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July 17, 2012 | Another Battle in the War on Poverty?
It's been 50 years since The Other America, a seminal book on American poverty, was published. I was in high school, Kennedy had just been elected, and the newspapers were writing about the poor in America. It was the beginning of the 60's, a decade of fights for civil rights, the war on poverty, and a time when women, communities of color, and the young were demanding a seat at the table.
Some dismiss the 60's war on poverty and claim that poverty won. But is it true? Actually the war on poverty and a decade of economic growth helped reduced child poverty rates. But poverty rates have begun to rise again, as evidenced by the annual federal report on America's Children in Brief. And a recent National Poverty Center report found that households living in extreme poverty in America today are trying to survive on $2 a day per person.
Inspired by the 50th anniversary of Harrington's book, more than 200 advocates and experts gathered in Washington, DC, for a conference to discuss poverty in the 21st century.
When it comes to poverty, many blame the victim: the adult who cannot or will not get or keep a job, the mom who makes bad choices on junk food and expensive appliances. But Arloc Sherman, who has been studying poverty for years, says the system is to blame.
Conservative Michael Gerson says the condition of poverty is no longer a way station for immigrants and low-wage families, but a "caste" where poverty wages mean hard work offers no way out.
As for the young, a new report from Young Invincibles predicts the effects of the Great Recession's attack on job prospects for young adults is likely to continue, limiting earnings and future prosperity for this generation.
Most of us don't like to think about poverty and the plight of our neighbors trying to raise a healthy child on $2 a day. All the more reason those seeking election should do some serious thinking for us. Poverty for working families is a national problem, and a national disgrace.
The suffering of impoverished parents should weigh not just on the personal conscience, but on the national conscience, and especially on the consciences of those who are asking to lead us.
As David Brooks said last week, politicians should spend "less time trying to exploit class divisions and more time trying to remedy them."
Jan Richter
We want your feedback and ideas. Email jan@sparkaction.org.
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@Demos_org: It's not "austerity vs. social services" it's "social services to boost the economy"
#whypoverty
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| Quote of the Week  
"But even as health improves, thanks to research conducted and applied, we are raising more children in poverty. Along with the important potential ill effects of poverty in the short-term, there is a potential adverse effect on personal advancement and educational attainment over the longer term."
Check out some good and bad news in the complete report.
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| Poverty - A Serious Response to a Serious Problem
Inspired by the 50th anniversary of Michael Harrington's The Other America, more than 200 poverty advocates and experts gathered in Washington, DC, on July 10 for a conference to discuss poverty in the 21st century. SparkAction's Alison Waldman shares her insights.
If you want a history of child poverty and responses to it, check out a recent blog by SparkAction Update editor, Jan Richter.
TANF's ending of guaranteed cash assistance fit well the needs of many families when jobs were plentiful, but it has failed as a secure safety net for families during a time when jobs are scarce. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports on the Obama Administration's new waiver regime to allow states to adjust their welfare systems to meet the needs of today's economy.
No End in Sight?
Young Invincibles estimates that the economy is missing 2.7 million youth jobs that would have existed had the recession never occurred. As Rory O'Sullivan says, "We know that investments in youth initiatives like AmeriCorps can get young people back to work and back on track. We just need political leaders with the will to enact necessary solutions."
Teen Summer Job Blues
 "I want to believe that hard work pays off," Providence teen Mario Cardoza tells WKCD. "That's what my family taught me. But after weeks looking for a summer job, any kind of job, I guess you'd say my faith is evaporating in the summer heat." Read more about this summer's job experience for many teenagers in this WKCD report.
Improving Economic Security of Youth in Foster Care
As foster youth age out of the foster care system, they could access critical public benefits, like SNAP, SSI and Medicaid, according to this Child Welfare State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center guide.
 The Senate and House will vote soon - maybe next week in the Senate - on Bush tax cuts for the richest 1 percent. Make sure they hear from you first! Contact your Senators and Representatives and tell them it's time for the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.
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| STEM - The Root for Successful Outcomes
The Afterschool-STEM Connection
Many of the solutions commonly proposed for the shortcomings of STEM education in the U.S. rely on schools doing the same things they've always been doing, only in greater quantity. But longer days and more and longer class periods won't necessarily yield better achievement, according to the Afterschool Alliance.
Making the Connections: OST Intermediaries Connect Kids to Expanded Learning Opportunities
With funding from the Wallace Foundation, the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems' survey of nonprofit coordinating organizations found that many intermediaries help expand funding and improve quality standards for local out-of-school programs. The report also found that intermediaries could do more to change policy and build data systems.
How to Integrate Literacy with STEM 
Can kids talk and chew gum at the same time? Sure, and Chris Roe and Ralph Smith say they can improve their reading skills while learning more science at the same time.
Support. Collaborate. Retain: Strategies for Improving STEM Teaching Crisis
Stop wringing your hands and do something to make a concrete difference. That's the message from Demos on how to attract and retain good teachers of math and science.
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| Improving Supports to Help Youth Heal
UCLA's Center for Mental Health in Schools argues that, given the accelerating policy attention to common core standards, establishing standards for student and learning supports is essential to move the field from its current marginalized status to a high-level priority.
 Many foster care advocates have argued that the single most important change in helping young people achieve a successful independent adulthood after foster care would be to extend benefits through age 21. California has done just that, and it is making a difference, but challenges for this at-risk population remain.
A program serving homeless youth, many of whom have experienced trauma, has found that neurofeedback procedures for relaxing the brain have been successful in helping young people heal.
This video makes visible the despair that plagues young people living in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
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| A Whole Village Approach to Improving Learning 
Teaching Kids to Have Some Grit and Life Skills
Youth Today describes the results of the National Research Council report on Education for Life and Work, which shows that students need to learn not just the three Rs, but also "21st century workplace" skills like problem-solving, collaboration and critical thinking.
Keeping Kids Academically Sharp During Summer
Are your kids bored with summer yet? The National PTA has good information for parents to keep their kids learning during the summer doldrums.
Harnessing Technology to Support Young Families: What States Can Do
 This Education Commission of the States brief advises states to harness technology to encourage collaboration across many sectors that typically sit in silos, including school districts, early learning programs, libraries, museums, after-school programs, adult education, and health services. It focuses on two approaches that would foster better services for children in a digital age: teacher effectiveness and library partnerships.
Creating Conditions in Poor Schools That Support Teaching and Learning
Education Trust says there are some common-sense ways to attract and keep talented teachers for impoverished schools.
What Does it Mean for College to be Affordable or Unaffordable?
The Institute for Higher Education Policy defines what "affordable" means in relation to higher education, and recommends that there be, in addition to better transparency and information on real college costs and benefits, adequate protections for student borrowers and grant aid and subsidies in the tax code that are better targeted to disadvantaged students.
Getting College Readiness Right 
Why is it that the pervasive discussions and definitions of college readiness focus almost exclusively on academics, when those working most closely with students see a much more complicated picture? Anderson Williams says we need to broaden our concepts of college readiness beyond academics.
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| Webinars 
In just the last few weeks, the Obama administration has approved 26 states for greater flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act, released a plan to improve career and technical education, and announced its Race to the Top District competition. Additionally, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have begun work on federal education spending bills. Get up to date with this Alliance for Excellent Education webinar.
July 19: The Critical Role of Families in Reducing High-Risk Factors and Promoting Well-Bring for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgendered, Questioning and Intersex Youth
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
July 26: Causes, Correlates and Pathways of Multi-System Involved Youth: Research, Data and What We Know
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
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Caitlin Johnson and Thaddeus Ferber
SparkAction and the Forum for Youth Investment
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