Crittenton Women's Union - Helping Women and Their Families Achieve Economic Independence

Crittenton Women's Union works to advance broad policy changes that address barriers low-income women face to achieving economic self-sufficiency. CWU works with community partners to promote policy initiatives in the areas of education, job training, child care and affordable and safe housing to help low-income women bridge gaps from poverty to self-sufficiency.

Our 2009-2010 legislative and budget priorities include supporting and/or expanding the following:

The Workers' Pathways to Self-Sufficiency Act of 2009 (SB37), legislation that would maintain and increase economic vitality in Massachusetts and promote business competitiveness, worker self-sufficiency, and economic progress by supporting access and success in education and trainings for low-income, low-skilled workers.
An Act to Establish a Self Sufficiency Standard in Massachusetts (HB1792/SB730), directs the Commonwealth to define a self-sufficiency standard in order to provide a means of measuring the extent that incomes in Massachusetts are sufficient to support the costs of living, working, raising a family, and paying taxes in Massachusetts.
Educational Rewards Grant program which is unique in allowing students to use a portion of their grants to cover living expenses and is ideal for working and/or parenting students. It is the only state grant available to students carrying less than a half-time course load and/or participating in a non-degree program.
Governor Patrick's "Readiness Project" a 10-year education reform plan calling for universal education from pre-school through community college
Adult Basic Education/ESOL programs
Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, a sectoral job training initiative to help families move toward self-sufficiency by training workers in to fill critical job vacancies
Work supports such as subsidized child care and housing, including additional funding for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP)

Click here to view the complete listing of CWU's 2009-2010 Policy Priorities.

In 2008, CWU started its first ever Voices Advocacy Council (VAC). The VAC is comprised of more than 60 participants, program alumnae, staff members, and women from various organizations throughout Boston. The VAC provides the Advocacy Department with the opportunity to bring low-income women's voices to the center of its policy work and encourage participants to become involved in creating policy change that will positively impact their lives. CWU's Advocacy staff provides advocacy training to the VAC members, empowering them to become effective advocates for themselves and their families. Council members also set strategic policy priorities, testify at pubic hearings, educate legislators, and much more.

Another means of engaging participants and staff in advocacy efforts is through letter writing. CWU's Advocacy Department has established a vigorous letter writing campaign to advocate for state funding for CWU's programs. Over 100 letters were sent to the governor and legislature asking them to support program funding in areas such as education, housing, workforce development, and children and family services. Participants and staff write letters and make calls at every phase of the budget process.

The Workers' Pathways to Self-Sufficiency Coalition

The Workers' Pathways to Self-Sufficiency Coalition brings together community, business, and civic leaders, educators, and advocates across Massachusetts who work to expand access to education and training leading to a skilled workforce which can command livable wages in Massachusetts.

The Coalition focuses on legislative and budget advocacy efforts to provide low-income working and unemployed adults access to the education and training needed to secure a sustaining wage and to develop an educated workforce necessary to remain globally competitive. The Coalition is founded on the concepts included in SB37 which calls for increased funding for the Educational Rewards Grant program and enactment of DTA guidelines to promote educational advancement for TAFDC recipients, both of which provisions will contribute to the long-term health of the Massachusetts economy by filling in-demand jobs, reducing tax dollars spent on public supports, and adding new taxpayers.

Sign on to support SB37

"Fits & Starts: The Difficult Path for Working Single Parents"

"Fits & Starts: The Difficult Path for Working Single Parents," published in partnership with The Center for Social Policy at UMass Boston, is our latest policy brief that highlights the tough choices Massachusetts low-wage working parents must make between taking higher paying jobs and losing critical work supports before they can afford to meet their basic living expenses.

The report reveals that a single parent with two children working in Greater Boston earning $8 an hour or $16,000 a year, the state's minimum wage, and receiving all the major support programs available to her can better support her household than she could earning $16 an hour ($32,000 a year) and receiving aid because of the disjointed public work support system.

To make the path to economic self-sufficiency smoother for families, our key recommendations include

Expanding child care and housing supports for low-income parents.
Restructuring work support programs and eligibility rules to make benefits indexed to cost of living and benefit loss more graduated.
Providing financial aid and expanded supports to low-income working parents to enable them to pursue the education and training necessary to get jobs paying family-sustaining wages.

We hope you will read the full policy brief that includes all of our findings and recommendations.

The Working Poor Families Project

Launched in 2002, the Working Poor Families Project (WPFP) is a national initiative focused on state workforce development policies involving: 1) education and skills training for adults; 2) economic development; and 3) income and work supports. The WPFP supports nonprofit groups in 20 states to assess and improve the economic conditions and policies affecting working poor families in those states. Crittenton Women's Union is the Massachusetts partner for the Working Poor Families Project. As part of this initiative, CWU released the new policy brief, "Unlocking the Doors to Higher Education and Training for Massachusetts' Working Poor Families," detailing policy recommendations to help low-income adults complete post-secondary education and training to secure employment at self-sufficiency level wages.

Click here to read the Massachusetts WPFP policy brief (PDF)

Massachusetts Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard

The Massachusetts Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard (MassFESS) illustrates what it really takes for a family to make ends meet in Massachusetts. FESS calculates a basic budget of costs, including housing, childcare, healthcare, food, transportation, and taxes. It shows what constitutes an adequate income and how this varies across family types and locations. The 2006 MassFESS report shows that a single mother with two children in Boston needs $58,000+ to make ends meet. The first FESS report was released in 1998 and updated in 2003.

Workforce Solutions Group

The Workforce Solutions Group is a coalition of organizations that advocates for an effective workforce development system that increases workers' skills, promotes job creation and economic growth, and advances families to self-sufficiency.

Voices Advocacy Network

The CWU Voices Advocacy Network is a group of people committed to contacting their elected officials to voice their support for policies that reduce the barriers low-income women face to achieving economic self-sufficiency.