By Pauline Wagner

This years "Richmond Wrap-Up" held on Sunday, April 19^th at the Providence Presbyterian Church focused on social issues. The legislators present were called upon to give their prospective on the outcomes of social legislation that was introduced in the Virginia Legislature.

After the invocation and introductions, a moving presentation by Darlene Palmer recounted how difficult it was to raise grandchildren on TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) benefits. Darlene and her husband are raising 4 grandchildren due to domestic violence in the children's birth family. Although Darlene and her husband would not have it any other way, the TANF benefits amounted to $19 per week/ child were and continue to be insufficient to support 4 growing children. Approximately 30% of the children receiving TANF benefits are in relative care; the great majority of these children are being raised by grandparents who are often living on a limited retirement income. The TANF benefits contrast poorly to the much more realistic foster care funds that range from $423 to $628 per month per child depending on age. Foster care payments are also indexed to inflation, one of the very few programs that are indexed in Virginia. Ironically, studies have shown that children thrive much better in relative care than in foster care.

The first question to the legislators was what can we do to get an increase in TANF benefits? What are the roadblocks and how can we get around them? TANF benefits are a block grant to the states from the Federal government, but in Virginia much of the monies are used to fund state programs so that the state funds can be used elsewhere.

The legislators were in agreement that several factors were responsible for the "misuse" of the TANF funds: the elimination of the Virginia estate tax left an approximate $120 million yearly deficit, the "no-tax" pledge signed by one half of the committee members, "structural imbalance in revenues", and tax cuts. There are many challenges of protecting the TANF money: it can be diverted in the budget bill and there are limited opportunities for change it when it comes out of the Appropriations Committee, and generally the vote is up or down. At present the economy plays an important part, making it harder not to skim monies from TANF to fund state projects because there are inadequate general funds. In some cases the money is diverted from TANF to non-critical, non-basic needs, but nice to have, programs.

The Commonwealth of Virginia does not index TANF benefits to the cost of living which results in lessening value of the TANF dollars over time. The House of Delegates has failed to pass any indexing legislation in recent memory. It was noted that the state gasoline tax has remained at 17 cent/gallon since the early 80s, and a bill to raise the cigarette tax was defeated in the House of Delegates during this past session.

The Legislators present urged that advocacy groups increase their presence in Virginia communities in order to obtain support for TANF statewide. The budget committees were suggested as a focal point for community advocacy.

The next question posed was how does the Commonwealth address homelessness? Fairfax County has implemented a program that is geared to end homelessness in 10 years which includes obtaining more affordable housing. Currently, the County dedicates one penny/ dollar of the real estate tax to this fund. Does the Commonwealth have any similar plans?

The Commonwealth has no substantial housing trust fund and does not directly deal with the homelessness issue. Virginia ranks 50^th among the states in the availability of affordable housing. A rental assistance bill was introduced in this year's legislative session, but was defeated in the House of Delegates. Rental assistance would aid working families who are currently in homeless shelters because they can't afford current market rate rentals. Moving these families to appropriate housing is cost effective; it is half as expensive to provide rental assistance so they can have a home to as it is to house families in a shelter. Having a home promotes family stability and children are able to thrive and do better in school.

Other issues that were briefly discussed included the TANF Opt Out which is an option for the States to opt out of the ban on TANF being given to drug offenders who have paid their debt to society. Many of these offenders are women who are also mothers and without TANF benefits they cannot support their children.

Environmental issues were of concern to many since a bill to reduce greenhouse gases by 19% failed to pass, and there are two new coal-fired power plants being built in Virginia.

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Social action advocates prepare for 2009

SALT Annual Advocacy Conference

DeeDee Tostanoski

SALT (Social Action Linking Together) held its annual advocacy conference on Saturday, October 25 at St. Thomas a Becket Catholic Church in Reston. Despite the rain, the conference was attended by an enthusiastic cadre of advocates anxious to learn how to impact the legislative process in Richmond on behalf of social justice concerns.

The keynote address was given by former Delegate Vincent Callahan from McLean, who provided the group with an excellent grounding in the political realities of effecting change in the Commonwealth. He observed with disappointment the enormous decrease in collegiality over the past decade. He also clarified for the audience the criticality of engaging the money committees in any proposals, since the absence of funding will negate the best of ideas. He pointed out that there are 1200 registered lobbyists in Richmond, targeting 140 legislators, emphasizing how important it is for legislators to hear from and see their constituents to balance out that influence. Delegate Callahan advised visiting legislators at home, prior to the beginning of the session in Richmond, as they are so overwhelmed once the session begins that it can be difficult to get their attention. And finally, he encouraged the group to expand their network throughout the state, so that all legislators will be hearing from their active constituents on behalf of social justice.

Jeff Caruso from the Virginia Catholic Conference defined advocacy as informing and persuading. As people of faith, he reminded us that our advocacy is grounded in love of God and love of neighbor, and will require both great patience and great persistence. From a practical perspective, he encouraged the audience to build relationships with their legislators, attend home district meetings, town hall meetings, Catholic Advocacy Day in Richmond, and write letters to the editor. He also reminded the group that thanking legislators for their service, their time, and for votes that are in keeping with our social justice agenda is essential to the advocacy process.

Representatives from several of SALT's partner organizations also spoke in support of SALT's 2009 social action agenda. These included Communities of Faith United for Housing, Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, and Virginia CURE. Darlene Palmer, a relative caregiver, provided the most compelling witness on the need for an increase to TANF benefits by sharing her personal story. Ms. Palmer and her husband became caregivers for four grandchildren due to domestic violence, and they have gone into significant debt due to the inadequacy of Virginia's TANF benefits. Despite strong evidence that children in relative care are significantly more stable than children in foster care, the disparity in state support is huge. Two children living with a single parent will receive $320 in TANF payments. If these same children live in foster care, they will receive $918 in monthly TANF payments. But if they live with their grandparents, these same children will receive $254! Hearing about the realities of attempting to raise four grandchildren with such inadequate state support struck the hearts of everyone in attendance. Ms. Palmer closed her testimony by saying, "These children are our future. If we give them less, we can expect less from them."

The SALT advocacy agenda for 2009 includes the following items: a rental assistance pilot project to be funded in part by federal TANF funds, a 10% increase in benefits to TANF recipients, and elimination of the lifetime ban on TANF benefits for former drug offenders. Combined, these legislative initiatives will provide a real solution for low-income Virginians in these difficult times.

SALT's primary advocacy event is its annual "Home for the Holidays" greeting card campaign, which is managed through Catholic parishes and other faith congregations. SALT provides the language and the background information so that members of faith communities can write greeting card messages to their legislators in an organized manner. Most faith communities provide legislator addresses, collect the cards and send them jointly to the legislators in order to maximize their impact. The time commitment for individual parishioners is only three minutes, but the impact of these hand-written greeting cards is enormous.

If your parish has not participated in the "Home for the Holidays" card writing campaign, you should consider it now. To find out more on how to participate in the campaign, or any other information about SALT, go to http://www.s-a-l-t.org/, or contact John Horejsi, SALT Coordinator at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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SALT Success!

Virginia Income Tax Credit Coalition Mini-Grants

Out of this appropriation, $230,000 the first year and $230,000 the second year shall be provided to the Virginia Community Action Partnership to support the Virginia Earned Income Tax Coalition and provide grants to local organizations to provide outreach, education and tax preparation services to citizens who may be eligible for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. The Virginia Community Action Partnership shall report on its efforts to expand the number of Virginians who are able to claim the federal EITC, including the number of individuals identified who could benefit from the credit, the number of individuals counseled on the availability of the federal EITC, and the number of individuals assisted with tax preparation to claim the federal EITC. This report shall be provided to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees and the Chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by December 1 each year."

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LUUP LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW-WHAT YOU CAN DO:

  Here is the link to the blog for the SALT presentation.   Our SALT thanks
  to Georgeta Pourchot, Ron Brandt & Laura Dely for the opportunity to be
  incuded & for all you do to promote & bring about social justice.

  Just click on the URL below for a summary.   john

http://mvuc.org/blogs/20/NOVA-LUUP-Legislative-Preview-Follow-up-What-You-Ca
n-Do-1-by-Georgeta-Pourchot.html