Bridges Out of Poverty Strategies for Professionals and Communities

1. Bridges Out of PovertyStrategies for Professionals and Communities This half-day workshop is adapted from A Framework for Understanding Poverty  by Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D. and by the Des Moines Area Bridges Out of Poverty Systems Change Team

2. Workshop Objectives • You will be able to… • Explain how economic realities affect patterns of living and decision-making • Describe and teach the hidden rules of middle-class • Understand and use the five language registers • Build learning structures to translate between concrete and abstract • Design effective discipline strategies

3. Iowa Health Des Moines • So what is Integrated Service? • People development philosophy- providing meaningful work • Organizational Development: Engaging heads, hands, and hearts • Bridges Out of Poverty • Walking the talk: Creating New Opportunity • Results!

4. IS: Performance Dashboard - Global Indicators Internal Customer Scores Press Ganey Scores Employee Turnover Employee Opinion Scores Flex Budget Performance

5. Introduction: An Overview and the Key Points to Building Bridges Out of Poverty One of the reasons it is getting more and more difficult to work as we have in the past is that the workers who bring middle-class culture with them are decreasing in numbers, and the workers who bring the poverty culture with them are increasing in numbers. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 79

6. Key Point 1 Poverty is Relative. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

7. Key Point 2 • Poverty Occurs in All Races. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

8. There are Cultural and Regional Differences in Poverty. • Today the focus is on the impact of Economics on Culture Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

9. 2001 National Poverty Guidelines • Family 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 per each • Size additional Person • Annual $8,590 $11,610 $14,630 $17,650 $20,670 $23,690 $26,710 $29,730 $3,020 • Monthly $716 $968 $1,219 $1,471 $1,723 $1,974 $2,226 $2,478 $252 • Hourly $4.48 $6.05 $7.62 $9.19 $10.77 $12.34 $13.91 $15.49 $1.58 • Wage • at 40 hours per week Source: US Department of Health and Human Services Annual Updates of the Poverty Income Guidelines published in the Federal Register in February of each year. Could you survive on the income listed for your family size? Would you have to change your lifestyle? How would that affect you? Why is the livable wage almost 2X’s poverty? What can you do about it? Activity

10. 40 hours per week at $8.00 per hour = per week $320 $1280 Weekly salary x 4 = per month $256 $1024 = Less taxes (20%) take home pay $400 $624 Less cost of monthly rent we now have $75 $300 $324 x 4 = Less food for 1 week we now have $80 $244 Less utilities for 1 month we now have = $300 - $56 without block grant Less child care for 1 child we now have = $90 3 passes - $146 Less bus transportation we now have = ???? Less clothing, medical, school, household and personal care supplies - ???? we now have = Budget Worksheet $320 What do you give up??? How often would you have to move??

11. Key Point 3 • Economic Class is a Continuous Line, There is Not a Clear-cut Distinction. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

12. Where is Middle-Class? Average Household Income SES Categories $0--$16,799 Lowest 20% Second 20% $16,800--$30,828 $30,829--$49,015 Middle 20% $49,016--$76,009 Fourth 20% $76,010 + Highest 20% Top 5% (part of highest 20%)$140,000 + SOURCE: The New York Times in October 2000

13. “Working Class” – Lower Middle-Class • Making roughly $30,000 to $50,000 a year for a family of four • Depend on their paychecks in order to make ends meet • Earnings determine their well being - (Self-Sufficient) • Interested in benefits, long term goal setting, achievements

14. Key Point 4 • Generational and Situational Poverty are Different. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

15. Key Point 5 • This Work is based on Patterns. • All Patterns • have Exceptions. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

16. Key Point 6 • Individuals bring with them the • Hidden Rules of • the Class in which they were Raised. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

17. Key Point 7 • Work and School Operate from • Middle-Class Norms and Values. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

18. Key Point 8 • We Must Teach Everyone • that there are Two Sets of Rules. • We must Understand the Hidden Rules of Poverty • and Teach the Hidden Rules of Middle Class. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

19. Key Point 9 • We Must Neither Excuse nor Scold. • We Must Teach. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

20. Key Point 10 • To Move from Poverty to Middle Class, • One must Give up (for a period of time) • Relationships for Achievement. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 12 – Handout 1

21. Implications • Economic systems are far beyond the reach of most people to control and the economy fails to provide enough well-paying jobs. • We cannot continue to support stereotypes and prejudices about the poor. • What we offer in this workshop is a way for you to help individuals to do better in their personal and professional lives. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 14

22. Hidden Rules: How you know if you belong… …are the unspoken cues and habits of a group. Distinct cueing systems exist between and among groups and economic classes. Generally, in America, that notion is recognized for racial and ethnic groups, but not particularly for economic groups. There are many hidden rules to examine by economic class. We will look at the ones that most greatly impact school and work. But first,… Bridges Out of Poverty, page 50

23. Poverty Middle-Class Wealth Survival Relationships Entertainment Work Achievement Material Security Political, Financial, Social Connections Priorities of Activity Handouts 2-4

24. Time • Poverty • Present is most important. Decisions are made for the moment based on feelings or survival. • Middle-Class • Future is most important. Decisions are made against future ramifications. •  Wealth • Traditions and history are most important. Decisions are based on tradition and decorum. Activity Handouts 5-7

25. Possessions • Poverty • People. •  Middle-Class • Things. • Wealth • One-of-a-kind objects, • legacies, and pedigrees. Activity Handouts 5-7

26. Destiny • Poverty • Believe in fate. Cannot mitigate chance. • Middle-Class • Believe in choice. Can change the future with good current choices. • Wealth • Noblesse oblige. Activity Handouts 5-7

27. What You Can Do: Hidden Rules 1. Direct-teach hidden rules. 2. Teach everyone that there are two sets of rules. 3. Understand the hidden rules that people bring with them.

28. Implications • Assumption made about individuals’ intelligence may relate more to their understanding of hidden rules. • People can be taught the hidden rules of middle-class, not in denigration of their own but as another set of rules. • Many of the attitudes that clients and employees bring with them are an integral part of their culture and belief system. • Middle-class solutions should not be imposed when other, more workable, solutions might be found. • An understanding of poverty will lessen the anger and frustration (and prejudice?) that some people may feel when working with those in poverty. Bridges Out of Poverty, Chapter Three

29. The Role of Language : Not understanding its role can keep one in poverty To better understand poverty, one must understand three aspects of language: registers of language, discourse patterns, and story structure. Many of the key issues for agencies, schools, and businesses are related to these patterns that often are different in poverty from middle-class. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 40

30. Registers of Language Frozen Language that is always the same: Lord’s Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, vows. Formal Standard sentence syntax, complete sentences, 16-1800 words, and is the choice of work & school. Consultative Formal register when used in conversation. Pattern not quite as direct as formal register. Casual Language between friends. Word choice is general, not specific. Conversation is dependent on non-verbal assists. Incomplete sentence syntax characterized by a 400 to 800-word vocabulary. Intimate Language between lovers or twins. Language of sexual harassment. Handout 8

31. Change Register on Policy • Formal • Purchasing will be oriented toward those products that produce the least amount of negative environmental impact. • Consultative • The purchasing department will buy products that are the least harmful to the environment • Casual • We won’t be buying products that harm where we live Activity Handouts 9 & 10

32. Implications • Formal register needs to be directly taught. • Casual register needs to be recognized as the primary discourse for many clients and employees. • When a client or employee uses the inappropriate register it should be a time for instruction in the appropriate register. • Clients and employees need to be told how much their use of formal register affects their ability to get and keep a well-paying job. Bridges Out of Poverty, Chapter Two

33. Designing Learning Structures Much like building a house, you have to start with a strong foundation. Survival in poverty is very concrete (sensory dependent) and non-verbal. Skilled labor is a bridge between the abstract to the concrete. Survival at school and work is very abstract and verbal. We must provide blueprints to help bridge from the abstract to the concrete. Bridges Out of Poverty, Chapter Ten

34. cannot identify cause and effect. If an individual depends upon a random, episodic story structure for memory patterns, lives in an unpredictable environment, and does not have an abstract replica of reality, then the individualhas not developed the ability to plan. If an individual cannot plan, he/shecannot predict. If an individual cannot predict, he/she If an individual cannot identify cause and effect, he/shecannot identify consequences. If an individual cannot identify consequences he/she cannot control impulsivity. If an individual cannot control impulsivity, he/shehas an inclination to act out with deviant behavior. Handout 11

35. What can you do to help individuals transition from concrete to abstract? • 1. Hands-on activities • 2. Develop vocabulary (Formal register) • 3. Teach visualization • 4. Help them develop “blueprints” • 5. Help build abstractrepresentational models Handout 11

36. Teach for Learning Stimulus Meaning Strategy Identify Stimulus WHAT Assign Meaning WHY Identify Strategy HOW Teaching Learning Mediation Teaches Cause and Effect & Turns the Abstract to Concrete Handout 11

37. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Planning BackwardsDeveloping a Time-Line To have this project completed on time, I need todo on … Note: Can also be used to plan each day, each shift or timeline a project or event. Handout 12

38. Determining the Level of Understanding * What is the main idea of this section? * What was the main reason for the following_____? * From this section, how might_____ be described? * What caused________ to ___________? * When ________ happened, why did ________? * Why is that information important to you? With the information gained from their answers you will be able explain, in a different way, what is still not understood. Handout 13

39. Implications • (1) A lack of formal education should not be confused with a lack of intelligence. • (2) What you can do if you are directly responsible for training people • Encourage educators and trainers to adopt these strategies. • Teach Mediation to Everyone • Train staff to identify concrete /abstract issues • Focus more on Learning rather than teaching or training Bridges Out of Poverty, page 159

40. Discipline, Choices, and Consequences How do you give these meaning? Move them from Abstract to Concrete In poverty, discipline is about penance and forgiveness, not necessarily about change. This process advocates teaching a separate set of behaviors. To be successful outside of poverty requires self-control of behavior. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 120

41. Belief in Fate Behavior Get Caught? Deny Behavior Punished Forgiven Handout 17

42. Structure and Choice • The two anchors of any effective discipline program that moves individuals to • self-governance are • Structure and Choice. Handout 14

43. Designing Structure • 1. Rules and Behavioral expectations are clearly stated • 2. Communicate at the level of the reader/listener • 3. State consequences up front • 4. Train staff how to present choices & consequences • 5. Use incorrect choices as a learning opportunity • 6. Use Mediation (What, Why, and How) • 7. Provide a safe setting for delivering consequences Handout 14

44. Voices • Child • whining, defensive, victimized, emotional, losing attitude, strong negative non-verbals, impedes resolution • Parent • should/ought, telling voice, no relationship, authoritative, directive, punitive, judgmental, evaluative, win/lose, demanding • Adult • asking voice, allows for negotiation, gives choices/consequences, non-threatening, free of negatives, factual, question format, win-win Handout 15

45. Teach Problem-Solving Skills • What happened? • When you did that, what did you want to happen? • What are four things you could have done instead? • What will you do next time? Handout 16

46. What You Can Do: Discipline • Use the Adult Voice • Use all Discipline Issues as Instructional Opportunities • Use Mediation and Negotiation Skills (and teach them) • Teach Problem Solving Skills • Set up a Behavior Adjustment Plan • Teach Self-Governance Handout 17

47. Making Behavioral Changes 1. Together, decide what behaviors the individual needs to be successful. 2. Does the individual have the resources to develop those behaviors? 3. Will it help to contact family members? Are resources available through them? What resources are available through this organization? The community? 4. How will the behaviors be taught? 5. What other choices could the individual make? 6. What will help the individual repeat the successful behaviors? Activity Handout 18

48. Implications • Structure and choice need to be a key part of treatment approaches, discipline, and sanctions at work and in corrections. • People need to have at least two sets of behaviors from which to choose — one for the street and another for school, agencies, and work. • The purpose of discipline and sanctions should be instructional and used to promote successful behaviors. • Teaching clients and employees to use the adult voice (the language of negotiation) is important for success and can become an alternative to using physical aggression for conflict resolution. Bridges Out of Poverty, page 133

49. Workshop Objectives • You will be able to… • Explain how economic realities affect patterns of living and decision-making • Describe and teach the hidden rules of middle-class • Understand and use the five language registers • Build learning structures to translate between concrete and abstract • Design effective discipline strategies

50. Help to BuildBridges out of Poverty