‘Reforming’ the Border: Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing

Persistent Poverty in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas

Mark H. HarveyUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

This research is supported by the Rural Policy Research Institute, the USDA-ERS, the Annie E. Casey Foundation,

and the Southern Rural Development Center

"The lady started growling at me there in the Tex' Force [the Workforce office], saying that this was 'Temporarily needed' [and] it was 'Not to stay on it.' And I told her, 'I know, 'cause if I was to stay on it I wouldn't leave a million miles to go and work over there at Chicago, Illinois to try to get what I can to my kids. I would stay here, keep on going with what you give us. And what you give us, we barely make it we don’t. We have to look for a way. How to do it.'"

Starr County TANF Participant

Problem

• Macro-Institutional Change and Household Survival at the Border – Households– Markets – States – Civil societies/Third Sector

Key Qualitative Literature

• Edin and Lein (1997) – Most TANF Participants are already “workers”

• Nelson and Smith (1999)– “Good” work and good welfare sustain households

• Duncan (1999)– Third sector is unreliable

• Mead (2004)– State and local governmental capacity

• Peck (1996) – Welfare as labor market regulation

In SumI. Obstacles

a. States -- The “TANF Tax Cut”-- Mismanagement -- Politics

b. Markets -- From Manufacturing and Agriculture

to Service and Retail-- Private Networks vs. Public Programs-- Informal

II. Opportunitiesa. Households

-- Strong workers-- Strong family supports

b. The “Third Sector”-- Colonias organizations-- Community colleges -- Partnerships

The Rio GrandeValley

Demographics

  Maverick Starr Texas

Population 47,297 53,597 21,779,893

Population Percent Change 1990 to 2000 30% 32% 23%

Percent in Rural Areas (Less than 5,000 persons) 12% 21% 18%

Percentage of Population of Hispanic or Latino Origin 95% 97.50% 32%

Median Age 27.8 26.1 32.3

Percent Foreign Born 37.80% 37% 14%

Percent non-citizens 22.63% 25.13% 10%

Percent Speaking Language Other than English at Home 90.00% 91% 27%

Percent of Spanish Speakers 18-64 Speaking English "not well/ not at all"1 31.00% 34% 28%

Poverty   Maverick Starr Texas

Persons below Poverty (1999) 34.80% 50.43% 15.40%

Percentage Point Decline in Poverty 1989 to 1999 15.6 9.1 19.0

Poverty among Single Female Headed Families w/ related Children < 18 61.00% 73.00% 36.20%

Percentage Point Decline in Poverty among Single Female Headed Families w/ related children < 18 8.7 4.1 6.8

Percentage of Married Couple Families where head Worked full time year round in Poverty 14.71% 29.36% 3.00%

Percentage of Female headed Families worked full time year round in poverty 24.04% 38.80% 10.43%

Percent of Persons in Deep Poverty 12.67% 21.61% 6.74%

Percentage Point Decline in Deep Poverty 1990 to 2000 8.87 11.64 1.47

Education

  Maverick Starr Texas

Percent of Population 25 and older with a Bachelors degree or higher 9.10% 6.9% 23.20%

Percent Of Population 25 and older less than High School Graduate 57.90% 63.30% 24.00%

Percent of males 25 and older with 9 years of school or less 44.57% 52.03% 14.89%

Percent of females 25 and older with 9 years of school or less 48.70% 54.32% 14.56%

Comparative Institutional Ethnography

• In-Depth Interviews with – Nonrandom sample of 62 TANF Participants– 43 Public Sector Representatives– 39 “Third” Sector Representatives– 16 Private Sector Representatives

• Participation in/Observation of Community Activities (9 Months)– Workforce Board Meetings, Commissioners Court,

Economic Development Corporations.– Food pantry distributions, citizenship classes, other colonias events

OBSTACLES: The State(s)

• “Philosophy of Texas State Government”– Limited and Efficient Government– Local Control – Personal Responsibility– Support for Strong Families

“Be mindful of those who pay the bills.”

» Texas Health and Human Services Commission, 2001

In Practice

• “TANF Tax Cuts” -- Agency consolidation and transfer of TANF Block Grant funds to non-welfare programs

• Intense focus on “error rates” and detection of fraud

• Cut Texas Department of Human Services (9,000 FTEs in 1999)

• Extensive privatization of service delivery

  TANF Cases Food Stamps Cases Medicaid Recipients

  Maverick Starr Maverick Starr Maverick Starr

Oct-96 1183 1798 5312 7952 8660 11982

Oct-97 955 1980 4416 6997 8196 12340

Oct-98 681 1779 3752 6485 7662 11986

Oct-99 475 1763 3313 6266 7119 12272

Oct-00 474 1724 3102 5838 7093 11528

Oct-01 457 1498 3291 5799 7529 11533

Oct-02 495 1338 4073 6179 8443 12433

Source: Texas Department of Human Services

Impacts on Service Delivery

• "[A]s the time-clocks [are] beginning to expire people are rushing into the system, they're being mandated to rush into the system 'cause we're sanctioning their ass. And we're getting more and more demand on the child care system while the damn money's going down!...[W]e're trying to be more creative with what we have because we know that without child care the TANF person doesn't have a prayer of breaking the cycle."

-- Middle Rio Grande Workforce Board Executive, Spring,

2003

Impacts on Caseworkers and Clients

• “When they're [caseworkers] in a good mood… they'll do their job and they'll treat you like a human being. Versus if they're having a lousy day or if they just woke-up on the wrong side of the bed that morning they'll treat you, [pause] like a dog to be honest.”

» Maverick County TANF Participant 

Local “Control”

Source: Texas Workforce CommissionSource: Texas Workforce Commission

Mismanagement and Politics

• "We didn't understand the new policies and lacked the staff. The board is still dealing with issues and going through changes…[There was a] lack of knowledge of the new system."

» Executive Director, STWB

• In 2001 the South Texas Workforce Board was sanctioned by the TWC and “de-obligated” $3.5 million dollars.

• In 2002 Starr County transferred to the Lower Rio Grande Valley Workforce Board – Starr County had $0 WIA funds from February 2002

through January of 2003.

JTPA/WIA Funding at STCC

$0

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Source: South Texas Community College Factbook, 2003-2004

STCC Nontraditional Student Enrollment

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Single Parents

Limited English

Source: South Texas Community College Factbook, 2004 Addendum

Impact on Participants

“I don’t have my GED. And before they didn't ask you for your GED … I started it [GED] but when they asked me to be volunteer in the TANF I had to stop ‘cause I had to be working volunteer… I was gonna go but I needed my GED and I asked them if I could make my hours going to classes, they say no, they need me volunteering, you know.”

» Maverick County TANF Participant

Labor Markets

  Maverick Starr Texas

Median Earnings, Males $15,575 $12,003 $26,690

Median Earnings, Females $10,094 $8,012 $17,658

LFP among Females 16 and over with own children 42.67% 38.44% 55.14%

Percentage Pt Change in LFP 10.25 8.64 4.40

Unemployment among Females 16 and over with own children 22.23% 27.79% 7.77%

Percentage Pt. Change in Unemployment -4.84 0.94 -2.83

Starr Produce Company Labor Report

$0

$1,000,000

$2,000,000

$3,000,000

$4,000,000

$5,000,000

$6,000,000

$7,000,000

1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Year

US

Do

llar

s

US Labor

Mexico Labor

Source: Starr Produce Company

Home Health Providers

• “[Providers] average about 25 hours per week and it ranges anywhere from 10 to 30 or 35 hours a week… They don’t need to have a high school diploma to provide [housekeeping] for someone. [Do they need to speak English?].... Only if their client is English speaking only.”

• “Moving up is not likely for the provider. We have 40 ‘in

house’ positions [clerical, administrative, Registered Nurses) and over 1,000 employees so it's very competitive. We need people who are computer literate and have at least a high school degree to fill those positions.”

» Manager, Local Home Health Care Agency

Employer Impressions of Reform

Workforce Investment Act (WIA)“We hired permanently 10 ….They turned out to be excellent employees.”

Choices

“I don't like the program… I'm very upset about this program because it doesn't seem to be getting the correct message to the people.”

--Starr County Third Sector Employer

The Informal Market

• "Pues [Well], I was working in that motel… They were paying me [laughs] $2 a room [H]e didn’t wanna pay me check, he wanted to pay me cash and I told him I wanted [a] check 'cause I wanted to make income tax. He said no… 'cause with the kids you get all your income tax.”

» Maverick County TANF Participant

Informal Work and the Evaluation Dilemma

• “[They’re working in construction] related industries, electricians, plumbers. I mean, you can't get a target on those guys…We know it's a huge demand area, but if you go train someone, they go out and they get a job with, with ah, 'Pepe's Plumbing,' and they show no income!? ... how do you train in that area when you know you're not gonna be able to get any follow-up information…? And if you train it you're gonna take negatives!?"

» Middle Rio Grande Valley Board Executive

Opportunities:Households/Networks

  Maverick Starr Texas

Percent of Families w/ Children Headed by Married Couples 81.51% 79.01% 74.62%

Percent of Families with children Headed by Single Females 14.79% 18.28% 19.75%

Percentage Point Change 1989 to 1999 -0.13 5.51 2.11

Percentage of Families with Children in Subfamilies 17.18% 13.92% 8.19%

Percentage Point Change 1989 to 1999 2.97% 5.22% 0.05%

% of Grandparent Householders or Spouses living with own grandchildren under 18 years: 10.84% 9.76% 4.51%

Percentage responsible for own grandchildren under 18 years: 39.09% 47.55% 55.29%

Households

• Self Employment

• Someone "always" there in an emergency and in most cases it was a family member.– Child Care– Transportation– Pay a bill

• Housing in Colonias– “For rent? At first we would give, well I would give [my father]

$150 a month, pero [but] that would include bills and stuff But now it's like I either pay the light or I pay the water depending on when we get the bill and when I get paid and what I have to pay that week.”

» Maverick County TANF leaver

The Third Sector: Build on Success

• Colonias Organizations– “[S]ome of the needs have changed in the colonias, they might already have the sewer, the water and the utilities. They're looking at the next step. They want a job,… they wanna learn some skills, they wanna be able to be at least marketable in the labor force so that they can offer something.”

» Maverick County Administrator

• Community colleges and University-Community Partnerships– Seco Mines Community Center

• “I help with all kinds of applications from social security to citizenship, [food stamps], etc… But what I do most are job applications. People looking for jobs come in with applications in English. Either they can't read English or they don’t know how to read or write. I also read a lot of letters for them.”

» Director, Seco Mines Community Center, Maverick County

Policy Recommendations

• Relax time limits and work requirements• Expand EITC • Increase funding for childcare• Increase funding for WIA and eliminate workfirst

sequencing• Count ABE, GED, and post-secondary education

as a “core” work activities• Network with existing colonias organizations• Exempt severely economically distressed

counties from participation rates • Improve caseworker training

The Root of the Problem

• Politics• see Valley Interfaith minimum wage campaign

(Osterman 2003).