New Poverty Figures Will Show Massive Increase, but Reality Is Worse, Says UM Expert

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - On Sept. 10, the U.S. Census Bureau is expected to report a poverty rate increase of about 1 percentage point for 2008 - among the largest annual increases ever reported, says University of Maryland poverty expert Douglas J. Besharov. This would add about four million to the thirty-seven million Americans already living under the poverty line.

Still, the official poverty measure does not reveal the full degree of financial hardship and dislocation caused by the current downturn in the economy, says Besharov, a professor of public policy and director of the Welfare Reform Academy at Maryland. The official measure fails to capture the massive job, income, and wealth losses among the lower-middle and middle classes.

Besharov will be a panelist at a Sept. 10 Brookings Institution event on Capitol Hill entitled "Poverty and Income in 2008: A Look at the New Census Data and What the Numbers Mean."

The panelists' remarks will focus on the new poverty figures and their implications for families and policy makers. The event will run from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Besharov is available for comments on the Census Bureau poverty figure and other issues related to the federal poverty measure.

BESHAROV BIOGRAPHY

Douglas J. Besharov is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, where he teaches courses on poverty, welfare, children and families, policy analysis, program evaluation, and performance management. Between 1985 and 2009, he was also a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, D.C. Between 1975 and 1979, he served as the first director of the U.S. National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Among his fourteen books is Recognizing Child Abuse: A Guide for the Concerned, a book designed to help professionals and laypersons identify and report suspected child abuse.

He is currently immediate past president of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) and chair of APPAM's Committee on International Activities.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Patrick Tiedemann
Research Assistant to Douglas Besharov
University of Maryland
301-405-4767
ptiedem1@umd.edu

Neil Tickner
Senior Media Relations Associate
University of Maryland
301-405-4622
ntickner@umd.edu

09142