Suggested Best Practices
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The following Best Practice Strategies were provided by the Clemson Univeristy's
Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory in the Department of Applied
Economics and Statistics.
Poverty by Census Tract • Changes in the Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) to provide the largest benefits to those who work full-time at a minimum wage. • Expand public and non-profit investments in child-care programs. Child care costs, quality, and availability affect how much mothers work, and therefore, family income. • Increase the minimum wage. Two parents working full-time at the current minimum wage is generally insufficient to move a family of four to an income level that provides economic self-sufficiency. • Decrease the payroll tax burden on low-wage workers. • Provide working parents with health insurance. Many parents with incomes are not eligible for public health insurance, but at the same time, fewer employers are providing affordable health coverage. • Strengthen unemployment insurance programs for unemployed low-wage workers. • Provide counseling and incentives for low-income families to increase savings and assets. Family wealth helps families survive crises (job loss, health problems, etc.) and plan for the future (homeownership, education, skills training). • Discourage child bearing among single, young women (refer to previous indicator Teenage Pregnancies). Housing Costs/Affordable Housing Public and non-profit programs used to increase the amount of affordable housing, i.e., increase access to housing for low-income families include: • provide tax incentives for developers to build and preserve affordable housing units (multi-family and single-family units). • create a housing trust fund to support ongoing housing production. • support a state-administered block grant program to serve as a source of revenue for the production of affordable housing. • review development regulations and land use and zoning policies – such as banning multi-family housing and lot size restrictions – to reduce their negative impact on the supply of affordable housing. • subsidize families’ rental costs by offering grants to pay for utilities, security deposits, or rent. • promote home ownership among low-income families by providing mortgage loans, credit counseling, and credit repair services. • encourage families to save to buy a home by establishing Individual Development Account programs • support the HOME Investment Partnerships program and the expansion of this program to permit use of HOME funds for permanent rental assistance. Home Ownership • Make existing housings more affordable • Help households build wealth • Strengthen families so that two or more income-earners are available to save for the down payment and contribute to the monthly payment • Eliminate the disincentives to home ownership provided by the rent subsidy programs • Support and assist nonprofit programs such as Habitat for Humanity that focus on assisting families to transition to homeownership. Unsound Housing • Home repair assistance grants • Tax credits for repairs on substandard housing • Subsidized or low interest loans for home repairs • Establishment of non-profit programs such as Habitat for Humanity with the goal of advising and assisting low income families with home repairs |
