Browse By Policies & Programs

• Cash Assistance

  Cash Assistance is provided to families through TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and administered through Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare.  TANF provides money for dependent children and their parents or other relatives with whom they live, and for pregnant women. To be eligible for TANF, families must have very low income and meet other requirements. County Assistance Office staff can provide more information. Individuals can only receive Cash Assistance for 60 months (five years) over the course of their lifetime, although some exceptions apply.

   

  Employment Opportunities

  Anyone who receives Cash Assistance and is able to work must participate in employment or training programs for a certain number of hours each week.  After meeting with a caseworker at the local County Assistance Office, the participant completes an initial job search at a neighborhood EARN Center. Here participants decide which programs will best help them find a job, given their work history, skills, level of education, availability of transportation, and child care arrangements. 

   

  Transportation

  TANF recipients who are enrolled in a school, job training program, or EARN Center are eligible to receive a car fare stipend—enough for a weekly or monthly transportation pass to get them to and from work. Those who do not attend a program sponsored by the County Assistance Office for various reasons—they must stay home to take care of very young children or children with medical conditions, for example—often struggle to pull together the bus fare to get to an appointment or job interview.

   

  Wages

  Once recipients get a job, they still have to figure out if their wages will be enough to support their family with the added expenses of child care and transportation.  TANF recipients who secure employment receive reduced Cash Assistance, either in a reduced TANF grant or in the form of Transitional Cash Assistance.  Participants and their children leaving TANF retain Medicaid eligibility for up to 1 year.

   

  Welfare Sanctions

  Receiving Cash Assistance has certain requirements and not meeting those requirements (such as failing to complete the required number of employment/training hours each week without "good cause") can result in sanctions. Sanctions usually mean a decrease in the amount of cash assistance that a family receives. Welfare sanctions have been shown to decrease food security and increase hospitalizations of young children ("Welfare Reform and the Health of Young Children"). Additionally, C-SNAP research has found that welfare sanctions negatively affect the health and well-being of young children ("The Impact of Welfare Sanctions on the Health of Infants and Toddlers").

   

   

  Child Care Assistance, Computer Access, Employment Opportunities, Transportation, Wages, Welfare Sanctions, Welfare to Work

• Child welfare

  Child welfare/child protection is used to describe a set of usually government-run services designed to protect children and encourage family stability. These typically include investigation of alleged child abuse ("child protective services"), foster care, adoption services, and services aimed at supporting at-risk families so they can remain intact ("prevention services" or "family preservation services"). In Philadelphia, Child Welfare is managed by the City’s Department of Human Services (DHS). The primary role of DHS is to protect children who are alleged to have been abused or neglected and to ensure their safety from immediate threats and impending dangers. The Children and Youth Division (CYD) provides child and family-centered services to nearly 20,000 children and their families each year.

  Child Support

  In family law and government policy, child support or child maintenance is the ongoing obligation for a periodic payment made directly or indirectly by a non-custodial parent to a custodial parent, caregiver or guardian, or the government, for the care and support of children of a relationship or marriage that has been terminated. Single parents, usually mothers, who receive TANF are required to cooperate with the state's collection of child support from the absent parent.  A portion of the child support income is passed through from the state to the TANF recipient, but the state keeps the remainder to cover some of the costs of providing TANF.  The policy requiring TANF recipients to cooperate with child support collection can be waived in cases of domestic violence.

  Child support

• Education and Opportunity

  We believe that all of the mothers and children involved in the project have the right to further their educations and explore different career and enrichment opportunities that suit their interests and skills. The extent to which their potential can be realized is shaped by several government policies and programs—beginning with early childhood education, continuing through the public school system, opportunities for tertiary education at colleges or technical schools, and support with job searches and career planning.

   

  Child Care Assistance

  Child care assistance is part of the cash assistance program and can also be granted separately for parents who are low-income but do not receive cash assistance. In Philadelphia, Child Care Works will helps recipients find and pay for quality child care while they are on cash assistance and looking for a job, going to work or going to school. Parents have the right to choose the type of care their children receive, be it from a day care center, preschool or private babysitter. Those who do not receive cash assistance will be placed on a waiting list for CCIS (Child Care Information Services) for a child care subsidy to cover all or part of the cost of child care. When this system works efficiently, it allows parents of young children the opportunity to work and support their families without their income being drained due to the high cost of child care.

   

  Public School System

  All school-aged children living within the city of Philadelphia are required to attend Philadelphia public schools if they are not enrolled in a private or charter institution. Philadelphia public schools face the same challenges that many other public schools in urban centers struggle against: large class sizes, under-funding, and the co-occurring low student performance and violence. Any intervention to reduce poverty rates and increase the health and well-being of Philadelphians must include prioritizing primary and secondary education.

  Child Care Assistance, Enrichment & Recreation, Public School System

• Energy Assistance

  The high cost of heating a home for the winter is a great burden to Philadelphia’s low-income families. Being without heat in the middle of winter is a crisis, and families will do whatever they can to keep warm, including running a cooking stove to heat the house. The cost of fuel has risen sharply during the past few years, and this cost must compete with the other household necessities of food and rent. “Brining Children in From the Cold” outlines the negative impact of fuel and housing insecurity on children.  

  Emergency Utility Assistance

  Low-income residents of Philadelphia can access emergency utility assistance through the Utility Emergency Services Fund, a 501(c)(3) that helps to pay heating bills in the case that a heating utility is about to be shut off.  24-hour heating crisis assistance is also available in Philadelphia through the Energy Coordinating Agency.  

   

  Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

  The Pennsylvania Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program provides low-income Pennsylvanians with heating and energy assistance grants.  Income eligibility levels are higher than those for cash assistance, so many families don’t even realize that they qualify for LIHEAP.

  Emergency Utility Assistance, Low-income Heat and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

• Food and Nutrition

  Childcare Feeding Programs

  CACFP (Child and Adult Care Food Program) plays a vital role in improving the quality of day care for children and elderly adults by making care more affordable for many low-income families. Through CACFP, 2.9 million children and 86,000 adults in the United States receive nutritious meals and snacks each day as part of their day care. Because research has shown that nutrition in the first years of life has a profound effect on behavioral and cognitive development, this program plays a crucial role in improving the health and development of American children. See the CACFP website for more information on the effects of this program.

   

  Emergency Food Assistance

  Emergency food assistance is food that is typically distributed through food pantries, food banks, and soup kitchens.  Emergency food assistance provides groceries and/or hot meals to those in need at various locations, but supply is variable and distributers are often unable to meet the demand, especially given that more people are in need of food during these current economic conditions. Experts agree that emergency food assistance cannot be expected to fill the shortcomings of the food stamp allotment.  See the Hunger Coalition website for a list of emergency food providers in Philadelphia. 

   

  Food Stamps/SNAP

  Food stamps (renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) are used to buy food and help low-income households in the United States obtain more nutritious diets by increasing the food purchasing power at grocery stores and supermarkets for all eligible participants. Applicants must fill out an application form at the County Assistance Office or online and provide proof of identity, income, and expenses. Benefits are provided on an electronic card, called an EBT card, that is used like an ATM card and accepted at most grocery stores. Food stamps/SNAP are a much more stable and beneficial source of food than emergency food assistance, yet research has show that per-person food stamp allotments do not cover the cost of a healthy diet in America (see “Coming Up Short: high food costs outstrip food stamp benefits”). From an economic standpoint, food stamps have been shown to be the fastest way to stimulate the economy: $1 in food stamp allotment generates $1.73 in consumer spending (see this recent article in CNN).

   

  School Breakfast

  The School Breakfast Program (SBP) provides cash assistance to States to operate nonprofit breakfast programs in schools and residential childcare institutions. The program is administered at the federal level by the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service. State education agencies administer the SBP at the state level, and local school food authorities operate it in schools. The School Breakfast and School Lunch programs are a part of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, scheduled for reauthorization in September 2010. See the Food Research and Access Center for more information on the act and what you can do to improve funding for these programs.

   

  WIC

  The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods and infant formula, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. Forty-five percent of children born in the US participate in WIC, and the WIC program has been show to be beneficial to the health of infants (WIC Surveillance Study).

  Childcare Feeding Programs, Emergency Food Assistance, Food Stamps, School Breakfast, Women Infants and Children

• Health Care

  Insurance

  Most insured Americans get their insurance through their place of employment or through a family member’s place of employment. However, many small businesses, retail establishments and other industries do not provide insurance for their employees. In Pennsylvania, all children under the age of 19 have access to health insurance through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). However, adults who do not receive private insurance and who do not meet the income requirements for Medicaid often find themselves uninsured. Because the cost of medical care in the United States is prohibitively expensive, the uninsured are often forced to neglect treatable health problems and the cost of medical care or prescriptions can mean that families are unable to pay for other necessities, such as rent, utilities, and food.

   

  Medicaid

  Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. Among the groups of people served by Medicaid are eligible low-income parents, children, seniors, and people with disabilities. Being poor, or even very poor, does not necessarily qualify an individual for Medicaid.  Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for people with limited income in the US.

   

  Sick Leave

  Sick leave is an employee benefit in the form of paid leave which can be taken during periods of sickness, to attend doctor visits, or to care for family members. Not all employers give sick leave as a benefit, and because many lower-income jobs pay at an hourly rate, sick time is usually not compensated. Parents, and especially single parents and those whose children have medical problems, often find that they must lose pay or even a job because they have to stay home to take care of sick children and take them to appointments.

  Behavioral Health, Insurance, Medicaid, Sick Leave

• Housing & Homelessness

  Empty Lots

  Empty lots—parcels of property with no housing or other structure—are often a sign of  urban neighborhoods in decline, without sufficient economic resources to sustain them. In many poor neighborhoods, empty lots become places where illegal activity can take place, trash gets disposed of, and in other ways is an eyesore for the neighborhood.

   

  Homelessness and Shelters

  Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people. Homeless shelters are usually open to anyone, without regard to the reason for need. Some shelters limit their clientele by gender or age. In the United States, most homeless shelters expect clients to stay elsewhere during the day, returning only to sleep, or if the shelter also provides meals, to eat. In Philadelphia, the Office of Supportive Housing (OSH) mission is to assist/prepare adults and families for self-sufficiency and independent living. OSH offers a network of shelters, boarding homes, and refers families, couples and single individuals to available housing resources. Living in a homeless shelter for several months to a year is often the only way that low-income families in need of affordable housing can get into limited subsidized and public housing in Philadelphia.

   

  Licenses and Inspections

  Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections administers and enforces the City's code requirements for the enhancement of public safety, including building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, fire, property maintenance, business, and zoning regulations. The department is empowered to take lawful actions necessary to correct dangerous and unlawful conditions, including making necessary emergency repairs to properties, cleaning and sealing abandoned buildings, and demolishing vacant buildings that pose a threat to public safety.

   

  Taxes

  The city and the school district of Philadelphia impose a tax on all real estate in the city. The Board of Revision of Taxes determines the value of the property on which the taxes must be paid. Real Estate Tax bills are sent out annually in December for the following year. Real estate tax payments are due and payable on March 31. The Department of Revenue offers two special payment plans covering current year tax for low income households. Many low income families in Philadelphia who own their homes are lucky to not have to pay rent, but they often face a heavy tax burden that is difficult to pay. Often back taxes are owed if the home was gifted from a relative, and the foreclosure notices that accompany such a debt eliminate the sense of housing security that owning a home should provide.

  Empty lots, Homelessness and Shelters, Licenses and Inspections, Repair Programs, Taxes

• Laws

   

  Drug Laws

  Many men living in inner-city neighborhoods, including several of the fathers of the children involved in Witnesses to Hunger, sell drugs to make a living. While this is clearly a criminal activity, and drug possession and distribution in Pennsylvania is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, many young men see drug dealing as their only opportunity in areas where education is sub-par, legitimate jobs are scarce and wages are low. Experts are divided on ways to tackle drug trade and addiction in the United States—some argue that tighter regulations are needed, while others argue that the drug trade is so lucrative exactly because it is illegal.

   

  Gun Laws

  Philadelphia remains one of the most violent cities in the United States, with 380 homicides in 2008 (which is a significant decrease from previous years). Stricter gun laws and police monitoring implemented by Mayor Michael Nutter in 2008 have been challenged by Pennsylvania state legislature—in a largely rural state, the gun lobby is strong and Harrisburg, the state capital, is distanced from the reality of gun violence within Philadelphia.

   

  Police Presence

  Police presence on the streets of Philadelphia has increased significantly since Mayor Nutter began implementation of his “Safety Now” crime reduction plan and declared a state of emergency in high-crime areas in early 2008. As a part of violence reduction efforts, police on foot patrol cover traditionally high-crime areas and the number of police on patrol has increased. This increase in police presence is met by varying responses from residents—some welcome the increased sense of security, others say that the police are ineffective; still others cite instances of police brutality, especially following the murders of several on-duty Philadelphia cops in 2008.   

   

  Prison and Ex-felons

  In 2008, the Pew Center on the States released a report revealing that 1 out of 9 black men aged 20 to 34 is in prison and more than 1 out of every 100 adult Americans is incarcerated—the highest incarceration rate in the world. And Philadelphia County has the highest incarceration rate in the country, with 602 per 100,000 people behind bars (Justice Policy Institute). With such a large percentage of the population serving or having served time in jail, the coexisting challenges facing Philadelphia are those of prevention and reintegration in a society reluctant to give criminals a second chance; Philadelphia is experimenting with programs that offer businesses a tax benefit for hiring ex-convicts because, as Mayor Nutter has said, “the best crime prevention is a good job.”

   

  Drug Laws, Gun Laws, Police Presence, Prison and Ex-Felons

• Streets

  Potholes/Street Defects

  While streets in disrepair might seem like the least of an urban neighborhood’s problems, they contribute to a sense by residents of those neighborhoods that they have been forgotten by the government. Incomplete or inefficient road repairs also pose a danger to children and disrupt traffic and bus routes.

   

  Sidewalks

  Again, broken sidewalks are an everyday reminder that the city doesn’t care about a neighborhood, and limit the mobility of families with children and strollers as well as those with physical disabilities. Sidewalks can be strewn with litter, drug paraphernalia, graffiti and even evidence of violence, reinforcing the message that the area is unsafe.

   

   Trash and Recycling

  Some participants use the example of littering to explain a persistent “ghetto mentality”: people living in the “‘hood” have given up and don’t care about their surroundings because no one else seems to care about them. Those who try to make a positive impact in their neighborhoods are often met with overflowing trash bins and citations from the city for having trash cans out too long on the curb.

   

  Trees

  Trees provide fresher air and shade, and are often missing from low-income neighborhoods to the point where green spaces in the neighborhood are seen as suspect. Parks and green spaces improve moods and the well-being of children and adults, and children benefit from exposure to nature and safe places to play.

  Empty lots, Potholes/Street Defects, Sidewalks, Trash and Recycling, Trees

• Transportation

  Lack of reliable and affordable transportation can make a mother feel like a prisoner in her own home.  For other mothers, limited transportation options make going anywhere exhausting: taking the bus with a stroller and diaper bag, dropping the children at day care, getting back on the bus to go to work or an appointment.  Work or school programs that offer transportation or on-site child care are important to mothers.

  Public Transportation