIP are also affected by state revenue declines. Recent Urban Institute research shows that a 1 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate causes state General Fund revenue to drop by 3 to 4 percent below expected levels. 
  • State Policy Responses Can Worsen Cyclical Downturns – Unlike the federal government, almost all states are legally required to balance their budgets. To meet this requirement in times of economic stress, states may take such steps as tapping reserves, borrowing from trust funds, securitizing future revenue streams, delaying spending from one fiscal year to the next, etc.
  • Congress May Consider Options to Better Target Federal Relief – As states enter a new economic downturn, policymakers could consider three basic options for fiscal relief. One approach would, like JGTRRA, provide a uniform increase in Medicaid matching rates to all states, for a specified time. 
  • Federal Fiscal Relief Can Prevent Medicaid Cuts During Economic Downturns – As a new economic downturn unfolds, many states appear headed for serious budget shortfalls. The federal government does not have balanced budget requirements, so it has the flexibility to target supplemental funds to states during an economic downturn, preventing harmful and ill-timed cuts in health coverage.

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Other News and Research

Women in the Wake of the Storm: Examining the Post-Katrina Realities of the Women of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast
By Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
April 2008

This report tells the stories of women post-Katrina and, in so doing, provides an analysis of women’s increased vulnerability during times of disaster, and discusses how the experiences of women affected by Katrina align with the experiences of women around the world who have experienced other large-scale crises. It also provides a race/class/gendered analysis of women’s post-Katrina experiences, with a special emphasis on what they are doing now to rebuild their lives, reconstruct their homes, restore their families, and reclaim their communities.  It tells the story of Katrina from the eyes of the women who lived through it.

Key findings:

  • Most of those with whom the author spoke with seemed relieved that other people wanted to know what they had been through, how they had survived, and what they were doing now to keep on keeping on. Nearly every woman bemoaned the fact that their voices had not been heard and as a result, their stories have been left untold.
  • In conversations with women in and around New Orleans, three primary issues remained at the forefront of their concerns: housing, healthcare, and economic well-being. Each of these issues had multiple and often interlocking reverberations on their lives. All of those with whom we spoke expressed a deep commitment to their communities and desire to face any remaining challenges; however, our contacts’ health, sense of security, and for some even that small but persistent kernel of sustaining hope all have been jeopardized by the slow pace of recovery and the prolonged lack of normalcy.

Policy Recommendations:

  • Make affordable housing a top priority. The safety of women and girls remain in jeopardy with each day that severe housing shortages go unaddressed.
  • Incorporate women in the rebuilding economy through non-traditional training and enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. Women by and large have been shut out of the most lucrative aspects of the rebuilding economy and have suffered as a result.
  • Increase the availability and quality of child care and schools. As the population of the region continues to expand, so does the need for child care and educational institutions.
  • Address both physical and mental health care needs, especially among the most needy. Health care post-Katrina, for many, has become yet another disaster.

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The challenge of living on $1 a meal in the Washington metropolitan area.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

Last year, a number of staff here at The Women’s Foundation participated in the Food Stamp Challenge–living for a week on the food budget allocated to individuals on food stamps–generally about $1 per meal per person. 

A year ago, our staffers and others participating in the challenge found it extremely, well, challenging.  (For more of our staff blogs on the challenge, click here.)

Almost a full year later, though, the challenge of living on food stamps has become even more difficult, as Chris Jenkins outlines in yesterday’s Washington Post article, "Rising Prices Hit Home for Food Stamp Recipients."

It’s no surprise that the woman interviewed in the article is a working single mother–a divorced mother of two.  She had her salary cut in half when she was laid off as a receptionist and had to take a job as home health aid.  She says in the Post, "Our life has changed…My kids notice the changes, there’s no doubt about it.  There are things I can’t buy anymore, little things like desserts, or if I say we have to be careful how much we eat. It’s not just them; we all feel it. We all notice."

Earlier this month, CNN documented a similar story about another local woman who skimps on her own food to feed her young daughter.

The rising costs are a national issue, but in the Washington metropolitan region, families are feeling it even more than in most places around the country.  The article explains that food prices in this region are eight percent higher than the national average.  For example, a pound of ground beef averaged $3.33 for a Washington area shopper, compared with $2.64 nationally. That’s a difference of 26 percent. A dozen eggs were 10 percent higher, while a 10-pound bag of potatoes cost 40 percent more.

As costs rise and food stamp allocations fail to keep up, more families face the consequences of food insecurity–poor nutrition, a decreasing ability to focus at school, work and other activities, and overall poorer health–not to mention the added mental stress of worrying and calculating to try to get the family food budget to stretch as far as possible. 

And who is affected? 

According to Capital Area Food Bank, half of all households in Washington, D.C. receiving food stamps report at least one working adult in the household.  In 2005, 50 percent of all participants in the food stamp program were children, and 65 percent of them lived in single-parent households.  Thirty-four percent of households with children were headed by a single parent, the overwhelming majority of whom were women.  Forty-six percent of participants were white, 31 percent were African-American and 13 percent were Hispanic.  The average gross monthly income per food stamp household is $648. 

However the stats break down though, the reality remains the same, that food insecurity is becoming an increasing issue in our region and nation as prices climb and families find wages dropping or face job loss. 

Last year, staff member Sherell Fuller took an international lens to her experience on the food stamp challenge. 

An interesting lens when one considers that there are an estimated one in three people in the world living below the poverty line–defined as living on less than $1 a day. 

In the United States currently, one in 11 Americans receives food stamps of about $1 per meal.

In either scenario, that’s a lot to ask of $1. 

Rwanda shows the power of investing in women.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

In my former life working on USAID projects focused on education for girls, I traveled to a number of African countries.   While each country is unique and different, after enough travel, meetings and jetlag, they can all start to feel the same in many ways.

Until Rwanda.  When I got to Rwanda, it felt different.  It was quiet, first of all.  Much quieter, generally, than most African nations.  The constant bluster of honking, music, yelling and just general noise seemed somehow dampered in Rwanda. 

And then I was struck by the other difference–less obvious, but certainly present.  Through my meetings and visits to schools and teachers and NGOs, it quickly became apparent that there were far more women in power than in most countries I’d been in.  There were more girls in school and gender was far more talked about and discussed than in most other countries I’d visited.  When I was sent to meet with a minister or high government official, I almost came to count on it being a woman. 

Not a common experience in Africa.

The statistics, of course, bore out this trend.  Half of Rwanda’s parliament seats are devoted to women.  They have established a Ministry devoted to family, gender and social affairs.

The only other country I’ve visited that had this same sort of vibe, of women just being more empowered generally–not only in terms of seats of parliament but in terms of their own lives and families–was Uganda. 

Two nations struck by horrible conflict.  Sadly, when such conflict strikes, women are left with terrible consequences, and tremendous opportunity.  For they face terrible violence and crimes against themselves and their children.  They bear the brunt of poverty and of rebuilding homes, towns and countries devastated by the destruction of war.  They are left to care for the sick, the dying and the orphaned.

But they are also left in many cases to run their families, farms, and the nation.  After the Rwandan genocide, 70% of the country was female.  Half of the households were headed by women.  Eighty percent of those were headed by poor widows.

And as the Washington Post documented on Friday in the article, "Women Rise in Rwanda’s Economic Revival," having women running the nation’s businesses hasn’t only been good for women. 

It’s been good for Rwanda.

The article explains, quoting Rwandan officials, "The march of female entrepreneurialism, playing out here and across Rwanda in industries from agribusiness to tourism, has proved to be a windfall for efforts to rebuild the nation and fight poverty. Women more than men invest profits in the family, renovate homes, improve nutrition, increase savings rates and spend on children’s education."

The article goes on to quote Agnes Matilda Kalibata, minister of state in charge of agriculture, saying, "Bringing women out of the home and fields has been essential to our rebuilding. In that process, Rwanda has changed forever. . . . We are becoming a nation that understands that there are huge financial benefits to equality."

As I read this article, I couldn’t help but think back to the brief time I spent in Rwanda, a collection of impressions and memories that are far from expertise, and that as I left Uganda a week later, that I thought about the horrible irony that often the best examples and evidence of the power of investing in women only have a chance to surface following terrible conflict and war. 

That somehow, despite the proven return, investing in women is generally a last resort, rather than a starting place.

Though this weekend, I did hear a story of hope.  A friend from another country in Africa, one also struck by its fair share of conflict and strife–though nothing compared to Rwanda–told me that when her father passed away, he left all of his land to his daughters, instead of his sons.

Almost unheard of in her country–and in most of Africa.  Surely everyone around town must think he was utterly insane, I tell her.

Of course, she says.  And now, the brothers are angry and fighting and furious that they are not in control.  For they want to sell the land and reap the profits.

And I don’t even care, she’s telling me.  What am I going to do with it?  I just have to make sure that my mother and everyone in the family is cared for, and beyond that, what does it all matter?  And my sisters, they don’t care.  We’ll keep it all for the family to use as they need it.  Beyond that, what is the point?

I told her that this, of course, is why her father had left the land to her and her sisters.  Because he knew, I said, that by  giving it to you, the entire family would be cared for in the long run.

Well, of course, she said.  What else would I do?

Today, (un)celebrate (not so) Equal Pay Day!

Posted on by Sharon Levin

Today is Equal Pay Day.

This day signifies the fact that it takes women almost 16 months to earn what men earn in 12.  Women still only earn about 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, and the wage gap worsens for women of color.

In fact, the wage gap has remained at basically the same level for the past 20 years.  A large part of the reason for this is that women tend to work in lower paying jobs than men and in lower paying industries.

Every day at The Women’s Foundation, we are fighting these systemic reasons for the differences in men’s and women’s earnings.  Here are just a few examples:

  • We support programs that allow women to move Into higher paying jobs.  Through Stepping Stones, we support job-training programs that prepare women to get jobs with salaries that are high enough to support a family. These are often jobs that have traditionally been held by men. For example, Washington Area Women in the Trades provides non-traditional employment training for homeless and low-income women. They estimate that in five years, more than 3,000 women will be provided assistance and more than 400 graduates will be prepared for high-skill/ high-wage jobs in our community.
  • We support programs that ensure that women-dominated fields have better salaries and benefits.  Historically, jobs that have been traditionally held by women (like teachers and nurses) have earned lower salaries than jobs held by men. Our Grantee Partners, like CASA of Maryland, work to fight this historical bias and to ensure that jobs that are held primarily by women earn better salaries. For example, CASA of Maryland has a program to get better wages for domestic workers and to make sure that they get employment benefits as well.
  • We support efforts that make sure that minimum-wage earners (who are disproportionately women) have a living wage. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are the majority of minimum wage earners. DC Employment Justice Center, a Grantee Partner, was a core member of the D.C. Living Wage Coalition that successfully advocated for legislation that provided a living wage of $11.75 for workers employed by companies with contracts with the D.C. government.  It is estimated that this change will collectively increase women’s wages in the Washington metropolitan area by $7.5 million.

When you support The Women’s Foundation – by volunteering with us, by making a donation, by being a part of our community – you are supporting our efforts to increase women’s salaries and to take down the barriers that keep women from earning as much as their male colleagues.

Joining us in our efforts is a pretty terrific way to honor Equal Pay Day.

Stimulating talk: ESP and savings

Posted on by Donna Ortega

No not Extra-Sensory Perception, I’m talking about the Economic Stimulus Payments.

Beginning in May, the IRS will send Economic Stimulus Payment checks to over 130 million households.  Intended to spur a slowing economy, these payments represent many millions of dollars flowing into our communities. Just imagine what you could do with that money! How about doing something really novel and taking that payment and saving all or part of it for a rainy day?

It’s not like saving is unheard of, or that people don’t also get the message to save. It’s more that when surrounded by many more messages to “buy this new thing,” or “upgrade to this latest thing,” it’s harder to hear the call to save. And those messages to spend and buy are mostly winning.  Recent survey results released by America Saves and the American Savings Educational Council (ASEC) found that only 53 percent of Americans have adequate savings, with just 28 percent saving the recommended 10 percent of their annual income.

It’s not just a message of cutting out the frills and luxuries, either.  Surveys of taxpayers who file at the DC Earned Income Tax Credit (DC EITC) Campaign’s free tax sites have shown that many of them use their refunds for everyday expenses, including paying bills.  If your income isn’t very high to start with, it’s easy to see why saving can be more difficult.  At CAAB, however, we see every day that anyone can save.

National research and our own experience with our matched savings program participants like Christine Walker has shown that even people with low incomes can put money away now as a down payment on a brighter future.

To help get this message out and to provide motivation, information, and resources to help people take positive financial action, DC Saves was started a year ago this month (Financial Literacy Month, a fitting birthday!) to help Washingtonians reduce debt and increase savings. 

This Saturday, April 5, we’ll host our First Anniversary Financial Literacy Fair at THEARC in Ward 8. In addition to useful information and access to savings products and resources, we’ll also provide free tax preparation services, financial education seminars, credit reports and counseling, and mini-sessions with Certified Financial Planners. It’s free to the public and we hope you’ll join us to learn how you, too, can take that first (or second, or third, etc.) step toward reaching your financial goal.

And what about that ESP?

To help more people claim and keep the economic stimulus payment and any other tax benefits they may be owed, the DC EITC Campaign and Community Tax Aid are hosting Super Stimulus Filing Days alongside our regular tax clinics. Community organizations can help their clients access these services by spreading the word about the programs, or sending their own staff to learn how to complete the necessary tax forms to help their clients receive their economic stimulus payments at one of our training sessions.

And if any of those clients want help to make a commitment to saving, tell them about the Fair on April 5. It’s a free, fun way to share the message that “Anyone can save!”

Donna Ortega is director of development and communications at Capital Area Asset Builders, a Stepping Stones Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.  The Women’s Foundation is a sponsor of the April 5 Financial Literacy Fair. 

Christine: How Stepping Stones changed my financial future.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

Christine Walker came to Washington, D.C. in 2002 from Milwaukee for better professional growth opportunities. Eager to advance her career, she enrolled in public policy courses at George Washington University.

As she accumulated credits toward her degree, unfortunately, she also began accumulating credit card debt.

A lot of it.

Concerned about her financial future, Christine embarked on a journey towards financial literacy. She taught herself everything she could through books. Then she teamed up with Lydia’s House, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation, and took classes on how to improve her credit and prepare for responsible home ownership.

Lydia’s House set her on a path towards better financial practices, but as a single mom responsible for her four-year old son, Christine still wasn’t earning enough through her job as an executive assistant to save—the true pathway to economic security.

And that’s where The Women’s Foundation’s Stepping Stones initiative came in.

Stepping Stones brought together Lydia’s House and Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB), providing a grant to CAAB to provide Individual Development Accounts —or IDAs, a special type of savings account—to single mothers in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 8 earning less than $35,000 who completed financial literacy courses at Lydia’s House.

Fueled by the motivation of knowing that she could quadruple her savings, Christine saved $1,000 in six short months. Having completed the required financial education training and met her savings goal, Christine earned a 3-to-1 match on her account from the IDA program–receiving an additional $3,000 from funds provided by The Women’s Foundation and the D.C. government.

The match, she says, made all the difference.

"The match made it seem like it was worthwhile," Christine says. "When you can only save $25 a month, you feel defeated, that you can’t put a dent in your goals. Your only hope is for a better job, or some other fluke. It’s frustrating. With the IDA account, it seemed almost too good to be true. For me, $4,000 is huge. It means not having to use a credit card for school."

Emily Appel, matched savings program director at CAAB, explains that motivation is a significant part of the journey towards saving. “Christine is awesomely motivated, which is what it takes to balance the cost of raising a family in the District and saving for school," Emily says. "We’ve seen time and again that with that motivation to fix one’s finances and start a business, go back to school, or buy a house, even very low-income people can find a way to save and purchase their asset.”

Christine now has $4,000 saved to apply towards her public policy degree. Eventually, she hopes to go to law school. Once she has her undergraduate—and eventually her law school—degrees, her earning potential will significantly increase.

This is the idea behind the IDA accounts, which require that the individual’s savings be put towards an asset that will increase in value over time, such as education, homeownership or small business start-up or expansion.

Programs like these are what make The Women’s Foundation—and its Grantee Partners—so effective. Because we invest in strategies and people, like Christine, that generate an amazing return on investment.

Christine is the first of what will be up to 20 success stories to emerge from the partnership between Lydia’s House and CAAB over the next three years—for a combined savings of up to $80,000, leveraging thousands more in mortgages, scholarships, and student and small business loans.

Stay tuned for even more great results and impact from Stepping Stones—The Women’s Foundation’s long-term initiative focused on helping low-income, single mothers achieve economic security. Evaluation results for the first two and a half years of Stepping Stones will be available in April.

If you are a Grantee Partner and would like to recommend clients for enrollment in the CAAB IDA program, please contact Emily Appel by email or at 202.419.1440 for more information.

Modified paid sick and safe days bill passed in D.C.

Posted on by Karen Minatelli

For those of you who have been tracking the legislation around the paid sick and safe days bill at the DC Council, I wanted to provide an update of what happened Tuesday during the Council’s vote.

The Council voted unanimously to pass the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act, and the Mayor has announced that he plans to sign the bill. This puts D.C. as the second place in the country (San Francisco was first) to have a law requiring employers to provide paid sick days to their workers.

It also makes D.C. the first place in the nation to require paid safe days, which victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking can use to address their situations.

It is also important to note that before passing the bill, some Council members voted in support of a number of amendments that dramatically affect the bill’s impact and reach.

First, the Council voted to replace the bill’s definition of employee with the Family and Medical Leave Act definition of employee. In practical terms, this means that all workers will have to be on the job for at least 12 months, and have to have worked at least 1,000 hours (an average of 19 hours/week) before they are eligible for leave.

This is a major change from the previous version, where workers had to be on the job 90 days before being able to use leave. We were disappointed that some of our core supporters, who said they would not support amendments that go to the core of the legislation, voted in favor of this amendment.

Two other amendments exempted health care workers who participate in premium pay programs and wait staff. One of the main purposes of the bill was to address public health issues, so exempting these groups of workers is particularly troubling.

In addition, the Council adopted a hardship provision, which allows businesses to apply for exemption if they can prove hardship. The language in this amendment was quite vague, potentially leading to a large loophole. The Council also inserted a provision requiring an economic impact study and another that caps at $1000 the penalty for employers who willfully violate the posting requirement.

Two very problematic amendments were defeated.

The first would have changed the categories so that workers in businesses with up to 100 employees would earn only three days per year, and workers in larger businesses just five days.

The second would have exempted employees in businesses with 15 or fewer employees. Both of those were withdrawn when it became clear they lacked enough support to pass, so the final version has the following categories: three days for businesses with 1-24 employees; five days for businesses with 25-99 employees, and seven days for all others.

This is an important first step for the District and for workers, but the DC Employment Justice Center looks forward to a time when the city provides essential paid sick and safe time for all its workers.

Karen Minatelli is the deputy director of DC Employment Justice Center, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.

Read more about how this bill impacts women here.

DCWA: Plan to purge up to 57,000 from affordable housing wait list needs more time, outreach.

Posted on by Debbie Billet-Roumell

The DC Women’s Agenda is very concerned over the DC Housing Authority’s plan to purge the waiting list for the Housing Voucher Program. The DC Housing Authority (DCHA) is attempting to reach the 57,000 families by mail in a two-month period and if the family does not respond by March 11th, 2008, the family will be taken off the wait list.

Many of these very low-income families, the majority who were making less than $30,000 at the time of their application, are transient and/or homeless.

Some of them have been on the waiting list for over seven years.

DCHA is using the address placed on the application for the voucher to locate these families. In many cases, the address was a temporary shelter or that of a relative who has long since moved without a current forwarding address. DC shelters do not have the resources to make thousands of calls to track these families down and certainly cannot undertake this task on such a short timeline.  And, in some instances, these families are fleeing domestic violence and are currently in a shelter with an undisclosed address.

The DC Women’s Agenda is recommending that the DCHA extend the timeline for one year and establish a plan in consultation with service providers to the homeless to include public service announcements, posters in the metro and buses and other methods of communication.

Debbie Billet-Roumell is Coordinator of the D.C. Women’s Agenda, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.  The DC Women’s Agenda is a local advocacy and policy coalition, comprised of a broad group of organizations and individuals, to promote the advancement of equality health and well-being of women and girls in Washington, D.C. The DC Women’s Agenda is chaired by the DC Employment Justice Center and Wider Opportunities for Women–both of which are also Grantee Partners of The Women’s Foundation

Why child care is good business.

Posted on by HyeSook Chung

Quality child care is critical in the development of local economic development. Investments in quality child care programs that support parents, promote the health and safety of children and improve access to high-quality child care help everyone, including businesses.

Looking at child care and early education from the economic development lens – here are some facts:
    • For every $1.00 invested in quality child care and early education programs, there is a long-term benefit of $7.00 in public savings by increasing the likelihood that children will stay in school and become employed, and by reducing dependence on public assistance (High Scope Perry Preschool project in Ypsilanti, Michigan).
    • Every state dollar invested in child care and early education programs leverages $3.00 in federal funds, and each new federal dollar generates almost $2.00 in economic activity (Investing in the Child Care Industry: An Economic Development Strategy for Kansas, Mid-America Regional Council).
    • The internal rate of return (the interest rate received for an investment consistent of payments and revenue that occur at regular periods) from child care and early educations programs exceeds the amount invested in them. (Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return, Rolnick and Grunewald, The Minnesota Fed Bank).

The Early Care and Education Collaborative is a project of The Women’s Foundation and a partnership of private and corporate philanthropies. This partnership offers a unique opportunity for donors and nonprofit organizations to make a critical difference in the lives of women and their young children.

The Early Care and Education Collaborative will work to improve the access to quality, affordable early care and education for low-income, women-headed families in the Washington metropolitan area. It invests in local organizations–Grantee Partners–to improve early care and education through grantmaking and training and technical assistance.

PNC Bank, an ECE Collaborative partner, has made a commitment to child care and early education and is recognizing the importance of subsidized child care as a work support.  In a Washington Business Journal editorial, "Subsidized child care is good business", Mike Harreld, Regional President of PNC Bank, Greater Washington, D.C. area, says, “When low-income working parents are forced to leave the work force, not only do they and their children suffer an immediate loss of pride, income and quality early learning experiences — our companies and communities lose as well.”

In the winter of 2002, 89 percent of the 9.8 million preschools of employed mothers and 31 percent of the 8.2 million preschoolers of non-employed mothers were in at least one child care arrangement on a regular basis (Household Economic Studies, US Census Bureau). 

Child care has become the “norm” for young children. Interest in the use of child care has grown as more and more low-income women are entering the labor force. Child care options and costs associated in selecting “quality” child care are important issues for all working women, as well as relatives, child care providers, policy makers, and anyone concerned about young children!

Access to quality child care for low-income women is not only necessary for economic sufficiency, but also for long-time sustainable economic success. The Women’s Foundation focuses attention on the necessity of low-income women’s access to quality early child care and education. This access is essential for the easy transition for women for the work force, ensuring children are ready for school, and helping to establish the viability of the regional business community.

In his article, Harreld states, “As employers, we count on reliable employees who are fully focused and ready to work. This can only happen when employees know their children are safe and in good care during the workday.”

Additional resources about the economic impact of child care in Washington, D.C. region:

The Insight Center worked with the CityBridge Foundation and the Center for Applied Research and Urban Policy at the University of the District of Columbia to analyze the economics of the District’s ECE system and make recommendations for strengthening the industry. At the release of the report on June 18, 2007, Mayor Adrian Fenty, City Council Chairman Vincent Gray, and D.C. Chamber of Commerce President Barbara Lang spoke of the economic importance of ECE and committed to working to make it stronger.

Executive Summary

Full report

America’s Edge is a national non-profit organization established in 2007 to help engage leaders of the business community more extensively in support of local, state, and national efforts to improve the quality of public education. In a global economy, the ability of American businesses to compete depends on the talent, knowledge, and skills of employees at every level; and the demands are rapidly changing. The availability of competent employees depends substantially on the quality of public education in the communities where they work. To develop those talents and to produce the knowledge and skills required in the 21st Century, that education needs to be of high quality and must begin at the earliest years of a child’s life.

Fairfax Futures was launched in June 2004 at the Early Learning is Good Business Summit to highlight the importance of investing in quality early childhood education as an important investment in the future of Fairfax County.  Through the generous support of the Freddie Mac Foundation and strong commitment from Fairfax County’s Office for Children, Fairfax Futures launched a dialogue between early childhood educators who work with our county’s youngest residents. In April 2005, more than 200 early childhood educators came together to talk about building a common framework for school readiness. (Summary of the Early Learning Symposium).  Fairfax Futures continues to build partnerships with the business community, public sector agencies, early childhood educators, community organizations and families who support the school readiness of Fairfax County’s youngest residents and, as a result, help to guarantee the economic and social vitality of the county.

HyeSook Chung is currently working as a consultant with The Women’s Foundation on their child care and early education work.

Looking at the mortgage crisis through a gender lens.

Posted on by carolee

Staff from homeless shelters and advocates for the homeless spent much of yesterday canvassing the metropolitan area for a “point in time” study to get a count on the region’s homeless population, and to learn more details about their needs and challenges.

Laurel Advocacy and Referral Services (LARS), a Washington Area Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner, participated in this study and was highlighted in today’s Washington Post article, "A Growing Desperation: Housing, Economic Slumps May Portend Rise in Ranks of Region’s Homeless, Survey Shows."

Studies such as this are important because they allow service providers to get a handle on the rising homeless population and help to guide their services based on real data collected on the numbers of people they serve. It helps them make their case.

And it shows the continued, powerful fallout from the mortgage crisis – from the huge impact on homeowners with subprime loans, who are disproportionately women, to workers in the service and construction industries.

As the Washington Post piece explains, these families are “doing the right thing,” but the weakening economy is hitting very close to home for the already vulnerable women in the Washington region – more than half of families living in poverty here are headed by single mothers.

At times like this, it is important to recognize and support the work of organizations like The Women’s Foundation’s Grantee Partners, such as LARS, who provide vital services to low-income women and their families in our community.

Other resources on this issue and its impact on women are:
Buying for Themselves: An Analysis of Unmarried Female Homebuyers

Women are Prime Targets for Subprime Lending: Women are Disproportionately Represented in High-Cost Mortgage Market (Press release) (Report)

Learn more about our Grantee Partners and how you can be involved in their work and make a difference in women’s lives.