Archive for July 28th, 2009 (older external links may be broken)
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 12:31
| Categories: Children and Families, Poverty
| Tags: Child poverty, Child well-being, Poverty rate, Recession, States
- U.S. children likely worse off due to recession, By Carol Morello, July 28, 2009, Washington Post: “The well-being of American children changed only modestly during the boom years of this decade and undoubtedly has worsened since the onset of the recession, according to a report issued this morning. The Kids Count assessment by the Annie E. Casey Foundation examines 10 key indicators culled from the U.S. Census and other government statistics. The figures showed slight improvements in six areas since 2000, including infant mortality, high school dropout rates and the percentage of idle teens neither attending school nor working. But the report noted that teenage pregnancies, although still lower than in 2000, are again on the rise in all but nine states and the District…”
- Infant mortality rate significantly higher in Md., report claims, By Brent Jones, July 28, 2009, Baltimore Sun: “Maryland’s infant mortality rate has significantly increased, continuing an erratic trend since 2000 that has seen the state drop to 11th worst in the nation, according to the 2009 Kids Count Databook, an annual report released Tuesday by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation…”
- Children’s lot in R.I. improves in 2008, By Colin Chazen, July 28, 2009, Providence Business News: “Rhode Island ranked 15th in the nation in overall children’s well-being in a nationwide report released by Kids Count today. The state moved up six places in the rankings from last year, led by improvements in the teen death rate and percentage of teens who are high school dropouts. Massachusetts was ranked fifth and Connecticut fourth, with the lowest scores concentrated in the South and the Southwest…”
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 12:25
| Categories: Assistance Programs, Health
| Tags: Colorado, Enrollment, Health insurance coverage, Indiana, Medicaid
- Holes in the safety net: Medicaid falls short just as some need it most, By Tom Curry and JoNel Aleccia, July 27, 2009, MSNBC.com: “Doctors at the Maple City Health Care Center, a neighborhood clinic where the toddler’s family receives most care, couldn’t diagnose the problem. The child needed to see a specialist, but no local dermatologist would agree to accept Medicaid, the government’s safety net plan. Instead, Antonia Mejorado, 33, has to drive nearly two hours to see a dermatologist willing to treat her daughter’s potentially serious illness…”
- Colorado Medicaid list swells to record, By Tim Hoover, July 28, 2009, Denver Post: “Colorado had a 14 percent spike in Medicaid enrollment in the budget year that ended in June, a record-setting rate that capped a year with the largest-ever number of people in the health insurance program. As of June 30, there were 467,556 Coloradans on Medicaid. That’s 79,488, or 20.5 percent, more than in the same month a year before. The June figure represented the highest total in the 40 years Colorado has been participating in the state and federally funded program, which covers low-income pregnant women, children, the elderly and the disabled. Nearly 10 percent of the state’s residents are now enrolled in Medicaid…”
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 12:20
| Categories: Employment
| Tags: Applicants, California, Jobless benefits, Texas, Unemployment rate
- State’s jobless confront hurdles, By Peggy Fikac, July 26, 2009, Houston Chronicle: “For Jerry, the chance of unemployment benefits is the chance to breathe a little easier for a few weeks. He’d been used to a good salary as an IT consultant, but he’s been out of work for a year. He and his wife sold a car and cut back, but he still puts more on his credit card than he’d like. At 62, he is looking at jobs in neighboring states. Closer to his Panhandle home, he’s competing with high school kids for work…”
- California’s slow handling of appeals from workers denied unemployment benefits gets worse, By Marc Lifsher, July 28, 2009, Los Angeles Times: “California is so slow in handling appeals from workers denied unemployment benefits that it may take years to catch up, state officials say. And the backlog is getting worse. With unemployment now at 11.6% in California and rising, there is a record backlog of more than 82,500 Californians who have appeals pending on their eligibility for checks of as much as $475 a week. At the same time, the state is about to furlough for three days a month the judges and support staff who handle the appeals…”
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 12:16
| Categories: Assistance Programs, Social Services
| Tags: Budget cuts, Illinois, Safety net, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Washington DC
- D.C. weighs welfare cut as budget gap looms, By Henri E. Cauvin, July 26, 2009, Washington Post: “The Fenty administration wants to save several million dollars by cutting back on welfare benefits for people who are not working or using the city’s help to find a job. The monthly benefit, which for a family of three is $428, would be cut in half for any recipient deemed employable who does not meet the work requirement for six months. If the recipient were to go another six months without complying, the District would be prepared to cut off benefits altogether, the city’s human services director told advocates for the poor last week…”
- State budget cuts leave safety net strained, By Ray Long, July 26, 2009, Chicago Tribune: “Illinois might have a working budget in place, but there is a broader story behind the numbers: Real people are hurting. If they have not lost care, they worry the thin reed of stability provided by non-profit, community-based organizations will disappear without state support. Cuts at social service agencies are tearing holes into safety nets for the state’s most vulnerable residents…”
- Parenting programs take big hit from budget cuts, By Dean Olsen, July 18, 2009, State Journal Register: “Hoping to become a cosmetologist someday, Theresa Mercado says she has drawn inspiration from fellow single mothers in a support group that met weekly at the Family Service Center of Sangamon County…”
