The Verdict Is In: Stimulus Funding Kept Rising Poverty at Bay

If there was ever any doubt that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) had a positive impact on the economy and those facing grave economic insecurity, a new report indicates that those doubts can now officially be put to rest.

Recent analysis of data from the US Census Bureau shows that thanks to the temporary expansion of our social safety net under ARRA, more than 4.5 million people were kept out of poverty in 2009 -- making ARRA, "one of the single most effective pieces of antipoverty legislation in decades," according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

For those who struggled most profoundly through this economic crisis -- including women and people of color, who were disproportionately affected by the tanking economy -- we now know these funds irrefutably made a difference, putting more money in the pockets of everyday Americans to keep them above the poverty line and providing vital connections to much needed social services and work supports (think child care, early education, health care and the like). But despite the major wins that ARRA achieved, its effects may end up being short-lived -- thanks to the "natural" expiry of ARRA funds and Conservative efforts to block spending on these important services going forward.

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Child Care Subsidies, Early Education Still at Risk -- Congress Must Act Now

Child care is not an abstract issue. Every day, millions of families in the US rely on -- and pay for -- others to care for their children so that they can hold down jobs, pay the rent and put food on the table. For many low-income families, child care programs that are subsidized by federal and state funding, along with programs like Head Start and Early Head Start, provide the only means by which to access care -- and, consequently, to hold down a job. For them, these are the programs that make work, and any modicum of economic justice, possible. 

But across the country, these programs are in danger. Before the members of 111th Congress depart for their final holiday break, they must decide whether to continue funding subsidized child care services and early childhood education programs, or as Ms. Foundation grantee the National Women's Law Center has put it, leave hundreds of thousands of children "out in the cold."

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Act Now: Call on Congress to Preserve Child Care for Hundreds of Thousands

Back to work after Thanksgiving, Congress is about to make a number of crucial votes that will affect the economic security and well-being of women and families: chief among them the renewal of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Head Start. CCDBG provides federal funding for state-administered child care subsidies and initiatives that improve the quality and accessibility of child care for low-income families, while Head Start provides early education opportunities to pre-schoolers.

Congress has until Friday, December 3 to re-approve these programs. But renewing at current funding levels is simply not enough. Economic stimulus funds that bolstered support for child care and Head Start are about to run out. If Congress doesn’t carry over this additional funding, over 300,000 children would be affected, dealing a devastating blow to families already struggling to survive the ongoing economic crisis.

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Grantee Report Reveals Critical Shortcomings in Use of ARRA Funds

Ms. Foundation grantee Community Voices Heard is holding the New York City Housing Authority's feet to the fire over stimulus money that was intended to save public housing and help put its residents to work, but as yet has done little of either.

In 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Housing Authority was awarded $423 million to make essential repairs to Section 3 public housing, and to provide badly needed job opportunities to some of New York's more than 30,000 unemployed public housing residents. But almost two years later, few repairs have actually been undertaken and less than 7 percent of the jobs created by these planned construction projects have been awarded to the residents they were intended to support -- despite the fact that federal regulations stipulate that a full 30 percent of these jobs must be awarded to housing development residents.

In their new report "Bad Arithmetic: The Failure of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Recovery Funds to Create Jobs for Local Residents," [pdf] Community Voices Heard uncovers some troubling trends regarding how this stimulus funding -- 60 percent of which must be spent by March 17 of 2011 -- is (or is not) being used. Based on a community audit of more than 300 public housing residents in eight developments across New York City, they found that,

• 81% of public housing residents were unaware that ARRA funds had been allocated to their residence
• Only 1% of those surveyed were working on a Section 3 project
• Just 7% of those surveyed knew anyone working on a Section 3 project

Moreover, the audit found that that "most NYCHA residents were unaware of federal regulations requiring contractors to hire residents when they receive money from HUD, and the vast majority had not seen or heard about job opportunities for the construction planned for their buildings."

To highlight these discrepancies and draw attention to the need for public housing residents to be more broadly included in the jobs created by ARRA funding, Community Voices Heard (CVH) held a press conference last week to insist, among other things, that "30% of the hours worked on renovation projects be done by workers who are residents" going forward.

As one of the Ms. Foundation's Gender, Jobs and Justice grantees, CVH understands that the ongoing economic crisis presents a critical moment of opportunity to advance social change. By putting those who are directly affected by the economic crisis and most marginalized from the centers of power (often women) at the forefront of creating powerful solutions, CVH is working to build a truly "new" economy -- one that takes seriously the needs of women and families, and values communities' contributions to solving the problems at hand.

Learn more about how CVH is pushing to improve and save New York City's public housing developments through their important Public Housing Campaign.

Ms. Foundation Grantee Leads "Recovery Tour" in New York State

Remember the $787 billion our federal government earmarked to help "jumpstart" the economy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (or ARRA)? Ever spent any time thinking about what's become of that money and whether it's working? In New York State, Ms. Foundation grantee Community Voices Heard is providing some much needed answers to those questions by showing officials first-hand how federal dollars are --and aren't --helping to stimulate growth in local communities.

CVH is an organization made up primarily of women with welfare experience, working improve the lives of families and communities throughout New York State. On July 28th they led a day-long "Recovery Tour" of New York State, stopping in four communities where they have chapters to show the impact public investment under ARRA has had on low-income communities. Representatives from the NYS Senate, the NYC Housing Authority, the NYS Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet and the NYS Department of Labor -- along with council members from a number of local districts -- participated in the tour.

Traveling from New York City, through Yonkers, on to Newburgh and then Poughkeepsie, participants visited public housing developments, transitional jobs programs, soup kitchens, road reconstruction projects and the site of a future transportation hub -- all sustained through the allocation of ARRA funds to these communities.

However, the visit also made clear just how much work is left to be done, and how many communities continue to struggle under the weight of the continuing recession. In Newburgh, residents pointed out how a "home rehabilitation" loan program had failed when few applicants were approved for loans. "Some of the money definitely could have been spent differently [here]," noted CVH leader Brenda McPhail.

CVH board member Agnes Rivera underscored the need for continued, strategic investment in these communities if any version of success is to be forthcoming. "Low-income communities have been suffering long before the current economic downturn and the first round of stimulus funding wasn't even enough to fill the gap of what the recession created," she said. "We are going to need more substantial public investment in job creation and funding for critical programs if all of our communities are going to recover and New York State is going to get on safe footing."

CVH members didn't let the day end without taking direct action to ensure that federal government continues to invest in struggling communities in New York State: the group placed a number of calls to US Senator Chuck Schumer's office, encouraging him to sign on to the Local Jobs for America Act, which would bring upwards of 50,000 jobs to New York State. (Senator Kristen Gillibrand has already stepped up as a co-sponsor of the bill.)

Talk about democracy in action!

For more information about how Community Voices Heard is helping to empower underserved communities, please visit their website.

Request for Proposals for Economic Justice and ARRA Implementation

The Ms. Foundation for Women is pleased to announce an Open Request for Proposals for Economic Justice and ARRA Implementation.

The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009 made hundreds of billions of dollars available for economic stimulus for infrastructure investment, job training and creation, and funds for extending unemployment and emergency benefits, just to name a few. Since then, states and municipalities have exercised wide discretion in choosing which reforms to implement and which funds to accept, and a lack of transparency and accountability has prevented dollars from reaching communities most in need.

The Ms. Foundation’s priority is to ensure that women, particularly low-income women and women of color, who have been disproportionately impacted by the economic recession, benefit to the greatest degree possible from ARRA implementation.

In this Request for Proposals, the Ms. Foundation seeks to complement our overall grantmaking for economic justice by supporting two specific areas of ARRA implementation, both with significant long-term impact on the meaningful participation of low-income women and women of color in the economy:

• Expanding the availability of affordable child care and improving the quality of child care jobs.
  
  
• Securing training and job set-asides for women in emerging green sectors.

The deadline for all applications is Monday 29 March 2010, 2:00 p.m. EDT.

More details and a full application packet.

See Sara Gould's recent post on ARRA, Child Care, Green Jobs and Grassroots Advocacy.

Sara K. Gould on ARRA Anniversary: Child Care, Green Jobs, Grassroots Advocacy Are Key

Today, on the first anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Sara K. Gould, Ms. Foundation President & CEO, shares her thoughts on the National Council for Research on Women's Real Deal blog about ARRA's impact to date and what else is needed to ensure real and lasting security for women, families and communities. She begins:

ARRA has provided a crucial injection of support to states during the worst of our nation’s current economic crisis. Take child care, for example: several states have used the funding to prevent budget cuts; some have reduced waiting lists for subsidized child care; and others have worked to improve the quality of child-care delivery.

That said, a lack of transparency and accountability has prevented grassroots organizations from accessing ARRA funding and assessing the extent to which it has alleviated economic insecurity in their communities. States have had considerable leeway in choosing which funds to accept and which reforms to implement; as a result, billions of dollars have yet to reach those most in need, especially low-income people, people of color and women.

Moving forward, we can do better. In addition to improving transparency and accountability, there should be a greater role for grassroots organizations who know best how to stabilize local communities. We should also bolster support for grassroots policy advocacy. It’s not enough to keep existing programs afloat; we need to continue to transform policies to make them work better for more people, well into the future. Read More

Sara's post is part of the Real Deal blog's Forum on Economic Recovery Act.

Update (22 February 2010)
The Ms. Foundation announces an open call for proposals for Economic Justice and ARRA Implementation.