Senate Approves Extension of TANF Program

On November 19, the Senate approved a one-year extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, a federally funded block grant program to provide families in need with a combination of financial assistance and work opportunities. Coined “Welfare to Work,” TANF limits the amount of a time an individual can receive assistance with a goal to move families in poverty to work. To help these families move off welfare and into employment, they receive assistance for job training and job skills, and to reduce barriers to employment they receive assistance with transportation and childcare.

The bill now moves to the House, which is expected to pass the extension when they return from the Thanksgiving recess. The TANF program is currently operating under a two-month extension of the program to prevent its scheduled expiration in September.

The bill does not include an extension the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF)―passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009―which expired September 30, 2010.  Almost forty states, including South Carolina, used the ECF to support subsidized employment programs, offering vital job opportunities for low-income parents and youth and decreasing the TANF caseload. In partnership with the state workforce agency, the South Carolina Department of Social Services’ (DSS)  developed a subsidized jobs program that helps businesses get back on their feet while helping parents go back to work.  DSS has referred more than 1,000 people to this program, putting them in jobs and keeping them off welfare. The agency also assists parents with transportation, child care, work uniforms and required on-the-job tools, providing what is needed to move families off welfare and back to work. However, with the lack of funding, DSS will be forced to shut down these efforts.

As passed by the Senate, the legislation would limit funding for the regular TANF Contingency Fund and cancel out a provision under the continuing resolution Congress passed this fall that provided $506 million for the Contingency Fund through the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2011. The measure would extend authorization of TANF supplemental grants to eligible states through June 2011, but would limit funding to an amount equal to $490 million less the amount used to cover Contingency Fund obligations. Thus, marking the first time Congress has not fully funded the supplemental grant program.

What’s more, the bill imposes a 4% penalty for failure to submit two new required reports. Currently states are not required to track some of the data included in the new reports. Therefore, states will be expected to undertake significant additional administrative burdens at a time of limited resources and staff time.

As you may know the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina has been advocating for TANF reauthorization. Prior to TANF, funds were allocated based on a formula which required states to provide matching dollars to draw down federal funds. Thus, states with a higher tax base could draw down more federal funding. TANF is to help families TANF is to help families move from welfare to work; therefore, TANF funding should be based on need. Next year, our hope is that Congress re-examines the TANF program and alters funding to a distribution formula based on poverty. It would target federal dollars where they are most needed – to states with high poverty. A formula that equalizes the payments to states based on the percentage of each state’s population living in poverty would benefit 33 of the 50 states, including South Carolina. A formula based on poverty best matches the original intent of the TANF legislation, and is the most unbiased way to allocate new federal funds.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina will continue to watch this legislation and work with our Congressional delegation to be a voice for the underserved and those that serve the underserved. It is one way the Foundation can achieve its vision that South Carolina families have the resources to live out of poverty.

Brooke Bailey is the director of communications and public policy for the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina

Immigration Reform

The debate on immigration reform remains a very hot topic. It continues in Washington and is also part of the discussion in South Carolina. States like Arizona have passed their own immigration laws because of the stalemate in Washington. The U.S. Government must step forward with real immigration law reform before more states follow Arizona’s lead.  The President has given it a high priority but, without bi-partisan support, it is unlikely that legislation will be passed.

The current immigration law in the U.S. is nothing short of confusing and outdated.  We are essentially patched together using pieces of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. It is long past time to create a new law. 

According to the Immigration Policy Center, there are more than 180,000 undocumented immigrants in South Carolina.  This makes up about 4.4% of our state’s population.  Before determining what immigration reform needs to look like, let’s glance at some the economic data. Latinos (both foreign born and native born) wield nearly $3.8 billion in purchasing power in South Carolina. The Asian population makes up over $2 billion in purchasing power.  In the state of South Carolina, there are more than 3,000 Latino-owned businesses which employs more than 7,000 people and has annual sales in excess of $690 million. Many undocumented workers make up the workforce in agriculture, construction, housekeeping, restaurant and landscaping services to name a few. If all unauthorized immigrants left South Carolina, the state would lose more than $2 billion in economic activity, $782 million in gross state product and more than 12,000 jobs.

There is no denying that the immigration debate is complicated and divisive. Many children of immigrants were born here. Some immigrant children were brought here at a young age and know no other country. The vast majority of immigrants are contributing to their community with a strong work ethic and family values.

The answer to immigration reform is not to stop everyone on the street, ask for their papers, and if they are undocumented, ship them back to their home country.  First and foremost, it would be inhumane. Secondly, the cost would be exorbitant with no real way to pay for it, leading to an increase in our already skyrocketing debt. It is just not pragmatic. I am not suggesting that we open our borders and let everyone that wants to live in the United States enter freely. We have over 11 million immigrants without citizenship living in America now.  The Dream Act that was introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch is a good step forward. It allows young people who meet certain requirements to get an education and develop a pathway to citizenship.

True Immigration Reform will require compromise, practical thinking, fiscal responsibility and compassion. This country was founded by immigrants. That is how our forefathers got here in the first place. There are no easy answers but there is a way to make reasonable and thoughtful decisions in a bi-partisan manner. If we can have that kind of commitment to Immigration Reform, then we have a chance to do something meaningful and fix a broken system.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina

Assessing Poverty Through the Man on the Street

Sometimes when I am walking down the street and encounter a person that is homeless or poor, I find myself with an uncomfortable feeling. If there are a group of homeless people gathered, I may even cross to the other side of the street. This is not something I am proud of or consciously decide in advance. It just happens. The other day, I was walking downtown near dusk and I encountered such a person. His clothes were dirty; he was unshaven and unkempt. He was pushing a shopping cart and talking to himself. Actually, he was yelling. His cart was full with contents of soiled clothes, boxes, soda cans, plastic bags, magazines and newspapers. I quickly realized that he was oblivious to me and his shouting was intended for any and all to hear. As I uncomfortably walked by him, I thought about his life. He was in a totally different world than me. He is in a world where he measures his future hour by hour or day to day. He had no real concept of how his words or actions impact others. Moving passed him, I wondered how he had arrived at this juncture in life. Was it drugs or alcohol, sickness, mental illness, unemployment or other afflictions that render him a statistic or consequence of poverty?

Then I questioned if his circumstances run deeper and longer than those of situational poverty. I wondered if he was born into poverty, grew up in foster care or an institution, and has been a product of poverty his entire life.  Did he receive an inadequate education? Was he ever truly loved or embraced by a parent, or knew and had the support of a family unit? I wondered if he was an example of the many root causes of poverty that exist, and he is just living the next stage of his life, a stage that leaves him with few choices.

I continued thinking. How many children are on the same journey as this man? Have we done all that we can do to insure that our next generation of poor children won’t end up pushing a shopping cart and living on the street? This may be an extreme example, but my point is that most people don’t just wake up one morning and find themselves living in poverty. There is a reason they have ended up there and quite often their failures may be out of their personal control.

Poverty is systemic and it is pervasive and it starts at birth for many. Those of us interested in eradicating poverty must start early and intervene often. It is too late to make the impact needed, if we wait to intervene at the homeless shelters, food banks or free medical clinics. We can help deal with problems at those places but we won’t prevent them from happening. A lot of our energy and emphasis needs to be with children. They need to start learning earlier. They need adequate food. They need consistent and ongoing health care. They need caring teachers to help shepherd them through school and not give up on them no matter how limited the resources are or how far behind they get. They need the support of families, communities, churches and civic organizations. They need to know that just because they live in a deprived neighborhood or poor school district, they will have opportunities to be taught by talented and committed educators and, yes, if they work hard, they will have a chance to further their education. It is called hope. Hope breeds self-esteem. Self-esteem breeds talent and talent is what we need in this world.

So the man on the street may or may not have had a real chance. But there are plenty of people that do have a chance and have potential if we can help them find it. But it really needs to begin when a child opens his or her eyes at birth. Then each hour and each day is built from a foundation that provides for opportunity and success. If we commit to these goals for all children then fewer of them will be pushing shopping carts on the streets and looking for a place to sleep at night.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina

Listening to the Next Generation

We are driving through the Pee Dee of South Carolina where the roads are narrow and the pine trees are tall. We pass cotton fields, tobacco farms, and get a true taste of rural South Carolina. We make our way to Marlboro County. We enter the community of Bennettsville. It is the boyhood home of legendary banker Hugh McColl. Bennettsville, South Carolina, mirrors many small rural communities in the South. The town is busy but there are signs and examples that it has seen better days from dilapidated buildings, closed businesses, empty stores and warehouses, vacant homes and abandoned cars and equipment.
 

We arrive at Marlboro County High School. It has been a while since I have been in a high school. It is remarkably clean. I begin my experience with a positive feeling. The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina is here to listen to students about issues they face in their lives and in their community. We want their perspective on things. A mixture of Foundation board and staff has traveled to the “listening session.”  We meet the principal who is professional, well spoken and very engaged with his students. They like him too; you can tell by the way they interact. Then we meet the students.  I am not really sure what I expected, but I know I got a whole lot more than I anticipated from these kids.
 
The students gathered and we broke into small groups. I had seven at my table and we just talked. Every one of them had aspirations to do great things. One wanted to be a lawyer. Another one to be an accountant then another wanted to be a psychologist. But their dreams were tempered. They realized that their dreams were certainly unprecedented because they would be the first in their families to attend college. They also acknowledged that the hill to climb to get an education beyond high school and to get a good job was going to be steep. They all said they would have to move away from Marlboro County to be successful. But they might come back later to “give back to the community.”
 
The students love the community and they love their school. They love their families and participate in many school and church activities. But the town has little to offer. No jobs, no recreation and an unwillingness to change, coupled with a lack of vision for the future. I offered each student an imaginary $1,000 to spend to help others. They chose scholarships for needy students, temporary assistance for needy families, feeding the hungry and helping the elderly. One wanted to spend his money on bringing the community stakeholders together to create a common vision for the town. Wow!
 
If this group is representative of what our next generation is going to be like, then I am not worried at all. They will do just fine and perhaps better than we have done. They have a vision for their lives and their community and are willing to change things to make life better for other people. All we have to do is remove the obstacles we have placed in front of them and create a pathway for the next generation to reach their goals and dreams. If that happens, then towns like Bennettsville, South Carolina, do have a future.

 Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina

Foundation Releases 2009 Annual Report

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina’s 2009 Annual Report highlights the work of the Foundation throughout 2009.

Last year was a dynamic year for the Foundation, as it finalized its strategic plan, updated its mission statement and created a vision that families in South Carolina have the resources to live out of poverty. Learn about the over $2.1 million in grants, the five-year anniversary of the Collaboration for Ministry Initiative, the 103 nonprofit organizations served through the Learning Academy, advocacy efforts around reauthorization of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) legislation and much more in this report.

View the Foundation’s 2009 Annual Report.

Feast of St. Augustine

Today, August 28, is the Feast Day of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in North Africa and one of the doctors of the Church. St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor.

In 1851 four Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine (CSA) Sisters embarked on a two week voyage from France to Cleveland, Ohio. This began 156 years of service by hundreds of dynamic religious women responding to unmet needs of people in Ohio and South Carolina. Long before the American workplace widely accepted women in professional roles, these Sisters were directing major health care institutions, teaching in schools and developing new programs to provide needed human services. The first CSAs in America served as the first public health nurses in Cleveland, Ohio. Led by a mission to continue Christ’s healing ministry, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine have built a legacy of caring that continues today.

The health and human service ministries of the CSA Congregation are now overseen by the Sisters of Charity Health System. The Health System embodies the values and philosophy of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and their mission to continue the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. The Health System provides oversight, leadership and strategic direction to more than 20 ministries in Ohio and South Carolina. In South Carolina there are five ministries: Providence Hospital, Providence Hospital Northeast, South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, Healthy Learners and Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina continues the mission of the Sisters by strategically using resources to reduce poverty through action, advocacy and leadership.

St. Augustine's Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.

In Catholicism,  Feast Days, or Holy Days, are days which are celebrated in commemoration of the sacred events recorded in the history of our redemption, in memory of the Virgin Mother of Christ, or of His apostles, martyrs and saints, by special services and rest from work.  Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint.

Leadership Grads are a Special Group

Our first leadership class graduated last week at a special ceremony at Columbia College. There were nine individuals that went through the year long program. The participants were exposed to an array of topics, top notch lecturers, robust discussions and, yes, a fair amount of homework to complete.

These individuals (8 women and 1 man) made a lot of sacrifices to accomplish the goal of attaining a certificate in nonprofit leadership and nine hours of graduate level credit from Columbia College. They met every month for a year and they did this all while working a full-time job and managing all the other responsibilities they have in their lives. I was impressed.

At the ceremony, I saw family members, lecturers, mentors and friends come and celebrate the success of these individuals.  There was a feeling of pride in that room that really was contagious. The chosen class speaker, Beck Sullivan, did an extraordinary job with her speech. She represented the class members so well.  These leaders will go back to work better prepared for the many challenges they face on a daily basis. They will also be poised to address long-range organizational direction and plans which are often hard to do when you are dealing with the day to day minutia.

The other thing I really witnessed in this inaugural year was the bonding that occurred among the nonprofit leaders. They have grown to love and respect each other. They have learned about family and work challenges and feel a part of each other’s lives. More importantly, they have learned a lot of useful and practical information from each other during this one year period. They have learned what works well and what does not. They have learned to be flexible and to think differently than before. They have, indeed, become better leaders.

In the end, we were all proud. We are proud of the individual accomplishments, we are proud of our Foundation team for orchestrating the program. We are proud of Columbia College and their wonderful commitment to the program and we are proud of the overall concept and how it went from a crumpled sheet of paper in 2007 to our first graduation in 2010. 

The second class comes into get started this week. If they are half as passionate and committed as the first class, I will be happy. I can’t wait to see them and I can’t wait to watch them grow and bond.

Pictured from left to right: Laurie Hopkins, Ph.D. (Columbia College), Vanassa Frazier (Christ Teens), Cecilia Meggs (Lighthouse Ministries), Betsy Marlow (Miss Ruby’s Kids), Preston Winkler (Greater Columbia Community Relations Council), Dorothy Priester (Cherokee County First Steps), Beck Sullivan (Municipal Association of South Carolina), Lila Anna Sauls (St. Lawrence Place), Tom Keith (Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina) and Katrina Spigner (Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina) at the August 6, 2010, graduation.

 Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina