INDIANAPOLIS — Agencies and programs with missions to help low-income families should focus on providing support for both parents and children to help foster stability, according to a new nationwide report released Wednesday.
The 2014 Kids Count report, by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, touches on the balancing act low-income families face in meeting work and child care needs as the reason why programs should adopt a two-generational approach. The needs of a child and an adult can compete, the Kids Count report notes, so coordinated efforts can help.
In Indiana, 228,000 families with children aged 8 and younger are considered low-income. Of those families, 49 percent of households have no parent with full-time, year-round employment, and 77 percent lack a parent with a postsecondary degree, according to the report.
An obstacle in helping those families often is programs such as child care assistance and job training work with adults and children isolated from one another. The report notes some job training programs don’t take into account a participant’s child care needs.
“Moreover, many of these programs were not designed for interagency collaboration. This rigidity filters down to the nonprofit, faith- and community-based organizations working with low-income families,” the report states. “Different funding sources, distinct definitions of success and narrow guidelines impede these organizations’ ability to respond to the needs of children and parents in tandem.”
The report recommends state and federal governments use interagency commissions to help families. It also calls for the federal government to incentivize state agencies that are focused on adults and children to combine data and develop common goals.
In Southwestern Indiana, Kathryn Kornblum-Zelle, executive director of Parenting Time Center, said she sees the struggles families face in understanding which services they need. Parenting Time Center, 101 NW 10th St. in Evansville, coordinates supervised visitation for families and cooperative parenting classes. The networking of different social service agencies in the Evansville area helps, she said.
“Imagine putting yourself in a jungle and saying go find that orange,” Kornblum-Zelle said. “You are feeling overwhelmed and you are not exactly sure where to go.”
Evansville Goodwill Industries offers a Family Center to provide transitional housing for homeless families, and offers services through the center to both adults and children, said Connie Ralph, vice president of human services for the agency.
Families who live in rural areas often face a bigger obstacle for services than those living in an urban area, Ralph said.
“The challenge is much more increased in rural areas in finding affordable day care so a family or a parent can go to work,” Ralph said, “especially single parents that don’t have a lot of family resources available or a child is sick.”