“” shows we must be relentless in investing in children and families so every child has the resources they need to succeed.

While 26% of Louisiana children lived below the Federal Poverty Level in 2019, another 31% were growing up as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). ALICE families earn above the FPL but not enough to afford a barebones household budget.

The report also reveals significant disparities for children by race: 76% of Black children and 66% of Hispanic children in our state were considered ALICE in 2019, compared to 42% of White children.

Traditional poverty measures significantly undercount the number of children living in financially insecure households. That matters because the FPL is used to determine eligibility for assistance programs, leaving many struggling ALICE families locked out of critical support for housing, food and education.

Access to early childhood education helps children develop the foundational skills needed to succeed in school and allows parents to work. Children with access to high-quality early childhood education are more likely to obtain more education and have higher lifetime earnings, and are less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system.

Lawmakers have the chance to make meaningful investments to expand early childhood education access for low-income families this session. As members of theÌý, we urge legislators to appropriate $94 million to these programs to support Louisiana’s children, families and economy.

“ALICE in Focus: Children” better informs our path toward equitable solutions for ALICE families. It’s time we take the necessary steps to ensure every Louisiana child thrives.

Patty Riddlebarger
vice president for corporate social responsibility, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

Charmaine Caccioppi
executive vice president & COO, United Way of Southeast Louisiana

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Letter to the editor originally published in the May 5, 2022, edition of .

Working with coalition partners, we have helped generate over $477 million in funding across Louisiana and neighboring states, providing over 100,000 low-income children with access to high-quality early childhood experiences that will pay short-term and long-term dividends to our economy and society as a whole.

Simply put, we must support our working families by working to expand access to affordable, high-quality early care and education in Louisiana.

Article originally published May 11, 2021, in .

Working with coalition partners, we have helped generate over $477 million in funding across Louisiana and neighboring states, providing over 100,000 low-income children with access to high-quality early childhood experiences that will pay short-term and long-term dividends to our economy and society as a whole.

Simply put, we must support our working families by working to expand access to affordable, high-quality early care and education in Louisiana.

Article originally published May 11, 2021, in .

ALICE individuals are first responders, child care workers, grocery store employees, restaurant employees, delivery drivers, warehouse workers, truck drivers, sanitation workers and others who keep our communities safe and running. ALICE individuals work hard in jobs that are critical, but that often don’t pay enough for them to make ends meet.Ìý

At Entergy, our focus on ALICE is rooted in the economic reality of the communities we serve — we know ALICE well. For more than 20 years, Entergy has been committed to helping power ALICE families, not only by keeping their power on and gas flowing, but by equipping them with the tools to succeed and inspiring action from businesses, policy makers and communities to build stronger financial stability for hardworking families throughout Louisiana.Ìý

That is why Entergy is proud to partner with the Louisiana Association of United Ways to sponsor the , high-quality, research-based information that fosters a better understanding of who is struggling in our communities.Ìý

According to new research found in the 2020 ALICE report for Louisiana released this month by the Louisiana Association of United Ways, in 2018, more than 576,000 of Louisiana’s 1.7 million households were ALICE – a record number unable to afford the basics for survival, despite working. That’s in addition to the nearly 315,000 families living in poverty.

Entergy is deeply concerned about the recovery road ahead for Louisiana families. As a longtime partner of United Way and state sponsor of the ALICE report, we recognize the importance of seeking a deeper understanding of the challenges in our state. Entergy relies on these insights to improve the ways we help our communities and customers.

And as we reflect on our collective experiences through COVID-19, we can see that ALICE workers are providing essential services to help keep us safe and healthy. We also know that COVID-19 had a disproportionate impact on ALICE households. That’s why we are proud to have partnered with United Ways and other nonprofits to provide more than $1.4 million in assistance for ALICE families.

As our communities continue to recover from the economic impact of COVID-19, it is important to lift up their stories and ensure ALICE has a proper place as we all chart the course for immediate recovery and beyond.

Louisiana needs immediate and robust investments in quality early child care and education. The reasons why are lengthy — from preparing our children to be successful in school and in life, to simply being the right thing to do. But it is one of the lesser-discussed and not immediately obvious reasons that affects us all: our economy.

The lack of access to affordable, high-quality early care and education has a profoundly negative impact on workplace productivity and participation in Louisiana. In fact, according to a study conducted with support from Entergy, , the instability created from a lack of early care costs employers in our state $816 million annually, costs the state economy $1.1 billion and results in a tax revenue loss of almost $84 million. Those numbers are staggering but preventable.

The losses to our state’s employers stem from workplace absences, resignations, and employee turnover. Two-thirds of all children birth through age five in Louisiana have either both of their parents or their single parent in the workforce. Yet, access to early care and education that is both quality and affordable is severely lacking and inconsistent across the state.

As a result, parents are often forced to make career sacrifices to stay home and care for their children. In fact, Louisiana’s child care issues result in 41% of parents of young children missing work on one or more days in a three-month span, 14% turning down a promotion, 19% transitioning from full-time to part-time, and 16% quitting their full-time job altogether.

These astounding numbers must be reduced by investing in early care and education programs in which our children can grow and learn in a safe space, allowing their families to prosper and helping our businesses thrive.

Entergy is proud to sponsor Early Education Week across Louisiana with local United Ways and the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children as we call to attention the urgent need to support our youngest learners and working families. When half of households in our state live under the threshold and struggle to make ends meet, it is simply the right thing to do.

Let’s start by restoring the 23,000 child care slots that were cut from the Child Care Assistance Program. Let’s start by making sure our children are a priority by investing in quality early child care and education in Louisiana.

What they did not know is that they had their own, equally excited cheering section inside the company, who had been working behind the scenes to bring them on board. This is the story of their journey, a workforce program called Entergy Career Pathways — and how it all started at theÌý.

According to numerous surveys, CEOs consistently rank recruiting and retaining top talent as one of the biggest challenges their companies face. With an aging workforce, low unemployment rates and an increased focus on workforce diversity, Entergy, like many other companies, is always exploring new avenues to source talent. We believe a focus on Opportunity Employment, an approach to hiring and retaining individuals who face barriers to employment, will help us achieve our goals.

Two years ago, Entergy’s Chairman and CEO Leo Denault tasked my team with the challenge of leveraging our community partnerships to address the company’s need for a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the demographics of the communities we serve. Around the same time, I attended the 2017 Points of Light Conference in Seattle, and one of the breakout sessions focused on Opportunity Employment.

The session was moderated byÌý, executive director of Talent Rewire atÌý.ÌýÌýworks directly with companies to address a business need within their talent system while improving the livelihood of underemployed populations. The session highlighted best practices for corporations seeking to build the workforce for tomorrow and beyond. At the same time, Talent Rewire was recruiting companies to participate in the second cohort of itsÌý, a learning community of companies designing pilot programs for opportunity employment. The timing could not have been more fortuitous.

After applying for and being accepted into the program, Entergy assembled a multidisciplinary team that included corporate social responsibility, talent management and operations staff. The team partnered with a select group of Entergy-funded organizations that work with youth from underserved communities, including schools and nonprofits in New Orleans. With our partners and support from Talent Rewire, the team developed a pilot program to recruit and hire potential candidates for entry-level positions. Nichelle and Tranetta, both graduates of high schools and community programs funded by Entergy, were among the participants in the pilot program.

The program consisted of a week-long Entergy Careers Bootcamp that included education about career opportunities at the company, a facility tour, résumé reviews, mock interviews, meetings with hiring managers and intensive preparation for pre-employment testing. At the end of the week, students took the required tests that corresponded with their career interests. I would be hard-pressed to say which group was most anxious about the results – the applicants or the project team.

The results were remarkable: 78 percent of the applicants passed the test, an increase of 28 percent compared to a control group, far exceeding our baseline data. Applicants who passed the test were then guided through the job application process. Hiring managers were notified about the candidates’ participation in Entergy Career Pathways, and were encouraged to grant them interviews.

Nichelle and Tranetta are the first two new hires from Entergy Career Pathways. But the program doesn’t stop there. It goes beyond hiring. The team is currently developing and implementing a strategy designed to increase retention and equip program participants with the tools needed to grow their careers within the company. They are looking not only at traditional tools, such as mentoring and peer-to-peer support, but also identifying potential obstacles to success, like child care issues or transportation needs, and then working with community partners to find solutions.

With the successful completion of the pilot, the project team is now evaluating strategies for launching Entergy Career Pathways across the entire business. Our hope is that this strategic and holistic approach to Opportunity Employment, which we learned about at the Points of Light Conference, will create a competitive advantage for the company, position participants for successful careers and contribute significantly to the long-term economic development of the communities we serve.

Originally published by .