Date: 08/21/2013
Final
INews Presentation by Bert Hubbard
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY POVERTY REDUCTION TASK FORCE
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01:29 PM -- INews Presentation by Bert Hubbard
Senator Kefalas called the task force back to order.
Burt Hubbard, Inews, introduced himself and provided an overview of INews and the collaboration with Rocky Mountain PBS. INews specializes in doing data analysis and has just merged with Rocky Mountain PBS. INews looked at census data and disparities between African Americans and Latinos in Colorado. Mr. Hubbard started a video presentation.
01:40 PM -- Discussion on Video Presentation
Mr Hubbard discussed the video presentation, stating that they looked at census data for 2010 and the impact of the recession in Colorado. There was an increase in child poverty rate during the recession which was all from the African American and Latino populations. He stated that the gaps between ethnic groups in the poverty rate, median family income, and graduation rates have increased since the 1980s. They then went back to 1960 in census data and looked at trends over time. Mr. Hubbard found that the gaps for home ownership declined between 1960 to 1980, but had widened since and it was the same with college degrees before 1980. Income disparities had a similar pattern to home ownership and college degrees.
Mr. Hubbard then explained that they tried to determine what was causing the gaps. They found that Colorado had generally narrow gaps in the 1960s and 1970s and then larger gaps today and INews talked to a lot of people about why that was. He stated it emerged that it was a complex social phenomenon and a whole lot of factors come together at the same time. Civil rights legislation and the war on poverty meant there were some rapid changes in the 1960s and 1970s. The narrowing gaps led to a pull back in some of the policies in the 1980s. In addition to some policy changes, there has been an increase in percentage of single parent families. Percentages are not as high as other states, but there are still gaps between different ethnic groups. He noted that one factor was the loss of manufacturing jobs. For minorities, manufacturing jobs provided an entry into middle class. Inews looked at Pueblo and the steel plant there. Someone could make an equivalent of $60,000 or $70,0000 a year without a college degree and the emphasis for children was not to get a college education because these jobs were available. In Pueblo, the steel plant went from tens of thousands of jobs to 1,300 today. Manufacturers disappeared all over the state.
Mr. Hubbard also explained that they looked at incarceration rates in Colorado. By 2000, one of 20 African American males, one of 50 Latino males, and one of 150 white males were incarcerated. He explained that Colorado fell to 40th percentile in high school education and K-12 spending. He also noted that there was a bigger decrease in higher education and only two other states spend less for higher education.
02:00 PM -- Questions from the Task Force
Senator Balmer asked a question referring to the slide that ranks Colorado at 40th in K-12 spending. Mr Hubbard explained that they looked at total government spending as compiled by census bureau and per pupil spending. Senator Balmer asked for more clarification noting that other rankings he has seen show the state more in 25-30 range. Senator Kefalas mentioned that Legislative Council Staff may have done some memos that compare education spending.
Mr. Hubbard discussed the difficulty isolating the factors that caused the gaps and responded to questions from the committee. The committee and Mr. Hubbard discussed the role of education in the issue.
02:06 PM -- Questions from the audience
Pat Ratliff, Colorado Counties Incorporated, introduced herself and said they will be making a presentation to the early childhood working group and invited other members of the task force to attend. She discussed Senate Bill 12-022 which passed to extend the Child Care Assistance Program.
Randall Loeb, representing himself, introduced himself as an advocate for the homeless. He offered his suggestions to reduce the achievement gap.
Senator Marble, referring to the infant mortality rates in Mr. Hubbard's presentation, asked if genetic or cultural factors had an impact on the health disparities. Mr. Hubbard responded that he did not have a breakdown by genetic factors.
Representative Exum stated that childhood development and education is important to reduce poverty and to help adults get an education. He said that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families benefits can really help individuals to complete their education.