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WILKES-BARRE — The belief that opinions shape thinking brought together leaders from social agencies Wednesday for a dialogue on poverty led by the majority leader of the state House of Representatives.

State Rep. Dave Reed, R-Indiana County, joined nearly a dozen representatives from local and county organizations at the United Way in Wilkes-Barre for a discussion on what he described as the “issue folks don’t want to talk about in politics.”

In the midst of the 2012 Presidential election, Reed, 37, said the debate on critical issues ranged from practical to the ones sometimes so off the wall that they were uncomfortable to talk about at the dinner table. But to his amazement, the one issue left untouched by the candidates was poverty and the U.S. government’s $1 trillion investment to aid the 46 million Americans afflicted by it.

The local landscape isn’t any less bleak. An estimated 11,535 children under the age of 18 in Luzerne County are living in poverty, a total that has doubled since 2000, according to data from the United Way of Wyoming Valley.

A few factors contribute, Reed explained.

Too often, he said, anti-poverty organizations become enamored with the “bodies in, bodies out” solution, in which groups who helped more people would ask for more funding. Reed believes that formula is flawed.

“Are we actually stopping to ask: ‘Are we transforming lives,’” Reed said, noting those who keep coming back through programs year after year are not truly being reached.

Attempting to find a remedy, Reed said lawmakers began looking at the trends behind successful anti-poverty programs and found the best programs not only look at data, but use it to change their programs.

Reed said other programs, some launched decades ago when the War on Poverty was first introduced, have not caught up with the times and conceded to other, similar programs that aspire to accomplish the same goals — and happen to do a better job of it.

Sometimes, Reed said, it’s just as helpful to have conversations on the programs that aren’t working.

“It’s not always about whether one organization does this great and another does this poorly; it’s more along the lines of this is 75 percent effective but another is 98 percent effective,” he said.

However, those representing local programs said working with less isn’t the answer.

“The research is out there and it’s an investment. And it’s a return on that investment that is unlike any other,” said Lynn Evans Biga, executive director for Luzerne County Head Start.

“We need to see funding that will appropriately fund programs for families of low-income children,” she added.

Acknowledging the concerns of Evans Biga and others who addressed funding, Reed said there were two sides to the discussion.

“If everything was working perfectly today then we wouldn’t need to be creating new programs, we wouldn’t be enhancing programs and we wouldn’t be looking for new opportunities,” Reed said. “These issues would be taken care of.”

Lawmakers have sought to address the issue by taking up partnership initiatives with the PEW Research Center, who will help officials make funding decisions based on effectiveness of programs, Reed said.

In addition, the House of Representatives in June unanimously passed a bill reforming the state’s child care benefits structure. Instead of cutting benefits, the bill effectively increases co-payments should parents earn additional income.

State House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed,Reed, left, leads a dialogue on child poverty attended by several members of Wyoming Valley-based human service organizations.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_poverty01.jpg.optimal.jpgState House Majority Leader Rep. Dave Reed,Reed, left, leads a dialogue on child poverty attended by several members of Wyoming Valley-based human service organizations. Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader

By Joe Dolinsky

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Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL