April 10, 2009
Proposal to create child poverty commission moving through General Assembly
By BRIGID CURTIS AYER (Indiana Catholic Conference)
The words child poverty may conjure up an image of a youngster from a third world country, not a child from the heartland of the United States. But Indiana has its fair share of child poverty — as high as 28 percent in some counties according to U.S. Census information compiled by the Indiana Youth Institute. Why is the child poverty rate in Indiana so high?
Lawmakers in the Senate overwhelmingly supported a bill to investigate the issue by creating a two-year government commission to study the issue and make recommendations to combat the problem plaguing Indiana’s children.
The proposal, SB 260, authored by Sen. Dennis Kruse, (R-Auburn), which passed the Senate (41-7) would create a 23-member panel composed of child poverty experts from governmental agencies, non-profit advocacy groups faith-based community groups, and area academia from Indiana University, the University of Notre Dame and Purdue University. The goal of the panel is to design a plan with bi-annual benchmarks to achieve a 50 percent reduction in childhood poverty in Indiana by 2020. The bill requires the commission to issue a final report by the year 2011.
The plan also must incorporate provisions which assist the parents of children living in poverty including workforce training, educational opportunities, affordable housing, child care and early education programs, after school and mentoring programs, and access to affordable health care including access to mental heath and substance abuse programs.
Sen. Kruse said he got involved in this issue in June of 2008 when he along with four other lawmakers attended a conference hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and learned about the problems facing the working poor in America. Following the conference, the lawmakers divided the legislative tasks and Kruse’s assignment was to address childhood poverty.
“The purpose of the bill is to continue to keep the children of poverty before the Indiana General Assembly,” said Kruse. “Poverty has been with us since the beginning of man and will probably always be with us, but that doesn’t mean we ignore it or accept it. I think we have an obligation for our generation to do what we can do to reduce childhood poverty.” He also said, “The commission will be an effort in Indiana to reduce childhood poverty by 50 percent by the year 2020. There are roughly 20 other states that have similar commissions in place to address the problem.”
One critic of the plan is Rep. Cindy Noe (R-Carmel) who serves as the ranking Republican on the House Family, Child and Human Affairs Committee, the panel which passed the bill 9-1. Noe believes that the proposal doesn’t get at the root cause of the problem — family fragmentation. Noe supports an alternative proposal offered by Sen. Luke Ken-ley (R-Noblesville), Senate Current Reso-lution 26 (SCR 26), which requests that Legislative Council establish an Interim Study Committee on the Economic Im-pact of Family Fragmentation.
According to The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing, a study released by the Institute for American Values, the cost of family fragmentation to state and local taxpayers in Indiana is a least $839 million annually.
Glenn Tebbe Executive Director for the Indi-ana Catholic Con-ference who testified before the House panel in support of SB 260 agrees that family fragmentation does contribute to childhood poverty and hopes that the commission will recommend governmental policies to promote family unity.
“The commission, which will be composed of the real experts in child poverty like those from our own Catholic Charities, academia, governmental agencies and community outreach organi-zations, are precisely the group best equipped to address the heart of the problem, and address the full range of issues contributing to childhood poverty,” said Tebbe. “Issues like employment, career development, access to health care and affordable housing must be ad-dressed in addition to family fragmentation. This comprehensive approach provides Hoosier families in poverty the best opportunity to get out of poverty.”
A legislative study committee as set forth in SCR 26 would be composed exclusively of lawmakers. The panel would begin in July 2009 and make a recommendation to the General Assem-bly prior to the 2010 legislative session. “Due to the nature and limited scope of a legislative study panel, SCR 26 alone would be insufficient to accomplish the goal of reducing child poverty,” said Tebbe.
Tebbe is not alone in his thinking. Kruse said that while there has been some opposition to his bill, SB 260, it has been limited. “The vast majority are favoring it,” said Kruse. “My anticipation is that the bill will pass this year and become law and the governor will hopefully sign it.”
Senate Bill 260 passed the Senate panel 9-0, and on the Senate floor 41-7. The House Family, Child and Human Affairs Committee passed the bill 9-1. The bill now moves to the full House floor for approval. The Indiana General Assembly must adjourn by April 29.