IRP Poverty Dispatch » Editorial/Opinion

Food Security and Poverty in the US

townsend — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:03:22 +0000

Half of U.S. children will use food stamps, study finds, By Alfred Lubrano, November 18, 2009, Philadelphia Inquirer: “In a stark and surprising finding, about half the children in the United States will be on food stamps at some point during their childhood, a new study of 29 years of data shows. One in three white children and 90 percent of all black children - ages 1 through 20 - will use the program, according to the research, published this month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. ‘This means Americans’ economic distress is much higher than we had ever realized,’ said Thomas A. Hirschl, a sociology professor at Cornell University and a coauthor of the study with Mark R. Rank, a sociologist at Washington University in St. Louis. The survey finds that continued food-stamp usage signifies a kind of poverty that is ‘a threat to the overall health and well-being of American children, and, as such, represents a significant challenge to pediatricians in their daily practice.’ The persistent poverty described in the survey dovetails with the findings of a U.S. Department of Agriculture study released Monday. It determined that 49 million Americans - 17 million of them children - were unable to consistently get enough food to eat in 2008. Nearly 15 percent of households were having trouble finding food, the highest number recorded since the agency began measuring hunger in 1995…”
Hunger in the United States, Editorial, November 17, 2009, New York Times: “Congress should make a priority of expanding federal nutrition programs that are aimed at helping millions of struggling families feed their children. The need to bolster these programs was underscored again this week in a dismaying Department of Agriculture study showing that a record number of households had trouble getting sufficient food at one time or another last year…”

Children and Food Stamp Enrollment

townsend — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:47:15 +0000

Recession bites the poor, By Jazmine Ulloa, November 7, 2009, Brownsville Herald: “At least ‘from a technical perspective,’ as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in September, some economists believe the recession is very likely over. But a study released this week emphasized high levels of poverty among children in the United States - a problem that has long been pervasive in the country, even during positive economic times, public policy analysts say. The study in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youth will be on food stamps at some point in childhood, and the most recent recession could push the numbers up. The findings come from an analysis of 30 years of national data in a time span of economic highs and lows, including the early 1980s recession…”
Food stamps: a canary in the coal mine?, By Douglas C. Lyons, November 7, 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “It’s an eye-popping statistic, no matter how you cut it: 90 percent of all black youngsters in the United States will be on food stamps at some point of their childhood. The statistic comes from a Washington University in St. Louis study and published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Its author, Mark Rank, was quoted as saying the study ‘… shows that the period of childhood, rather than a period of safety and security, is really a time, for a lot of kids, of economic turmoil and risk…’”

Opinion: Homelessness and Housing in the US

townsend — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:00:58 +0000

Hope in the battle against homelessness, By Neal Peirce, November 8, 2009, Denver Post: “Veterans of America’s recent wars left homeless; abused women and their children seeking nightly shelter; out-of-sight medical system costs; rising tides of bankruptcies. What do they have to do with each other - and America’s current health care debate? A lot, it turns out. By failing to guarantee a roof over every American’s head, we’ve failed the test - as Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan puts it - of ‘a civilized society.’ On a typical night, 650,000 Americans have no place to call home. We created this crisis ourselves, by the states emptying out their mental hospitals and cities demolishing thousands of low-income rental units. The result was a huge gap in affordable shelter. Plus, by failing to restrain medical system costs or guarantee care for all Americans, we’ve forced thousands of families to go into bankruptcy. Today, alarming numbers are being forced to take to the streets where their health is even more endangered by extremes of pelting rain or stone-cold nights, unsanitary conditions and sometimes violence. Yet as grim as all this sounds, it’s possible to see strong glimmers of light…”

Opinion: Poverty Measurement in the US

townsend — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:22:23 +0000

Who’s poor? Proposal aims for better measurement, By Ruben Rosario, November 4, 2009, Pioneer Press: “I need to cut a piece of wood that is precisely 36 inches long and 5 inches wide. I have two measurement tools at my disposal. I already know the distance between the tips of my outstretched thumb and pinky - 9 inches. I also have a tape measure. Both will do the job, but one will provide a more accurate and efficient measurement. Which leads me to a bill in Congress that, if passed, will change the way we define and measure poverty in Minnesota and across the nation for policy-making and public assistance purposes. Whether the proposed change will be significant, increasing or decreasing who’s officially poor and who is not, is open to debate. The Measuring Poverty in America Act of 2009 seeks to replace the current federal poverty-level guideline used to determine the nation’s poverty rate as well as an individual’s or a family’s eligibility for public assistance benefits that can range from food stamps to state-subsidized health care…”

Public Defender System - Missouri

townsend — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:02:42 +0000

Missouri public defender system faces ‘caseload crisis,’ study says, By Mark Morris, October 25, 3009, Kansas City Star: “Missouri’s public defender system is facing ‘an overwhelming caseload crisis’ that has pushed the state’s criminal justice system ‘to the brink of collapse,’ a new study reports. The study, released Friday, underscores a similar 2005 report and notes that little has improved. The public defender system represents poor defendants charged with more than 80 percent of the felonies filed in Missouri. Offices throughout the state regularly report that their lawyers are working well above 100 percent of their recommended maximum workloads. Earlier this year, Laura Denvir Stith, then chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, warned legislators that the state’s courts could be forced to release ‘vast numbers’ of inmates from jail because their public defenders could not get them to trial quick enough. She also warned that the state was vulnerable to lawsuits challenging the adequacy of its public defender system…”
Missouri Supreme Court must stanch public defender meltdown, Editorial, October 27, 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “A new study of Missouri’s public defender system - which provides lawyers for indigent defendants in criminal cases - says the system’s lawyers are so underpaid, overworked and badly supervised that they’re like the pilots of the commuter plane that crashed into a Buffalo, N.Y., suburb in February. As a result, says the Spangenberg Group, a judicial consulting firm, and George Mason University’s Center for Justice, Law and Society, Missouri’s criminal justice system ‘is heading for disaster, one which is both predictable and preventable.’ Missouri’s public defender system ’stands at the bottom of its sister states in terms of resources,’ the report concludes, and ‘has reached a point where what it provides is often nothing more than the illusion of a lawyer.’ None of this is news, at least not to anyone familiar with the state’s criminal justice system. The Missouri Bar commissioned a similar study four years ago, and it reached similar conclusions…”

Alternative Measures of Poverty in the US

townsend — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:04:57 +0000

Poverty study receives praise, By Amanda McElfresh, October 26, 2009, Daily Advertiser: “Local researchers who study poverty and its effects across the state say they are encouraged by the U.S. Census Bureau’s decision to release revised estimates of how many Americans are living in poverty. The new formula, developed in part by the National Academy of Science, shows that about 47.4 million Americans lived in poverty last year, about seven million more than originally estimated. In addition, almost 18 percent of children lived in poverty, a slight decrease from the number found using the traditional formula…”
3.6M older Americans living in poverty, By Saul Friedman, October 23, 2009, Newsday: ” We cannot take much comfort in the latest census figures on poverty among older Americans. It is true that the 2008 poverty rate, 9.7 percent among people 65 and older, was unchanged from 2007. But that 9.7 percent, according to the census tables, represents about 3.6 million people who are living on $10,326 a year, or $14,051 for a couple. That probably means Social Security is their only income; indeed, for half the population over 65, Social Security is the primary source of income. Yet, those figures don’t take into full account of the effects of the prolonged and deepening recession on older people…”
U.S. needs better way measure poverty, By Terry Haven, October 23, 2009, Salt Lake Tribune: “On Oct. 19, the Census Bureau released alternate poverty rates based on recommendations from a National Academy of Sciences panel on measuring poverty. No state data were given in the report, but new figures show a national poverty rate of 15.8 percent rather than the 13.2 percent poverty rate released just weeks ago using the traditional formula. The poverty rate for the Western Region rose from 13.5 percent to 19 percent. There is increasing agreement among policymakers and advocates that the current federal poverty measure is broken and outdated. The advent of these poverty figures is a good time to reflect on the inadequacies of our poverty measure and the crucial need to update this outdated statistic…”

Editorials and Opinions: Privatization of Social Services - Indiana

townsend — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:40:28 +0000

The lesson to learn from failure of IBM contract, Editorial, October 21, 2009, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel: “Gov. Mitch Daniels’ cancellation of IBM’s $1.37 billion contract to deliver welfare services will undoubtedly win praise from Republicans (he realized a mistake and corrected it) and criticism from Democrats (there was evidence to end it a lot sooner). There is some truth in both those positions, but the governor should be given credit for the honesty of his announcement. Daniels said it wasn’t a lack of resources that made the experiment in privatization fail. Nor was it a lack of effort…”
Much to learn from state’s FSSA mistake, Editorial, October 18, 2009, South Bend Tribune: “There have been many concerns voiced throughout Gov. Mitch Daniels’ experiment in privatizing the Family and Social Services Administration intake process. Undoubtedly there will be many more in the months to come. But now, as Indiana pulls the plug on its $1.34 billion, 10-year contract with IBM to deliver crucial welfare services, the top priority must be the transition back to a state-operated system…”
Welcome move to fix privatization of welfare, Editorial, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “Last Thursday, after almost three years of missteps that interrupted vital services for some, Gov. Mitch Daniels admitted the welfare-privatization concept didn’t work and canceled the contract with IBM. The governor deserves credit for owning up to the failure. His persistence in getting problems fixed in the Bureau of Motor Vehicles suggests he will now redouble efforts to improve services provided through the Family and Social Services Administration. We wish him only success…”
Back to the state for personal touch, Editorial, October 17, 2009, Indianapolis Star: “Large, troubling questions remain about the fate of a public assistance system that affects one in every six Hoosiers. How will the transition back to the state from a failed privatization effort be accomplished? Will IBM express its ire over losing a $1.34 billion contract in the form of legal action, or a threat of legal action serious enough to prompt an expensive buyout? How long will it take, and at what cost, to clean up a mess that has cost countless elderly, poor, sick and disabled people vital services and imperils countless more?…”
Local lawmakers got FSSA job done, By Mizell Stewart III, October 18, 2009, Evansville Courier and Press: “Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ move to cancel the contract that privatized many of the intake functions of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is a victory for benefit recipients and Southwestern Indiana lawmakers alike. The move was a disaster by nearly every account, notably because it turned much of the work of determining benefit eligibility over to call centers and Web sites. That’s fine for doing business in most instances, but it didn’t work at all for the poor, frail and elderly…”
Cancelled contract, Editorial, October 18, 2009, Evansville Courier and Press: “Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels was right to cancel the state’s deal with IBM Corp., for privatizing the welfare application process. But let us not kid ourselves: the problems will not be corrected overnight. Daniels will be returning welfare application operations to the control of the Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration. However, remember that before privatization, applications were the responsibility of the state agency and it was a mess, fraught with errors and fraud. It was that way for years before Daniels came to office. It was that poor record of performance that led Daniels, an advocate of privatizing government services and assets, to seek a business-run welfare program. Unfortunately, that private system came with its own flaws…”

Opinion: Poverty Measurement in the US

townsend — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:39:45 +0000

We need to fix how we measure poverty, By Anne Stuhldreher, October 13, 2009, Sacramento Bee: ” From climate change to redistricting, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have teamed up on a number of issues. It’s time to add another to the list — updating the antiquated and misleading way we measure poverty. It may seem like an odd concern for the Republican duo. But Bloomberg took the lead on the issue last year when conditions in New York City were similar to those California faces today: The economy was down; need was rising; and public resources were constrained. A number-cruncher by trade, Bloomberg turned to statistics to shed light on those suffering in the economic gloom. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” he was quoted as saying. His questions were basic: What people and places in New York have the greatest need? How could the city best deploy its limited public dollars to meet them? And what impact were its current programs having?…”

Food Stamp Application Process - Texas

townsend — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:19:36 +0000

Federal officials: Texas needs food stamp czar, By Corrie MacLaggan, October 6, 2009, Austin-American Statesman: “Federal officials say Texas should appoint a food stamp czar to take charge of fixing the application backlogs and high error rates plaguing the program. ‘All states are feeling the pinch right now because of the economic recession, but I’m not aware of any state that is having it to the degree that Texas is,’ said William Ludwig, a Dallas-based regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. Ludwig, who rarely gives interviews, oversees food stamps for Texas and four other states. He attributed the state’s problems last week to a “whole series of missteps, mismanagement over the last four years,” starting with thousands of state workers getting pink slips in advance of a massive privatization effort…”
Too many Texans are waiting too long for food stamps, Editorial, October 7, 2009, Austin American-Statesman: “It is scandalous that Texas is letting so many of its residents go hungry when the resources exist to feed them. But those resources - food stamps - are being processed at a snail’s pace because the state has not been able to get its act together. Texans deserve a better, more compassionate solution than state leaders have proposed so far. The massive backlog that has left low-income families hungry and waiting for weeks and months for government food assistance has reached a critical level. In September 2009, Texas processed 58.6 percent of new applications on time…”

States and Proposed Medicaid Expansion

townsend — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:53:59 +0000

Medicaid expansion stalls health talks, By Jennifer Haberkorn and Ralph Z. Hallow, September 15, 2009, Washington Times: “A proposed expansion of Medicaid, the health care program for lower-income Americans, has emerged as one of the last sticking points in the Senate Finance Committee’s health care reform bill, with governors and state legislatures around the country worried they’re going to get left with the tab. Proposals in the House and Senate would expand Medicaid eligibility to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, potentially putting millions of new people on the public health program for the poor younger than 65…”
Congressional health plans could break state budget, By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener, September 12, 2009, Louisville Courier-Journal: “Gov. Mitch Daniels last week weighed into the national health care debate with a letter to Indiana’s congressional delegation that opposed the insurance reform plans currently under consideration. ‘There is no disputing the fact that aspects of American health care, such (as) access and affordability, truly do need to be restructured and improved,’ Daniels wrote. ‘Yet, I have serious concerns about Congress’ proposed solutions to these problems. In fact, I fear the current rush to overhaul the system will ultimately do more damage than good and create far more problems than it solves.’ But as described in his letter, Daniels’ opposition has as much to do with protecting the state’s finances as it does with political philosophy. In fact, Daniels is part of a group of governors and other state government leaders across the country who are trying to draw attention to a part of the health care debate that has been largely ignored – an expansion of Medicaid…”
Congress should extend help with Medicaid, Editorial, September 15, 2009, Des Moines Register: “Billions in federal economic-stimulus dollars rescued state governments this year. The influx of money - about $2 billion in Iowa - helped this state avoid laying off workers and cutting vital programs. But another fiscal year is coming. Iowa was not among the states that raised taxes to generate revenue, and the federal stimulus money is almost gone. This state is facing a shortfall of between $900 million and $1 billion for the next budget year, and has about $133 million left in stimulus money. Everyone knew the federal help was temporary, and there is likely little political will in Washington for passing another stimulus package…”

State Unemployment Systems and Jobless Benefits

townsend — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:50:36 +0000

17,000 state residents will get extended benefits if unemployment rate climbs high enough, By Janice Posada, September 14, 2009, Hartford Courant: “When Connecticut’s unemployment rate dipped to 7.8 percent in July from 8 percent in May and June, economists took it as a sign that recession-related job losses were finally starting to level off. But the slowing pace of unemployment, if it continues, could hurt about 17,000 jobless workers in the state. They would be eligible for seven additional weeks of federal unemployment benefits - but only if the jobless rate jumps to 8.2 percent in August…”
Soaring jobless rate taxes insurance system, By Eve Tahmincioglu, September 14, 2009, MSNBC.com: “Cynthia Paulson of Mesa, Ariz., made a mistake on her form when she filed for an extension on her unemployment benefits in July, and she fell into a bureaucratic black hole. Mike Dixon of Seattle put in for unemployment benefits after he lost his job as a software engineer, but his employer denied his claim, resulting in a delay of nearly two months in collecting any money. As the nation’s unemployment rate approaches 10 percent, Paulson and Dixon are just two of the hundreds of thousands of people dealing with bureaucratic delays in the nation’s increasingly stretched unemployment insurance system…”
Falling through jobless benefit crack, By Scott Whipple, September 14, 2009, Bristol Press: “Maybe you caught the special in late August on MSNBC. The network broadcast a chilling report on the estimated 1.5 million people on the verge of losing their jobless benefits. Though the unemployment compensation program has been extended over and over from the basic 26 weeks, the crack is widening and more people are falling through. In fact, the national Employment Law Project expects 540,000 people to fall out of the unemployment program by the end of this month…”
Congress should continue jobless benefits, Editorial, September 14, 2009, Detroit News: “Nearly 100,000 Michigan residents stand to lose their unemployment benefits at year’s end. Congress is working to extend those benefits and should do so. But Michigan businesses also have an unemployment crisis. They face hundreds of millions of dollars in new unemployment taxes and penalties in the next few years that could damage their recovery and slow the hiring of new workers. It’s a vicious circle that only Congress can fix. Normally, laid-off workers are entitled to 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. The cost of this insurance is covered by a tax levied by the state on all firms. Because of the severity of this recession, Congress has adopted special unemployment benefits covered from the federal treasury for workers. Together, employer-paid and federal benefits now add up to 79 weeks of unemployment coverage…”

Study: Achievement Gap - Oregon

townsend — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:29:52 +0000

Close Oregon’s achievement gap by starting early, study urges, By Kimberly Melton, September 14, 2009, The Oregonian: “A new report from the Chalkboard Project highlights a persistent achievement gap between Latino students and white students in Oregon that starts as early as third grade. It suggests the key to narrowing the gap is to start working with students early. The report, released Monday, echoes the conclusion of an earlier study of the achievement gap between black and white students in Multnomah County that recommended focusing more on prevention than intervention…”
A blueprint for closing the gap, Editorial, September 15, 2009, The Oregonian: “As a new study of Oregon’s achievement gap makes clear, the state should put more effort into early intervention and dig deeper into what works. The stubborn gap in academic achievement in Oregon between Hispanic students and their white classmates used to be somewhat of a mystery. Not any more. The main causes of this gap are well-diagnosed. So are at least some of the solutions, plus the areas desperately needing further research…”

Report: Cost of High School Dropouts

townsend — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:25:12 +0000

State disputes dropout count, By Loren Moreno, September 8, 2009, Honolulu Advertiser: “The state Department of Education has disputed the number of Hawai’i high school dropouts recently reported by a national policy and advocacy organization. The Washington, D.C.-based Alliance for Excellent Education said last week more than 6,202 students from the class of 2009 in Hawai’i dropped out of school before graduation…”
Tough times for Hawaii dropouts, By Michael Tsai, September 7, 2009, Honolulu Advertiser: “If she didn’t have so much riding on it, Ginger Rivera never would have even opened the door to room H-103. There she was: a 31-year-old high school dropout getting ready to take a General Education Diploma preparatory class with what she figured would be a roomful of teenagers…”
Report shows negative effects of dropouts on economy, By Lisa Singleton-Rickman, September 7, 2009, Florence Times Daily: “A study by the Alliance for Excellent Education indicates the sobering impact high school dropouts have on the national and state economy. On a national scale, if high school students who dropped out in 2009 had graduated, the economy would have benefited from nearly $335 billion in additional income during the course of their lifetimes, according to the study. If the dropouts in Alabama’s class of 2009 had graduated, it is estimated that the state’s economy would have had another $6.5 billion in additional income during the course of the students’ lifetimes…”
The cost of not getting a high-school diploma is exorbitant for dropouts, governments and the economy, Editorial, Birmingham News: “Here’s a sobering thought for Labor Day in the midst of a recession. What you don’t know really can hurt you, especially in your pocketbook. Not only do high school dropouts earn less when they do have jobs, they are much more likely to get a pink slip during the current economic downturn. Talk about a double whammy. In July, the national jobless rate was 9.4 percent. For high school dropouts, it was 15.4 percent. High school graduates had a rate of 9.4 percent, while people with some college credits or an associate’s degree had a jobless rate of 7.9 percent. Only 4.7 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher were out of work…”

Measuring Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage

townsend — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:33:20 +0000

In New York City, poverty defined in new terms, By Pam Fessler, September 10, 2009, National Public Radio: “New census figures Thursday are expected to show that the poverty rate rose in 2008. But the government still measures poverty the same way it did more than 40 years ago, and many experts think that gives an inaccurate measure of what’s going on. New York City developed a new measure last year based on recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences that takes into account expenses such as child care and health care costs. The result, according to backers of the new formula, is a more realistic picture of today’s world. They’re pushing the federal government to make a similar change…”
Another word for poverty, By Sarah Chacko, September 10, 2009, Baton Rouge Advocate: “In the coming weeks, the federal government will release 2008 data about family income and economic status. An obvious focus for many will be the poverty rate, the number of people who earn less than an established measure of income needed to cover a family’s basic needs. But in some circles, the word ‘poverty’ has become off limits. Nonprofit organizations and state agencies say they are ‘moving people to self-sufficiency’ or ‘empowering families,’ without mentioning economic status. Avoiding the word has apparently become an international trend too…”
Move that line, By Dave Schechter, September 9, 2009, CNN.com: “On Thursday morning, the Census Bureau will release data expected to show a “statistically significant” increase in the national poverty rate, the percentage of Americans living below the government poverty line. Based on an Associated Press interview with a Commerce Department official, the expectation is that there will have been nearly 39 million Americans living below the poverty line in 2008 - an increase of more than 1.5 million from the year before - pushing the poverty rate up to at least 12.7 percent, if not higher. In reality, that number and that rate are something of a fraud. In the first decade of the 21st Century, the U.S. government still determines who is poor with a formula created in 1963-64 using data from 1955…”
New figures on uninsured — but just how accurate are they?, By Kelly Brewington and Stephanie Desmon, Baltimore Sun: “The U.S. Census just released some surprising figures on the number of Americans without health insurance. The agency says the percentage of the uninsured did not grow between 2007 and 2008 — holding steady at 15.4 percent. Meanwhile, the number of uninsured people rose slightly 45.7 million to 46.3 million. During a monster recession, with rising unemployment and so many employers cutting health insurance to their workers — can those figures be right?…”

State Children’s Health Insurance Program

townsend — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:11:59 +0000

10,000 working parents to lose health insurance, By Casey Newton, September 8, 2009, Arizona Republic: “Nearly 10,000 working parents will lose their health insurance this month in the wake of state budget cuts, leaving some families with nowhere to turn as they seek affordable coverage. KidsCare Parents, a program that provides low-income families with inexpensive insurance, will end Sept. 30. The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, which administers the program, could not pay the $6 million annual cost following cuts by the Legislature. The state faces a $3 billion budget shortfall. The move comes as demand for government assistance is skyrocketing. Arizona has lost an estimated 240,000 jobs since December 2007, and AHCCCS has added 150,000 people to its rolls since January…”
Legislature gets one right: Healthy Kids continues, Editorial, September 8, 2009, Vacaville Reporter: “The California Legislature came together last week and accomplished the seemingly impossible. On a bipartisan vote — unanimous, even, in the Assembly — it found a way to keep more than 600,000 children from losing their health insurance. More amazing, it found a way to pay for the Healthy Families program. During the summer’s contentious budget negotiations, the Legislature sliced $144 million from the program that provides medical insurance for children whose parents cannot afford it. Then the governor lopped off another $50 million in a line-item veto. Both were insane decisions. Not only does the federal government contribute $2 for every $1 the state puts into the program, but Healthy Families has consistently proven that it saves taxpayers money in the long run…”

Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program - Pennsylvania

townsend — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:33:44 +0000

Fending off the chill, Editorial, September 3, 2009, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Wholesale changes this year in Pennsylvania’s annual heating-aid program seem designed to make every needy homeowner and utility stakeholder hot under the collar. Maybe it’s part of some secret plan to keep low-income families warm this winter? The changes make little sense, otherwise. No wonder they’ve sparked widespread criticism from utility company officials and low-income advocates alike…”
Heating aid in a LIHEAP of trouble, By Signe Wilkinson, September 3, 2009, Philadelphia Daily News: “The Annual cold war starts early this year. We’re referring to the annual battle for people to get help with their heating bills through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Usually, it’s not until October or November that we begin hearing signs of worry that the state-administered LIHEAP, managed by the Department of Public Welfare, will not be able to cover as many needy people as the year before. The federal government establishes the appropriation for LIHEAP, and sends money to the states. Most states also add their own funds to the program, though Pennsylvania is an exception…”

State Budget Impasse and Social Services - Pennsylvania

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:25:58 +0000

Pa.’s budget stalemate frays its social safety net, By Marc Levy (AP), August 13, 2009, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Pennsylvania’s six-week-old budget stalemate has turned off the spigot that normally keeps billions of taxpayer dollars flowing for social services for the poor, prompting scores of nonprofit agencies to lay off workers, take out loans and cut back to survive. Another month or more without action to free up that money could irrevocably tear a safety net that is already jammed with waiting lists and relies heavily on low-wage employees, according to nonprofit directors and the government officials who deal with them. For now, dollars are drying up for everything from day care for children of the working poor to people who desperately need mental health counseling…”
Impasse could end day care for many children, By Brad Bumsted and Debra Erdley, August 12, 2009, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “Jody Van Varenberg isn’t sure how she’ll pay the bills this month at Today’s Tot, her small child-care center in Washington. The state subsidizes many of her children but hasn’t paid Van Varenberg since June. The skeleton budget that Gov. Ed Rendell signed last month hasn’t changed her circumstances. ‘I’m one of the people who still aren’t getting paid,’ Van Varenberg said, adding that she wonders how long child-care operators like herself will be able to hang on. There’s no relief in sight yet for day-care centers across Pennsylvania…”
Phila. ‘a city being held hostage’, By Daniel Rubin, August 13, 2009, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Sign of the times spotted in the Criminal Justice Center: We are out of paper. No copying folks. (Unless you supply!!) Here’s another sign. Defense attorney Sanjai Weaver has started taking SEPTA to work. The court has not paid the former prosecutor and judicial candidate since May, though she continues her court-appointed advocacy. ‘It finally dawned on me last Monday,’ she says, ‘You can’t pay for parking, you can’t pay for the gas.’ She is owed more than $15,000. As the economy has turned downward, Weaver has relied more and more on assignments from judges to represent the poor in criminal cases. Such work now represents close to 90 percent of her income. But government work turns out to have been a gamble…”

Stimulus Spending and Youth Employment

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:36:01 +0000

Stimulus helps young people get work in hard times, Editorial, August 6, 2009, The Olympian: “Rare is the day that goes by without an announcement of more federal dollars flowing into the state from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The latest count showed $827 million has been infused into the state economy from the federal economic stimulus plan out of the $4 billion that the state has been formally granted so far…”

Privatization of Social Services - Indiana

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:08:48 +0000

State welfare contract ballooning, By Ken Kusmer (AP), August 4, 2009, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “Indiana will spend nearly $180 million more than it initially planned to privatize and automate many of its welfare functions just two years into a closely watched 10-year deal that is one of the most lucrative contracts in state history. The cost of the $1.16 billion contract Gov. Mitch Daniels signed in late 2006 has risen 15 percent, to $1.34 billion, under changes made to the agreement with a group led by Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp…”
Welfare woes, Editorial, August 4, 2009, Evansville Courier and Press: “Call us naive, but we thought the cost of adjustments to Indiana’s privatized welfare application system would be on the backs of the contractors - not the taxpayers - given that the businesses had agreed in late 2006 to give the state a modern, automated operation for $1.16 billion. But now we learn that the privatized system is costing Indiana an additional $180 million, some of it to fix the basic program, which has come under harsh criticism from advocates for welfare clients…”

Editorials: Budget Cuts and the Safety Net - California

admin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:44:09 +0000

Cuts in safety net for children go far too deep, Editorial, July 29, 2009, San Jose Mercury News: “Tuesday marked a new low for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in his role as a guardian of the health of California’s children. With a stroke of his blue pencil, the governor axed an additional $50 million from the state’s Healthy Families program, which provides health insurance to California’s neediest children. That’s on top of the devastating $144 million in cuts to Healthy Families in the budget deal Schwarzenegger had negotiated with the Legislature last week…”
Safety net takes hit in this budget, Editorial, July 29, 2009, Sacramento Bee: “Spending on health and welfare programs for the poor is the state government’s second most expensive item, after the public schools. Last year, California taxpayers spent about $29 billion on these services for their less fortunate neighbors. But in the current economic climate, even these essential programs are going under the knife…”

Extended Jobless Benefits - Texas

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:17:48 +0000

Texas averts crisis over extended unemployment benefits, By Dave Montgomery, July 21, 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “The Texas Workforce Commission took emergency action Tuesday to continue unemployment assistance to as many as 15,000 jobless Texans who were in danger of exhausting their benefits by the end of the month…”
Unemployment insurance a two-sided political issue for Perry, By Jason Embry, July 21, 2009, Austin American-Statesman: “Gov. Rick Perry’s opposition to federal stimulus dollars for unemployment benefits earlier this year boosted his standing among many Republicans. But other issues surrounding the state’s unemployment program could create political headaches for Perry in the next year and a half…”
Texas leaders should reconsider the federal stimulus money, By Mitchell Schnurman, July 22, 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “At what point does the real world trump politics and principle? Texas is shaping up as a test case, because more than 23,000 workers are losing their jobs every week and $556 million in federal aid is sitting on the table, unclaimed. Texas is one of only four states — the others are Alabama, Florida and Virginia — that rejected federal stimulus dollars connected with reforming unemployment insurance. Thirty-six states qualify for the federal money, including more than two dozen that adopted reforms this year, and the rest are still debating the issue…”

Funding for Community Colleges

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:30:49 +0000

UW-Madison profs help shape bold initiative for community colleges, By Todd Finkelmeyer, July 20, 2009, Capital Times: “A report released in May and co-authored by UW-Madison professors Sara Goldrick-Rab and Douglas Harris argued that community colleges are in need of significant government investment if the United States is to help more of its people get a formal education and better compete with others from around the globe for the best jobs…”
Community colleges’ new clout, By Derrick Z. Jackson, July 18, 2009, Boston Globe: “For decades, American presidents lauded the working stiffs and immigrants who fill our community colleges, but then stiffed them during budget time. That ended this week when President Obama made one of his most welcome proposals of his first year, a $12 billion, 10-year plan to boost community colleges…”

Privatization of Social Services - Indiana

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:22:20 +0000

Medicaid problems swell in new system, By Angela Mapes Turner, July 12, 2009, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “Indiana’s nearly 2-year-old experiment with a privatized welfare system appears to be failing. The backlog of pending Medicaid applications has ballooned in counties where welfare is handled by private contractors. From May 2008 - after the most recent wave of counties joined the new system - to December 2008, pending cases increased 86 percent. In counties working under the old system, the backlog increased only 16 percent, according to a Journal Gazette analysis of state data…”
No Plan B for welfare contractors, By Ken Kusmer (AP), July 12, 2009, Indianapolis Star: “Indiana welfare officials considering canceling the state’s privately run welfare system have no backup plan in place, and critics say it will be hard to undo the privatization of 1,500 state case workers more than two years ago…”
State prods contractor into action, By Eric Bradner, Evansville Courier and Press: “Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration is using a carrot-and-stick strategy to try to pressure contractors hired to modernize the state’s welfare agency into producing better results…”
The welfare privatization debacle, Editorial, July 12, 2009, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “Gov. Mitch Daniels likes to say that he inherited ‘the worst welfare system in the nation.’ But two extensive reviews of data by The Journal Gazette suggest it has grown worse under his watch. The latest shows staggering increases in Medicaid application backlogs in the counties where the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration turned eligibility processing over to IBM Corp…”

Funding for Legal Aid Offices

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:01:35 +0000

Growing numbers of poor people swamp legal aid offices in U.S., By Tony Pugh, July 12, 2009, Detroit Free Press: “After years of funding shortfalls, legal aid societies across the country are being overwhelmed by growing numbers of poor and unemployed Americans who face eviction, foreclosure, bankruptcy and other legal problems tied to the recession. The crush of new clients comes as the cash-strapped agencies cut staff and services…”
A fair shake for legal aid, Editorial, July 13, 2009, Washington Post: “For the past 13 years, the Legal Services Corp. has had its hands tied while trying to fulfill its mission of representing poor people in civil matters. Legal aid lawyers, for example, have been prohibited from using federal and even privately procured or state and local funds to initiate class actions; they have also been barred from seeking attorney’s fees even when they prevail in court — a benefit available to other lawyers in many civil rights or consumer protection matters…”

Medicaid Expansion - Maryland

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:21:15 +0000

State Medicaid coverage, costs grow, By Sarah Fisher, July 2, 2009, Baltimore Sun: “A year into a new effort to expand health coverage, recession-weary Marylanders are flocking to the state’s Medicaid program in numbers far greater than expected, costing the state $50 million more in the process…”
A healthy start, Editorial, July 2, 2009, Baltimore Sun: “At a time when some cash-strapped states are contemplating reducing Medicaid coverage, Maryland has boldly moved in the opposite direction. Today marks the first anniversary of a program that has brought taxpayer-financed medical assistance to more than 44,000 low-income parents, the vast majority of whom lacked health care before…”