|
| |
The Impact of Changes in Measuring Poverty
 | Changing
definitions can help to identify strategies to reduce the number of people
living impoverished lives.
|
 | Programs are
focused on specific needs emanating from legislative direction and
assumptions about aggregate needs, but do not relate to the totality of an
individual’s needs.
|
| Program
eligibility is typically based primarily on income – neglecting causal
factors.
|
| Changing
definitions can impact society’s views and actions toward those in
poverty.
|
| Current
definitions have two main uses – measuring the number of people in
poverty and determining program eligibility
|
| Virtually
all major efforts to change the definition have failed
|
| Shifting the
paradigm can give society new views on what constitutes poverty and what
causes it
|
| Expanding
our understanding of social and economic mobility provides additional
insights
|
The Impact of New Definitions
| New
definitions can help shape a shared vision of addressing poverty in new
ways.
|
| Exploring
new definitions invigorates the debate on how to prevent or reduce poverty
|
| Looking at
poverty in new ways gives society opportunities to impact it
|
| New
definitions can help foster greater system interdependence
|
| Looking at
poverty from the individual, family and community perspectives calls for
responses that are person-focused rather than program driven
|
| Building on
an individual’s strengths calls for systems to work together
|
| New
definitions enable innovation at all levels
|
| The current
Federal definition excludes: other costs of living, sources of income,
human, social, and spiritual capital – limiting expectations and
interventions
|
| Explore
alternatives to the consumption & income model; e.g., cultural
universals, quality of life standards, survey based definitions,
definitions in use elsewhere
|
| New
definitions can create more opportunity for people to maximize their
potential achieve success.
|
| Social
assets, financial assets and human capital help people avoid poverty or
escape it quickly
|
| Providing
education, other services and infrastructure may alleviate poverty more
effectively than increasing income.
|
--------------------------------------
Chapter
1 Chapter
2 Chapter
3 Chapter
4 Chapter
5
Appendix A
(21st Century Model to Address Poverty)
Appendix B (Poverty
Programs Summary and Matrix)
Appendix C
(Issue Papers)
Appendix C1 (Initiative
context presentation: Characteristics of Successful Change)
Appendix
D (Income and Work Support Policies and
Strategies)
Appendix D1
(Working Session Descriptions)
Appendix D2
(Working Session Descriptions, continued)
Appendix E (Working
Session Descriptions, continued)
Appendix E1
Appendix E2 (Current state presentation: Highlights from the research)
Appendix F (Participant
List)
Appendix G
(Project Staff List)
|
