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What You Need to Know About Budget Season

By Guest Contributor, on February 9th, 2015

Cross-Posted from Hyacinth’s Place Written by Vanessa Wellbery

Here we go again – budget season!

Every year, District government lays out a plan for how much money it will take to meet our residents’ diverse needs—and keep the city running. It’s not just how much money, but where the money should go. Everything under the sun is in the budget, from street repairs to the police force to school lunches.

I say budget season because the whole process will go on for a number of months. Don’t be intimidated! It’s going to be fun!

Here are some of the important parts of the process:

Agency oversight hearings. Yesterday marked the start of agency oversight hearings. Between February and March, City Council committees will get to ask D.C. government agencies questions about their programs and how they use their funds. These hearings are one tool Councilmembers use to make decisions about what funding streams are effective and whether they are serving their purpose.

The Mayor’s budget proposal. While the council is holding oversight hearings, the Mayor will be preparing her own budget proposal, which she will release on April 2. Every year the Mayor sends the City Council a budget proposal outlining how she’d like to see all the services and programs the city provides funded. Mayor Bowser has indicated she is committed to putting resources behind fighting homelessness, and her budget proposal will send a clear message on whether she intends to stand by that commitment. One way to keep reminding her that it matters to us is by attending one or more of her three budget engagement forums this month.

Public hearings. Members of the City Council have another way of gathering information—public hearings. Through April and May, public hearings will be an opportunity for the citizens of D.C. to weigh in on the budget. By testifying, organizations and individuals can illustrate how budget decisions have a real impact on Washingtonians’ lives. As just one example, Hyacinth’s Place testified before the Committee on Housing and Economic Development last year about the Housing Production Trust Fund, one funding stream that makes permanent supportive housing programs like ours possible.

Mark-ups. Now that the committees have gathered information from government agencies, reviewed Mayor’s budget priorities, and heard input from real Washingtonians, they hold mark-ups, where they will craft the actual budget and vote to approve it. These mark-ups also take a number of weeks! But once the council has agreed on and passed a full budget in the form of a bill, they send it to the Mayor, who also has to approve it.

Hyacinth’s Place has hit the ground running, and we’ll be active throughout budget season. Like last year, we’ll advocate for the Housing Production Trust Fund and the Local Rent Supplement Program. We’ll also lend our support to our diverse partners who advocate for the many other programs that fight poverty in the District.

Here are some ways you can be involved.

– Check out the Fair Budget Coalition’s (FBC) budget priorities. Hyacinth’s Place worked with FBC to craft this comprehensive list of funding recommendations. It’s a great primer for all the important programs we’ll be fighting for this budget season. – Tweet using the FBC’s hashtag #WeAreALLdc. You can also retweet us! – Like us on Facebook for an easy way to get updates and see our latest blog posts. – Come to the Mayor’s budget engagement forums over the next month. Email Vanessa@hyacinths.org if you’d like to attend. – Attend council hearings or, if you can’t be there in person, stream them online. – Testify at the public hearings! We’ll let you know when the time to sign up comes closer. – Check out these other great resources: the Fair Budget Coalition, the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute

It’s going to be a long haul, but we’re excited to be a part of the effort to make D.C. a safe and healthy place for all its residents to thrive!

 

Comments are closed   Affordable Housing, Education,   , , , ,  

The Continuing Fight to End Homelessness in the District of Columbia

By Liane Scott, on May 21st, 2014

Here’s a video I did for the Fair Budget Coalition last year during their State of the District’s Poverty event. In 2013, the FBC–along with a whole host of other organizations and individuals–was trying to convince Mayor Gray and the DC City Council to do something about the lack of affordable housing and the abundance of homelessness within the District of Columbia. The Fair Budget Coalition presented a plan to our elected representatives in which an investment of $4.5 million dollars in DC’s shelter system would ensure sufficient housing for the 300 families in DC General and the families housed in motels during the winter. But is the shelter at DC General closed? No. Clearly, the council and the mayor didn’t listen to the plan. This despite a $417 million budget surplus.

There were however significant gains in DC’s budget last year. Funding increased for TANF and some of DC’s Affordable Housing programs. These wins would not have happened without significant effort from DC’s activist and progressive communities. And so it is again this year.

The DC Council is in its final stages of negotiating DC’s budget. There are some key programs that are being overlooked and need our immediate support to push Councilmembers to make them a priority. We are asking you to participate in two 1-click email actions to support these programs:

1) Take action to End Homelesseness for more than 800 families and individuals! Two of the most important affordable housing programs that end homelessness are Permanent Supportive Housing (for the chronically homeless) and the Local Rent Supplement Program Tenant Vouchers (for families). Tell the Council to prioritize ending homelessness with housing by taking action here: http://bit.ly/1ti308B

2) Take action for Adult Literacy!* Adult education programs have been underfunded for years, though adult ed has been linked to lower unemployment and poverty rates for adult learners and higher high school graduation rates for the kids of adult learners. We need the Council to fund adult education. Take action for adult literacy here: http://bit.ly/1oXTXHj

And finally, the Fair Budget Coalition will be hosting our culminating action of this budget season on Friday! Join us to stand up for safety net programs at:

Close the Divide!: A Public Forum on Reducing Inequality in the District of Columbia Friday, May 23rd, 10am-Noon At the Wilson Building: 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW

*Bring ID to get in the building *Light lunch provided RSVP Here: http://bit.ly/CloseDivide

Rapidly growing inequality in DC is deepening the divides between the rich and poor. But the DC Council can close that divide by investing in anti-poverty programs and affordable housing that would make DC a city for everyone. Come hear stories from people whose lives have been changed by safety net programs & what Councilmembers are doing to support these programs in this year’s budget

There will also be the opportunity to learn how to do a Lobby Visit and then participate in one to a Councilmember’s office!

Questions? Contact Janelle at janelle@fairbudget.org or 202-986-9580

Comments are closed   Affordable Housing, Gentrification, Homelessness   , , , , , ,  

Bring DC Home! The Washington Interfaith Network’s Agenda on Housing and Homelessness

By Ernestine Ward, on May 19th, 2014

Want to do something about DC’s affordable housing crisis? How about the hundreds of homeless families in the city? The Washington Interfaith Network has an agenda to help end homelessness in DC. Bring DC Home! Budget and Policy Demands – SIGN THE PETITION!

BUILD AND RENOVATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING

$100 million for the Housing Production Trust Fund to meet the District’s goal of producing and preserving affordable housing units. Dedicate public lands to affordable housing- We support the Disposition of District Land for Affordable Housing Amendment Act, introduced by CM Kenyan McDuffie. The bill requires certain levels of affordable housing to be built whenever the District sells its public land to a private developer.

HOUSING FOR HOMELESS YOUTH, FAMILIES, AND INDIVIDUALS

Full funding of the End Youth Homelessness Amendment Act, which will increase longterm housing options homeless youth, including unaccompanied minors and families headed by 16-24 year olds. Support the Way Home Campaign to end chronic homelessness in DC by 2020. Support the roadmap to ending family homelessness in DC. WIN is one of 20 organizations supporting this plan, which calls for increased funding in programs to keep families in housing and more quickly provide housing to families in emergency shelter.

WIN supports the roadmap’s call for increased rapid-rehousing slots, only with certain enhancements to the programs such as:

Job placement, child care, and quality caseworker supports, Matching families with housing units at rents that will be affordable to families when the rapid rehousing subsidy expires- such as rents affordable to families making minimum wage, and Provision of ongoing supports for families who find work but still are not able to maintain rent payments because the rent is too high.

HUMANE SHELTER FOR YOUTH, CHILDREN, AND FAMILIES

The End Youth Homelessness Amendment Act, will increase emergency shelter space and services such as coordinated intake and street outreach for the estimated 3,000 youth age 24 and under who experience homelessness every year in DC. The roadmap to ending family homelessness in DC calls for improving conditions and services at DC General Shelter, such as on-site social workers, a playground, and trauma-informed care training for staff. Some are advocating a quick closure of DC General. Before that can be done, we demand alternatives in place that put families into homes, ensure adequate short term emergency shelter space, and take into account the interests of families currently housed in shelter.

Comments are closed   Affordable Housing, Gentrification, Homelessness,   , , , , , , ,  

Mayor’s Budget Shortchanges Under-Educated DC Adults … and Their Kids

By Grassroots DC, on May 16th, 2014

Cross-posted from Poverty & Policy

Written by Kathryn Baer

Adult Educators and Adult Learners Lobby at the Wilson Building

“We have jobs and we have people,” says DC Appleseed’s Deputy Director. “But the education people have doesn’t fit the jobs available.” The real problem, however, as she goes on to suggest, is the education that many people don’t have.

This isn’t a rerun of the oft-debunked skills gap myth — at least so far as the District of Columbia is concerned. The extraordinarily high high unemployment rates in the poorer parts of the city apparently reflect a lack of minimal education credentials — and skills they’re supposed to indicate.

About 60,000 residents 18 years and older lack a high school diploma or the equivalent. An even larger number “likely lack the basic … skills needed to succeed in training, postsecondary education and the workforce,” according to a new DC Appleseed report.

Of the deplorably few adults in programs supported by funds the Office of the State Superintendent of Education administers, more than half who weren’t learning English as a second language have consistently tested below 6th grade level.

This means they’re ineligible for any of the programs the Department of Employment Services makes available through an Individual Training Account and also for most of the programs offered by our local community college.

Even residents who test higher often fail the GED exams. Their pass rate in 2012 was 55.2% — the third lowest in the country. And the exams got tougher this year.

Yet more than three-quarters of all jobs in the District will require some postsecondary education by 2020, according to the latest projections by experts at Georgetown University.

In short, as things stand now, we’re looking at a very large number of working-age residents whose chances of full-time, living-wage jobs are dismal.

And as if that weren’t enough, we’ve research indicating links between parents’ education (or lack of same) and their children’s success in school. On the downside, children whose parents are functionally illiterate are twice as likely to be illiterate themselves.

This isn’t only because poverty rates are highest among adults without a high school diploma or GED — well over 33% in the District for those 25 and older. But all the daily impacts of poverty, e.g., hunger, homelessness, stress, obviously play a part.

Plowing more money into the rest of the education system, as the Mayor proposes, won’t deliver the hoped-for bang for the buck if the basic education needs of parents are neglected, as DC Learns warned several years ago.

DC Appleseed’s report identifies a range of problems in the District’s approach to adult education — including, but not limited to inadequate funding.

It outlines steps toward a long-range solution — essentially, an integrated system that connects basic skills development to career pathways. The DC Council could lay the groundwork with the initial $2.5 million the report recommends.

But the Council should also increase funding for the adult education programs we have now — both to serve more residents and to support better results.

I wish I could tell you what the Mayor’s budget proposes. But it’s characteristically opaque — partly, but not entirely because of the fragmentation DC Appleseed documents.

This much I’ve been able to parse.

The handful of charter schools that provide adult education would get more per pupil, as would the two regular public schools that do.

They’d still get less per pupil than what schools would get for any other type of student. And the new extra weight that’s supposed to boost funds for schools with students who’ve been designated “at risk” won’t apply, though some of the adults surely meet the same criteria, e.g., eligibility for SNAP (food stamp) benefits.

OSSE would get less for the adult education grants it provides. The proposed budget indicates a cut of about $3.8 million. This apparently reflects the fact that the Department of Employment Services won’t be transferring funds, as it did this fiscal year.

The Fair Budget Coalition had recommended that the baseline budget for adult education, i.e., the estimated costs of preserving current services, include these funds — a $5.5 million addition, according to FBC.

Hard to believe that the Mayor and his people couldn’t have found the money. They’ve instead put $3 million for adult literacy on the list of items to be funded if revenues prove higher than projected.

Let’s just say this is a mere gesture, since it would take $59.8 million to fund . . . → Read More: Mayor’s Budget Shortchanges Under-Educated DC Adults … and Their Kids

Comments are closed   Adult Education, Education   , , , , , ,  

DC Appleseed Report Calls for New Adult Literacy Strategy

By Guest Contributor, on April 14th, 2014

Cross-posted from DC Appleseed To reduce unemployment and narrow the gap between rich and poor, the District must help more residents build the basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills required by D.C.’s economy, according to a new report released today by DC Appleseed.The report, From Basic Skills to Good Jobs: A Strategy for Connecting D.C.’s Adult Learners to Career Pathways, was issued today following the release of Mayor Gray’s proposed Fiscal Year 2015 budget. Although Mayor Gray’s budget includes new funding for K-12 education, it is missing a critical opportunity to invest in education for the 60,000 D.C. adults who lack a high school degree.The DC Appleseed report finds that with an additional $2.5 million, the District could take a critical step forward on a strategy to help more residents build the basic skills required by D.C.’s job market. The report shows that this strategy could at the same time bolster the District’s public school reform effort since children’s success in school is significantly affected by their parents’ education and their family’s economic security.The report concludes that residents who lack basic skills have a hard time finding family-supporting work in D.C.’s economy. The District is home to one of the most highly skilled labor markets in the nation, and residents who lack a high school diploma have higher rates of unemployment and poverty than their peers with more education.“Unless the District develops a strategy to help more adults increase their basic skills and connect to career pathways, it risks leaving tens of thousands of D.C. residents out of the city’s economic growth,” said Brooke DeRenzis of DC Appleseed. “Skills disparities contribute to the District’s gap between rich and poor, which is already one of the largest in the nation.”

The report finds that the number of adults in need of basic skills upgrades far exceeds the number being served by publicly-funded programs. It also finds that the District does not make the best use of its limited resources because it spends funds on adult education across multiple agencies without coordinating around a shared strategy or set of outcomes.

The report calls on the District to adopt a citywide initiative to ensure that every adult learner in a basic skills program has access to a career pathway by 2020. Career pathways help adult learners increase their basic skills and successfully transition postsecondary training, education, and work.

The report also calls on the District government to jumpstart this multi-year initiative by investing $2.5 million in FY 2015 on the following activities:

A cross-agency task force to develop and implement a strategic plan for connecting basic skills programs to career pathways An “innovation fund” to pilot, evaluate, and scale evidence-based career pathway approaches Increased support for adult learners who may have learning disabilities

“Building a system that truly provides every adult learner with the opportunity to access to a career pathway is a multi-year effort,” said DeRenzis. “If the District adopts the investments DC Appleseed proposes for FY 2015, it can make real progress toward achieving that goal by 2020.”

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