By Liz Kresse
February 9, 2004

A workshop on "Supporting Working Families," moderated by Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, was held on January 21 during the 72nd Annual Winter Meeting. Mayors discussed best practices on how they are providing additional supports for working families in their communities.

The session opened with comments from Bonnie Howard, Senior Associate with The Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Annie E. Casey Foundation and The U.S. Conference of Mayors began a partnership in January 2002 to examine the needs of working families in today's economy and how mayors can play a significant role in addressing these needs. These best practices are some of the results.

Howard outlined the three key components of the foundation's Family Economic Success (FES) approach: Workforce Development, which focuses on improving job access and quality employment; Family Economic Support Programs, which focus on maximizing income and increasing assets through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other strategies; and Community Investments focused on strengthening community institutions critical to working families such as affordable housing. Howard finished by saying she hoped mayors could use the FES approach as a lens through which to identify new opportunities to help working families in their cities.

Indianapolis

Peterson briefly described Indianapolis' successful Asset Building Campaign, a pilot program begun in 2002 that encourages low-income working families to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

In Indianapolis, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 families failed to claim the EITC in 2001, totaling approximately $22 million in unclaimed tax credits. The mayor noted that many families don't apply for the credit simply because they fill out the E-Z tax form, which does not make the credit available. The Indianapolis program includes free tax preparation services, electronic filing and financial counseling provided by volunteers.

Since its inception, the program has claimed $2 million in tax credits that have been returned to the local economy and has expanded from a few sites in the city to multiple sites countywide. One of the key ingredients that has made the program a success, noted Peterson, is partnering with a wide range of local entities that can provide financial support, volunteers, information dissemination, and workshop sites, including law firms, universities, hospitals, financial institutions, utilities, and public libraries.

Burlington

Burlington Mayor Peter A. Clavelle followed with a description of strategies employed in his city to support working families. Under the mayor's leadership, Burlington has worked with child care providers to enhance their professional experience and has provided $2,500 per child for early childhood education. The city also has assigned about half of its AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers to the Mayors Literacy Task Force.

Clavelle indicated that the city supports five non-profit centers caring for low income children through their community development block grant. In addition it has developed a community partnership to identify and work on a case-by-case basis with over four hundred at-risk women with dependent children to ensure that they receive financial and other support. Clavelle closed his presentation by stating that "We want to be the first urban environment where childhood poverty is eradicated."

Rochester

Rochester (NY) William A. Johnson, Jr. focused on affordable housing as a strategy to improve the lives of working families. Faced with a large inventory of vacant housing in Rochester, the mayor and his community partners devised an employer- assisted housing program that provides home ownership opportunities for working families and, at the same time, addresses the cities large number of unoccupied homes. The program began by extending home ownership opportunities to city employees by providing them up to $3,000 to acquire a city residence.

The City's Community Development Block Grant was used to create a pool of funds to match those provided by employers. The financial support offered by the program is coupled with a home ownership education program for first-time home owners. The program includes education on basic home maintenance, which is key to avoiding foreclosure_a common problem among low-income urban home owners.

The program_which has been in operation for ten years_is so successful, stated Johnson, that since its inception, the rate of foreclosure in Rochester has dropped from 15 percent to one-third of one percent. An important factor in the success of this program, noted Johnson, is to screen prospective home buyers carefully to identify those most likely to maintain their property and avoid foreclosure.

Fort Collins

The final presentation was made by Fort Collins (CO) Mayor Ray Martinez. Martinez discussed a new program in his city that encourages approximately 18,000 eligible Fort Collins residents to apply for the earned income tax credit. The program provides tax preparation assistance at locations such as churches, banks, and city buildings throughout the city with the help of experienced volunteers from a range of sources including the faith community and the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (ARRP).

Some noteworthy features of the program include at-home tax preparation assistance for homebound seniors and a "211" hotline that serves as a general clearinghouse for assistance. Martinez noted that individuals who are eligible for the EITC but who have not applied for it in the past can go back three years and submit amended tax returns. Even legal immigrants are eligible for the EITC, he added.

Martinez stressed that an EITC program is extremely cost effective. Last year Fort Collins' program brought in over $1 million in tax revenues and the major cost associated with it was the salary of one intern.