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SALT LAKE CITY — How do you break a cycle of poverty spanning generations?
It’s a question Utah has been trying to answer for the past seven years — and a report published this week offers some suggestions.
A recent analysis by the Utah Intergenerational Welfare Reform Commission tracking the nearly 75,000 Utahns who were living in intergenerational poverty in 2012 found that a significant chunk of that population were no longer living in poverty five years later.
The overall rate of Utah children experiencing intergenerational poverty — measured by whether adults in the family have used public assistance for at least one year in childhood and at least one year in adulthood — didn’t change significantly over that five-year span.
But among the original group identified at the start of the study seven years ago, there was a 42% decrease in children living in poverty and a 24% decrease in adults between 2012 and 2017.
Economic growth over that time has contributed to higher employment rates and wages, complementing state programs to help families exit the poverty cycle, the report found. Some counties have also begun to make state-funded efforts locally to address intergenerational poverty in various ways, from creating mentoring programs to hiring new childhood liaisons and designated social workers.
Still, the report concluded, there is more work to be done.
“The more state leaders, local officials, faith-based organizations, community groups, neighborhoods and families can come together and understand the impacts of trauma within these families, we can take the next steps of significantly improving outcomes for the children and adults,” said Tracy Gruber, the report’s author and senior advisor to the commission, in a statement.
Utah turned its attention to intergenerational poverty in 2012, when a statewide initiative was established to address the problem. There were 30,503 adults and 44,261 children identified as experiencing intergenerational poverty that year, when the state published its first annual report. About 1 in 3 people living in poverty in Utah was experiencing intergenerational poverty at the time, according to the report, making up about 5% of the state’s total population.
The overall percentage of Utah children experiencing intergenerational poverty increased slightly between 2012 to 2017, from 6% to 7%. But there have been signs of progress in those years, too. More students living in intergenerational poverty are graduating from high school, the analysis shows, and employment rates and wages have gone up for the set of adults first identified in 2012.
Related:
Faces of intergenerational poverty: State program highlights success stories
Alexus Martinez was stone-faced and matter-of-fact Monday as she described how she became homeless at age 16 and "learned not to depend on anyone else but myself."At the same time, academic achievement gaps persist, starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Utahns living in intergenerational poverty still struggle to maintain consistent employment, are more likely to be exposed to the child welfare system or juvenile justice system, and are not having their needs met when it comes to health care, the analysis found.
San Juan County had the highest rate of adults experiencing intergenerational poverty in the state in 2017 — nearly 13% of the county population, or more than 1 in 10 adults.
Now some of the hardest-hit counties in the state, including San Juan, are taking steps to address the issue locally.
The Utah Legislature last year established the Intergenerational Poverty Plan Implementation Pilot Program, which gave funding to seven counties — San Juan, Weber, Utah, Sanpete, Carbon, Iron and Washington — in 2018 and to an additional three counties — Millard, Beaver and Davis — in 2019. Each of these counties received either $75,000 or $150,000 from the state, depending on the size of the county, to establish programs aimed at bringing down intergenerational poverty rates.
These programs look different from county to county. Iron County used its funding to hire a social worker for children living in poverty, while Sanpete County focused on increasing preschool enrollment and connecting families to counseling and other resources through an early childhood liaison. Counties including Utah, Carbon, Davis and Washington established mentoring programs that pair families with local volunteers who help them formulate a strategy for getting out of poverty.
“A statewide approach to addressing the needs of families experiencing intergenerational poverty is crucial because local communities can customize the services needed in their area and promote job attainment in high demand careers in that area,” the report states.
It’s too soon to know the full impact of these county programs, the analysis notes. But early results indicate there has been an increase in year-round employment, a decrease in homelessness, and increased knowledge about early literacy among program participants in some counties.
“The efforts to address intergenerational poverty in Utah continues to grow as more counties and local communities work to build programs and support systems for these families,” said Jon Pierpont, vice-chair of the commission, in a statement. “It’s exciting to see the impacts being felt throughout the state as more communities become aware and utilize the research and data from this report.”
