Poverty AwarenessPoverty Awareness

South Carolina

Cross Cultural Conference

Mr. James T. Darby, Jr.Mr. James T. Darby, Jr.Executive DirectorExecutive DirectorSantee-Lynches Regional Council of GovernmentsSantee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments

Generational Poverty and Situational Poverty are Different

“Generational poverty is defined as being in poverty for two generations or longer. Situational poverty exists for a shorter time and is caused by circumstances like death, illness, or divorce.”

Source:

No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty

Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas

“The environment of generational poverty (two generations or more) requires that an individual become reactive, sensory-based (physical) and dependent on non-verbals as a primary information source because those three things help one survive the environment.”

Source:No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from PovertyPayne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas

Comparison of Rural and Urban Tax Base Millage Value Against S.C. Median

Rural county

120,000

130,000

140,000

150,000

160,000

170,000

Year

Dolla

r am

ount

Rural county S.C. median

Rural county 140,000 155,260 160,548 164,582 162,803 145,990

S.C. median 125,252 129,198 138,316 143,976 142,221 151,515

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Urban county

75,000

125,000

175,000

225,000

275,000

325,000

375,000

425,000

YearD

oll

ar a

mo

un

t

Urban county S.C. Median

Urban county 264,000 271,000 294,000 343,000 352,000 413,000

S.C. Median 125,252 129,198 138,316 143,976 142,221 151,515

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Source: S. C. Association of Counties

ThresholdCounties (4)

Average 22.3%Persistent Poverty

(12)

(34) Average 12.7%Other

“Two nations, between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different food, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws … the rich and the poor.”

1845 , Benjamin Disraeli

British Prime Minister and authorSource:

The Impact of Poverty: The Poor Among Us; Leslie Cantu, Senior Staff Writer

The Item, October 8, 2006

Projected Under 18, 65 & Over Population (2030)

Under 18Population

Under 18Percent ofTotal Population

65 & Over Population

65 & Over Percent of Total Population

Percent Difference Under 18and 65 &Over

Georgia 3,146,624

26.2% 1,907,837

15.9% 10.3%

North Carolina

3,080,611

25.2% 2,173,173

17.8% 7.4%

South Carolina

1,143,807

22.2% 1,134,459

22.0% 0.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Projections

The U.S. labor force totaling 165 million people in the year 2021, will not include any child born in 2006 or later. It will, however include nearly 100 million people who today are already out of school and at work. About two-thirds of these workers are likely to be part of the active workforce at least through the next decade.

Source:

Tough Choices or Tough Times

National Center on Education and the Economy, 2007.

48.1%

21.4%

35.0%

20.4%

45.5%

26.1%

35.5%

17.7%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

Clarendon Kershaw Lee Sumter

Note: White percentages are for White Non Hispanic Population

Percent of Persons 25 Years & Over Without a High School Diploma by Race (Santee-Lynches Region)

African-Amer

White

“African Americans today can serve as secretary of state, CEO of a major corporation, president of an Ivy League university, chief surgeon at a major hospital. But their access to positions of power and prestige – and to well-paying jobs in general – will be limited if they typically leave high school with an eighth-grade education.”

No Excuses, Closing the Racial Gap in Leaving, Abigail Thernstrom and Stephan Thernstrom

Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2003

High School Non-Completers

S. Carolina Clarendon County

Lee County Sumter County

Three-County Area

16,648 169 122 524 815

For purposes of this report, we have used the South Carolina Kids Count definition of non-completer/dropout: eighth grade students not enrolled in grade 12 four years later.

33.5%

47.3%

41.7%

35.6%

30.0%

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0% 50.0%

Source: SC Kids Count 2003

USA

S.Car.

Sumter

Lee

C larendon

HIGH SCHOOL NON-COMPLETION - 2003

Dropout Percentages for South Carolina, Clarendon County, and Lee County

31.833.7

55.2

42 39.5

54.7

24.5

35.9

55.6

2826.1

26.7

35.633.5

47.3

0

20

40

60

White Male AA&O MaleWhite Female AA&OFemale

Total

Source: S.C. K ids Count Report 2003 S. Carolina Clarendon Lee

AA&O = African-American and Others

According to author Ruby K. Payne, ‘being poor brings out a survival mentality, and turns attention away from opportunities taken for granted by the middle class and wealthy.’

Source:A Framework for Understanding Poverty; Payne, Ruby K.Aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas

“The environment of generational poverty (two generations or more) requires that an individual become reactive, sensory-based (physical) and dependent on non-verbals as a primary information source because those three things help on survive the environment.”

Source:No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from PovertyPayne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas

“Planning is key to the tasks that get finished and to the control of impulsivity. Even more importantly, brain research indicates that the primary filter for what gets noticed by the mind is closely correlated with the goals of the person. So when there is no planning, there are no goals. Emotional need or association, then, determines activities.”

Source:

No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty

Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas

“Being proactive (ability to plan), verbal (use of specific language) and abstract (ability to represent the sensory) are all learned. They can be taught. Many students who are assigned to special education are from poverty and cannot do these three things. Rather than teach these things, educators tend to assign the student to a different placement.”

Source:

No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty

Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas

“To survive in the school and work environment, one needs to be proactive, verbal and abstract.”

Source:No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from PovertyPayne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas

The Region’s Population is AgingClarendon, Kershaw, Lee and Sumter Counties

56,72655,22957,94965,22474,89366,610

14.99718,013 22,411 30,536

36,37944,604

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

18 Yrs & Under 55 Yrs & Over

There is also a racial dimension to the potential lack of sufficient young workers to replace the aging workforce. While the African-American population accounts for 44.2% of the region’s total population, they account for 55% of the region’s youth 18 years and under.

Source: US Census Bureau – 1950-2000 Census

Aging Population (cont.)

County Median Age by Race – Census 2000

Population Clarendon Co.

Kershaw Co. Lee County Sumter Co.

Black 31.7 Years 35.0 Years 31.5 Years 30.7 Years

White 43.3 Years 38.5 Years 42.3 Years 36.2 Years

Combined Average

37.0 Years 37.4 Years 35.7 Years 35.2 Years

The African American portion of the area’s population is significantly younger than the White population. Therefore, African Americans will make up a disproportionately larger share of the future labor force available to fill the jobs vacated by retiring workers. This will require a much greater commitment on the part of the minority youth, local educators and business leaders to insure that these young people are fully prepared to meet this situation.

WEIGHING THE COSTSINCARCERATION - VERSUS - EDUCATION

1 Adult Inmate 1 Juvenile 1 Student

Incarcerated Incarcerated Educated

In State In State In State

$41.52/day $135/day $21.26/day

$15,156/year $49,275/year $7,759/year

THE DIFFERENCES

Juvenile/Student Adult Inmate/Student

Cost per day more than Cost per day nearly double

six times expensive (1.95 times as expensive)

Sources: S.C. Department of Corrections, S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice,

S. C. Department of Education

Ranking of State Incarceration Rates -- S.C. 6th highest in U.S. --

824

703 682655

587538

488

361

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

La. Texas Miss. Okla. Ala. S.C. U.S. Avg. N.C.

Rates per 100,000 residents

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics 2005 report, U.S. Department of Justice

“No more applause for predicting rain, only for building arks”

Don CarstensenInterim Vice President

Workforce Development DivisionAmerican College Testing system (ACT)

From speech at 2007 Southeastern WorkKeys Conference Charleston, SC