Two-year project focuses on moving local low-income women and their families out of poverty

            It’s a fact: Single women head 15 percent of families in Montgomery County, Maryland.  But, these same families account for nearly half of the county’s families that have incomes below the federal poverty line.

            To focus attention on the issue and to help move low-income mothers and their families out of poverty, the Montgomery County Commission for Women (CFW) has developed the 2009 Mothers and Poverty Agenda for Action that recommends policy changes to help poor, single mothers and their children.

The Commission for Women introduced the Agenda on June 10 to be held at the CFW offices,401 N. Washington Street, Suite 100, in Rockville.  

            The Agenda for Action is the result of two years of work by the Commission’s Mothers and Poverty (MAP) Committee which was formed in 2007 to address the issues facing low-income single mothers. MAP Committee Chair Tedi Osias will present the Agenda.

            “They may live in the shadows of our otherwise affluent community, but single women with young children face tremendous obstacles on their road to self-sufficiency.  Our report maps a path for ending poverty for these moms and their kids,” said Osias.

Objectives

When it was created, the Mothers and Poverty Committee established several objectives:

·         Understanding why single mothers are so over-represented among the poor;

·         Identifying services, programs and policies to address the needs of single mothers living below the poverty level; and

·         Advocating the implementation of those services, programs and policies.

Commission for Women report on mothers and poverty                           

The MAP Committee began its work on this issue by hosting three public forums in the spring of 2008 which brought together researchers, advocates, service providers, recipients of services and other experts in the field.  Following these forums, the Committee conducted research on the specific issues that have the greatest impact on the lives of low-income single mothers and their families.  The end result is the Agenda for Action.

Agenda Structure and Policy Recommendations

The Agenda addresses six critical categories: Education, Employment, Child Care, Income Supports, Health Care and Housing.  Each category includes facts and figures highlighting the importance of the issue, as well as policy recommendations.  The policy recommendations include:

·         Education: 1) Provide incentives and supports for low-income women to earn four-year college degrees; 2) Establish incentives and programs that encourage young women to pursue careers in science, technology, math and engineering.

·         Employment: 1) Increase the minimum wage to a living wage; 2) Implement the recommendations of the Maryland Pay Equity Commission; 3) Enact legislation requiring all workers to have at least five days of paid sick leave per year; 4) Encourage employers to allow flexible work schedules for all workers, regardless of income levels.

·         Child Care: 1) Modify child care subsidy programs so a low-income family is required to spend no more than 10 percent of its income for child care; 2) Expand after-school programs; 3) Simplify the rules for dependent care flexible spending accounts.

·         Income Supports: 1) Conduct an outreach campaign to inform eligible workers about the EITC; 2) Require employers to inform eligible employees about the Earned Income Tax Credit; 3) Permanently restore federal funding for child support enforcement.

·         Health Care: 1) Improve reproductive health care and family planning services for low-income women covered by Medicaid; 2) Until comprehensive, affordable health care for all is available, raise the income eligibility level for public health care so more people are covered.

·         Housing: 1) Increase the number of vouchers available in the Housing Choice Voucher program; 2) Increase the number of authorized participants in the federal Family Self-Sufficiency Program (administered in Montgomery County by the Housing Opportunities Commission).

            For more information about the Mothers and Poverty Agenda for Action or to become involved, call 240-777-8330.  Copies of the agenda will be distributed to participants at the program, and the full report will be available online, beginning June 11, at the Commission for Women website,http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/cfw/Publications/mapagendaforaction.pdf

            For more information about the Montgomery County Commission for Women, visit our website at: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cfw.