Poverty Dispatch - December 6, 2007

IRP compiles and distributes Poverty Dispatches, links to Web-based news items dealing with poverty, welfare reform, and related topics twice a week. Each Dispatch lists links to current news in popular print media. Persons wishing to receive Poverty Dispatches by e-mail should send a request to rsnell@ssc.wisc.edu.

Today's Topics in the News:

• Kids Count Report - Michigan
• Children's Health Insurance Program - California
• State Budgets and Medicaid Spending
• Health Care and Poverty - Texas
• Health Care Costs - Iowa, Michigan, Ohio
• Low-income Residents and Rental Housing - New Orleans, LA
• Food Stamp Application Process - Texas
• Editorial: Food Stamp Program and the Farm Bill
• Child Support Enforcement - Minnesota
• Teenage Birth Rates
• Increasing Wage Gap - Illinois
• Inequality and Prison Sentences
• Early Childhood Education - New Jersey

Today's Articles:

Note: All links are external; some links may require a free registration at the host site (e.g., New York Times, Chicago Tribune).
Article links will open in new browser window.

Kids Count Report - Michigan

Michigan misses kids health goals. (MICHIGAN) Read Article
By David Runk (Associated Press), South Bend Tribune. December 4, 2007.
 

Kids Count figures are mixed. (MICHIGAN) Read Article
By Oralandar Brand-Williams, Detroit News. December 4, 2007.
 

State lags in improving quality of life for kids. (MICHIGAN) Read Article
By Suzette Hackney, Detroit Free Press. December 4, 2007.
 

Kids Count, but they struggle. (MICHIGAN) Read Article
By Jill Armentrout, Saginaw News. December 4, 2007.
 

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Children's Health Insurance Program - California

Children caught in the middle. (CALIFORNIA) Read Article
By Aurelio Rojas, Sacramento Bee. December 3, 2007.
 

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State Budgets and Medicaid Spending

States' wallets get thinner. Read Article
By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org. December 5, 2007.
 

Medicaid funding shortage could lead to service cuts. (MISSISSIPPI) Read Article
Associated Press, Picayune Item. December 5, 2007.
 

The crisis that won’t go away. (ALABAMA) Read Article
Editorial, Anniston Star. December 5, 2007.
 

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Health Care and Poverty - Texas

Politics, poverty, immigration entangle Texas health care. (TEXAS) Read Article
By Jason Roberson, Dallas Morning News. December 4, 2007.
 

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Health Care Costs - Iowa, Michigan, Ohio

Study finds insured have high health costs. (IOWA) Read Article
By Jane Norman, Des Moines Register. December 5, 2007.
 

Health care driving millions into debt, group says. (MICHIGAN) Read Article
By Patricia Anstett, Detroit Free Press. December 4, 2007.
 

Many Ohioans face large health-care costs, report says. (OHIO) Read Article
By Jonathan Riskind, Columbus Dispatch. December 5, 2007.
 

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Low-income Residents and Rental Housing - New Orleans, LA

Back to New Orleans, but no home. (NEW ORLEANS, LA) Read Article
By Bill Sasser, Christian Science Monitor. December 5, 2007.
 

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Food Stamp Application Process - Texas

Texans waiting for food stamps, other programs. (TEXAS) Read Article
By Corrie MacLaggan, Austin American-Statesman. December 5, 2007.
 

Food stamp applications piling up under state's new system. (TEXAS) Read Article
Associated Press, Houston Chronicle. December 5, 2007.
 

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Editorial: Food Stamp Program and the Farm Bill

A reason to pass the farm bill. (Editorial) Read Article
Editorial, Bosotn Globe. December 5, 2007.
 

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Child Support Enforcement - Minnesota

Innovative program helps Minn. parents catch up on child support. (MINNESOTA) Read Article
Associated Press, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. November 29, 2007.
 

Innovation is key in child-support efforts. (MINNESOTA) Read Article
Editorial, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. December 4, 2007.
 

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Teenage Birth Rates

Teenage birth rate rises for first time since ’91. Read Article
By Gardiner Harris, New York Times. December 6, 2007.
 

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Increasing Wage Gap - Illinois

State's wage gap growing. (ILLINOIS) Read Article
By Barbara Rose, Chicago Tribune. December 5, 2007.
 

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Inequality and Prison Sentences

Federal, state crack sentences draw scrutiny. Read Article
By John Gramlich, Stateline.org. December 4, 2007.
 

Report: 97 black drug offenders imprisoned for each white one. (WISCONSIN) Read Article
By Steve Elbow, The Capital Times. December 4, 2007.
 

Dane County 3rd nationally in racial disparity. (WISCONSIN) Read Article
By Karen Rivedal, Wisconsin State Journal. December 3, 2007.
 

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Early Childhood Education - New Jersey

Corzine's preschool plan raises eyebrows. (NEW JERSEY) Read Article
By John Mooney, Star-Ledger. December 5, 2007.
 

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Note: All links are external; some links may require a free registration at the host site (e.g., New York Times, Chicago Tribune).