Poverty Dispatch - December 1, 2008

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 irppubs@ssc.wisc.edu.

Today's Topics in the News:

• States and Federal Aid
• Cuts to Social Service Programs and Agencies
• Eligibility Process for Social Services - Indiana
• Trends in Poverty Rates
• Poverty Measurement - Tucson, AZ
• Editorials: Economic Crisis and the Poor
• Food Stamp Program
• Homelessness and Housing
• Child Care Costs and the Low-income
• State Medicaid Programs, Premiums, and Copays
• State Health Insurance Programs
• Health of Children Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
• Poor School Districts and Qualified Teachers
• Report: Assessment of Charter Schools - Minnesota
• Foreclosures and Evictions

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).
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States and Federal Aid

States ask feds for health care help. Read Article
By Pauline Vu, Stateline.org. November 26, 2008.
 

States eye their share of federal bailout. Read Article
By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org. November 25, 2008.
 

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Cuts to Social Service Programs and Agencies

Benefits for poor facing big cuts. (OHIO) Read Article
By Catherine Candisky, Columbus Dispatch. November 30, 2008.
 

Local agencies prepare for deep cuts. (CALIFORNIA) Read Article
By Kathleen Wilson, Ventura County Star. November 25, 2008.
 

Left out of the bailout: The poor. Read Article
By Mark Kukis, Time Magazine. November 25, 2008.
 

Coming up short. (MARYLAND) Read Article
By Scott Calvert, Baltimore Sun. November 30, 2008.
 

Florida's costs soar as the poor and unemployed seek state assistance. (FLORIDA) Read Article
By Josh Hafenbrack, South Florida Sun-Sentinel. November 30, 2008.
 

Charities can't keep up with deepening poverty. (CALIFORNIA) Read Article
By Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times. November 27, 2008.
 

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Eligibility Process for Social Services - Indiana

Ind. streamlining welfare application process. (INDIANA) Read Article
By Ken Kusmer (Associated Press), Lafayette Journal and Courier. November 24, 2008.
 

State changes welfare process. (INDIANA) Read Article
By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener, Louisville Courier-Journal. November 25, 2008.
 

Welfare changes overdue. (INDIANA) Read Article
Editorial, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. November 30, 2008.
 

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Trends in Poverty Rates

Big jump foreseen in ranks of the poor. Read Article
By Erik Eckholm, New York Times. November 25, 2008.
 

Poverty spreading in suburbs: study. Read Article
Washington Post. November 28, 2008.
 

Indiana poverty rate soars as manufacturing jobs cut. (INDIANA) Read Article
By Keith Benman, Munster Times. November 30, 2008.
 

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Poverty Measurement - Tucson, AZ

Leal wants city to raise poverty line. (TUCSON, AZ) Read Article
By Carli Brosseau, Tucson Citizen. November 27, 2008.
 

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Editorials: Economic Crisis and the Poor

Sewing up the safety net. (Editorial) Read Article
Editorial, New York Times. November 26, 2008.
 

The poor are still with us. (Editorial) Read Article
By Jim Gomes, Boston Globe. December 1, 2008.
 

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Food Stamp Program

Americans' food stamp use nears all-time high. Read Article
By Jane Black, Washington Post. November 26, 2008.
 

A surprise bounty from a food stamp lawsuit. (NEW YORK CITY) Read Article
By Leslie Kaufman, New York Times. November 26, 2008.
 

State agency sees spike in numbers using food stamps. (COLORADO) Read Article
By Daniel J. Chacon, Rocky Mountain News. December 1, 2008.
 

Food stamp use up in Illinois. (ILLINOIS) Read Article
Paris Beacon-News. November 29, 2008.
 

Number of food stamp recipients increasing in area. (TEXAS) Read Article
By Brian Hughes, Abilene Reporter-News. November 29, 2008.
 

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Homelessness and Housing

Progress noted in housing Middlesex County's chronically homeless. (CONNECTICUT) Read Article
By Alaine Griffin, Hartford Courant. November 28, 2008.
 

Against riptide of homelessness, aid groups offer buoys of hope. (PENNSYLVANIA) Read Article
By Damon C. Williams, Philadelphia Daily News. November 26, 2008.
 

A hole in the safety net. (PENNSYLVANIA) Read Article
By Helen Colwell Adams, Lancaster Newspapers. November 30, 2008.
 

The high cost of homelessness. (PENNSYLVANIA) Read Article
By Helen Colwell Adams, Lancaster Newspapers. November 30, 2008.
 

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Child Care Costs and the Low-income

Providers: Parents struggle to pay for child care. (LOUISIANA) Read Article
By Sarah Chacko, Baton Rouge Advocate. November 28, 2008.
 

Filling a gap in child care, a few families at a time. (NEW YORK) Read Article
By Michael Winerip, New York Times. November 28, 2008.
 

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State Medicaid Programs, Premiums, and Copays

New Medicaid rules allow states to set premiums and higher co-payments. Read Article
By Robert Pear, New York Times. November 26, 2008.
 

Medicaid waiver may fall short. (RHODE ISLAND) Read Article
By Marion Davis, Providence Business News. December 1, 2008.
 

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State Health Insurance Programs

W.Va. looks to improve health coverage for children. (WEST VIRGINIA) Read Article
Cumberland Times-News. November 26, 2008.
 

State health plan is slow to sign up uninsured adults. (ARKANSAS) Read Article
By Toby Manthey, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. November 30, 2008.
 

Restructuring health care for La. uninsured. (LOUISIANA) Read Article
By Marsha Shuler, Baton Rouge Advocate. November 30, 2008.
 

Fewer young uninsured, more poor. Read Article
By Lisa Wangsness, Boston Globe. November 26, 2008.
 

Mass. health care reform reveals doctor shortage. (MASSACHUSETTS) Read Article
By Karen Brown, National Public Radio. November 30, 2008.
 

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Health of Children Displaced by Hurricane Katrina

Children from FEMA trailer park battle serious health problems. Read Article
By Rick Jervis, USA Today. November 24, 2008.
 

Youngest survivors of Hurricane Katrina now sickest kids in U.S. Read Article
By Helen Kennedy, New York Daily News. November 23, 2008.
 

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Poor School Districts and Qualified Teachers

Many students learning from 'out-of-field' instructors, report says. Read Article
By Shirin Parsavand, Press-Enterprise. November 25, 2008.
 

Poor districts lack qualified math teachers, group finds. Read Article
By Libby Quaid (Associated Press), Star-Ledger. November 26, 2008.
 

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Report: Assessment of Charter Schools - Minnesota

Minnesota's charter schools fall short of expectations. (MINNESOTA) Read Article
By Emily Johns and Patrice Relerford, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. December 1, 2008.
 

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Foreclosures and Evictions

Evictions in state increase as economy tumbles. (WISCONSIN) Read Article
By Mike Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 27, 2008.
 

Fannie, Freddie halt foreclosures for holidays. (WISCONSIN) Read Article
By Zachary A. Goldfarb, Washington Post. November 21, 2008.
 

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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).