By Jessica Hathaway

In the months leading up to our annual Legislative Summit, those of us at NCSL are busy discussing the sessions we’re planning and why these issues matter to all of you that attend each year.

One session I helped to organize was our Deep Dive titled "A Bipartisan Plan to Address Poverty."

And over time, the question from colleagues when asked about how the session planning was going would be something like: “How is the planning going, did you fix poverty yet?” I’d reply, “Not yet but it’s on my to-do list so maybe tomorrow!”

And although we all realize that poverty is no joke, the interaction makes some sense. The issue of poverty is complicated and can feel overwhelming when you consider the many factors that contribute to it.

Plus, the methods to address it are varied based on geography, political orientation, available resources and an understanding of who is in poverty and what they need to get out of it. Take all of this into consideration and it quickly becomes a tough issue to address.

Despite these stark realities, several of us took a shot at tackling the issue anyway.

Using a joint report that focuses on bipartisanship from the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution to frame the session, Opportunity, Responsibility and Security: A Consensus Plan for Reducing Poverty and Restoring the American Dream, participants spent about an hour listening to three authors of the report—Ron Haskins, Ronald J. Mincy and Michael Strain—discuss the findings.

The big takeaways? Work, education and family structure are three big areas that need improvement if we’re to find solutions to today’s poverty.

Following this, about another hour was spent listening to and interacting with three legislators—Senator Sally Doty (R) of Mississippi, Senator Catherine Pugh of Maryland (D) and Senator Howard Stephenson of Utah (R)—as they discussed concrete policies they’ve worked on in their states to address poverty.

So the big question: Did we fix poverty? Well, not quite.

But we all listened and contributed to a robust discussion of how values that underlie the notion of the American Dream can guide bipartisan consensus on the issue—namely those of opportunity, responsibility and security.

We also heard about the invaluable role of states in addressing poverty. For example, Maryland is leading the way by using economic development strategies to strengthen communities, Mississippi is targeting community college students who may be at risk of dropping out becauseof an unplanned pregnancy and about the role of early childhood education in Utah as a pathway to prevent poverty.

If you weren’t able to attend this session, take a look at the resources from it. And get in touch with NCSL staff if any of these issues pique your interest or you have your own insights to add.

Although we unfortunately didn’t come up with a hook, line and sinker plan to address poverty, we can certainly talk through the innovations we’re seeing across the states to address it. So go ahead and put “tackle poverty” on your to-do list. We’ll be here continuing to work on it, too.

Jessica Hathaway is a policy associate with NCSL’s family opportunity project.

Email Jessica