Poverty in franklin county

Poverty in Franklin County Sources: The Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute, United Way of Central Ohio, Children’s Defense Fund, Community Research Partners (now Thoughtwell), Columbus Dispatch, WOSU, Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mid-Ohio Foodbank, Human Service Chamber, Champion of Children, Community Shelter Board, Columbus Foundation Trends to Know Poverty rates in Franklin County are the highest in recent history at 16.7% This is true despite our lower unemployment rate, which hovered around 4% this year – the lowest in nearly a decade. (Some notable exceptions to this exist, as will be explained below).

In many ways, the core issues come down to income, race and long-standing concentrations of poverty in certain zip codes (typically also generational poverty).

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In 1980, median wages for whites was $21/hr. and $18/hr. for people of color.

Today both slipped - $20/hr. for whites and $15/hr. per hour for people of color.

Severe and chronic unemployment rates persist in predominantly African American neighborhoods and neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. For example, unemployment in 43203 (Near East) hovers at more than 13%.

The poverty rate climbs to 30% for African Americans. Further, while African Americans account for 22% of the county’s population, they comprise 73% of families served in homeless shelters.

The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Monitor measures 100 advanced regional economies that “work for all” by 3 dimensions- growth, prosperity and inclusion.

The globally renowned think tank states that “these represent the pillars of successful economic development which should encourage long-run growth (growth) by improving the productivity of individuals and firms in order to raise local standards of living (prosperity or economic mobility) for all people (inclusion). In their latest release, Brookings ranked the Columbus metro area 16th for growth, 18th for prosperity but 31st for inclusion for the period 2010 – 2015.

Future Challenges – Poverty and Our Children Nearly half of the African American children living in Franklin County live in households below the poverty line.

National research clearly tells us that no one factor limits economic mobility more than living in a neighborhood where near universal poverty persists. A Franklin County child whose parents earned in the bottom fifth of income distribution had just a 5.1% chance of reaching the top fifth of household income by age 30.

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It also found that our children remain among the least likely to achieve economic mobility – in fact, our metropolitan area was ranked 46th out of 50 for mobility achievement.

The 2016 Equality of Opportunity study pinpointed five key factors that drive upward income mobility: lower levels of residential segregation, a larger middle class, stronger families, greater social capital and higher quality public schools.

The study goes on to note “…both blacks and whites living in areas with large African American populations have lower rates of upward income mobility.”

Though concentrated poverty is the greatest threat to our children’s economic future, we also find pockets of poverty in Franklin County suburbs.

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The infant mortality rate for black babies is 2.5X that of white babies.

Countywide, more than one in three children rely on some form of food assistance.

Finally, poverty itself severely jeopardizes children. As has been well documented for several decades, children in poverty face daily stressors that diminish their capacity to learn, increase their chances of mental and physical illnesses and dramatically reduce their odds at success in life. These traumatic experiences even alter and restrict healthy brain development and vastly increase the chances that children will commit suicide and/or become addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Historical Perspective: How Did We Get Here?

In Columbus and most of the county, poverty concentration was initially fueled by covenants that restricted African Americans, Jews and other ethnic groups from buying into certain subdivisions. It reached a new zenith when the Federal Housing Authority adopted a clear policy of redlining or denying banking services, including mortgages, to certain neighborhoods.

Those same boundaries now define areas of high poverty and high need for food.

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Columbus is the second most economically segregated city in America.

In addition, as noted previously, inability to generate a self-sustaining income also plays a major role. For example, housing costs consume almost 50% of income in white households and 60% of African America household earnings. A minimum wage worker would need to work 77 hours a week to afford market rates for a two-bedroom apartment. Availability of rental units shrunk by half over the last decade. Eviction rates have increased and African American women are five times more likely to be evicted than any other demographic group.

New Trends to Watch The opioid crisis contributes significantly to economic under-performance.

Through the first three quarters of 2017, opioid-related deaths skyrocketed by 88% in Franklin County. Franklin County Children Services has been flooded with 5,000 more cases over the past seven years of the opiate crisis, and half of all kids needing foster care today come from families where one or more parents is addicted.

Also, while Franklin County has benefitted from population growth not duplicated anywhere else in Ohio, much of the growth stems from foreign-born immigrants who represented 6% of our population in 2000 and now total 10.5%. Typically, first-generation immigrants struggle more financially. In addition, many of these 5

new Ohioans hit race and language barriers. They are primarily natives of Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Franklin County’s senior population is projected to grow from 115,706 in 2010 to 224,340 by 2040 – a 94% increase or nearly double. Researchers warn that current benefit eligibility requirements may be too late for vulnerable seniors and should be reevaluated. Further, the growing burden on caregivers should be explored.

Older, low-income people of color living alone with one or more disabilities, are seen as the most vulnerable – older women, especially older women of color were part of this group. High vulnerability seniors, while concentrated in the City of Columbus, can be found throughout the county.

A key issue facing seniors is the rising numbers of grandparents raising children due to the opiate crisis and related issues. This amounts to 40,000 households in Ohio. Those living on fixed incomes will especially struggle to stretch and meet the needs of young children.

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Highlights of What We Do Now Assistance – As of September 2017, 11,388 Franklin County residents received Ohio Works First funding for a net total of $2,198,999; 10,665 people received OWF Single Family monies totaling $2,107,720; OWF Two Parent Family 723 recipients, for $91,279; 215 people received disability benefits of $21,758; 165,882 people benefitted from 21,092.180 in SNAP coupons; 23,383 children received child care help. Nearly 2,500 youth are thought to have participated in summer youth employment in 2017.

Further, 350,000 county residents now receive Medicaid. This growth, however, may be more positive than negative as more may be taking advantage of new eligibility.

Leadership from Franklin County JFS are interested in exploring more customercentric systems, including the new kiosks and combined data-sharing (a change that likely requires federal and state cooperation. They’re also giving greater attention to reducing evictions and look to help lead more collaborative models that bring nonprofit and private partnership to the table.

Self-sufficiency Wages – County Commissioners set a living wage of $13.69 an hour for a family of four in 2016. MIT’s Living Wage Calculator ranges from $10.14 an hour for a single adult to $34.16 hour for one adult and three children.

Child Support Enforcement – Franklin County has the highest collection rate among metropolitan areas in the state and collected more than $167 million for 80,647 children last year. We look to learn more from them on the use of behavioral economics to incentivize good decision-making.

Veterans’ Services – Drawing upon $6.2 million, the Veterans Service Commission provided food, medical care and other basic necessities to 9.143 veterans and family members.

Office on Aging – This agency connected with 33,193 seniors, providing more than 2 million miles of transportation, in excess of 650,000 meals and 116,000 hours of housekeeping services.

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Workforce Training and Skills Gap – The County has just launched its apprenticeship initiatives aimed at moving more low-income workers into the highwage and benefit jobs needed to fill a critical gap in the construction industry.

New leadership at the Workforce Development Board also expresses keen interest in creating similar initiatives that build the skills sets and marketability of low-wage workers and connects them to higher paid jobs with a career path.

For example, on the Southside, you find pockets of 18% unemployment while you also find 82% of residents working, most often working two or even three lowwage jobs. The Board is looking at options not just to employ the 18% but also to concentrate on how to help the 82% acquire the skills to get better paying jobs – middle market jobs, paying as high as $40 to $75k.

In addition, the County’s PeopleWorks initiative deployed nearly $685,000 to train more than 500 Franklin County residents who have been receiving social services with an eye to preparing them for living wage jobs.

Franklin County’s Community Partnership Investments – Of the $16 million Franklin County invested in 2017, 7,071 people were served through the charitable pharmacy, Physician Careconnection and PrimaryOne Health.

In addition, a total of 10,347 people were either helped by the 650 units created by the Affordable Housing Trust, sheltered through the Community Shelter Board or given drop-in services via Star House.

Finally, 205,549 people benefitted from food assistance, including with 6,714 children served by Children’s Hunger Alliance, 198,664 people fed by Mid-Ohio Foodbank and 171 people connected to veggie SNAPs. These investments seem to be dedicated to the critically important task of sustaining and maintaining life.

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Other Local Agencies United Way of Central Ohio –In the aggregate, the agency allocated the following (in round numbers): Basic Needs

$2.35 million

Good Health

$ 815k

Jobs & Financial Stability $1.474 million Multi-Strategy

$1.225 million

School Readiness

$2.443 million

Stable Housing

$ 277k

Student Success

$2.570 million

(A very detailed spreadsheet of UWCO’s 2017 investments is available if needed)

Community Shelter Board – In its 2017 Annual Report, CSB served more than 12,000 people through 16 agencies expending $26, 837, 223 on programmatic funding. Franklin County provided $5,339,692 of their income.

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