The EITC, or Earned Income Tax Credit, has been known for over thirty years to be one of the more successful anti-poverty programs in the nation. The tax relief program is geared toward only workers earning income below a certain income threshold and is responsible for delivering much needed tax refunds to workers, who in turn use this money for medicine, rent, school supplies and food. Every year many people who are eligible for the tax credit in the U.S. and L.A. County fail to claim it, leaving behind billions in uncollected money. According to a 2008 research brief by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, one in five taxpayers in L.A. County claimed the EITC in the 2006 tax year- that is, 750,000 taxpayers in L.A. County. These residents received a total of 1.5 billion dollars in refunds. Where does all this refund money go? What are the implications when eligible people don’t claim the refund and in essence, ‘leave it on the table’?

A new report by the New America Foundation examines the consequences. Money that is not claimed is never spent on local businesses, which in turn never create new jobs that could have been.  In addition, potential local tax revenue from this forgone economic activity is never generated. The report does an excellent job of highlighting how we are all in the proverbial “same boat.” Even if you are not low income, and not receiving the tax credit, your community still benefits by the infusion of cash coming into your business, your neighborhood and in your infrastructure via tax revenues generated.

Among some of the findings:

• L.A. County left over 370 million dollars in unclaimed refunds in year 2006. This meant a loss of over 440 million dollars to the economy in foregone sales.
• Over 2,700 jobs were not created due to this loss to the economy. This translates into over 123 million dollars in forgone wages.
• The EITC is particularly important in L.A. County because it has a higher level of poverty than the state and the nation- nearly 40% are considered low income. L.A. County has a lower median income compared to other large metro areas, and has a higher proportion of minorities (a constituency which claims the EITC in no small numbers).

If poverty prevention as well as alleviation is to be a public policy goal for our communities, then EITC expansion and funding for capacity and outreach is vital.  To learn about EITC outreach efforts in Los Angeles, visit http://www.greaterlaeitc.org/.

In the meantime, you may want to check out a post I did recently over at the Funders Together blog on “Exploring the Notion of Public-Private Partnerships to End Homelessness.” It reports on a meeting we organized recently to learn about models of cross-sector collaboration in Los Angeles and across the country.

Hasta pronto.

I look at the Business page because…..well, I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. Besides some obligatory stories on the latest techie tools that are going to revolutionize consumer electronics, here are a some sober headlines from the January 6 LA Times Business section:

“Lower number of new deals under contract shows shakiness in the housing recovery.”

“Mixed data on the recover stifle stocks.”

“Only 45% of workers are happy with their jobs, the lowest rate in 22 years, survey finds.”

“Banks take revenge for new consumer-protection rules”

The media has been looking for any good news where it can find it (worker productivity is up!), but unemployment is still high, housing and stocks are shaky, and workers and consumers are still taking it on the chin.

Here’s more bad news: I’m on my way to Chicago and the weather page says to expect a high of 23 degrees. However, when I get back to LA on Friday, it’ll be sunny and 72. I guess my daughter knows something I don’t: if you live in LA and want good news, check the weather.

Winners and losers will, of course, be decided on the soccer pitch, but how would these countries fare if their success were based on how well they meet the needs of their residents? The Human Development Index (HDI) is a widely used measurement of the quality of life in countries around the world. Using the HDI as a proxy for how countries would perform the World Cup (i.e. the country with the higher HDI wins each game), matchups in the second round would include (see table at the bottom for the most recent HDI for each of the countries in the World Cup, except North Korea):

Switzerland vs. Brazil
Italy vs. Japan
Portugal vs. Spain
Netherlands vs. New Zealand
Greece vs. Uruguay
Australia vs. England
U.S. vs. Germany
France vs. South Korea

Following the same logic, the quarterfinals matches would be:

Japan vs. Switzerland
Greece vs. Australia
France vs. U.S.
Netherlands vs. Spain

Australia would beat Japan in one semifinal and Netherlands would squeak by France in the other.

In the final, Australia would win over the Netherlands, giving the Socceroos their first World Cup title.

While Australia has been improving in recent years, I think I speak for most fans of the beautiful game in concluding that it’s a good thing that the HDI doesn’t determine the results on the field. Brazil, certainly one of the favorites to raise the cup, is ranked 23rd in HDI among the countries in the World Cup. Ivory Coast, with one of the lowest HDI rankings in the world (163rd out of 182), is the top team in Africa and a leading candidate to stage some major upsets.

While human development levels may be somewhat predictable and unsurprising, sport can be thoroughly unpredictable. Global inequalities persist, but soccer is the great equalizer.

Human Development Index for World Cup 2010 Countries

Source: Human Development Report 2009

How we approach an issue is most often shaped by personal experiences and relationships. This point was driven home for me again by a letter to the editor in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, in response to Gregory Rodriguez’s recent column belittling a Senator’s proposal to exclude the undocumented from the 2010 Census:

I am a lifelong Republican who voted for Richard Nixon in 1960, but have always been concerned about dehumanizing our immigrant families and workers in the U.S.

I got involved with the Day Workers Center in Laguna Beach originally to get these day laborers out of our neighborhoods. But I have come to know many of the workers. They are hardworking, believers in family values, honest and bent on improving their lives.

They do pay taxes. They do try to get their children educated. They do contribute to our local economy. More important, they teach our Anglo children the meaning of diversity and respect for difference.

Rodriguez is right in insisting that we recognize our productive noncitizen families and workers — not just because they enhance our population for congressional representation and federal spending allocations but because they belong to our local communities.

Carl Schwarz

Aliso Viejo

This guy started out wanting to get rid of day laborers, but in getting to know them he realized they just wanted the same things he did. Wouldn’t it be great if more people would take a chance to get to know “those people” they put down so much? Maybe they’d realize they’re really just a lot like “us.”

The pattern is to curtail financing for services that might help the poor while ramping up law enforcement: starve school and public transportation budgets, then make truancy illegal. Shut down public housing, then make it a crime to be homeless. Be sure to harass street vendors when there are few other opportunities for employment. The experience of the poor, and especially poor minorities, comes to resemble that of a rat in a cage scrambling to avoid erratically administered electric shocks.

We certainly see this how we treat the homeless in our society. A recent report called “Homes Not Handcuffs” highlights the fact that cities across the nation are creating punitive measure against the homeless (e.g. for sitting or sleeping in public places) without providing adequate shelter or places to live. Overall, 4 out of 10 homeless persons in the U.S. are “unsheltered.” In Los Angeles, 8 out of 10 are unsheltered, partly explaining why the report listed the City of Angels as the “meanest city” toward the homeless.

Latin America has some of the highest levels of inequality in the world. According to the 2007/2008 Human Development Report, the ratio of income controlled by the richest 10% to the poorest 10% in the U.S. is 15.9 (in Japan it is 4.5 and in Finland 5.6). In contrast, in Ecuador it is 44.9, in Brazil it is 51.3, Colombia 63.8, and Bolivia a whopping 168.1. With such high levels of unequal distribution of income, it isn’t surprising that crime is also on the rise.

Without a recent history of civil war or military oppression as in other Latin American countries, Ecuador was previously seen as an oasis of relative tranquility. When I lived here in the early 1990s, I travelled throughout the capital city and the country on bus and on foot, and was never robbed or really even felt insecure, though I did take common sense precautions because I knew that petty crimes were somewhat common. Each time I come back, however, I hear stories of increasing insecurity and even violent crime.

Several years ago, I was stunned by the explosion of fancy shopping malls in Quito, with prices at or higher than those in the U.S., and I couldn’t help but wonder what would be the psychological effects of a globalized consumerism out of the reach of the masses would be on society. Having access to better goods and services is a good thing, but in this case having all the latest toys and luxury items thrown in your face but without the educational and economic opportunities to afford them could only lead to problems, I reasoned.

On one of our first days here, I got to experience these contradictions first hand. Due to the vision of some dedicated municipal leaders and transportation planners, Quito has made some positive improvements in public transit, namely the electric Trolebus, which runs from the north to the south of the city and gets about 200,000 riders everyday. It’s a convenient way to get through the increasingly congested city, and we decided to take it to a new children’s museum (El Museo Interactivo de Ciencia). The museum was wonderful, engaging for both our 6 and 9 year old, another example of many of the positive artistic and cultural developments in Quito in recent years. On the trip back, however, my sister-in-law had her wallet taken from her purse in the crowded Trole, putting a damper on the day. We were conscious of the risk and careful but were not able to avoid this unfortunately common occurrence.

These problems are not unique to Ecuador or Latin America, of course (and shouldn’t discourage anyone from visiting them because there are so many wonderful places and things to experience). But they should also provide caution to societies like the U.S. that are experiencing growing social and economic disparities. Inequality may be good for a few for awhile, but the social disintegration that will likely prevail eventually isn’t good for anyone.

• There are more than 500,000 in foster care in the U.S., at an average age of 10 years and an average stay of 28 months.
• About 20,000 youth “age out” of foster care each year.  Only half of these young people graduate from high school, and only 2 out of 100 will graduate from college.  A quarter will become homeless and almost a third will have no health insurance.  A third to half will be unemployed.

A number of years ago, I worked in a school for kids who had been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect.  Nearly all of the young people were very behind academically and had severe emotional and social problems.  Apathy and violence coexisted in these kids and could be manifested almost simultaneously.  One of the most wrenching things I’ve ever had to do was physically restrain a 6 year old kid because he was a danger to himself and others. It happened regularly that year that I worked at the school, a year in which I saw little, if any, progress in the kids.

More recently, I visited a project at a state university that provides scholarships and other support to young people who were previously in the foster care system.  Sitting down with several students, I got to witness living success stories.  Wounds and challenges were still evident; eye contact with them was difficult to achieve.  However, against all odds – without parents to send money or cookies, without a home to got back to over Christmas break – these young people are making it and have dreams for career and family.  It gave me hope that I hadn’t been able to feel during my work at the school.

I just got finished reading a book by someone who is an authority on foster care, in more ways than one.  Andrew Bridge’s book, Hope’s Boy, recounts his personal story from growing up in the foster care system in Los Angeles to graduating from Harvard Law School and having a successful career as an attorney and advocate for child welfare reform.  Having gotten to know Andrew personally over the last year, I was prepared to be touched by the details of his story.  I was less prepared, however, for the exquisite quality of his writing and ability to convey the strength of ties between a mother and her son, no matter the circumstances.

Andrew’s mother suffered from severe mental illness and was unable to care for him, leading him to be in the foster care system from age seven until graduating from high school.  The book doesn’t provide any easy answers as to why and how Andrew overcame the odds to become more than just a sad statistic.  He didn’t have a particularly supportive foster family, nor was there one mentor who steered him down the right path.  In many ways, his is a story of self-reliance, which he attributes largely to his mother.  Therapists working with children who have experienced abuse even from their own parents say that no matter the extent of their abuse, these kids always want to go back home.

After many years of faulting on the side of removing kids from their homes at the slightest sign of neglect, child welfare agencies more recently have explicit policies of “family preservation and reunification,” and foster care rolls are on the decline across the country.  This is overall a positive trend, as ultimately it is clearly better for kids to be with family than in foster care.  However, unless there are sufficient supports – from health and mental health to educational and economic – for these kids and their families, it could be simply another example of shifting the burden of a safety net from society to individuals.

If you are interested in learning more about the facts of foster care and how to improve outcomes for youth, check out website of Casey Family Programs, an operating foundation working to reduce the number of kids in foster care and improve outcomes for those who remain in care.

As California continues to release more prisoners, most will return to California communities, bringing with them a host of health and social needs. This raises key public health challenges, especially because ex-prisoners are returning to communities whose safety nets have already been severely strained. The RAND Corporation has just released a report to help California policymakers better understand the health care needs of those returning from prison to communities, which communities are disproportionately impacted by reentry, and the capacity of the health care safety net in those communities to handle them.

The full report and a press release are available, but several key findings emerge:

• California inmates bear a high burden of chronic diseases like asthma and hypertension and infectious diseases like hepatitis and tuberculosis—conditions that require regular use of healthcare for effective management—and their drug treatment and mental health care needs are even more pronounced.
• Certain counties and communities within California are disproportionately affected by reentry, which has implications in terms of targeting reentry resources to these areas.
• Most parolees—and, in particular, African-American and Latino parolees—return to disadvantaged communities where their needs for healthcare, housing, and employment, among other services, will be harder to meet.
• There are important gaps in the safety nets in those communities to meet parolee health care, drug treatment, and mental health care needs.
• Safety net providers, especially community clinics, are an important component of the safety net for parolees.
• Funding more clinics may help fill in geographic gaps in services.
• There is a need to better integrate the different treatment networks that provide services to the parolee population, particularly those for mental health, alcohol, and drug treatment.