By Crystal D. Swann
April 2, 2007

The United States Conference of Mayors March 23, led by Conference President Trenton (NJ) Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, convened mayors from across the country for a working session of the leadership of the Conference of Mayors Task Force on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

Conference Vice President and host Miami Mayor Manny A. Diaz, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, and Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, were among the participants in the hearing.

This, the first field hearing of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Poverty, Work and Opportunity Task Force brought mayors, community leaders, and national experts together to discuss investing in the future of America – its youth. Mayors recognize that what’s critical to the success of American cities in the global economy is their ability to produce a viable and stable workforce for generations to come. That workforce must be healthy, well educated, creative, adaptable, and technologically proficient. Economic development and investments in cities is vital to maintaining stable workforces, encouraging upward mobility, and creating opportunities for working families to move beyond the constraints of poverty.

Miami-Dade Schools Associate Superintendent Alberto Carvalho highlighted the innovative use of new technology and learning tools in select Miami schools to stimulate the interests of young students. The curriculum, which capitalizes on new technologies and updated learning methods, engages students to learn in an interactive and creative environment. “Today’s teachers have to abandon antiquated teaching methods that don’t engage the students and must begin to teach students in an interactive and highly simulative environment,” stated Carvalho.

Modesto Abety, CEO of The Children’s Trust, shared with the mayors how the citizens of Florida put children first by voting to increase taxes to create a new entity—a dedicated source of funding for children. The Trust, created in 2002 when Miami-Dade voters approved an independent special district, encourages creative approaches to coordinating, integrating and funding services across and within the areas of health, safety, educational development, and the promotion of increased parental and community involvement on behalf of all of Florida’s children.

John Talmage, executive director of the Social Compact, impressed upon the mayors the critical damage being done to local investment opportunities when people are missed during U.S Census counts. Often “data from the U.S. Census don’t tell the full story. They many times don’t account for multiple families living in one house or people who work off the books and pay their bills in cash,” said Talmage. Citing examples of work done in cities such as Miami and Detroit, Talmage discussed how his organization’s methodology combines dozens of wide-ranging data sources that individually may not reveal a lot but when combined provide an insightful and localized picture of a neighborhood. Research could include a combination of building permits, driver’s licenses, utility records, school enrollment figures, credit bureau reports and more. ‘’These communities really are misunderstood,’’ Talmage said. “The lack of data becomes a structural barrier to entry. Businesses want to be there, but they can’t make the dollars-and-cents case.’’

“Although education and the acquisition of skills is a lifelong process, starting early in life is crucial. Recent research has documented the high returns that early childhood programs can pay, in terms of subsequent educational attainment and in lower rates of social programs, such as teenage pregnancy and welfare dependency,” stated Rob Grunwald, economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, quoting remarks made by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke.

Chaired by Villaraigosa, the Poverty, Work and Opportunity Task Force was formed in January 2006 to create a mayors’ action-oriented agenda to significantly reduce the numbers of Americans living in poverty. In line with the Mayors’ 10-Point Plan – the Conference of Mayors’ legislative agenda – the mayors will look at workforce development, funding for The No Child Left Behind Act, children’s health insurance, and an expansion of affordable housing as critical items toward the creation of a mayors’ anti-poverty agenda.