DWS Press Release
October 29, 2015
Utah’s Intergenerational Poverty Initiative on Display in Washington, D.C.
Jon Pierpont testified before U.S. Senate Finance Committee
Washington, D.C. - A group of United States Senators now knows a little more about Utah’s innovative approach to addressing intergenerational poverty, following a presentation before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday.
Workforce Services Executive Director Jon Pierpont testified before the committee’s hearing "Welfare and Poverty in America," outlining Utah's extensive research into the issue. Workforce Services has produced four annual research reports as well as a five and ten year plan with key outcomes for families stuck in this cycle of poverty.
"This is an opportunity to tell Washington, D.C. about innovative solutions happening in our state," Pierpont said. "It's encouraging to see the heightened interest in the research. I believe we have a unique opportunity to empower Utah families to climb out of the cycle of poverty."
The Intergenerational Poverty Mitigation Act, passed in 2012 by the Utah legislature and refined in 2013, tasked Workforce Services with creating a way to quantify and track the number of Utah families stuck in intergenerational poverty, as well as producing a body of research to inform policy making. The Intergenerational Welfare Reform Commission—also a product of the act—uses the research to form policy recommendations.
For more information about the commission and the research, visit the intergenerational poverty page here. To watch an archived video of the presentation before the Senate Finance Committee, click here.
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