Welcome Tonya Thurman to the Innovation Lab

Tonya  is our new Research Specialist with the Innovation Lab at CAP.

Hello, my name is Tonya Thurman.  I am the new Research Specialist with the Innovation Lab at CAP and I also have the pleasure of being the new host for the Tulsa Initiative Blog. I am a native Oklahoman, and recent graduate of the University of Tulsa College of Law, with a background in education and customer service.  After graduation my goal was to work for a local government or non-profit agency where I could make a difference in the lives of Oklahomans.  So I am thrilled to be with CAP, where the focus on children and parents helps to remove barriers for low-income families.  I look forward to working with this great team and sharing what we learn here with you.  

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Oklahoma One of Three Worst States for Economic Mobility

As an anti-poverty agency, CAP’s ultimate vision is that the children we serve today move up the economic ladder so that when they are adults their children are not born into poverty.  But according to a new study by the Pew Economic Mobility Project, the headwinds facing Oklahomans are particularly strong.

An interactive map shows clearly Oklahoma, along with Louisiana and South Carolina, have worse than average mobility rates on three measures — absolute mobility (residents’ average earnings growth over time), relative mobility (residents’ rank on the earnings ladder relative to their peers), and updward / downward movement along that ladder.  Another six states perform worse than the national average on two of the three measures.  Interestingly, Texas and Florida, states without income taxes, are two of those six states.

The study looked at average earnings of adults ages 35-39 between 1978 and 1997, and compared them to average earnings of the same sample ten years later.  14% of the Oklahomans experienced absolute mobility, compared to 17% as a national average, and a maximium of 23% in Connecticuit.  Relative upward mobility was higher across the board than absolute mobility - 30% in Oklahoma compared to 34% national average and a high of 49%, again in Connecticuit.  But, 33% of the Oklahomans experienced downward economic mobility, compared to 28% nationally.  And this was before the economic recession of 2008.

The study did not analyze why some states offer better or worse opportunities for residents to move up the earnings ladder.  Pew’s larger study on mobility, however, demonstrates that a host of factors including postsecondary educational attainment, savings and assets, and neighborhood povery during childhood — all factors where Oklahoma falls short — matter.  In other words, there is no silver bullet.  States must consider the context in which its citizens build human capital and figure out how to support that growth. 

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Goodbye Post

Last week, you read a welcome post from Valerie.  Today, you are reading a goodbye post from me (Elizabeth).  For the past two years, I have been your faithful (sometimes not so faithful) blogger from the Innovation Lab, but last week was my last week as a member of the Lab.  I am now a Strategic Planning and Organizational Performance Specialist at CAP, so I will be around – possibly even blogging on occasion.  Please bear with the blog as it transfers from one blog master to another.  If you think you might have what it takes to become the next Researcher in the Innovation Lab and therefore the next blog master, click here to read the job description and apply.

It has been a joy to share this space with you!

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Guest Post: What’s your strategy for building human capital?

As part of a new project at CAP, each month we will be featuring a guest blogger from across the agency.  Catheryn Mason, Director of Learning and Performance, is our seventh blogger.

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) place a great deal of emphasis on amassing, developing, and effectively utilizing financial capital within their organizations. Fundraising, donor relations and revenue generation are aspects of the business that (rightly) receive a great deal of time and attention from development personnel in addition to agency leaders and the organization’s board of directors. But what about amassing, developing, and most effectively utilizing and leveraging human capital? Remarkably, many NPOs lack any sort of vision or strategy around talent development and management – and this lack of focused commitment hampers results and outcomes.

For our purposes, let’s define talent management as follows: a comprehensive strategy that addresses recruitment, retention, learning management, leadership development, and succession planning. Understanding that the development and stewarding of our employees – our human capital – is every bit as important to an organization’s success as the development and stewarding of financial capital would mark a huge step forward for NPOs.

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Do Section 8 Recipients Work?

I must say that I really kind of love the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Off the Charts Blog.  They provide great information on a wide range of topics, but most importantly, they provide me the data to back up arguments I have with my friends about these same topics.  One of the ongoing arguments I have with a couple of friends is that people who receive housing vouchers (specifically Section 8) are lazy and don’t work.  Today on the Off the Charts Blog, Barbara Sard, CBPP’s Vice President of Housing Policy, posted about just this topic. 

In her post, she summarized a new CBPP report analyzing the demographic characteristics and labor force attachment of voucher recipients.  The analysis shows:

Voucher recipients who do work make around $17,000 per year, which is not enough to afford decent housing in most places.

The analysis also shows:

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Hard Times Generation

Yesterday evening I was channel surfing before the football game started.  I ran across a 60 Minutes segment on child homelessness in Central Florida.  What struck me most was how matter of fact the children in the piece handled being homeless.  One said, “It’s life.”  That same teenager said that education was her way out of homelessness.  This idea was being supported by her father who took the children to the library everyday after school to do homework and checkout books.  I highly recommend that everyone check out the video (linked below), so much so that I have linked on all of my personal social network outlets. 

Hard Times Generation (Video)

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Preview of New Poverty Data

Tomorrow the US Census Bureau will release data detailing poverty in America during 2010.  Most of us working in the field have a feeling that the data is not going to look good.  The continued effects of the recession such as a poor job market, the mortgage crisis, and cutbacks in state and federal funding are increasing the strain on families already living in poverty and causing an increasing number of families who live just above the poverty level to reach the tipping point.  On their blog Off the Charts, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides two briefs to prepare us for the release of 2010 poverty data from the Census Bureau on September 13.  

The first, “Making Sense of Next Week’s Poverty Data,”  lists five points to keep in mind when looking through the new data:

• Poverty may increase.
• “Deep poverty” could hit a record high
• Poverty is unlikely to improve in 2011, and it might remain high for a while
• Cutbacks at the state level and the expiration recession benefits in conjunction with the coming cuts to discretionary spending at the federal level are placing a drag on the economy
• Government assistance (unemployment insurance and SNAP) have kept the poverty rate from climbing higher.

This graphic from the second brief, “Why the Upcoming Poverty Numbers Matter,” shows what living below the poverty line means to families with children. 

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The Cost of Center-Based Child Care

Since I am not a parent, I sometimes forget how much it costs to send a child to center-based child care.  But, then I see the numbers and am blown away.  Last week I quickly posted about the Children Defense Fund’s latest report The State of America’s Children.  Since then I have been working my way through the extensive document. 

Today, I read a statistic that made me stop in my tracks:

In 33 States and the District of Columbia the annual cost of center-based child care for a 4-year old is more than the annual in-state tuition at a public four-year college.

Yes, you read that correctly.  In Oklahoma the cost is very similar, with only $66 separating the two.  While in the District of Columbia and Wyoming the cost of center-based child care for a 4-year old is more than double the cost of attending an in-state public four-year college.  For me this really puts into perspective the choices and tradeoffs working parents have to make when deciding the type of child care they chose for their children.  In some cases there really isn’t a choice at all.

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Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

This post was written by Karen Kiely, COO.

Direct the Rider, Motivate the Elephant and Shape the Path—how can these be the core elements to effecting lasting change?  In their highly acclaimed book, “Switch,” authors Chip and Dan Heath make a compelling case for how to bring about change, be it at the individual , team,  organization or community level.  Harnessing both the rational side of the Rider and the emotional side of the Elephant, as well as clearing the way for success, are essential for making a Switch.  Their change management model is powerfully illuminated by success stories from many realms—individuals, non-profits, corporations, and even countries.

As I think about how to apply these principles to the work of CAP, I am struck by how simple, yet powerful, the model can be.  For example, as we looked at trying to change the behavior of parents to drive improved child attendance, perhaps we needed to Motivate the Elephant by making the change a matter of identity rather than a matter of consequences:  “Be a better parent!” vs. “Get your child to school or else be put on an Attendance Improvement Plan!”  And as we introduce requirements for parents to attend new parenting classes, once again we have to think about how best to Motivate the Elephant and gain buy in by helping parents ‘find the feeling’ and ‘shrink the change.’  One way is by setting smaller, attainable goals within immediate reach and by recognizing accomplishments along the path, instead of only rewarding completion at a culminating graduation ceremony.

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Election 2010

I love Fall! I love the weather, the color in the trees, sweaters, and college football. I also love Election Day! But, for some it can be stressful. I thought I would try to help make the process a little less stressful. The links below are to great election-related resources.

 Oklahoma Policy Institute’s overview of each of the 11 state questions on Oklahoma’s ballot can be found by clicking on the icon to the left.

 Information about polling places and early voting can be found by clicking on the Oklahoma State Election Board’s icon to the left.  The State Election Board also provides a list of candidates for each office in the state.

Happy voting, and wear your “I Voted!” sticker with pride!

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