• Hawaii may cut back preschool tuition subsidies to families, By Mary Vorsino, November 21, 2009, Honolulu Advertiser: “The state is considering drastic cuts in subsidies for preschool care for thousands of children from low- to moderate-income families, which in some cases would result in parents having to quadruple what they pay for care. The changes would affect subsidies that cut preschool tuition costs for the families of about 2,500 kids in licensed preschools and about 6,000 children in licensed-exempt care, according to the Good Beginnings Alliance. The decrease in subsidies is being sought as the state faces a worsening fiscal crisis, and as demand for the subsidies is increasing because of the economic downturn…”
• Child care crunch, By Gary T. Kubota, November 21, 2009, Honolulu Star Bulletin: “Makiki single parent Tara Berry said she fears she might have to leave her job as a social worker if she is unable to afford a preschool fee and has to care during the workday for her 2 1/2-year-old son because of cuts in state child care subsidies. Berry said her pay has been cut by state furloughs. ‘I can barely afford to pay what I pay right now,’ said Berry, who also is raising a 16-year-old son. ‘It’s going to affect me greatly.’ As the state Department of Human Services considers major cuts in preschool subsidies affecting several thousands of children, parents are worried how they will get more money for additional child care expenses in a sour economy…”

Homeless in Bangor, By Eric Russell, November 21, 2009, Bangor Daily News: “The signs of homelessness growing in Bangor are everywhere. They are just far enough off the beaten path to go unnoticed by many. People take shelter in makeshift camps under the Veterans’ Memorial Bridge. In the wooded area off Hammond Street known as The Pines. Inside jails and emergency rooms and the police station lobby. The trend is heart-wrenching and perpetual - and just might indicate the arrival of a perfect storm, according to experts. Bangor’s shelters are full. State and federal housing subsidies have either dried up or created unfathomable waiting lists. General assistance, which is supposed to be emergency and temporary funding, is stretched paper-thin. Additional social service cuts from the state seem imminent…”

• Mental Health Commission begins 5-year project to help homeless Canadians, Canadian Press, November 23, 2009, Brandon Sun: “A research project that takes homeless people with mental illness off the streets in five cities and provides them with a safe place to live was officially launched Monday, the first such effort by the new Mental Health Commission of Canada. The pilot study, called the At Home/Chez Soi project, involves 2,285 people who are homeless and living with a mental illness in five cities - Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Altogether, 1,325 people will be given a place to live and social services over the course of the five-year study, while the others will receive services that are currently available. One of the goals is to find out more about what works well in providing services to homeless people…”
• Research project gets mentally ill Canadians off the streets, By Laura Stone, November 23, 2009, Vancouver Sun: “Sandra Dawson woke up one morning with a bright idea. She would quit her job as a video editor in Vancouver, take all her money out of the bank and move to Seattle. There, she would have a revelation. It didn’t happen. Penniless, Dawson moved back after a few days to her mother’s basement - another manic episode that shook her once stable life…”

Moms, children stay locked up together in Ohio, By Sharon Coolidge and Eileen Kelley, November 13, 2009, Cincinnati Enquirer: “The only thing missing from tiny Takeem Maffett’s world are black and white prison stripes. On the campus of the Ohio Reformatory for Women, convicts shuffle across from one spot to the next under watchful eyes. Takeem’s mother Takaya Patterson is exempt. In contrast to the other buildings at the sprawling complex surrounded by razor wire and blinding lights, the nursery is colorful and dotted with Sesame Street characters. Takeem’s mother wears a prison jumpsuit. Takeem, with cherub cheeks and long slender fingers, sleeps in her arms as she rocks. Just 2 months old, Takeem lives in prison. Under an unusual program, the state of Ohio lets Patterson raise him behind prison walls…”