What's a Forty-Hour Work Week Worth?

Until recently, Governor Ed Rendell argued that tackling an increase in the minimum wage should happen at the federal level, but his position has changed. On Tuesday, October 18, his voice will join hundreds more in delivering a loud and clear message that is sure to echo throughout the halls of the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Click here to view details of the Minimum Wage Rally planned for 10/18 at the Capitol Rotunda at noon.

On September 28, Philadelphia House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mark Cohen introduced the latest minimum wage legislation. House Bill 2021 would increase Pennsylvania’s minimum wage in two stages to $7.15 an hour and guarantees and annual cost of living wage thereafter.

The legislation would require that Pennsylvania workers covered under the act receive:

• $6.25/hr effective January 1, 2006
• $7.15/hr effective January 1, 2007
• Modest cost of living increases based on the regional Consumer Price Index (CPI) effective each January 1st thereafter.

HB 2021 has eighty-seven co-sponsors, and Michael Cassidy, Rep. Cohen’s staff director, is urging advocates across the state to contact those Representatives not already signed on to add their support to the bill. Click here to view of list of co-sponsors.

In early September, the Pennsylvania Senate Labor and Industry Committee, chaired by Joe Scarnati (R) and Christine Tartaglione (D) convened a public forum at Philadelphia’s Temple University Student Center. PathWaysPA Executive Director Carol Goertzel delivered testimony on behalf of the Philadelphia Raise the Minimum Wage Coalition. Click the links to view the testimony and a list of coalition members.

Moving into Gear

As the year-end approaches, PathWaysPA is gearing up for the 2006 tax season. PathWaysPA conducts seminars and workshops and provides support to organizations and low-income families that can benefit from the Earned Income Credit (EIC), Child Tax Credit, and Pennsylvania TAX BACK initiatives. At its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site at Christ Lutheran Church in Upper Darby, PathWaysPA also offers free tax-filing assistance to working families, information on accessing work supports, and asset building. Mobile VITA sites are available to organizations in Delaware County whose employees are eligible for free tax preparation services. In Philadelphia, these efforts are coordinated with the outreach undertaken by the Philadelphia Campaign for Working Families, a project of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition and the 16 collaborating agencies.

For more information, to schedule a training, or to volunteer at PathWaysPA’s VITA site, email Sharon Fluellen-Flynn, Outreach Specialist or call her at 610-543-5022. PathWaysPA also has printed materials available for distribution to organizations throughout Pennsylvania.

A Heaping More Help Needed

The Pennsylvania Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a federally funded program that helps low income households pay their heating bills through energy assistance grants.

LIHEAP is administered by the Department of Public Welfare and consists of three components:

1. Cash benefits to help eligible low-income households pay for their home-heating fuel;
2. Crisis payments, if needed, to resolve weather-related, supply shortage, and other household energy-related emergencies; and
3. Energy conservation and weatherization measures to address long-range solutions to the home-heating problems of low-income households.

Many states supplement federal funding through a line item in their own budgets, but Pennsylvania stands alone among its neighboring Northeast states in not doing so; New York has allocated $72 million in state funds and New Jersey supplements its federal LIHEAP dollars by $84 million. This year, Pennsylvania might just join the club.

In response to rapidly rising utility costs and recognizing that in Pennsylvania, LIHEAP grants have not reached all who are eligible, several legislators are pushing Governor Rendell to make state funds available to supplement anticipated federal dollars. Sen. Vincent J. Hughes (D-Philadelphia) and Jay Costa, Jr. (D-Pittsburgh) have introduced legislation calling for an allocation of $80 million from Commonwealth coffers.

At the federal level, Governor Ed Rendell has joined 27 other state and territorial governors in a letter to members of Congress requesting that an immediate $1.276 billion in emergency funds be made available in the next emergency supplemental appropriations bill. Advocates across the state also have written to members of Congress urging supplemental funding, and PathWaysPA participated in a September 21 press conference where it signed onto such a letter. Click here to read the text of PathWaysPA’s comments to the press.

Last year, the average one-time grant in Pennsylvania was $239, which would not even cover this year’s projected annual increases. The average household is expected to spend $1,666 for heating oil, up $407, and for natural gas, $1,568, or $611 more than last year’s bill. In late September, the Philadelphia Gas Works petitioned the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for approval of an increase in the Gas Cost Recovery rate, effective October 7, 2005, which if approved, would result in the average residential bill rising by $335 annually.

Advocates are urged to contact the Governor’s office, members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and Congress, urging their support for supplemental funding. And don’t forget – Pennsylvania residents can apply for LIHEAP benefits through COMPASS, the free online gateway to this and other benefits. Visit www.compass.state.pa.us. After signing an agreement with the Department of Public Welfare (DPW), social service and community-based agencies can access COMPASS through a password-protected streamlined portal. To learn more about becoming a COMPASS Community Partner, click here to email. Information and forms are available on the COMPASS site.

Further resources:

Click here to read a LIHEAP policy paper produced by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

An Interview with Henry J. Sommer, Esq.

For eight years, advocates working to preserve the rights of low-income families successfully thwarted attempts by lenders, retailers, and credit card companies to revamp the nation’s bankruptcy laws, but last spring Congress succumbed to well-funded lobbying efforts and passed the new bankruptcy bill. October 17 marks its effective date, and one measure of the bill’s anticipated impact is the dramatic increase in recent personal bankruptcy filings. According to a Lindquist Consulting, Inc. report, commissioned by the Associated Press, consumers have filed about 1.24 million bankruptcy petitions for the period January 1 through September 17, 2005, reflecting a 9.2 percent increase over last year.

Higher Fees

Henry J. Sommer, President of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and Editor-in-Chief of Collier on Bankruptcy, says the new law would have been even harsher had advocates not won several key concessions, but as it stands, people burdened by mounting bills and insufficient income will find it even more challenging to get a fresh start through bankruptcy proceedings. Mr. Sommer also serves as Supervising Attorney for the Philadelphia-based Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project (CBAP), a nonprofit group providing legal counsel to low-income residents. He reports that the biggest change under the new law will be cost—a typical filing will require that the consumer find an additional $400 - $500 on top of the $1,000 in fees and charges levied under the old law. CABP, which is supported by grants from foundation and government sources, does not charge for its services.

 
Other Burdensome Features

The new law, in addition to increasing costs associated with bankruptcy filings, creates other burdens for households already overcome by unpaid bills and the frustrations of getting by on less. Consumers will be required to produce sixty days of pay stubs, recent tax returns, and detailed information on all current and anticipated expenses. The law also demands that consumers complete a credit counseling course before submitting their court petition, and a credit education course after the filing. Under both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, fewer consumer debts will be eligible for discharge

The Paradox of Mounting Need and Diminishing Funds

For a few weeks after Katrina swept through the Gulf Region, advocates held out hope that a gentler, kinder Congress, filled with compassion, might see the wisdom of preserving the programs that help families in need. More recently, however, with emergency appropriations bills fueling the burgeoning federal deficit, some members of Congress are calling for even deeper funding cuts, and in some cases, elimination of essential programs.

On October 4, President George W. Bush spoke to the press from the Rose Garden. Regarding federal spending, he said:

Congress needs to pay for as much of the hurricane relief as possible by cutting spending. I'll work with members of Congress to identify offsets, to free up money for the reconstruction efforts. I will ask them to make even deeper reductions in the mandatory spending programs than are already planned. As Congress completes action on the 2006 appropriations bills, I call on members to make real cuts in non-security spending.

Medicaid, Food Stamps, TANF, Community Services Block Grant, child welfare, housing, child care, Social Services Block Grant, student loans, veterans services – each of these and others risk being cut, and discretionary programs could be eliminated. Nowhere in the President’s prepared comments or in his answers to questions from the press did he mention scaling back on proposed tax cuts, which, when combined with tax cuts already approved through other legislative action, total $106 billion.

As Cathleen Palm, consultant to the Pennsylvania Welfare Coalition, stated in a recent message to advocates, “The bottom line is that despite Americans coming face-to-face with the stark realities and consequences of poverty on children and families after Hurricane Katrina, Congress is returning to budget priorities that ignore the plight of vulnerable children and families.”

Advocates across the country are writing to Congress, urging that they preserve the safety net. Click here to view the letter sent by the Pennsylvania Welfare Coalition.

On October 17 and 18, the Coalition on Human Needs and the American Friends Service Committee are sponsoring national call-in days and offering a toll-free phone number to the Capitol switchboard: 1-800-426-8073. Click here for the flyer for details and the text of a suggested message.

Philadelphia Debuts State-of-the-Art Change

It is fitting that Philadelphia County Assistance Office’s (PCAO) Unity District served as the starting point for a new call-in system. That system, which now is fully operational and available throughout the county, really does unify and standardize the process by which clients and advocates can both seek information and provide updates to case records.

Lodged in renovated space on the 13th floor of the State Office Building at Broad and Spring Garden Streets, the Change Center was long envisioned by recently retired Executive Director Don Jose Stovall. Local advocates participating through the Philadelphia Welfare Coalition worked closely with the Department of Public Welfare staff and a team from Deloitte Consulting to develop the Center.

Georgine Beyer, Interim Executive Director at PCAO, recently reported to Philadelphia area advocates that from the go-live date in late June 2005 through the end of August, the Center had received 3,364 calls of which 2,509 were handled by Income Maintenance Case Workers. The balance was accommodated through the comprehensive automated menu system, which allows callers to request program details and forms. When tallied for the first ten days of the month, September’s daily call volume was substantially higher.

Over the summer, news of the Change Center’s services was mailed to every PCAO client – a process that unfolded in phases and relied upon an attractive and easily understood brochure, available in both English and Spanish. At the suggestion of advocates, PCAO is preparing a press release that will be sent to community newspapers throughout the county. Advocates consistently have pointed out that many residents do not take advantage of services and programs for which they are eligible. Community newspapers, which are eager to provide useful information to readers, offer a free conduit for reaching such neighbors.

As the brochure indicates, the Change Center allows callers to do the following:

• Hear general information, such as payment dates or how to apply for benefits.
• Check application status.
• Provide updates or changes (for example, change of address, change of income, change of household size).
• Request forms and documents.

Callers supplying updated information or needing follow-up assistance will be issued a ticket number, or confirmation number, that will be used to track the progress of their inquiry.

Over time, the services available through the Change Center will be expanded, and PCAO staff is studying centers in other regions in order to learn from those models. In the meantime, social service providers in Philadelphia should help spread the word about this efficient and customer-friendly option. The Center can be reached at 215-560-PCAO (215-560-7226). Brochures are available through the Office of Community Services at 215-560-2603

Federal Law
The U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which applies to employers with 50 or more workers, guarantees the right to unpaid leave for up to 12 weeks following the birth or adoption of a child, or because of the serious health condition of the worker, or the worker’s child, spouse, or parent. The applicability threshold makes only 60 percent of American workers eligible for this leave. For most employees, however, an unpaid leave option really is not an option. A recent U.S. Department of Labor survey noted that 78 percent of workers who needed to take time off did not do so simply because they could not afford to miss a single paycheck, let alone multiple paydays.

Payday vs. Leave
When it comes to paid leave, which grants full or partial wage replacement, the United States lags behind nearly every industrialized nation in the world. This fundamental benefit is based on the premise that businesses that provide such leave profit from higher productivity and morale, reduced absenteeism, and lower turnover and training costs. And there is little disagreement that during illness, parents are a child’s best caregiver Yet millions of American workers must choose between their pay checks and recovery each time they get the flu, welcome a child into their lives, or need to care for a sick family member. For those who take unpaid family leave, nearly 1 in 10 are forced onto public assistance to make ends meet.

State Initiatives
Although there is an urgent need for national legislation that provides a minimum paid leave standard, the political environment at the federal level is not welcoming of such an initiative. Twenty-eight states have considered paid leave legislation, and in 2002, California became the first state to adopt a family leave insurance program, giving workers partial wages for up to 6 weeks. Benefits are paid from a fund capitalized by employee payroll deductions, averaging $1.02 per week.

Pennsylvania Law
PathWaysPA is studying California’s legislation and gathering information on paid leave initiatives in other states. Last spring, PathWaysPA hosted a forum in Harrisburg at which Lissa Bell, then Senior Policy Associate with the National Partnership for Women and Families, addressed the topic of paid leave. Locally, PathWaysPA is coordinating its research, education, and advocacy efforts with the Women’s Law Project, and together these organizations will be mobilizing support for paid leave legislation in Pennsylvania.
 
For further information or to participate in this coalition-building endeavor, contact PathWaysPA at 610-543-5022.

As expected, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the USDA has issued new income eligibility and benefit guidelines. 

Food Stamp Program funding continues to be threatened, with cuts potentially greater than expected through the budget reconciliation process. This and other human needs programs must be protected. When speaking with members of Congress and their staff, be sure to include Food Stamp Program funding among your organization’s priorities. Now is not the time to make it even harder for struggling families to keep food on their tables.

To view eligibility requirements, maximum benefit amounts and deductions, click here for the FNS website. 

Save the Date

On Thursday, November 10, from 1:00 – 3:30 pm, PathwaysPA will host a policy and advocacy update on TANF and family supports. The keynote speaker will be Cathleen Palm, publisher of The Advocate’s Agenda. Also speaking will be Georgine Beyer -- Acting Executive Director, Philadelphia County Assistance Office; Joe Willard – Manager, Public Policy, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania; and Carol Goertzel and Karen Sampson Johnson– PathWaysPA’s President & CEO and Director of Public Policy, respectively.

The event is free and will be held at the United Way Building, Seven Benjamin Franklin Parkway (Parkway just west of 17^th Street), Philadelphia, PA. For more information, call PathWaysPA at 610-543-5022.

You can register by completing and faxing the form available here.  

October

17     National call-in day to protect domestic programs. Click here to see flyer.

18   National call-in day—second chance. Click here to see flyer.

18     Minimum Wage Rally—Harrisburg, noon. Contact the Philadelphia Unemployment Project (PUP) for details at 215-557-0822. Click here to see flyer.

19     Pennsylvania Welfare Coalition meeting — Harrisburg, 1:30 PM. Email Cathleen Palm for more information.

21     Philadelphia Welfare Coalition meeting — Philadelphia, 9:15 AM. Email Natalie Sondheimer for more information.

28     World Food Day gathering — Philadelphia, 8:30 AM. Contact the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger at 215-430-0555. Click here to see flyer.

November

10   TANF Policy Forum—Philadelphia, 1:00 PM. Contact PathWaysPA at 610-543-5022. Click here to see flyer.