FAQ on the Social Development Commission
Q. What is the Social Development Commission?
A. The Social Development Commission, or SDC, is a Community Action Agency that was formed in 1963 to address problems in Milwaukee’s Inner City. It coordinates a variety of programs and services whose goal is to achieve the agency’s Mission Statement of “Empowering Milwaukee County residents with the resources to move beyond poverty.”
Q. How is SDC funded?
A. SDC receives funds from a number of both public and private sources. Programs are funded by grants submitted to Federal, State, County and City agencies. Private foundation support includes, but is not limited to, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Helen Bader Foundation, the Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation, the Ford Foundation and US Bank Foundation.
Q. Whom does SDC serve?
A. SDC is charged with helping the low-income residents of Milwaukee County. Each program has income eligibility guidelines, based on the requirements set by the funder. Most programs use an increment (100%, 125% or 150%) of the baseline of the Federal Poverty line that is set every year by the federal government. There may also be age guidelines for some of the programs that are designed to assist senior citizens or children of a specific age.
Q. How does SDC serve the low-income residents of Milwaukee County?
A. SDC programs provide safety net services for families and individuals in crisis situations. These services include a shelter for homeless families and Energy Assistance.
The agency also offers programs that provide tools so that the families and persons using them can become self-sufficient. These programs include free tax preparation services, education and training, and weatherization.
Q. Is poverty really a significant problem in Milwaukee County?
A. The 2000 U.S. Census shows it is a problem. One-third of Wisconsin’s residents who live at or below the federal poverty line reside in Milwaukee County. That accounts for 26,454 area families who are officially living in poverty. The Census report also shows the median household income for the entire state is $43,791 while in Milwaukee County, it is only $38,100.
A 2005 report by the Wisconsin Community Action Program Association shows that poverty is increasing in our state, and the Milwaukee area specifically, at a faster rate than any other state in the nation.
Q. What is SDC doing to deal with poverty?
A. The agency believes in planning strategically to design new, innovative programs to deal with the root causes as well as the symptoms of poverty in our communities. SDC also believes in designing internal systems to insure the agency is strong and focused on demonstrable outcomes of our work.
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