This document outlines a draft strategy to cut poverty in the Bay Area in half by 2020 by focusing on the four populations with the highest poverty rates: female-headed households, families with young children, linguistically isolated households, and those with less than a high school diploma. It identifies five key barriers these populations face - basic needs/cost of living, lack of education, language/documentation issues, lack of jobs, and ineffective service delivery. The strategy proposes both structural changes like policy reforms and aligning funding, as well as individual programs and services to address these barriers and help lift people out of poverty. Progress will be measured using various economic and educational indicators.

1. Bay Area Roadmap to Cut Poverty – strategy chart – DRAFT UNDER REVISION
Goal: “Headline Metrics” to measure success:
Cut Poverty in Half in  Income: No. of people who get out of poverty
the Bay Area by o Issue: Should we use the self-sufficiency standard, 3 times Federal Poverty Line (FPL) -- or 2 times FPL?
 Structural change: No. of our ‘top ten’ necessary policy changes that are secured
2020.
 Progress on the upcoming Stanford Bay Area Report Card: Significant gains on the population-level measures on
the Bay Area Report Card on Poverty (e.g. unemployment rate, high school graduation rate)
Other options:
 Jobs: No. of households that obtain jobs that pay a self-sufficient income
 Education: No. of people who complete graduate high school or complete post-secondary education or training
By focusing on 1) Female-headed Households 2) Families with Young 3) Linguistically 4) HS Diploma or Less
the four critical Children (0 to 5) Isolated Households
populations with
highest poverty rates These four critical populations make up more than 65% of all households in poverty. If we can help a majority of these families
make progress, we can cut Bay Area poverty in half.
FIVE KEY Basic Needs/ Lack of Education Language and Lack of Jobs Ineffective
BARRIERS Cost of Living Documentation Service Delivery
How we will do it: The costs and lack of Most people who do Limited English Good jobs are not Existing systems
availability of child not complete high speakers, undocu- available, or people often are hard to
Remove five key care, health care, school and post- mented cannot do not have the access, make new
barriers faced by the and/or housing secondary will not access services, find skills to obtain the problems while
four critical prevent families from reach economic good jobs or benefit good jobs. solving others, or do
populations – and moving forward. success. from policies. not work efficiently.
create opportunities. Proof Points More than one in five 26% of Bay Area Average income for Well-paid jobs Some public
families do not have youth do not undocumented requiring STEM systems have
sufficient income to graduate high school. families is estimated skills are expected shifted from being
meet basic needs, High school dropouts to be $36,000. to increase 21%. outcome-focused to
including housing, are four times more Meanwhile a family Yet many low- monitoring and
child care, health care, likely to be poor than of three requires at income residents enforcement. Client-
and others. college graduates. least $55,000 to do not have this driven services will
meet basic needs. training. move more people
out of poverty.

2. This work requires FIVE KEY Basic Needs/ Lack of Education Language and Lack of Jobs Ineffective
two levels of BARRIERS Cost of Living Documentation Service Delivery
strategies, structural Policy: Align funding: Build Policy: Promote Align metrics: Reform systems:
and individual. (1) Affordable child community college reform to allow Workforce providers Operators of big
STRUCTURAL care and preschool capacity to enroll undocumented to all measure as social service
STRATEGIES for all; (2) Health and support TANF live, work and primary outcome systems engage in
Structural: coverage and access recipients for STEM pursue education the no. of people client-centered re-
Strategies that work at to primary care for degrees while applying for who get and keep design of services
the system or children and families citizenship and well-paid jobs
community level and Reform systems: paying their fair Game Changer:
affect a whole group of Align metrics: Major Change TANF rules share Policy: (1) Prioritize Set up alternate
people at one time. institutions adopt to allow higher sector-based financing
the Self-Sufficiency education to be Reform systems: workforce efforts for mechanisms to
- Public Policy Standard counted as “work Build social service public funding; (2) move more capital
- Reform Existing activities” agencies’ capacity to Offer incentives to to the highest-
Systems Reform systems: serve limited English microenterprises performing social
- Align Funding Maximize use of the Policy: School speakers and small businesses services, systems
- Align Metrics current affordable districts adopt full- to hire and train
- Game Changers housing stock. Keep service community Social movement: low-income people Game Changer:
- Build a Social existing low-income school model Use ‘promotores’ Drive technology
Movement homeowners and approach to engage Reform systems: solutions to increase
renters in their Social movement: community Use regional access, effectiveness
homes. Increase parent residents in agencies and and cost efficiency
Draft under revision engagement and outreach to help infrastructure more (ex. Web-based
advocacy in low- access resources effectively to attract benefits enrollment)
performing schools desirable employers
(e.g., STEM)
INDICATORS Increase in % with Increase in No. of Roadmap No. of regional Greater take-up rate
(EXAMPLES) health coverage and enrollment of TANF partners who entities (PUC, MTC, (per $ spent) of and
access to a primary recipients at Bay become proficient at etc.) that implement benefits services
care doctor. Area community serving LEP and a plan for hiring, from big public
colleges undocumented training low-income systems
No. of affordable people people
child care &
preschool slots.

3. FIVE KEY Basic Needs/ Lack of Education Language and Lack of Jobs Ineffective
BARRIERS Cost of Living Documentation Service Delivery
Access to benefits: Link education to Adult English as a Provide Create one-stop
Ensure maximum the labor market: Second Language sector/industry centers that can
Individual strategies: PROGRAM/ uptake and use of academy or (ESL) and other based employment combine financial,
INDIVIDUAL existing benefits like alternative pathways literacy programs training targeting education, and
Support and scale the STRATEGIES CalFresh (Food focused on growth industries health services
most effective Stamps), Earned particular sectors; Vocational ESL with well-paid jobs.
programs and services. Income Tax Credit, work-based learning training specific to Offer personal
child care credit, and that offers pay and particular jobs To help low-income empowerment
others. school credit; workers access strategies that are
college-readiness Citizenship STEM opportunities, not services or
Draft under revision Grow homeless programs that application provide skills program – e.g.
prevention and rapid increase college- assistance upgrade training for personal mobility
re-housing programs going rates. STEM-related networks.
occupations.
Expand capacity of Expand the Support self-
community clinics community school employment and
and health centers model, which clears cooperative business
barriers to academic development
success, improves opportunities for the
health, and enables undocumented
economic success.
INDICATORS Increase in uptake of No. of people from No. of limited Financial stability No. of people using
(EXAMPLES) existing public the four critical English speakers beyond increased and benefiting from
benefits - CalFresh, populations that get accessing Vocational income: No. of personal
WIC, EITC, etc. a 2- or 4-year college ESL people who increase empowerment
degree (which their savings to 3 strategies
means they have months of expenses;
also completed high raise credit score to
school graduation or 650 or above;
GED) reduce debt to
under 40% of
income