Agenda

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D.4

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Kathy Gallagher, Employment & Human Services Director
Date:	February 25, 2014

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Rise Together Initiative to cut poverty in half in the Bay Area by 2020

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 02/25/2014

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor

Contact:

Kathy Gallagher, 313-1769

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: February 25, 2014
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

CONSIDER endorsing the Rise Together Initiative to cut poverty in half in the Bay Area by 2020 and accepting a report on the current assessment of poverty in Contra Costa County. (Supervisor John Gioia and Kathy Gallagher, Employment and Human Services Department Director)

FISCAL IMPACT:

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND:

The Employment and Human Services Department (EHSD) provides safety net services to thousands of Contra Costa residents each year. These services help low income people find work, put food on the table, get health care, and gain a toehold on the first rung of the economic opportunity ladder. Despite this good work, there are currently more then 100,000 Contra Costans living in poverty ($19,530 for a family of three).

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

In an effort to help our neighbors escape poverty, EHSD works with community partners: nonprofit agencies, businesses, faith groups, foundations, and educational institutions.

Contra Costa County will monitor and consider supporting the work of the Ending Poverty and Inequality in California (EPIC) Caucus. the Mission of the EPIC Caucus is to reduce the number of people living in Poverty and to increase economic opportunity to all Californians. Senator Mark DeSaulnier chairs EPIC and it includes members from the Senate and House as well as the Western Center on Law and Poverty, SEIU, the California Business Roundtable, and the County Welfare Directors Association of California.

Three notable anti-poverty efforts with multiple stakeholders from Contra Costa County are SparkPoint, the Family Economic Security Partnership (FESP), and Safety Net Innovation Network.

SparkPoint -- there are two SparkPoint centers in the County (Richmond and Bay Point) that house multiple nonprofit and County staff working together to help people find living wage jobs, reduce debt to 40% of income or less, increase credit scores to 650 or more, and secure at least three months savings to weather emergencies. The lead agencies for West and East County are the Richmond Community Foundation and EHSD. United Way of the Bay Area developed the model and continues to provide support to its growth and sustainability.

The Family Economic Security Partnership (FESP) is led by First 5 Contra Costa County. FESP is a public and non-profit collaboration dedicated to increasing the income and building the assets of low-income families and individuals living in Contra Costa County. The group managed the County's successful Earn It Keep It Save It volunteer income tax program for many years. Currently FESP is working with a broader network on a long-term coordinated effort to cut poverty in Contra Costa County by raising awareness and building a network of committed agencies, constituents, and community members to support programs and policies that will accomplish this goal.

The Safety Net Innovation Network is a cross sector group of partners that grew out of the Contra Costa Funders Forum. The Safety Net Innovation Network sponsored a series of anti-poverty meetings, attended by more than 100 County leaders. From this work several anti-poverty initiatives have been developed. The Safety Net Innovation Network is aligning with FESP to work toward a more coordinated approach to reducing poverty through programs and policies.

The SparkPoint, FESP, and Safety Net Innovation Network collective impact work in Contra Costa County is responsible for improving and expanding the safety net and keeping many low income people from sinking into poverty and despair.

A further goal is to build on this work and increase the scale of our local anti-poverty work in partnership with United Way of the Bay Area and the Rise Together Initiative. Rise Together's goal is to cut poverty in half in the Bay Area by 2020. In 2010, a steering committee of Bay Area leaders from government, for-profit, faith, education, and philanthropy came together to develop strategies. Contra Costa County government was represented by Supervisor John Gioia, EHSD Director Kathy Gallagher and Assistant to EHSD Director Paul Buddenhagen. Rise Together has developed a roadmap to cut poverty that focuses on three key drivers of economic success:
1. Basic Needs -- housing, health care, child care, and food.
2. Education -- closing the education gap, improving skills for high growth sectors, improving high school graduation rates, and college training.
3. Jobs -- developing a vibrant local economy that created good jobs and offers pathways to employment.

These three drivers of economic success will be supported by cross sector institutions that align resources, public policies, and change systems. They will be further supported by developing passionate champions from all walks of life who will support the work.

Hundreds of organizations from all sectors of the Bay Area, including a number of leaders from Contra Costa, have pledged to join Rise Together as partners in creating pathways out of poverty. Contra Costa County supports the Rise Together Initiative by becoming a Road Map partner.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Not applicable.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

Not applicable.

CLERK'S ADDENDUM

Speakers: Margaret Hanlon-Gradie, Central Labor Council of Contra Costa County AFL-CIO; Mary Harms, resident of Martinez.