Thinking Long-term to Reduce Poverty

I want to focus on poverty and how it affects millions of Americans. It is an enormous topic and there are numerous aspects to address, so this week we will look at practical ways to reduce it. Sometimes tackling an issue like this can be overwhelming and a person feels like quitting before they even really begin. But when we break things down into manageable ideas, it’s easier to digest things.

 I hope this is helpful because poverty is a systemic issue, meaning there are always different components leading to poverty that we sometimes never consider. So, here are some ideas that could feasibly help people who are living day to day transition towards a life where they can climb out of poverty.

1.  Preschool access for disadvantaged children.

By the start of kindergarten, poor children are already faring worse than their higher-income peers when it comes to cognitive abilities and behavioral problems. Expanding access to and the quality of preschool programs among poor children under the age of 5 could help address this.

 2. Address the “parenting divide” to promote early childhood development for disadvantaged children.

Data shows that economically advantaged parents invest more than money in their children. They also spend more productive time with their children than do economically disadvantaged parents, a trend that deepens the social and economic divide and contributes to poverty in America.

 3. Reduce unintended pregnancies for young women.

Children born to young, unmarried mothers in the United States face an elevated risk of poverty. A social marketing campaign designed to improve knowledge and attitudes about ways to prevent unintended pregnancies could make a real impact.

 4. Design effective mentoring programs for disadvantaged youth.

The need for mentoring programs is indisputable given that up to nine million children in the United States have no caring adults in their lives. Evidence shows that community-based programs, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, are most likely to be successful in improving subsequent labor market earnings among disadvantaged youth. These types of mentoring programs provide disadvantaged youth with opportunities that could propel them forward in life.

 5. Expand summer job opportunities for low-Income kids.

Summer jobs for high school students are not a new idea, but they can be a vital bridge to higher achievement by allowing young people to maintain some intellectual engagement outside of the classroom while gaining experience in the work force. The Department of Labor could take action to stimulate the creation of more summer youth employment programs for disadvantaged youth.

 6. Address the academic barriers to higher education.

Estimates suggest that more than one-third of all first-year students at higher education institutions take some form of remedial coursework in either English or mathematics, but this figure can be as high as 60 or 70 percent of students at some institutions. Students placed into remedial programs are often held back from taking college-level courses, and are effectively blocked from pursuing higher education. By improving the remediation process, we can better address individual students’ academic needs and increase the rate of college success.

 7. Expand apprenticeship opportunities for U.S. workers.

Formal apprenticeship programs to train workers have seen great success as a highly cost-effective way to train workers and increase lifetime earnings. The Departments of Labor and Commerce—along with state governments and Career Academies—can help fight poverty by expanding access to these programs among today’s workforce.

 8. Reward colleges for better preparing low-income students for high-paying jobs.

If public universities aren’t offering courses that lead to high paying work, they aren’t going to do as much to level the playing field for low-income students. By offering incentives for public universities to add courses focused on these areas, students could see their job opportunities rise considerably after graduation.

 9. Support working families by offering an updated refundable child-care credit.

The current federal child care support program—in particular, the Child and Dependent Care Credit—does not provide as much support as it could to those families at the bottom of the income distribution. Making the credit refundable and introducing a series of adjustments to better target the credit would magnify the impact for working families and increase employment for working mothers with young children.

 10. Make thoughtful minimum wage policy at the state and local levels.

Mandatory minimum wage levels have been an effective tool to combat poverty, and various state and local governments have set minimum wages over the federal level. A smart framework for adjusting minimum wages on a regional level would maximize the impact that minimum wage laws can have on poverty.