• Budget cuts hurt Ohio poor, By Mark Curnutte, July 6, 2009, Cincinnati Enquirer: “As Ohio lawmakers and Gov. Ted Strickland continue to wrangle over the state budget, county social service agencies are clear on one message: Further budget cuts are cutting into muscle, not bone, as the recession entangles more people in need of benefits…”
• Coalition defends CalWorks, which governor targets for cuts, By Duane W. Gang, July 7, 2009, Press-Enterprise: “A statewide coalition of counties pushed back against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday, saying a welfare-to-work program targeted for cuts is vital to boosting the state’s economic recovery.  Schwarzenegger earlier this year called for the elimination of CalWorks and, on Friday, said waste and fraud in the program and other social welfare efforts is contributing to the state’s fiscal woes…”

• $1B privatization deal at risk, By Will Higgins, July 8, 2009, Indianapolis Star: “Nearly two years into the privatization of Indiana’s welfare system, state officials are considering scrapping it amid widespread concerns that include the mishandling of nearly one in five food-stamp cases.  State welfare officials acknowledge that in about three-quarters of those cases, eligible Hoosiers are being denied aid they should be receiving…”
• AP Exclusive: IBM on notice over Ind. welfare deal, By Ken Kusmer (AP), July 7, 2009, Idaho Statesman: “Indiana’s privately run welfare project has so many problems that the state could start taking steps to cancel its $1.16 billion contract with IBM as early as this fall, a state official said Tuesday.  Secretary Anne Murphy of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration said she asked lead vendor IBM Corp. to submit a ‘corrective action plan’ as part of a process that could result in canceling the 10-year deal if promised improvements don’t occur by the end of September…”

• Jobless feel effects of states’ stimulus rejection, By Ianthe Jeanne Dugan and Kris Maher, July 8, 2009, Wall Street Journal: “Latunga Childers lost her $8-an-hour job as a McDonald’s manager in April. Soon after, she opened an envelope from Alabama unemployment officials expecting to find a check.  Instead, there was a letter declaring her ineligible for benefits. Behind that letter was a complicated fight over the federal stimulus and the strings that come with it…”
• Report: States aren’t using stimulus funds as intended, By Matt Kelley, July 7, 2009, USA Today: “Under pressure to spend stimulus money quickly, many states are using the federal funds for short-term projects and to fill budget gaps rather than spending on long-term improvements, according to a report by congressional investigators…”
• States using stimulus to stay afloat, audit finds, By Kimberly Hefling (AP), July 7, 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “The Obama administration hoped that $787 billion in stimulus spending would jump-start the economy, build schools and usher in an era of education reform. So far, many states are setting aside such grand plans and simply trying to stay afloat, government auditors say…”

• Lone parents to be offered better pay incentives to work, By Patrick Wintour, July 5, 2009, The Guardian: “Unemployed lone parents are to be offered increased pay incentives to work in a move which softens some of the most controversial measures in the welfare reform bill. It is one of a number of measures being taken by the work and pensions secretary, Yvette Cooper, that subtly change the emphasis pursued by her predecessor, James Purnell. She insists her changes are designed to protect the family. The government’s welfare reforms have created controversy, since they require lone parents with children as young as three to prepare for the world of work during the recession, or lose benefits…”
• Cutting benefits of single parents will increase number of kids in poverty, By Clinton Manning, July 8, 2009, The Daily Mirror: “Slashing benefits of single parents who don’t look for work will increase child poverty and family hardship, a report has warned.  Gingerbread, the charity that represents lone parents, wants ministers to abandon the “big stick” of benefit sanctions proposed in the Welfare Reform Bill…”

Advocates push to add attacks on homeless to Florida hate crimes law, By Anthony Man, July 7, 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Horrified by video of teens who went on a rampage beating homeless men in downtown Fort Lauderdale, a state legislator was propelled to push for including attacks on the homeless to the state’s hate crimes law.  It is now state law — in Maryland — because state Sen. Alex Mooney, R-Md., saw what he termed “gruesome” video of the Fort Lauderdale incident. His state is the first to include homeless people as a protected group under its hate crimes statute…”