2. Do I have something in my teeth?

3. How are we doing in Arkansas? Barriers for Arkansans Poverty: Poor Working Families and our children Health Care Housing, Transportation, & Child Care Costs Educational Attainment Employment Needs Investment in Post-Secondary Education

4. Arkansans Facing Poverty 550,000 Arkansans are poor 21% of the state versus 14.3% U.S. Average poverty threshold for family of four in Arkansas - $22,050 Under 18 years of age – Arkansas Poverty rate is 29% versus 27% in U.S. – In Female Headed Homes – poverty rate in Arkansas Jumps to 53.27% – Source: U.S. Census Data – http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparebar.jsp?ind=11&cat=1 http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparebar.jsp?ind=11&cat=1

5. A Thought to Ponder today “87,000 people in Northwest Arkansas sought emergency food assistance this year” Arkansas Hunger Alliance – More Information go to http://www.arhungeralliance.org

6. Barriers Facing Arkansas’ Working Families Arkansas Ranks 49 th in Asset Poverty 22 % of Arkansans have a net worth of zero or less Source: (Arkansas Assets Coalition)

7. Asset Poverty Rates by Race in the United States African American 43.2% Hispanic 39.0% Native American 34.5% Asian 23.1% White 16.6% Source: Corporation for Enterprise Development (www.cfed.org), 2007 – 2008 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard, analysis based on U.S. Census Data (2004). www.cfed.org

8. Percent of working families below 200% of poverty level 37.6%

9. Arkansas Children in Poverty A child is born into poverty every 59 minutes A child in Arkansas dies before his/her birthday every day Source: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Good Faith Fund And Final Report Arkansas Legislative Taskforce on Poverty

10. What a year in poverty will cost.  Every year spent as a child in poverty will cost an estimated $11,800 in lost future productivity in his/her adult life  Source: Children’s Defense Fund

11. Bad News and Good News Children at or below 200% of poverty 47.6 percent Children at or below 200% of Poverty without insurance 5.2 Percent Overall percent of children without health insurance 11.6%

12. Barriers to Health Care 34% of Arkansans under the age of 65 are without Health Insurance Percent of Poor Families with at least one Parent without Health Insurance in Arkansas is 52.6%Source: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Good Faith Fund Barriers to Moving Up and Out for Poor Arkansans

13. 17% of workers in Arkansas are without Health Coverage Note: Many states cover adults with incomes up to 200% above poverty under Medicaid

14. Working Families Median household incomes declined 1.5 percent in the Southern United States. The South continues to have the lowest median household income of all four regions.

15. Affordable Housing 3 out of 4 Poor Families in Arkansas pay more than 1/3 of their income on housing Source: Good Faith Fund

16. http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/avg-house-avg-income.png

17. Final report of the Ark. Leg. Taskforce on Poverty – 2010 – “More Barriers for Arkansans” Final report of the Ark. Leg. Taskforce on Poverty – 2010 – “More Barriers for Arkansans” Transportation - in rural areas of Arkansas job supports are often many miles from home and require dependable transportation Geographic Location - In L.R. a single parent with 2 kids would have to earn $16.58 to meet basic needs In rural Arkansas – it would be $14.53 Child Care - note: in October of 2010 there were 12,000 low income children on the waiting list for child care vouchers Stress - a shortage of mental health and substance abuse programs land a disproportionate number of Arkansans in prison for non-violent crimes

18. Source: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families

19. Continued Family Structure - children in single parent families are 8 times more likely to live in chronic poverty – 2/3 of children in poverty live in single parent households Education - 56 percent of all adults in 2 year institutions require remediation Policies that allow families to accumulate assets.

20. Education and Chances of Living In Poverty – Arkansas vs. U.S. Approximately 29.3% of those without High School live in poverty – U.S. 25.7% Approximately 14.2% with High School -- U.S. 12.5% Approximately 11.6% with some college -- U.S. 9% A dramatic 4.1% for those with Bachelors’ Degree or more – U.S. 3.9%

21. New Rates of High school drop outs in Arkansas -- 28% Whites -- 25% African American - 36% Hispanic - 40% Native American - 50% Source: www.all4ed.org/files/Arkansas_wc.pdf -

22. Changing Our Future Investing in Post-Secondary Education What are the needs? What can we expect in return?

23.  36% of Arkansans have high school diploma/GED Arkansas’s economic health is directly related to the educational attainment of its citizens.  19 % of Arkansans have less than a high school diploma/GED  55% of Arkansans have high school or less  Source: Census 2000 Supplementary Data

24. Post Secondary Educational Attainment  18% of Arkansans have a Bachelor’s Degree or More -- compared to US. 27% Arkansas ranks 49 th among the 50 states in the number of adults with at least a Baccalaureate degree Source: Arkansas Legislative Taskforce on Reducing Poverty – Final Report -- 2010   5% of Arkansans have an Associate’s Degree

25. Difference in Median Annual Earnings Between College Graduates and High School Graduates Source: U.S. Census 2000

27. Industry The Payoff for Arkansas Employers… Why it Matters whether Arkansans move out of Poverty…. Arkansas needs an educated workforce

28. Challenges for Arkansas Investment in Post-Secondary Education “There is an alarming disconnect between the increasing demand for a skilled well- educated workforce, and the inadequate skills and education of the nation’s low- wage workforce.” Source: Working Hard, Falling Short – National Report

29. Today’s graduates need more knowledge and skills Highly Paid Professional Jobs Earnings: $40,000+ Projected Job Growth Rate: 20% Well-Paid, Skilled Jobs Earnings: $25,000– $40,000 Projected Job Growth Rate: 12% Low-Paid or Low-Skilled Jobs Earnings: Less than $25,000 Projected Job Growth Rate: 15% Source: Achieve, Inc.

30. Future Employment Needs Almost One-Third of New Jobs in Arkansas will require Post-Secondary Education

31. Employment Projections 2002-2012 Source: Department of Labor 32% 68%

32. Bachelor’s Degree Or More 71% Post Secondary/ Vocational 12% 17% Associate’s Degree Post Secondary Job Requirements Are we Prepared?