All People Are Self-Sufficient ...

Executive Summary The All People are Self-Sufficient Priority Area Report is an annual look at trends affecting Fulton County’s most vulnerable residents--children, seniors, the poor and the homeless. The belief implied by the name of this priority area is that our communities are at their best when their members are economically selfsufficient--quickly gaining economic independence on completion of their formal education as young adults, maintaining their independence through their working lives, and retaining that independence as long as possible into old age. At the same time, we must recognize that there are many things that threaten selfsufficiency, including the lack of a quality education, scarceness of affordable housing, family instability, physical and mental illness, and unemployment brought on by economic downturns. The numbers we are reporting show to what extent the most vulnerable residents of Fulton County are moving toward self-sufficiency. The numbers tell us a mixed story. The percentage of children without health coverage has dropped significantly in the past few years--from more than 8% in 2012 to 4.8% in 2016. At the same time the percentage of children living in poverty has been stubbornly persistent, remaining at just under 25% since 2010 and showing no signs of declining even as the County’s median household income and employment rate were on the rise. Education has long been believed to be one of the best paths out of poverty, but only 53% of the County’s third graders are demonstrating grade level reading proficiency. Further, the countywide proficiency rate masks a gap between

About one-third of residents of Fulton County ages 65 and older live alone compared to one-quarter for the U.S. While living alone suggests a degree of independence, a recent national study [1] showed that seniors living alone are less likely to say they are financially comfortable and have less frequent contact with their children, grandchildren and other family members. About one out of 10 seniors in Fulton County lives in poverty and according to a another national study [2], many seniors who live above the poverty level do not have sufficient income to meet even basic needs. The number of homeless persons has dropped substantially in recent years from nearly 6,000 in 2013 to less than 4,000 in 2017 based on the Point-in-Time counts conducted in January of each year. There has been even greater success in reducing homelessness among veterans. The number of homeless veterans fell from more than 1,000 in 2013 to about 400 in 2017. But despite the successes, the homeless rate for Fulton County remains by far the highest among its national benchmark counties. Details outlining these and other trends can be found on the County Wide Dashboards beginning on page 10.

Senior Services Delivered 206.9K meals and served 1,295 people. Reduced the transportation wait list by 86%. Of Seniors who received home repairs, 92% stated that the repairs improved safety of living environments. Achieved a 97% physical health improvement rate among participants in the Health and Fitness Land Program. Launched the 1st Caregivers in the Workplace Program for Fulton County employees who care for loved ones. Drew 7,490 participants to the Tele-Townhall. Maintained 90% staffing levels in Multipurpose Programming. Enrolled 7,000 participants in the One-Call Now System.

Community Development Conducted site visits to nonprofits and provided necessary hands on technical assistance. Served 25,157 Fulton County residents in the Children and Youth service category. Served 1,649 Fulton County residents in the Disabilities service category. Served 23,539 Fulton County residents in the Economic Stability/Poverty service category. Served 4,595 Fulton County residents in the Homelessness service category. Served 38,080 Fulton County residents in the Senior Services service category. Conducted multiple site visits to 6 projects and provided necessary hands on technical assistance. Prevented homelessness for 343 individuals.

Emma I. Darnell, Commissioner , District 6 Executive Sponsor: All People Are Self-Sufficient “We can help people who are making every effort to meet their basic needs with dignity and respect. These needs include food, affordable housing, education, and transportation.”

2016-2019 Area Strategies In c r e a se ac c e ss t o sa f e t y -n e t su p p o r t s b y i d e n t i f y i n g a n d c o m m u n i c at i n g t h e c o m p l et e se t o f su p p o r t s t h a t a n in d iv id u al is el ig ib l e fo r an d c o -l o c at i n g se r v i c e s w h e r e ap p ro p riat e. Im p r o v e t h e q u a l i t y , q u a n t i t y , a n d a c c e ssi b i l i t y o f h o u si n g st o c k a c r o ss t h e C o u n t y .

2018 Strategic Initiatives Strengthen neighborhood senior center model to deliver more robust programs and service levels. Implement senior transportation options to maximize service and

COUNTYWIDE DASHBOARDS OBJECTI VE 1: FEWER RESI DENTS LI VI NG I N POVERTY

The percentage of families in poverty represents the percentage of households in Fulton County living below poverty level in the past 12 months according to the U.S. Census Bureau's definition of poverty. A family is considered to live in poverty if its total income is below a threshold value determined by the size of the family and the number of children in the family. The percentage of families in Fulton County living below poverty level has dropped slightly over the course of the past few years and stood at 11.7% in 2016. But the overall poverty rate masks large differences within the County. These differences can be seen even within the city of Atlanta, where rates range from zero for some neighborhoods in the Buckhead area north Atlanta to over 75% in some neighborhoods in south Atlanta.

Percentage of families living in poverty by census tract, 2016


This measure tracks the percentage of Fulton County's residents age 65 and older who live below the poverty level as defined by the U.S.Census Bureau. A senior is considered to be living in poverty if the household in which he or she lives has a total income below a threshold value determined by the size of the family, the age of the head of household and the number of children in the family. The percentage of residents 65 years or older living below poverty has averaged 11.3% since 2007 and stood at 10.9% as of 2016. In 2016, an estimated 12,000 seniors in Fulton County lived below the poverty level. Fulton County had the third highest poverty rate for seniors among its national benchmark counties, ranking just below Milwaukee County, Wisconsin and Orange County, Florida.

Percentage of seniors living in poverty by census tract, 2016


This measure tracks the percentage of children in Fulton County who live below poverty level as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. A child is considered to be living in poverty when the child's family has a total income below a threshold value determined by the size of the family and the number of children in the family. While overall economic conditions have improved considerably since the end of the Great Recession, childhood poverty remains stubbornly persistent. The percentage of children in Fulton County living below poverty saw a decline of about 3 percentage points between 2011 and 2015 but rose in 2016 to 24.3%, one percentage point above 2010 levels. As illustrated in the map below, poverty among children in Fulton County is heavily concentrated in south and west Atlanta, where rates are generally over 50%.

Percentage of children living in poverty by census tract, 2016 Percentage of children living in poverty by census tract, 2016

COUNTYWIDE DASHBOARDS OBJECTI VE 2 : BETTER ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSI NG

Housing affordability burden for renters represents the percentage of households in Fulton County with an annual income less than $20,000 who spend over 30% of their income on rents. Paying over 30% of household income on housing presents a significant burden for low income homeowners and leave them with limited income for other essential spending. The percent of low-income households that spend more than 30% of income on rent has remained fairly steady over the past five years. In 2016, nearly 9 out of 10 low-income households spent over 30% of their income on housing. Further, nearly two-thirds, or about 34,000 low-income households, spent over half of their income on rent. However, housing affordability is truly a national issue and, when compared to its national benchmark counties, Fulton County ranks the 3rd lowest in housing cost burden for renters.

COUNTYWIDE DASHBOARDS OBJECTI VE 2 : BETTER ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSI NG

This measure tracks the number of homeless persons in Fulton County per 100,000 residents. The numbers are based on Point-in-Time (PIT) counts provided to HUD by Continuums of Care (CoC) across the U.S. and includes both sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons. The rate of homelessness in Fulton County, as measured through a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons, has dropped significantly between 2013 and 2016 but remains by far the highest among the national benchmark counties. In 2017, there were an estimated 3,865 homeless individuals in Fulton County. The homeless rate was 388 homeless persons per 100,000 residents in 2017 compared to 253 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, the benchmark county with the second highest homeless rate.

COUNTYWIDE DASHBOARDS OBJECTI VE 3 : RESI DENTS REALI ZE THEI R EDUCATI ONAL POTENTI AL

This measure tracks the percentage of third graders attending public schools in Fulton County who scored at or above the level set for students on the track to college and career readiness on the English Language Arts End of Grade assessment. Fulton County third-graders, including those in both Fulton County and Atlanta public schools, fell near the mid-range among the regional benchmark counties but still reached less than 54%. Students in the Fulton County Public Schools System scored on average higher than students in the Atlanta Public Schools by a margin of 11.5 percentage points.


The graduate rate as shown here uses the adjusted cohort graduation rate, which is defined as the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the cohort for the graduating class, adjusting for transfers in and out of the system. The graduation rates for both school systems in the county have increased substantially in recent years with Fulton County Public School rate increasing from 71% in 2012 to 87% in 2017 and Atlanta Public School rate increasing from 51% to 77% over the same period. The combined graduation rate for the 2016-2017 school year was 85.2%, somewhat higher than the overall state rate of 80.6%.

Graduation rate by high school attendance zone, 2017


This measure tracks the percentage of public high school students in Fulton County who scored at or above the level set for students on the track to college and career readiness on the Georgia Milestones American Literature and Composition End of Course assessment. The percentage of Fulton County high school students demonstrating proficiency in American literature and composition has steadily risen from 43% in 2012 to 65% in 2017. As of 2017, Fulton County students ranked ear the middle among its regional benchmark counties, scoring lower than six and higher than three of the other counties. In 2017, students of Fulton County's Public Schools on average scored higher than students of Atlanta Public Schools by a margin of about 17 percentage points.

COUNTYWIDE DASHBOARDS OBJECTI VE 4 : FEWER RESI DENTS EXPERI ENCE HUNGER

This measure represents the percentage of households in Fulton County receiving benefits T through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)--also know as the Food Stamp Program--in the past 12 months. SNAP is a federally-funded program that provides monthly benefits to low-income households to help pay for the cost of food. A household may be a single individual living alone, a family, or several unrelated individuals living together who routinely purchase and prepare meals together. As of 2016, about 12% of households in Fulton County received Food Stamp, placing the County in the The num of violat ions on a pr operranged t y wit hfrom a violat in t heCounty, pr evious 12 Carolina m ont hs to peaked middle of ber its benchmark counties, which 6.3%ion in Wake North 21% inat over 24% in t he firWisconsin. st quart er of 2017 but fell t o 12.3% in t he second quar t er im m ediat ely pr ior Milwaukee County, t o t he t r ansfer of t he code enfor cem ent funct ion t o t he Cit y of Sout h Fult on.

COUNTYWIDE DASHBOARDS OBJECTI VE 4 : FEWER RESI DENTS EXPERI ENCE HUNGER

Food insecurity among children is used as a measure of a household’s inability to reliably provide enough food for its children to live an active, healthy life. It is used as an index for the risk of hunger among children. The food insecurity index is determined annually for each county in the U.S. using a methodology developed by Feeding America based on publicly available demographic and economic data. The estimated food insecurity rate for children in Fulton County has been steady at around 20% over the past four years. Over the same period, the rate for the state of Georgia has declined from over 26% to 21%. In 2016, the County fell in the middle among its national benchmark counties.

COUNTYWIDE DASHBOARDS OBJECTI VE 5 : FEWER VULNERABLE RESI DENTS

This measure tracks the percentage of the population 65 years or older in Fulton County who lived alone in the past 12 months. About one-third of residents of Fulton County ages 65 and older live alone compared to one-quarter for the U.S. While living alone suggests a degree of independence, a recent national study [1] showed that seniors living alone are less likely to say they are financially comfortable and have less frequent contact with their children, grandchildren and other family members.

This metric tracks the percentage of population

COUNTYWIDE DASHBOARDS OBJECTI VE 5 : FEWER VULNERABLE RESI DENTS

This metric tracks the number of homeless veterans in Fulton County as a percentage of all veterans living in the County. The numbers are based on Point-in-Time (PIT) counts provided to HUD by Continuums of Care (CoC) across the U.S. and includes both sheltered and unsheltered homeless and those who identify themselves as veterans. The number of homeless veterans identified in the Point-in-Time counts has dropped dramatically since 2013, when the counts began collecting veteran status. Over the same period, the proportion of the homeless who are veterans fell from 17% to 10.5%. The decline in homeless veterans can probably be attributed to improved economic conditions along with programs designed specifically to eliminate homelessness among Americans who served their country in the active military.

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