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Home > Family Stability and Child Care | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Supporting stable, economically secure families helps develop our children and helps them become contributing members of the community. Generally, those families who are out of the economic mainstream—due to such factors as unemployment, disability, or chronic poverty—face greater challenges to achieving and maintaining stability and being able to meet the basic needs of their children. Public policy should provide assistance to needy families, end dependence by promoting job preparation and work, and enhance economic opportunities for families.
Family Income Offer incentives for people to work and provide meaningful resources for their own families. ■ Implement a 15% state earned income tax credit (EITC), funded with the investment of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state dollars in a timely manner. The EITC could also be funded by making it first in line for the funds from the income tax reduction fund. ■ Increase the state minimum wage to $6.85 per hour. The current minimum wage in Ohio is $5.15 per hour, well below a livable wage. In fact, a parent working full-time, year-round at minimum wage earns $10,712 annually, less than the federal poverty level for a family of two ($13,200 annually). Child Support ■ Provide work support assistance to non-custodial parents to increase their ability to work and pay child support. Food Security Increased resources must be made available for the growing population in need of food assistance. In any given week, over 207,000 Ohioans receive emergency food assistance through food banks and food pantries. Over 35% of these Ohioans are children under the age of eighteen.* The numbers are growing. ■ Increase state investments in food banks to provide emergency food and groceries to needy families. ■ Expand public and private partnerships which increase participation in federal nutrition programs, such as Food Stamp and Child Nutrition Programs, to promote food security and enhance working collaborations to expand access to additional populations. Temporary Assistance To Needy Families (TANF) All state TANF funds in possession of the state should be invested in families that are entitled to them. ■ All existing TANF funds should be invested in the populations they were originally intended for and these funds should be invested in a timely manner. ■ Increase the monthly TANF cash grant to help stabilize families with parents working in low-wage jobs. ■ An increase in the monthly TANF cash grant should be combined with an increase in the Earned Income Disregard in order to ensure that no TANF recipient loses assistance entirely until their income rises above the poverty level ($16,600 annually for a family of three). ■ Increase the number of TANF recipients receiving post-secondary education or job training to enable them to climb the job ladder and better support their families. Housing Families’ access to quality, affordable housing is essential to ensure that children grow up in a safe and stable environment. ■ Support the Housing Trust Fund and its housing investments that: • Increase working capital. ■ Lift the Housing Trust Fund cap to its maximum $80 to $90 million, which: • Will benefit an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 low-income Ohioans ■ Eliminate the use of funds above the cap that are currently used for purposes other than to assist low-income and homeless persons. * Hunger in America 2006, America’s Second Harvest, found on the web at www.oashf.org
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