Washington, D.C. and Miami — According to independent research, no state in the nation is more economically vulnerable to rising sea levels than Florida. Yet, Miami-Dade and its surrounding counties, are woefully unprepared for the inevitable effects of a changing climate, particularly in low-income areas.

The Center for American Progress has released a report looking at the efforts that the Miami area has made to boost climate change resilience, the disproportionate effect climate change will have on lower-income residents, and just how far Miami-Dade and its environs need to go in order to protect their citizens from climate change related sea level rises and extreme weather.

“The Miami area is on the forefront of extreme weather and sea level rise associated with climate change,” said Cathleen Kelly, CAP Senior Fellow and co-author of the report. “While some mayors in Miami-Dade and other south Florida cities are taking steps to prepare their communities for the effects of climate change, the county’s resilience efforts are severely lacking and leave residents vulnerable to increased flooding and increased instances of extreme weather, such as storms and heat waves. The county’s low-income populations are the most vulnerable. It is time for Miami-Dade officials to seriously implement climate change resilience and social equity measures.”

Miami-Dade County is the seventh most populous county in the country. The entire region—which also includes Broward, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties—is expected to near a population of 7 million within 15 years. It is also one of the most vulnerable areas to sea level rise; it has seen sea level rise about one foot since the pre-industrial days of the 1870s and will see a projected 6.8 feet of sea level rise by 2100. Flooding has become routine, even on sunny days, due to higher tide levels. The higher sea levels will exacerbate already extreme weather in the form of hurricanes. With nearly 60 percent of Miami-Dade County residents living with financial instability, a crippling storm could be devastating for the county.

The report includes more than half a dozen steps that Miami-Dade County officials should begin to implement now in order to increase their county’s resilience to the major effects of climate change—starting with low-income areas that are most at risk of heat waves, flooding, and other climate change effects. The steps include:

• Prioritizing climate change resilience and mitigation starting with implementing existing county recommendations and embedding climate risk reduction management into planning and policies across all county government offices
• Improving public knowledge of climate change risks through education and outreach to the county’s diverse communities
• Creating a public climate change forum to ensure Miami-Dade residents receive an opportunity to voice their concerns and ideas for strengthening equitable resilience to county officials
• Mapping social and climate vulnerability and developing resilience solutions using data and community input to help planners and emergency responders focus resources on addressing the most urgent resilience needs
• Strengthening and leveraging social cohesion to help Miami-Dade’s low-income communities prepare for climate change impacts and expand knowledge of available resources to build climate resilience
• Leveraging community organization strengths to help county leaders communicate with low-income residents and provide resilience assistance to those vulnerable to climate change risks
• Planning for storm displacement before it happens by prioritizing extreme weather preparedness and incorporating lessons learned from other metropolitan regions that experienced mass displacement of residents by extreme storm damage

The report comes days before Catalyst Miami’s summit on building climate resilience and social equity in South Florida.

Click here to read the report.

https://www.americanprogress.org/press/release/2016/01/29/130027/release-cap-report-finds-miami-dade-county-unprepared-for-the-extreme-effects-of-climate-change/

By Fran Rosebush, CFED

For millions of hard-working, low-income taxpayers, 2015 ended with a huge victory. As one of its final acts last year, Congress passed a law that made permanent key provisions of three tax credits aimed at low- and moderate-income workers: the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit (CTC) and American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). These tax credits are some of the most powerful anti-poverty tools we have, and their recent expansions will impact nearly 16 million people in hard-working families to cover their basic expenses and begin to create a foundation of savings to build stronger financial security in their lives. The new law also increased funding for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program by 25%, greatly expanding the capacity of community tax preparation sites to connect low-wage taxpayers with these important credits. These successes came as the result of years of successful advocacy by service providers and other stakeholders across the country. As we finish celebrating this victory for low-wage workers, now is the time ask, what’s next?

Today, on EITC Awareness Day, CFED and the Taxpayer Opportunity Network are working to ensure the dialogue doesn’t stop here. We’re partnering with key allies, supporting local communities, raising awareness about these critical anti-poverty tax programs and working together to ensure effective policy reforms that support low-income and working families as they build their financial security. This morning, we hosted an event with Tax Credits for Working Families on Capitol Hill to hear from key decision-makers about the future of tax credits for low-wage workers. The event—keynoted by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Professor Kathryn Edin—brought together legislators, advocates, tax practitioners, scholars and taxpayers to share their knowledge and first-hand experience with refundable tax credits, while addressing what the recent tax deal means and what can be done to improve tax programs even more.

Many of our local partners and members of the Taxpayer Opportunity Network are also working to bring awareness of the EITC in their communities to ensure every eligible taxpayer is aware of the credit—and of the free, high-quality tax preparation services available at VITA sites. These partners are hosting press conferences and briefings at their state capitols, bringing key stakeholders to visit VITA sites and more. For example, Goodwill Industries of Greater Sacramento Valley & Northern Nevada hosts an annual event at an AARP tax preparation site to raise awareness about the EITC with local taxpayers. CA$H Maine sets up information tables with resources about EITC and VITA for legislators to peruse at the state capitol. And Prepare + Prosper in Minnesota is working with the financial empowerment department in one of their state’s most populous counties, Dakota County, to share resources about EITC and VITA with county employees.

Here are a few ways you can support further improvements to these tax credits:

• Promote EITC Awareness Day in your community by using this social media toolkit.
• Advocate for the expansion of the federal EITC. Learn about efforts to expand the EITC for childless workers and help all EITC recipients build emergency savings through the Rainy Day EITC program. If your organization would like to endorse the proposal, please contact CFED’s Ezra Levin ([email protected]).
• Promote adoption and expansion of state EITC programs. As we document in the newly released Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, 26 states and the District of Columbia have adopted EITCs that add to what the federal credit puts in the pockets of low-income taxpayers. Check out these policy briefs on what states can do.
• Promote EITC outreach efforts in your community to increase the uptake of these credits by those who can benefit the most. Nearly 20% of workers eligible for the tax credits don’t receive them each year because they lack awareness or have been misinformed.
• Explore your own free tax filing options, including VITA, IRS Free File and MyFreeTaxes.

Dear Member of Congress:

The undersigned civil rights, consumer, labor, faith, veterans, seniors, and community organizations, strongly urge you to oppose H.R. 4018, the “Consumer Protection and Choice Act.” This harmful bill would limit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) ability to protect all consumers against high-cost payday, car title, and installment loans. In addition to delaying the Bureau’s rule-making for two years or longer, H.R. 4018 would allow the payday industry to avoid federal regulation altogether by pushing an industry-backed proposal based on a Florida law1 that has proven ineffective at stopping the payday loan debt trap.

In 2016, the CFPB is expected to release important new rules that will help protect borrowers from abusive small dollar lending. The CFPB’s rule will require payday lenders to follow the example of other commercial lenders in implementing a number of critical, common sense safeguards that enjoy broad public support2—including a requirement that lenders fully consider a borrower’s ability to repay a loan without taking out a new loan or deferring other necessary living expenses.

More than 5003 civil rights leaders, women’s groups, affordable housing providers, faithbased organizations and consumer rights groups from nearly every state in the country, as well as over 100 Senators4 and House members5 support the CFPB’s effort to protect consumers from abusive payday lender practices.

Additionally, H.R. 4018 would allow abusive small-dollar lenders to go on doing business as usual if states enact laws similar to a Florida law, putting in place so-called ‘industry best practices.’ Instead of protecting consumers, H.R. 4018 and the industrybacked Florida law would do more harm to consumers by putting a stamp of approval on:

• Triple digit interest rates: Under Florida law, the typical payday loan costs about 300% annualized interest (APR)—an exorbitant rate of interest that wreaks havoc on households who are already struggling financially, and was illegal in all states until relatively recently;
• Back-to-back lending without considering borrowers’ ability to repay - Rollover bans and cooling off periods are insufficient to protect borrowers from long-term financial harm. In spite of the industry-backed Florida law, 88% of repeat loans were made before the borrower’s next paycheck;
• A long-term cycle of debt - Limiting borrowers to one loan at a time has failed to provide relief in Florida, where 85% of payday loans are issued to borrowers with seven or more loans per year; and
• $280 million in fees drained from lower-income Floridians per year as a result of repeat lending at abusive rates and $3.6 billion in fees drained annually from consumers across the country.

As a result of these shortcomings, Florida civil rights consumer advocacy, faith, and asset building groups across the state6 have voiced their strong opposition to the adoption of the Florida law as a template for the CFPB or any other state to follow.

H.R. 4018 is not an effort to reform the payday loan market—it is an attempt to codify industry-backed practices that do little to protect consumers. Low-income consumers deserve strong protections and timely action.

The CFPB must be allowed to consider every possible way to stop the payday debt trap and take much-needed steps to protect consumers from abusive lending. We urge you to oppose H.R. 4018 and any other effort to block meaningful consumer protections for borrowers targeted by abusive payday, auto title, installment and other high-cost small dollar lenders.

http://www.uspirg.org/news/usf/letter-congress-212-groups-call-you-oppose-hr-4018-and-support-strong-payday-rule

By: David Smiley

When Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced in February that he would invest $46 million in public money into a redevelopment of Miami-Dade County's oldest public housing project, some of South Florida's biggest affordable developers took interest.

Six teams came together to bid on the project this summer under parameters that required them to rebuild 640 of the more than 700 affordable housing units, add in mixed-income housing and create new amenities. They were also told to develop in phases, starting with a satellite facility called Lincoln Gardens in order to ensure no one living at Liberty Square -- and in good standing -- would be put out of a home and would remain or be welcomed back to Liberty Square.

Each developer was also asked to return 30 percent of their developer fee. They were told to craft a plan that can be finished in five to six years, under the expectation that most would come up with projects costing around $200 million.

The following is a synopsis of what was proposed, presented by the Miami Herald in the order of preference assigned by a selection committee in October.

Atlantic Pacific Communities

Atlantic Pacific Communities has proposed a $287 million redevelopment that would create 1,549 affordable, low-income and market rate units inside a variety of duplexes, row houses, garden-style apartments and town homes.

Through a partnership with local developer Palmetto Homes and designers Dover Kohl and Corwil Architecs, Atlantic Pacific proposed a project that would include a 1,200-student K-12 charter school run by Beacon College Prep, a 34,000-square-foot community center along Northwest 62nd Street, and 25,000 square feet of retail that would likely include a Jackson Soul Food. The redevelopment proposal included a town square at the corner of 62nd and 12th Avenue, reduced streets and pocket park roundabouts, and a relocation plan by Urban Group that lays out exactly where and when each of the project's inhabited units would move during the project as tenants are shuffled around the site and Lincoln Gardens.

The team was the lone group to propose a return of 40 percent of their fee back $42 million developer to the county, equal to about $17 million.

Atlantic Pacific Communities is among the more prominent and connected of the responding bidders, and was created in 2013 when Atlantic | Pacific Companies bought the affordable housing arm of Carlisle Development Group, which stood accused of defrauding the U.S. government out of millions in tax subsidies used to finance more than a dozen rental projects. Matthew Greer, former Carlisle CEO, pleaded guilty in September to two conspiracy offenses involving theft of government funds and now faces up to 10 years in prison. His name appears 23 times in backup documents presented as part of Atlantic Pacific Communities' bid.

Related Urban Development Group

The affordable housing arm of one of Miami's most prominent condo developers, Related Urban put together a proposal to build a new Lincoln Gardens and an 818-unit complex that it calls Unity Village. The project includes a museum operated by HistoryMiami, a renovated community center and a community health center operated by the Jessie Trice Community Health Foundation. Academica, the nation's largest for-profit charter school company, would run a K-2 charter school and a K-8 charter school on site. The YMCA would run a family center and daycare.

The project includes a 16,000-square-foot grocery store, and a 25,000 square feet of retail space for “mom and pop” businesses in a center and on the ground floor of mid-rise apartments along Northwest 62nd Street. Residents would own townhouses, and live in a mix of market and subsidized apartments. Related Urban would seek to rezone Liberty Square in order to build their project.

An attorney for Related Urban, the second-ranked proposer by a county selection committee, made a case in October for the county to throw out Atlantic Pacific Communities' bid. The county remained under a cone of silence Tuesday morning, so it was unclear if or how they have responded.

Community Housing Partners Corp and Miami Waymark 2.0 Joint Venture

Community Housing Partners Corporation, a non-profit builder out of Virginia, teamed up with Liberty City-based Miami Waymark -- formed for the project -- in order to propose a 1025-unit project, with 649 of those units at Liberty Square, including 160 reserved for the elderly.

Designed by architect Bernard Zyscovich, the project includes a notable landscaped walkway that cuts diagonally from the northeast corner of the community past an open space in the center and toward basketball courts, playing fields and a wellness center and tech hub. The complex includes an artists collaborative, a farmers market and a greenhouse.

Residential units are a mix of one- two- and three-story apartments and townhouses. Retail and commercial space will line 62nd Street.

Carrfour Supportive Housing

A $269 million concept from Carrfour Supportive Housing and partners considered the construction of 1,283 units at Lincoln Gardens and Liberty Square. Most units would be two- and three-story walk-up flats, and about half would be affordable housing. The project includes a senior community.

Along with housing, the team proposed that a market and art gallery be built on the corner of Northwest 62nd Street and 12th Avenue, and that a farmers market, orchard, museum, splash park and community center be built along the eastern boundary of the complex. Retail shops are included on the southeast corner.

Carrfour, created by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce in 1993 to address homelessness by creating affordable housing, has teamed up with co-developers Columbia Residential and Bank of America Community Development Corporation. They also brought in The Catalyst Group, a firm whose CEO oversaw the razing and redevelopment of much of Atlanta's affordable housing stock into mixed-income housing.

Centennial Management Corp

Led by Lewis Swezy, the Miami developer who razed Bobby Maduro Stadium and build hundreds of affordable housing units in its stead, Centennial Management has proposed a $132 million, 761-unit project. It is among the smallest complexes conceived in response to the county's request for proposals.

In tandem with architect Gabriel Salazar, Swezy wants to build a town center with 24,000 square feet of retail, an indoor basketball court, childcare facilities and classrooms for after-school services. A CVS Pharmacy is among the proposed commercial tenants. Space for a charter school is left on the north facade of the community, but its construction isn't part of the Liberty Square Rising proposal.

Among Swezy’s notable team members: Sybrina Fulton, a former public housing employee and the mother of slain teen Trayvon Martin, is helping with resident outreach.

Miami Redevelopment Partners

This joint venture combines the efforts of multi-family and affordable builder Gardner Florida, affordable developer Pennrose Properties, and Duvernay + Brooks, which has advised housing authorities on redevelopment projects. Miami-based master designer Wallace Roberts & Todd is also part of the project, as are Catalyst Miami and the South Florida Regional Planning Council.

The team's design includes a central park, retail plaza along 62nd Street, and 1,017 residential units across the two developed sites.

The team provided two development scenarios -- one in which some residents would need to be moved off-site during the redevelopment -- but concretely proposed a mixed-income community that includes close to 30,000 square feet of retail and a community and childcare building, rooftop terraces, solar panels and “private gardens.” The team envisions a small grocery store on-site.

By: Equal Voices News

As the push to reform U.S. immigration policy remained stalled on Tuesday, grassroots advocates and immigrant families in Florida’s Miami-Dade County took a moment to celebrate what they’re hailing as a positive local step for new Americans.

Miami-Dade County is joining the “Cities for Citizenship” campaign and opening an Office of New Americans to help eligible immigrants learn more about naturalization, financial education and legal counseling, the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) reported on Tuesday.

The national campaign seeks to boost citizenship and has the support of New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Miami-Dade is the first county to join the campaign, FLIC said.

“For a long time, local and national nonprofits have led naturalization efforts in the country, but we understand that in order for this to be sustainable and to really ensure that eligible permanent residents have the support they need to become new Americans and fully integrate to our country, local and state governments need to be involved,” Francesca Menes, policy and advocacy coordinator for FLIC, said in a statement.

Also celebrating the joining of the “Cities for Citizenship” campaign were Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, County Chair Jean Monestime, County Commissioner Levine Cava and Citi, which is a corporate partner.

Supporters estimate that Miami-Dade County is home to about 494,000 people who are eligible green card holders. Many of those residents, supporters add, are Haitian or Cuban. Florida is home to about 1.2 million people who are eligible for citizenship.

Grassroots advocates say that only 10 percent of permanent residents who are eligible for citizenship, though, complete the entire process. “The low rates of naturalization are usually due to lack of access to information and legal assistance, or economic and language barriers that affect mostly low-income families,” FLIC said in a statement, adding that filing fees can cost about $680.

Naturalized immigrants can earn more money, sometimes about 10 percent more than when they lacked legal status. FLIC estimates that between $2 billion to $3 billion could go to the Miami-Dade County economy over five years if 247,000 permanent residents gain citizenship and their earnings go up.

“Those who gain citizenship are able to access more jobs, achieve economic mobility and improve the livelihood of their families,” FLIC said.

Miami-Dade County also is receiving help from Catholic Legal Services, the region’s public libraries, Florida International University School of Law and Catalyst Miami, which is a grassroots organization. The “Cities for Citizenship” campaign is receiving support from the Center for Popular Democracy and the National Partnership for New Americans.

The Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), which was founded in 1998, works on human rights and social policy issues.

  Catalyst Miami, Catholic Legal Services, Citi, Cities for Citizenship, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida International University, Francesca Menes, Mayor Carlos Gimenez, Miami Dade County, Miami-Dade County Chair Jean Monestime, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Levine Cava, naturalization, Office of New Americans

Miami-Dade County now joins almost twenty cities across the country in Cities for Citizenship, a national campaign aimed at increasing citizenship among eligible U.S. permanent residents.

Today (Nov. 9), the Florida Immigrant Coalition joins Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, Chairman Jean Monestime and Commissioner Levine Cava and Citi, celebrating the county’s participation in Cities for Citizenship and the launch the Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade County (ONA-MDC) to connect eligible immigrants with the resources to naturalize, as well as receive financial and legal counseling.

Cities for Citizenship is chaired by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, with support from the Center for Popular Democracy and the National Partnership for New Americans. Citi Community Development is the Founding Corporate Partner. Miami-Dade is the first County in the country to join the campaign.

“For a long time, local and national non-profits have led naturalization efforts in the country; but we understand that in order for this to be sustainable and to really ensure that eligible permanent residents have the support they need to become new Americans and fully integrate to our country, local and state governments need to be involved,” says Francesca Menes, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

In Miami-Dade, the County’s work will be supported by the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), Public Libraries, Catholic Legal Services, Florida International University School of Law and Catalyst Miami, among others. Permanent residents will receive assistance in completing the N-400 citizenship application through clinics or one-on-one sessions, be screened for eligibility for the application fee waiver, and gain access to financial coaching.

“Citizenship is an economic asset for individuals, cities and our economy. Through the Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade County, access to naturalization and financial coaching resources for those who qualify will be a powerful tool for inclusive economic growth to enable residents to strengthen their financial identities at the same time as they establish new national identities,” said Bob Annibale, Global Director, Citi Community Development, the Founding Corporate Partner of Cities for Citizenship.

It is estimated that only 10% of the legal permanent residents (LPRs) that are eligible for citizenship, can follow through with the process. Out of the estimated 1.17 million eligible green card holders in Florida, about 494,000 reside in Miami-Dade County, many of them Cuban and Haitian. The low rates of naturalization are usually due to lack of access to information and legal assistance, or economic and language barriers that affect mostly low-income families.

“We are grateful to Mayor Carlos Gimenez and the Board of County Commissioners for supporting this initiative which could make Miami-Dade county a national leader in promoting the integration of new Americans into our economy and our communities,” adds Menes. “With Cities for Citizenship, the county can assist more than 19% or half a million county residents and strengthen our local economy.”

Recent research shows that naturalized immigrants nationally can achieve an increase in earnings of 8% to 11%. In Miami-Dade County, the average income is $23,174. If 247,000 of current eligible LPRs became citizens, the increase in earnings over 5 years is estimated to add between $2.3 billion and $3.2 billion to the local economy in Miami-Dade County. Those who gain citizenship are able to access more jobs, achieve economic mobility, and improve the livelihood of their families. However, the complexity of the process and the $680 in filing fees has been a barrier for those eligible, particularly low-income families.

Join the campaign on Twitter with #MiamiDadeC4C and #Cities4Citizenship and access resources online at CitiesforCitizenship.org.

http://sflcn.com/miami-dade-county-joins-national-cities-for-citizenship-campaign/

November 4, 2015

Despite Progress, Too Many Floridians Remain in Poverty
More Investments in Human Needs Programs Needed

New data released by the Census Bureau on September 17th show that poverty declined in Florida from 17 percent in 2013 to 16.5 percent in 2014. The child poverty rate, however, remains stuck, with 23.8 percent of Florida children living in poverty in 2014 – roughly the same as in 2013 when 24.5 percent of our children were poor. Despite the welcome reduction in the overall poverty rate, progress remains slow. Nationally, the poverty rate fell slightly from 15.8 percent in 2013 to 15.5 percent in 2014. However, even if poverty keeps declining at the current rate nationally – an extremely optimistic estimate – it would still take more than 25 years just to cut poverty in half across the U.S. It would take even longer – nearly 35 years – to bring child poverty down to that same level.

In order to speed up the pace, Florida and the nation need to maintain and expand investments in programs with proven success in helping people out of poverty. The new Census Bureau findings add to the mounting evidence that programs like low-income tax credits, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), and subsidized housing reduce poverty now and improve children’s chances of gaining economic security in the future. But some effective programs do not reach enough of the more than 3.2 million Floridians and the 48 million Americans struggling in poverty every day. Others, like SNAP, could do more good if their benefits were higher. Even the modest progress beginning to show in the Census data could stall unless Congress follows through by enacting spending bills that will increase investments in effective antipoverty programs, now that Congress has just agreed to prevent most of the “sequestration” cuts originally scheduled to hit many of these programs this fall. With poverty higher in Florida than the national rate, accelerating the current progress – and doing nothing to slow it – is of paramount importance.

Deep and Disproportionate Poverty in Florida
For a family of four in 2014, the official poverty line was less than $24,230. Despite this low threshold, nearly 1.4 million Floridians live on far less, below half of the poverty level. As is the case nationwide, poverty in Florida disproportionately affects people of color. Nearly 27 percent of African Americans and 21.7 percent of Latinos in Florida are poor. In contrast, poverty for non-Hispanic whites is 11.5 percent. Nearly 24 percent of Florida children are growing up in poverty, and the statistics are worse for children of color: 36.5 percent of African American children and 29.5 percent of Latino children in Florida are poor.
We Can Speed Up the Pace in Florida
Proven human needs programs lift millions out of poverty. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) lifted 600,000 Floridians, including 311,000 children, out of poverty each year, on average, during 2011 to 2013. In 2014, housing subsidies lifted 2.8 million Americans out of poverty, and SNAP lifted 4.7 million people out of poverty across the U.S.
Numerous research studies also show that investments in quality, affordable child care and early childhood education also lead to long-term gains for children, families and our economy. For example, Head Start participants are more likely to attend college and be employed and less likely to be a teen parent or in poor health compared to siblings who didn’t benefit from Head Start.

Congressional Cuts and Lack of Investments will Slow Progress in Florida
As effective as these programs are, their effectiveness is limited because of underfunding, and any additional cuts would threaten these programs further. First imposed in 2013, sequestration’s impact through the end of 2014 resulted in 1,349 fewer rental housing vouchers in Florida. The 2013 sequester cuts also denied Head Start services to 57,000 children nationwide. Thousands of rental vouchers were restored when Congress partly halted sequester cuts in FYs 2014 and 2015, and the numbers of children served by Head Start returned to previous levels in most areas.

Unfortunately, spending bills originally proposed by Congress earlier this year assumed that sequestration cuts would return in FY 2016. These House and Senate bills would have undercut the gains of the nation’s successful antipoverty programs. Their original proposed appropriations would mean that 11,400 fewer children in Florida would have had access to full day, full year Head Start when compared to President Obama’s budget. The spending bills not only failed to restore the 67,000 rental vouchers still lost due to sequestration in 2013, they would have cut even more, failing to renew as many as 50,000 existing vouchers nationwide. As a result, 2,300 fewer Florida families would have had the use of housing vouchers in 2016. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that maintaining sequestration could lead to losses equal to as many as 1.4 million jobs over the next two years. Compounding these losses, as many as 158,400 fewer workers in Florida would have had access to job training and employment under Congress’s original plan, compared to the President’s budget. Florida would have also lost as much as $60.9 million in federal funding for K-12 education in low-income schools (Title I).
Thankfully, a budget deal that was signed into law by President Obama on November 2 provides additional funding to eliminate the majority of the harmful sequester cuts in Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017. This is welcome news. However, more than 130 human needs programs have seen their funding cut since 2010, adjusted for inflation; about one-third were cut by 15 percent or more. Even with the sequestration relief provided in the new budget deal, funding for domestic programs for 2016 would be 12 percent below the 2010 level, adjusted for inflation. By 2017, domestic spending would fall to its lowest level on record as a share of the economy, with data back to 1962.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture found that 13.8 percent of Florida households were “food insecure” over the years 2012-2014 – that is, they could not always afford enough food. SNAP reduces such hardships, but cuts in SNAP that occurred at the end of October 2013 cut the average benefit from $1.70 per meal to $1.40. According to health researchers Children’s HealthWatch, that cutback made SNAP households with children under age three 23 percent more likely to be food insecure, placing the children at risk for bad health and education outcomes. In addition, if Congress fails to renew improvements made in 2009 to the EITC and CTC before they expire in 2017, 16 million people – including 8 million children – will be pushed into or deeper into poverty across the U.S.

As Congress works on new spending bills that must pass by December 11, they must ensure that the higher funding totals from the budget deal are used to provide more of the services people need. We also need additional investments in programs that are proven to reduce poverty so more Americans who need help can get it. Our country can afford to pay for these additional investments by closing tax loopholes, ending some corporate tax breaks, and ensuring corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share. Ending the extra tax breaks for hedge fund managers, for example (a proposal with bipartisan support), would save nearly $1.4 billion a year, nearly enough to fund the $1.5 billion to cover a full year, full day program for all children in Head Start.

Congress Needs to Stop the Cuts and Increase Investments
Our state and our country are continuing to recover from the Great Recession. And we have made some progress, as the Census Bureau’s poverty data show. But this progress is too slow. By 2020, more than half of children in the U.S. are expected to be part of a minority racial or ethnic group. If the shamefully high poverty numbers for African American and Latino children stay so high, the future economic growth of Florida and our country will be endangered as a larger proportion of our children grow up with less education and less connection to good-paying jobs. Increasing investments in programs like Head Start and safe, secure housing will give these children a better start and will benefit Florida and our country as a whole as they become adults.

Members of Congress have a choice to make. They can continue to cut or provide flat funding for human needs programs, stalling progress and making it harder for Floridians to climb out of poverty. Or they can stop harmful cuts and instead invest more so Florida and the whole nation can expand programs that prevent and eliminate poverty.

This report was prepared by Catalyst Miami and the Coalition on Human Needs.
Graphics provided by National Priorities Project.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2015

Carla Moreira Strickland
[email protected]
(786)414-1292

Family leadership development programs offered in Liberty City and Downtown Miami beginning in February

Catalyst Miami aims to cultivate strong civic leaders through leadership development programs

MIAMI, Florida – In February, Catalyst Miami will offer two leadership development programs for individuals and families interested in growing as advocates and community leaders. Step Up Miami, a 12-week program, will be hosted in Liberty City. Parent Leadership Training Institute, a 22-week program, will be hosted in Downtown Miami. The programs are open to all residents, with dinner and childcare provided at no cost.

Step Up Miami is a 12-week leadership development program that aims to generate a critical mass of neighborhood leaders interested in addressing poverty in Miami-Dade County. The program guides participants through an examination of current best practices in community development, the sharing of personal experiences, an exploration of diverse community development approaches, and hands-on application of problem solving strategies.

The next Step Up Miami cohort begins on Tuesday, February 16, 2015 at Gwen Cherry Park, located at 7090 NW 22nd Ave, Miami, FL.

Parent Leadership Training Institute is a 22-week leadership development training that helps parents and child advocates learn the leadership skills needed to become effective advocates for children in schools, communities, and state and local governments. Participants are able to enroll their children, grades K-5, in our Children’s Leadership Training Institute, which runs parallel to PLTI. Children will experience a multiple intelligence-based curriculum designed to develop young leaders.

The next Parent Leadership Training Institute cohort begins on Thursday, February 13, 2015 at Catalyst Miami, located at 1900 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL.

For more information or to apply, please contact Gina Ha, Family Leadership Director at Catalyst Miami, at (786) 414-1296 or [email protected].

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Catalyst Miami is a nonprofit organization developing and supporting individual leadership and strong organizations that work together to improve health, education, and economic opportunity in our community. You can visit Catalyst Miami’s website at catalystmiami.org and follow Catalyst Miami on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment began on November 1, 2015

Catalyst Miami’s community health workers will help individuals interested in finding coverage in the Marketplace starting on November 1, 2015 and ending on January 31, 2016

MIAMI, Florida – Sunday, November 1, 2015 marked the first day of Open Enrollment under the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. To assist individuals interested in attaining coverage through the Marketplace, Catalyst Miami’s several community health workers will be providing navigation services in our offices and at off-site locations from November 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016.

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the U.S. health and human services secretary, said the federal government is targeting Florida and three other states in an effort to enroll the uninsured. Catalyst Miami is one of the organizations leading the enrollment effort locally. We aim to ensure that all residents who need quality, affordable healthcarecan access it.

To be eligible for health coverage through the Marketplace, one must live in the United States, be a United States citizen or national, and not be incarcerated.

Important dates for 2016 enrollment:

November 1, 2015: Open Enrollment starts — first day you can enroll in a 2016 Marketplace plan. Coverage can start as soon as January 1, 2016.
December 15, 2015: Last day to enroll in or change plans for new coverage to start January 1, 2016.
January 1, 2016: 2016 coverage starts for those who enroll or change plans by December 15.
January 15, 2016: Last day to enroll in or change plans for new coverage to start February 1, 2016
January 31, 2016: 2016 Open Enrollment ends. Enrollments or changes between January 16 and January 31 take effect March 1, 2016.

If you don’t enroll in a 2016 plan by January 31, 2016, you can’t enroll in a health insurance plan for 2016 unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. Individuals should also note that this year’s penalties for not having healthcare coverage are higher then last year. To learn more, contact us at (305) 576-5001 or check out our informational post at http://bit.ly/Marketplace101.

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Catalyst Miami is a nonprofit organization developing and supporting individual leadership and strong organizations that work together to improve health, education, and economic opportunity in our community. You can visit Catalyst Miami’s website at catalystmiami.org and follow Catalyst Miami on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.