Virginia is “stuck in the mud” when it comes to tackling poverty and is ill-prepared to handle a recent spike in unemployment, according to a report released Thursday.
The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis found that the state made “no real progress in reducing poverty” over the past 20 years, and its current social programs have not responded adequately to a 122 percent rise in unemployment since December 2007.
“Our system isn’t able to meet the needs of workers and their families who are being pushed into poverty by the economic turmoil,” said Michael Cassidy, executive director of the Richmond nonprofit think tank.
The report estimated that an additional 218,000 Virginians could fall into poverty if the national unemployment rate hits 9 percent — an increase of nearly 30 percent.
But since the start of the recession in December 2007, enrollment in the state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program has risen 9.8 percent and the number of families using food stamps has increased 18 percent. TANF benefits have essentially been constant for more than 10 years and reach only a small percentage of the state’s poor.
These are clear signs that the programs need to be improved, the report argues.
The money to do so could come largely from the federal government, according to the Commonwealth Institute.
Cassidy said the state could gain access to up to $79 million from the federal stimulus package by expanding TANF eligibility and coverage. Similar reforms to the state’s unemployment insurance program would make as much as $125 million in federal funding available.
The report also recommends making the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit refundable for low-income working families, increasing the minimum wage and providing health care coverage for working families in poverty.
The Commonwealth Institute is scheduled to present its report today at Gov. Tim Kaine’s Poverty Summit in Richmond.
