In Delaware County, More Food Taken Off Tables, While Need Continues To Rise

Things have been getting better lately— but not for kids in Delaware County.  Poverty levels in the Philadelphia area are beginning to return to pre-recession levels, but in Delaware County, they’re going in the wrong direction.  While childhood poverty rates dropped throughout the region last year, the number of children in poverty and children in deep poverty rose at alarming rates in Delco.

Despite the child population falling last year in Delaware County, there were almost 2,000 more children living in poverty with about 1,500 more living in deep poverty.  The number of children in poverty in 2012 was 109% of the 2011 level, deep poverty at 117% of the 2011 level.  To put that in perspective, the poverty line for a family of four is $23,550; a family of four in deep poverty sees less than $11,775 annually.

This continues a disturbing trend in Delaware County.

While not hit hard during the first three years of the Great Recession, Delco’s childhood poverty rate has jumped at least 1.5% each of the last two years.    “While the median income remained practically identical in 2011 and 2012 (around $61,000), the percentage of households needing food stamps in Delaware County increased from 9.9% to 11.1%,” reports the Philadelphia Inquirer, “County officials could not explain the increase.”

It may be unknown why poverty levels are jumping in Delco, but one thing is for certain, something needs to be done— and quick. “Clearly, economic recovery has yet to reach many Delaware County families with children.  Delco’s increases in both SNAP enrollment and child poverty reflect the severe financial hardship many families continue to face,” said PCCY’s Kathy Fisher.  “SNAP has been a lifesaver since the economic downturn – exactly as it is designed to be. With the increase in child poverty continuing in Delco, the program is more important then ever in helping families stave off hunger.”

Meanwhile Congress has proposed slashing $40 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps.  According to an editorial in Sunday’s Philadelphia Inquirer from Mazon president Abby Leibman, if these cuts take place, as many as 13% of those on food stamps would be kicked out of the program. 

In Delaware County, there are currently 29,463 children participating in SNAP (Department of Public Welfare).  That’s up from 19,429 children in 2009, a 51.6% increase.  With about 126,000 children living in Delaware County, that means that nearly one in four children in the county need food assistance.  A 13% cut would be devastating.  With so many children living in poverty in Delaware County, and the numbers getting worse by the day, we must do everything we can to turn things around.  Cutting benefits would only make a bad situation worse.

Thankfully, the entire Southeastern Pennsylvania delegation—both Democrats and Republicans—united to vote against SNAP cuts.  Except for Jim Gerlach, that is.  Congressman Gerlach has yet to defend his vote, only having his spokesman say the bill had “various benefits,” notably a provision centered on “work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents”— a provision that limits benefits to three months.  He may not be saying much now, but just three years ago he was vehemently opposed to any cuts saying “It makes absolutely no sense” to fund federal programs while “cutting food stamps,” something he just voted to do.  He went on to quote a letter stating cutting food stamps would “increase obesity by making it even harder for struggling families to purchase healthy food, harm job creation and economic growth, and increase the number of hungry children.”  Too bad he didn’t listen to himself.

Locking Up Our Children’s Future: PA Has Plenty of Money For Prisons, Little For Schools

Two years after the Governor and State Legislature cut nearly $1 billion from education, they’ve decided to start pumping money back in…to prisons.  This year’s budget provided a 2.3% rise in spending on Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts, or $71.67 per student. Meanwhile the state’s Corrections and Probation agencies got a 4.3% bump, or $991.55 per offender (PA Dept. of Corrections & PA Department of Probation and Parole).  The $85 million boost to the prisons and probation departments would more than fill the hole caused by cuts to school districts in the four suburbs: Bucks, Chester, Montgomery and Delaware Counties are down a combined $74 million in state education aid since 2011.

Districts in all four counties have raised local property taxes, some for the third straight year, but that has not been enough.  Statewide, 70% of public school districts have raised property taxes while furloughing tens of thousands of teachers and 3 out of 4 school districts plan to reduce instructional programming.  As State Rep. Bizzarro points out in the Erie Times-News, we can’t blame this on a lack of federal stimulus money.  “The state budget finds money to make up for federal cuts affecting the Corrections Department to the tune of $187 million.  In fact, expired federal funds were replaced almost dollar for dollar with state funds for other agencies.  However, this has not been done for education.”

It will be met with cold comfort that the state is spending $400 million on a new prison complex right outside the city (Forbes).  Being built to replace Graterford prison, the DOC will be able to house 300 additional prisoners.  That’s $1.33 million per prisoner.  That’s a hefty sum that stands in stark contrast to the state’s Dept. of Education (PDE) moratorium on approving new school building construction or reconstruction applications for 2013-14 (PSBA).  

According to the PDE, Planning and Construction, known as PlanCon, was $20 million short for 2012-13 school construction projects, $160 million short through 2013-14, and has a current backlog of $1.2 billion.  This shortage of capital funds for schools versus the open spigot for prisons is particularly troubling since a 2011 Pew study found that half of Philadelphia schools were built before World War II and the average building is now old enough to collect Social Security.  If only the state thought as much of its students as it did as its prisoners.

If you think the state has its priorities askew, you’re not alone.  “John E. Wetzel, Pennsylvania’s secretary of corrections, said the state cannot afford to keep building prisons,” reported the Philadelphia Inquirer.  He went on to tell the Inquirer’s Karen Heller, “We fully expect to see a reduction of 3,600 inmates in the next five years. ”So why is it our schools that are forced to deal with cutbacks?  This is not a partisan issue.  Republican State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (Bucks-Montgomery) agreed, “We shouldn’t be building any new prisons, but these are well on their way.”

So here are the numbers that really matter: “On any given day, about one in every 10 young male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention, compared with one in 35 young male high school graduates,” reported the New York Times.  A Columbia University study found that we could save $209,000 in prison and other costs for every potential dropout helped to complete high school.  Thanks to budget cuts, many local high schools found themselves short guidance counselors when they opened this year.  It doesn’t take the Secretary of Corrections to figure out that every dollar you “save” from cuts to education just gets spent on corrections.

“The contrast between a willingness to spend on state prisons versus a willingness to spend on schools is stark,” writes Forbes.  “It should make us think.  Is a new prison really the best way forward?”  It’s pretty clear, the answer is no.