If you are not outraged, you’re not paying attention.

State Senator Jonathan Harris (D-Conn.), chairman of the Human Services Committee, said that two factors contributed to his state taking action in the “fight” against poverty: moral outrage and fiscal necessity.

At a discussion at the Center for American Progress (CAP) on “Tackling Poverty: The Role of State and Local Governments.” Harris about the increasing poverty problem in his home state of Connecticut. Harris explained that even though Connecticut is the wealthiest state in the U.S., poverty rates, especially child poverty, have been high and continue to increase.

Harris created a Child Poverty Council to report annually on strategies and gains in child poverty reduction, and enacted legislation requiring the reduction of child poverty by 50 percent by 2014, or within 10 years. Harris also helped develop a community-state plan to embed proven strategies with an “untapped federal funding stream” from the Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET) 50-50 match program, which strives to bring community and state together to reduce child and family poverty.

Joy Moses of the Half in Ten Campaign and policy analyst at the Poverty Program at the CAP Action Fund, talked about both organizations and their roles in fighting poverty. She explained that the most recent report set a national goal of cutting poverty in half within ten years and gave twelve policy recommendations on how to achieve this goal. Four of these twelve recommendations were proven to be successful: income tax credit, child tax credit, child care, and minimum wage.

Susan Golonka, program director of the Human Services Social, Economic, and Workforce Programs Division of the National Governors Association, said that states are finally using the word “poverty,” and different commissions have been created around the world to help in solving the poverty problem. Golonka explained that the newest effort, the Governors Summit on Poverty, works to educate new leaders on the poverty issue while formulating state-wide comprehensive plans to reduce poverty through public-private partnerships.