The Six Strategies for SelfSufficiency

1
The Six Strategies for Self-Sufficiency

• Wider Opportunities for Women
• Californians for Family Economic Self-Sufficiency
• National Economic Development Law Center

2
Strategy One The Self-Sufficiency Standard

• The Self-Sufficiency Standard describes the
  amount of money required to live at a basic level
  without public or private subsidies
• The Self-Sufficiency Standard is calculated for
  70 family types and for all of Californias 58
  counties

3
Using the Self-Sufficiency Standard in Your
Program

• Holistic Legal Services
• Educational Counseling using the Standard
• Career Planning with career ladders using the
  Standard
• Exploring other subsidies (tax credits,
  transportation)

4
Using the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Policy
Change

• Better education training for TANF recipients
• Reward new businesses with tax breaks for paying
  self-sufficiency wages
• Minimum Wage and Living Wage
• Adoption of the Standard by WIB, DSS,
  Redevelopment Agency, others
• More affordable housing in the community

5
Strategy Two Targeting Higher-Wage Employment

• GOAL
• Match the demand for high-paying jobs
• with a supply of skilled labor
• to move low-wage workers up the wage scale and
• involve employees, employers and the public
  sector in the process
• to ultimately achieve systems change

6
Ways to Target High-Wage Jobs in Your Community

• Research growing industries that pay higher wages
• Advocate for job training programs that will
  prepare people for high-wage jobs
• Work with employers to create new industry
  patterns, markets, products or training
  structures that require higher-paying jobs

7
Strategy Three Nontraditional Employment for
Women

• GOAL
• Institutionalize opportunities for women to work
  in higher-paying, nontraditional fields
• in job training programs
• in welfare-to-work programs
• in apprenticeship programs
• in affirmative action policies

8
Ways to Move Women into Nontraditional Jobs

• Access federal and state funding streams to pay
  for prevocational training and support services
  for women entering the trades
• Advocate for WIB and welfare policies that target
  nontraditional jobs for women in training dollars
  and referral systems
• Teach women in the trades about sex
  discrimination laws and enforcement

9
Strategy Four Functional Context Education

• What is it?
• A teaching strategy for adult learners
• that integrates literacy with job skills
• to move students more quickly and successfully
  toward their educational and employment goals.

10
Using Functional Context Education (FCE)

• FCE works the way most adult brains work
  prioritizing details that are relevant to
  recurring activities
• FCE allows students to learn basic math and
  language skills in the context of their desired
  career goal
• Policy advocacy is needed to fund and standardize
  the FCE approach through demonstration projects

11
Strategy Five Microenterprise

• A microenterprise (generally)
• is owned and operated by an individual or family
• employs less than five people
• can start up with a loan of 35,000 or less

12
Using Microenterprise Development

• Educate your local welfare department about using
  microenterprise as a TANF welfare-to-work
  activity
• 53 of microentrepreneurs who started out on
  welfare moved over the poverty line
• 61 decreased their reliance on public
  assistance.
• Advocate for funding to support microenterprise
  loans and technical assistance

13
Strategy Six Individual Development Accounts
(IDAs)

• What is an IDA?
• A dedicated savings account for
• purchasing a first home,
• education or job training expenses, or
• capitalizing a small business
• in which contributions are matched by public
  and/or private funds

14
Using and Promoting IDAs

• Support Assembly Bill 692 (Aroner), which will
  create a California IDA program
• Educate CalWORKs recipients and advocates about
  IDA asset set-asides (CA DSS All-County Letter
  01-76)
• Start an IDA program or regularly refer your
  clients to local IDA programs