• Jobless-benefit checks phased out, By Chad Livengood, November 15, 2011, News Journal: “Paper unemployment insurance checks will be virtually nonexistent in Delaware by mid-2012. The Delaware Department of Labor plans to do away with almost all paper checks by June, when it begins issuing debit cards to jobless workers who don’t choose to receive their unemployment benefits via a direct deposit into their bank accounts. ‘As far as the paper check, it’s going to go the way of the dinosaur,’ said Tom MacPherson, director of the division of unemployment insurance. There may still be some paper checks issued to people claiming unemployment benefits for the first time, MacPherson said, but only until a direct deposit can be activated with their bank…”
• Branstad praises results of closing 36 unemployment offices, By Jason Clayworth, November 14, 2011, Des Moines Register: “Gov. Terry Branstad’s decision that’s being challenged as unconstitutional to close 36 Iowa unemployment offices was praised today by himself and his administration as ‘a significant success.’ ‘Our tracking data indicates that services are equal to or greater than what they were available at this time last year. I see this as a significant success and commend Director (Teresa) Wahlert and Iowa Workforce Development for their good work,’ Branstad said. Branstad in July vetoed portions of Senate File 517 that would have prohibited closure of the 36 Iowa Workforce Development offices across the state. Branstad wrote in his veto letter that the legislation would have prevented the department from putting together a more efficient system for assisting unemployed Iowans…”

‘Charity’ care, bad debt rise for Iowa hospitals, By Rod Boshart, August 2, 2011, Cedar Rapids Gazette: “The prolonged U.S. economic downturn has contributed to a rise in the level of uncompensated ‘charity care’ and unpaid medical debts that Iowa hospitals have incurred in recent years, officials said Tuesday. Overall, the 118-member Iowa Hospital Association provided more than $850 million worth of care last year for which the facilities were not fully compensated, association spokesman Scott McIntyre said. That level, based on a member survey, was up $54 million, or 6.8 percent, from 2009. The total stood at $252 million in 2000, he said…”

Suburban schools see growing levels of financial stress among families, By Sheena Dooley, January 18, 2011, Des Moines Register: “The number of low-income families living in Des Moines suburbs is on the rise, a trend that is pushing educators to find ways to ensure school-age youngsters keep pace academically. Iowa had more than 180,700 children and teens who qualified for free or reduced-price meals in 2009-10, up nearly 32,000 from 2004-05. Among those seeing the largest increases were suburban Des Moines districts. In 2009-10, for instance, 14 percent of Johnston’s students qualified for free or reduced-price meals. That percentage has more than doubled since the 2004-05 school year. Over the past five years, hundreds of suburbanites in Iowa and the nation have fallen out of the middle class. The result has been increased levels of poverty and demands for social services in communities where low-income residents have typically been in the shadows…”

• Study finds more woes following foster care, By Erik Eckholm, April 6, 2010, New York Times: “Only half the youths who had turned 18 and ‘aged out’ of foster care were employed by their mid-20s. Six in 10 men had been convicted of a crime, and three in four women, many of them with children of their own, were receiving some form of public assistance. Only six in 100 had completed even a community college degree. The dismal outlook for youths who are thrust into a shaky adulthood from the foster care system - now numbering some 30,000 annually - has been documented with new precision by a long-term study released Wednesday, the largest to follow such children over many years…”
• Report: Foster kids face tough times after age 18, By Pam Fessler, April 7, 2010, National Public Radio: “It’s hard turning 18 - moving out, finding a job, going to college. But many foster children have to do it by themselves, without the lifeline to parents and home that helps many teens ease into independence. A major report out Wednesday says that many former foster kids have a tough time out on their own. When they age out of the system, they’re more likely than their peers to end up in jail, homeless or pregnant. They’re also less likely to have a job or go to college. Life can be a struggle for these young people, even with help from the government and nonprofit agencies…”
• Crime, unemployment, homelessness dog ex-foster care youths, By Amanda Paulson, April 7, 2010, Christian Science Monitor: “The vast majority of young people who age out of the foster-care system struggle to find housing and jobs and to complete their education, according to a new study released Wednesday, which tracked hundreds of foster-care youths from age 17 and 18 through age 23 or 24…”

Bill would consolidate childhood-aid program, By Jason Clayworth, March 9, 2010, Des Moines Register: “A 12-year-old state program to help children in low-income families get off to a healthy start and get ready for school has such scattered oversight that it could be prone to fraud, according to the state budget director. State officials confirm they lack data to know how many children have been helped since 1998 with the $336 million spent through the program, Iowa Community Empowerment. Part of the problem: The empowerment program encompasses more than three dozen programs scattered among four state departments, state officials say. Oversight is spread among a state board and 58 local boards…”

Low-income Iowans can receive dental care under new program, By Charlotte Eby, March 5, 2010, Sioux City Journal: “Children from low- to moderate-income families in Iowa are now eligible for dental coverage under a state program Gov. Chet Culver said is the first dental-only program in the country. Officials expect as many as 22,000 children could enroll in program that began March 1. It provides routine dental care as well as medically necessary orthodontia, but not cosmetic orthodontia…”

• Bill would require sick leave for most employees in Iowa, By Jennifer Jacobs, February 9, 2010, Des Moines Register: “All Iowa employees who work at least 20 hours a week would get paid when they are home sick, under a bill before the Legislature. Business owners and industry groups immediately expressed worries about how much that would cost. But Sen. Tom Courtney, who proposed the bill, said he thinks businesses could save money in the long run with greater employee retention and better productivity among healthy workers. ‘On the surface, this looks like this is going to be expensive for business,’ said Courtney, D-Burlington. ‘I think we need to get them over that feeling and help them realize this would be good for them. All the studies point to the facts that workers who have some sick leave are better workers, and that’s better for everyone.’ Democratic lawmakers said Monday the proposal likely will not go anywhere unless employers have a voice in crafting it. The bill is in the very earliest stages in the Legislature. A subcommittee considered the bill on Monday; the same group of senators will meet on the topic again Wednesday. As of last year, about 33 percent of full-time Iowa employees did not have paid sick days or flexible paid time off that can be used during an illness, state work force agency records show…”
• Businesses should provide sick leave, Editorial, February 11, 2010, Des Moines Register: “Last year, one-third of Iowans who worked full time did not have paid sick days or flexible paid time off to use when they were ill. More than 80 percent of part-time workers were not offered such time off, according to a survey by Iowa Workforce Development. Low-wage workers are less likely to have paid sick time - and more likely to work directly with the public in businesses such as restaurants and child-care centers. If they can’t afford to lose a day’s pay, they may have no choice but to go to work and potentially spread the bug. So it’s understandable lawmakers would want to help working Iowans on this issue. Senate Study Bill 3176 would provide those who work 20 or more hours a week the right to accrue up to 144 hours of paid sick time each calendar year. Workers could start using days off on the 60th day of employment…”

Food-stamp aid collected by inmates costs state, By Clark Kauffman, February 8, 2010, Des Moines Register: “Thirty percent of the inmates in the Polk County Jail last spring were illegally collecting food-stamp benefits, a state investigation shows. Federal regulations prohibit people who have been jailed for 30 days or more from collecting food-stamp benefits while incarcerated. But Iowa’s food-stamp program, which is administered by the state’s Department of Human Services, doesn’t routinely check on recipients’ compliance with that restriction. As a result, thousands of food-stamp beneficiaries are believed to be fraudulently collecting assistance while in jail. The benefits can only be accessed by using an electronic benefits transfer card - better known as an EBT card - which is similar to a bank debit card. Some inmates have given their EBT cards to others, while some have sold their cards in return for cash they can spend while in jail…”

• Ease rules for health program for poor, bill urges, By Tony Leys, January 7, 2010, Des Moines Register: “Poor, uninsured adults from throughout Iowa could receive health care at nearby hospitals and clinics, instead of having to travel to Iowa City, under proposed changes to a state health-care program. For most Iowa residents, the IowaCare program pays for medical care only at University of Iowa Hospitals. For Polk County residents, the program also covers care at Broadlawns Medical Center. The rules mean western Iowans must travel hundreds of miles to receive health care under the program. Legislators this spring will consider loosening those rules, but only if federal officials would help pay for the changes. About 33,500 Iowans are covered by the program, which offers basic health care to poor adults who don’t qualify for Medicaid. It was cobbled together in 2005 as a compromise to prevent federal officials from cutting $60 million from the state’s Medicaid program…”
• Medicaid cuts could hurt poor, elderly and children, By Veronica Chufo, December 19, 2009, Daily Press: “Virginia’s Medicaid recipients, hospitals and nursing homes could take a hit under outgoing Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s proposed budget cuts. The two-year state budget proposal that Kaine unveiled Friday includes a $419 million reduction to Medicaid, which covers health-care costs mostly for residents who are blind or disabled and low-income women and children. It also covers nursing-home stays for the elderly. It’s too early to tell exactly how the reductions will affect health-care systems and long-term care facilities, but health officials say Medicaid reimbursement rates in Virginia are already low…”

• Nearly 25% of Phila. foster children live with kin, By Alfred Lubrano, December 9, 2009, Philadelphia Inquirer: “A new statewide child-welfare report shows a mixed picture in the region - including the encouraging finding that the percentage of Philadelphia children in foster care who live in the homes of relatives is higher than the state average. Nearly 25 percent of foster children in Philadelphia are placed in the homes of relatives, compared with around 21 percent for the state as a whole, according to the report released yesterday by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, a statewide advocacy group based in Harrisburg. Children placed with family members do better than those in nonfamily settings, the group’s analysts said…”
• Foster families to feel pinch of slashed budget, By Jennifer Jacobs, December 10, 2009, Des Moines Register: “Iowa foster parents will get about $35 less each month for expenses for the abused or neglected children they care for on behalf of the state. That could hurt the foster care system, said several Iowans who oversee the Iowa Department of Human Services. The 10 percent across-the-board budget cut Gov. Chet Culver ordered for this budget year will decrease state spending on foster care subsidies by about $315,000…”

Fewer poor enrolled at regent schools, By Gunnar Olson, September 20, 2009, Des Moines Register: “Fewer and fewer students from Iowa’s low-income families are being educated by the state’s public universities, despite their mission to educate Iowans of diverse socioeconomic status, U.S. Department of Education data show. Iowa ranked nearly last in the United States for the share of Pell Grant recipients - a common measurement of low-income students - enrolled at its public universities in the 2007-08 school year. Only public universities in the District of Columbia, Rhode Island and Wyoming served lower percentages, although such comparisons are imperfect because factors vary state to state…”

• Rule limits reach of Iowa health program, By Nigel Duara (AP), September 14, 2009, Des Moines Register: “A state program offering health care to low-income adults without children is serving thousands of people who have never had health insurance, but more than half of those enrolling are from six Iowa counties. That’s because people seeking care through IowaCare can only go to the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City. The exception are people who live in Polk County, who can request a waiver to seek treatment at a Des Moines hospital. The situation has frustrated some hospital administrators and legislators, who call it unequal treatment that hurts patients and hospitals…”
• ALL Kids insurance program eligibility expands Oct. 1, By Phillip Rawls (AP), September 14, 2009, Montgomery Advertiser: “Many middle-class Alabama children will qualify for publicly funded health insurance starting Oct. 1 because the Legislature is expanding eligibility to cover families of four making up to $66,150 annually. ‘For so many middle-income families, it never entered their minds they would be eligible for a public program,’ Cathy Caldwell, who directs the ALL Kids health insurance program for the state Department of Public Health…”

Iowa’s legal aid offices feel pinch, By Grant Schulte, July 24, 2009, Des Moines Register: “Child support debts continued to mount for Ann Howser even after her former husband died and her 17-year-old son returned to her care. But the Des Moines woman could not afford the legal fees - probably $1,000 - to revise her divorce papers and cancel the required payments. So she turned to Iowa Legal Aid, a nonprofit group that helps low-income Iowans navigate the law…”