A Profile of Poverty in Franklin
County
Community Action Agency
Research Report
About Community Research Partners
Strengthening Ohio communities through data,
information, and knowledge.
Unique non-profit research center and
partnership:
City of Columbus
United Way of Central Ohio
John Glenn School of Public Affairs at OSU
Franklin County Commissioners
Franklin County CAA Research:
Background
Columbus Areas Community Action
Organization (CMACAO) closed in 2005
Mayor Coleman formed a Task Force to
examine problems at CMACAO and then
design new CAA
CRP asked by the Task Force to conduct
research to inform decisions about design of
new CAA
Funded by the City of Columbus, United Way
of Central Ohio, and Franklin County
Franklin County CAA Research:
Research Questions
1. What are the characteristics of the U.S. and
Franklin County poverty population and anti-
poverty programs, and how have these
changed since the 1960’s?
2. What are the needs of the Franklin County low-
income population, and what programs and
resources are available to address them?
3. What models and best practices should be
considered in the development of the new
Franklin County CAA?
Franklin County CAA Research:
Research Methods & Data Sources
1. State and national literature on poverty issues
2. Social, economic, and demographic indicator
data (CRP Community Indicators Database)
3. Client statistics from key service providers
4. FIRSTLINK Information and Referral Database
5. CRP human services funding resource inventory
6. Focus groups and community forums
7. CAA best practices interviews
Poverty in the U.S.
What is poverty?
Official poverty measure
Calculated annually by the Census Bureau
Varies by household size and type
2004 single parent with 2 children: $15,219
Economic self-sufficiency measure
Avoid serious hardship in basic needs
200% of the poverty level
2004 single parent with 2 children: $30,438
Who is poor?
The face of poverty has changed dramatically
1960: white, rural, married couple family
with children, elderly
2000: female-headed family or non-family
in central city of metro area; children; about
half racial and ethnic minorities
Many people have experienced poverty
One-third of the U.S. population has likely
experienced poverty at one time
Only about 6% of the population are poor for
longer than 3 years
U.S. poverty rates up, after dropping in the
90’s
Poverty in Franklin County
Franklin County: relatively fast-growing
poverty population
Who is poor in Franklin County?
1 in 8 residents: 136,155 in 2004
Most likely to be poor:
Female-headed families with young children
(49% poverty rate)
Unrelated individuals (21%)
African Americans (27%); Hispanics (22%)
Least likely to be poor:
Married couple families (3%)
Persons age 65+ (9%)
Whites (9%); Asians (6%)
Household profile of the poverty population
n=76,530 in 2004
Racial profile of the poverty population
n=136,155 in 2004
Who is poor in Franklin County?
76% of poor adults have at least high school
diploma or GED
37% have at least some college
44% were employed in the past year
6% full-time, year round
38% part-time or part-year
Over 1 in 4 persons (294,166) below self-
sufficiency level of 200% of poverty
Poverty has become much more dispersed
Geographic patterns of poverty rates
Reasons for changing geographic patterns
Out-migration of higher-income households to
adjacent counties
Settlement patterns of immigrant populations
with high birth rates
Shrinking white population; growing minority
populations
Growth in single female-headed households with
children throughout the county
Growth of the working poor population in
suburban locations
Hispanic or Latino population, 2000
The poor Hispanic
population
increased 21-fold
from 1970 to 2000,
from 340 to 7,429
19
Food Stamp recipients: indicator of the
working poor
Food Stamp
Cases,
First Quarter 2007
Poverty population:
needs and services
Community input: changes in the low-
income population
Increased cultural diversity
Increase in the number of non-traditional
families
Increased isolation of low-income residents
Increased unemployment
Growing senior population
Community input: unmet service needs
Employment services
Financial assistance
Services aimed at developing self-sufficiency
Low-income housing
Health care
Mental health services
Education
Transportation
Community input: barriers to accessing
services
Funding
Lack of customer-oriented service delivery
Lack of awareness of services and resources
Stigma associated with low-income population
Access to health insurance
Stretched capacities of health/mental health
facilities
Legal barriers—immigrants, ex-offenders,
grandparent guardians
Housing FIRSTLINK Referrals: Location
U.S. Department of
Housing & Urban
Development
Columbus Urban
League
Interfaith Hospitality
Network – YWCA
Friends of the
Homeless
CMHA
Columbus Housing
Partnership
Transportation/Senior Transportation
FIRSTLINK Referrals: Location
Joint Organization for
Inner City Needs
American Red Cross
COTA
Comfort Keepers
Transportation
Resources, Inc.
Friends of the
Homeless
Benchmarking Central Ohio: poverty
For more information
Bobbie Garber
Community Research Partners
614-224-5917 ext. 100
rgarber@communityresearchpartners.org
www.communityresearchpartners.org