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National News

• Chicago Tribune, May 21, 2013: More poor in U.S. suburbs than cities, report says
  “The shifting poverty demographic can be seen in Chicago's suburbs, where the number of poor increased by 99 percent in the last decade — from 363,966 to 724,233, said Elizabeth Kneebone, co-author of ‘Confronting Suburban Poverty in America.’”
• The Boston Globe, May 21, 2013: Youth jobs program facing deep cuts in Mass.
  “The program, called YouthWorks, helped more than 5,000 young people from low-income households find jobs last year, but the proposed cuts would mean hundreds fewer would get the chance to work, gain experience, and, in many cases, help their families make ends meet, youth advocates said.”
• The Columbus Dispatch, May 21, 2013: More elderly are barely scraping by
  “A report released yesterday by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation examined poverty among seniors for 2009 through 2011 as lawmakers consider changes to government programs that many rely on, including Social Security, food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. Cuts in services or added out-of-pocket expenses ‘would really hurt folks who are barely getting by now,’ said Diana Kubovcik, clinical services director for the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging.”
• Chicago Sun-Times, May 21, 2013: (Op-Ed) Child poverty is the real scandal
  “The real scandals — like that of children in poverty — are simply being ignored. In this rich nation, nearly 8 million children under the age of 18 are being raised in what are called ‘areas of concentrated poverty.’”
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 21, 2013: Pa. Welfare Department disputes Medicaid analysis
  “In the continuing tug of war over a possible Medicaid expansion in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett's administration has taken the unusual step of refuting an analysis by the state's Independent Fiscal Office that found under a Medicaid expansion, the commonwealth would gain federal funds and reduce state expenditures.”
• The Star-Ledger, May 21, 2013: 'Suburban poverty' no longer an oxymoron thanks to changing economy
  “Lower-wage jobs in the retail, landscaping and the food-services industry have migrated into the suburbs in recent years, said Alan Berube, senior fellow at Brookings and co-author of the book. He explained that as second- and third-generation immigrants as well as African Americans moved from cities to the suburbs, they created opportunities for low-wage jobs, which brought new immigrants and increased poverty levels.”
• The Washington Post, May 20, 2013: (Blog) What’s wrong with school ‘choice’? Here’s what.
  “The Louisiana voucher law gives up most accountability for school finances or student achievement when it hands over the taxpayers’ check. The schools that take fewer than 40 voucher students are not even be required to show any data for their students’ learning. These schools are not required to hire certified teachers or teach the skills students need for higher education and the workplace in the 21st century.”
• The Washington Post, May 20, 2013: (Blog) Senior poverty is much worse than you think
  “[A] new Kaiser Family Foundation report finds that the SPM poverty rate for senior citizens is actually higher than the official rate: 15 percent vs. 9 percent. And when you include people living within 200 percent of the poverty line, the picture under SPM looks even worse.”
• The New York Times, May 20, 2013: (Editorial) There Was a Time When Ending Hunger Was a National Goal for Republicans and Democrats
  “[E]very Republican on the House Agriculture Committee voted to approve an omnibus farm bill containing a $20 billion cut in food stamps over the next decade in the program’s $800 billion or so 10-year budget. While less devastating than turning the program into a capped block grant to the states, which the House Republicans have previously endorsed, the cut is nearly five times the reduction approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate Agriculture Committee, which already is too much.”
• The New York Times, May 20, 2013: (Op-Ed) Cul-de-Sac Poverty
  “We need to transform social policy for the age of suburban poverty. But reforming 80-plus programs one by one is neither efficient nor realistic. Instead, we should equip regions with aid that cuts across jurisdictional lines, help them use limited resources more efficiently, and reinvent the system from the ground up.”
• Chicago Tribune, May 20, 2013: 52% of low-income, minority CTA riders paying more
  “As South Side and south suburban Chicago Transit Authority riders figure out the best way to get to work and other activities Monday without Red Line Dan Ryan service, a new analysis shows that the CTA's fare increases for one-day and seven-day passes have hit minority and low-income customers hardest.”
• Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2013: Funding to L.A. magnet school restored
  “In L.A. Unified, schools with as few as 40% low-income students had been receiving dollars, although at a lower funding level. Last year, with relatively little notice, L.A. Unified raised the minimum to 50%, which added to shortfalls at schools already enduring recession-related cuts. LACES was one such campus, with 46% low-income students last year.”
• The Kansas City Star, May 20, 2013: U.S. suburbs have more poor than the cities do, study finds.
  “Around Kansas City, patterns of poverty have been quietly shifting for some time. But the economic downturn and job losses brought suburban poverty out of the shadows, said Karen Wulfkuhle, executive director of United Community Services of Johnson County.”
• The Columbus Dispatch, May 20, 2013: Poverty in suburbs? You bet
  “In Columbus, the poor in the city still far outnumber those in the suburbs, but the latter group is growing faster. The study found that nearly 100,000 poor people were living in suburbs in 2011, an 87 percent increase from 2000. The poor population in the city grew by 75.7 percent, to nearly 280,000.”
• The Columbus Dispatch, May 20, 2013: Republican legislator pleads for state funds for homeless-youth center
  “A top Republican lawmaker is asking Gov. John Kasich not to kill a House-passed budget amendment that would provide $665,000 a year for central Ohio’s only drop-in center for homeless youths.”
• The Columbus Dispatch, May 20, 2013: Merit scholarships could cost neediest college students
  “The report by the New America Foundation, a research group based in Washington, D.C., analyzed U.S. Education Department data showing the ‘net price’ — the amount students pay after grants and scholarships have been exhausted — for low-income students at thousands of colleges nationwide for the 2010-11 school year.”
• The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 20, 2013: Study confirms poverty hits the suburbs, too
  “Still, the poverty rate in Philadelphia - the poorest of America's cities with populations of 1 million or more - remains three times higher than that of its suburbs. About 28 percent of Philadelphians are poor, compared to 8 percent of suburbanites. The biggest change was in Camden County, where the poverty rate went up nearly 3 percentage points between 2000 and 2010, Brookings figures show.”
• The Miami Herald, May 20, 2013: U.S. suburban poverty growing, but trend mixed in Miami-Dade, Broward
  “Across the country, the poverty rate is surging in the suburbs, where the number of poor people is growing much faster than in central cities — a largely unrecognized reversal that calls for a retooling of federal anti-poverty, economic development and transit funding, the Brookings Institution has found.”
• Al.com, May 20, 2013: (Blog) Eagle's Landing provides transitional housing for homeless veterans
  “Eagle's Landing is a 36-unit transitional housing community with supportive services to meet the unique needs of homeless veterans who served in the active military and now find themselves sleeping in shelters or various places not designed for human habitation.”
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 20, 2013: Suburbia is the new face of poverty
  “In the Pittsburgh region, there are pockets of poverty, such as McKeesport where nearly a quarter of the population is below the line, a percentage that has held steady for about a decade. But poverty has been increasing in the suburbs closer to the city. Penn Hills, for instance, had a rate of 7.5 percent in 2000. That grew to 11 percent in 2010.”
• The Times-Picayune, May 20, 2013: Vitter fighting with mobile phone company over program for low-income applicants
  “Sen. David Vitter is quarreling with a Florida mobile phone company over a federal program called Lifeline that provides phones to low-income applicants. He spoke Monday in front of a Budget Mobile store on Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, decrying fraud in the program.”
• The Detroit News, May 20, 2013: Michigan Republicans seek new limits on welfare aid
  “Lawmakers want to field-test a drug screening program next year for welfare recipients, cut off cash aid to families whose children miss too much school and require recipients who won more than $600 in the Michigan Lottery during the past decade to reimburse the state up to half of their winnings.”
• The Houston Chronicle, May 20, 2013: Study: Poverty in Austin suburbs rises sharply
  “The Austin metro area saw the nation's second-fastest increase in the number of poor people living in the suburbs from 2000 to 2011, according to a study released Monday.”
• The Dallas Morning News, May 20, 2013: (Blog) Poverty rate among seniors rises under different Census Bureau measurement
  “The share of seniors living in poverty at least doubles in 12 states under the U.S. Census Bureau’s ‘supplemental’ poverty measure, according to an analysis released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation.”
• Bangor Daily News, May 20, 2013: Maine Senate approves bill that links Medicaid expansion to hospital debt repayment
  “For the third time in a week, Democrats in the Legislature prevailed Monday on a vote to link an expansion of Medicaid eligibility in Maine to a plan to repay the state’s Medicaid debt to its 39 hospitals.”
• Deseret News, May 20, 2013: Doctors say poverty is biggest risk faced by America's children
  “Twenty-two percent of American children are growing up in poverty, according to the National Poverty Center. A growing body of research shows the negative consequences of poverty on children's health and well-being.”
• Tampa Bay Times, May 20, 2013: (Op-Ed) Gov. Rick Scott should not have vetoed Pasco homeless plan
  “To begin with, the homeless problem in Pasco County is arguably as severe as anywhere in the state. Exact figures are difficult to come by, but a recent report suggests there are far more homeless people per capita in Pasco than in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach or any of Florida's other population centers.”
• Hartford Courant, May 20, 2013: Report: Suburban Poverty Rises Sharply But CT Regions More Stable
  “The issue of suburban poverty brings together a dizzying mass of ideas and social changes. For example, we can't tell from the numbers whether poverty is concentrated in the suburbs of a given metro, or spread out. New Britain, which is a city, is counted as a suburb in the Brookings report, skewing the data.”
• The New York Times, May 19, 2013: Suburbs’ Share of Poor Has Grown Since 2000
  “The suburbs, which in 2000 accounted for 29 percent of the region’s poor people, a decade later were home to 33 percent of metropolitan New Yorkers living below the federal poverty level, according to an analysis of the latest census results.”
• The Washington Post, May 19, 2013: (Editorial) Obamacare’s tricky next phase
  “Many states have taken the court up on its offer, though it means turning down massive federal subsidies — and leaving nearly 8 million low-income Americans without health-care coverage, more than 2 million of them in Florida and Texas alone.”
• Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2013: More poor live in suburbs than in urban areas, research shows
  “More people in the suburbs slipped into poverty as manufacturing jobs disappeared, the authors found. The housing boom and bust also walloped many homeowners on the outer ridges of metropolitan areas, hitting pocketbooks hard. On top of that, the booming numbers of poor people in the suburbs were driven, in part, by the exploding growth of the suburbs themselves.”
• USA Today, May 19, 2013: Arizona governor staking legacy on Medicaid
  “Brewer, one of the state's conservative firebrands who has attracted a national following with her messages of states' rights and border security, is walking a political tightrope as she pushes to reshape how the state provides health care to the poor.”
• Chicago Tribune, May 19, 2013: (Editorial) Food stamps and Fritos
  “We're surrounded by unhealthy choices, and by people who would like to legislate them away. The latest victims of these well-intentioned busybodies are low-income Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, still known to most everyone as food stamps.”
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 19, 2013: (Op-Ed) To prevent dropouts, start in middle school
  “Many low-income families look to their children to assist with the family business or otherwise contribute to the family's income. They see the short-term need for money to support the family and not the long-term benefits of education. This is a crisis that has a solution. At Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, our 2020 goal is to have 90 percent of the children in our clubs graduate on time by providing valuable out-of-school programs.”
• The News Journal, May 19, 2013: The Aging of Delaware: Programs keep seniors home
  “Rios and his neighbors in the low-income senior housing where he lives on Wilmington's west side are one segment of the growing population of older adults in the First State, where nearly a third of residents are projected to be 60 or older by 2030. Delaware is grappling with how to provide needed services for this surge of residents, many of whom wish to stay in their communities.”
• New Hampshire Union Leader, May 19, 2013: Manchester 'homeless meter' program seeks to deter panhandling
  “The Board of Mayor and Aldermen is expected to approve a plan Tuesday night to install ‘homeless meters’ in six locations around the city, to collect donations to benefit the city’s most needy residents.”
• The Commercial Appeal, May 19, 2013: Phone carriers expose low-income applicants to risk of ID theft
  “More than 170,000 records from two participating companies — Oklahoma City-based TerraCom Inc. and its affiliate, YourTel America Inc. — were posted online, a Scripps News investigation has found. The records, from residents of at least 26 states, including Mississippi and Arkansas but not Tennessee, include Social Security numbers, dates of birth and information about participation in other government-assistance programs.”
• The Berkshire Eagle, May 19, 2013: When homelessness is part of the student turnover equation
  “Examples of housing instability include a student in the foster-care system or in a joint-custody situation, or families that face homelessness or are in temporary shelters due to an inability to pay rent or a mortgage. Lauren Greene, a representative of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), said homelessness looks different in the Berkshires than it does in urban areas, leading to a lower student mobility rate in the county when the two are compared.”
• Metro, May 19, 2013: Hard to count, the faces of Philly’s homeless youth are often hidden
  “Nonprofit People’s Emergency Center has several methods of counting the city’s homeless population, but they, too, have proved to be inadequate. After successfully petitioning the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to include housing-related questions in a nationwide youth survey and analyzing responses from Philadelphia high school students, PEC found the number of homeless youth to be much higher than the organization’s past estimates.”
• The Virginian-Pilot, May 19, 2013: Report: More poor now live in Hampton Roads suburbs
  “Hampton Roads experienced a 25 percent jump in the number of poor people living in its suburbs in the past decade, a report released today said. But that was among the smallest increases among metropolitan areas across the country.”
• Rockford Register Star, May 19, 2013: Poor Town: Many Rock River Valley seniors living on the edge
  “Medical costs are a reason that AARP and other senior advocacy groups believe the government’s poverty threshold needs to be replaced with an experimental, more detailed measurement called the Supplemental Poverty Measure.”
• The News-Herald, May 19, 2013: Clinic, Ohio State students help homeless people see
  “The clinic at the downtown homeless shelter — which provides free vision care and glasses to those without health insurance — sees more than 1,500 patients annually. It also serves another purpose: to educate the fourth-year students in the Ohio State University College of Optometry who, under the supervision of Nerderman, staff the clinic on its three open days a week.”
• Los Angeles Times, May 18, 2013: Fluoridated water? Not all Portlanders will drink to that
  “Proponents of fluoridating Portland's water supply had no trouble getting the local Urban League on board. Here in the biggest city in the country that still doesn't treat its water to prevent tooth decay, studies show that low-income children and kids of color have been hit hardest by untreated cavities.”
• Detroit Free Press, May 18, 2013: (Op-Ed) Teachers can do only so much - parents must play role in children's education
  “Because there is a relationship between economic advantage and student performance, students of disadvantaged households are more likely to develop feelings of apathy. This is a major problem facing our institution, especially as 20% of American children are living in poverty. The level of achievement required of all students - including those in poverty - places a lot of pressure on schools.”
• Brattleboro Reformer, May 18, 2013: Federal cuts hit local Head Start programs
  “The Brattleboro School Board at its meeting this week approved a plan by Early Education Services to cut 25 Head Start classroom slots, and another 12 Early Head Start home-based visiting slots due to the federal cuts that will go into place on July 1. Early Education Services Executive Director Debra Gass said the cuts had to be made after Congress failed to address the sequester earlier this year and the EES budget, which starts on July 1, had to be put in place.”
• Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, May 18, 2013: Monterey symposium examines homelessness
  “The symposium comes as the Monterey City Council is set Tuesday to discuss possible new ordinances to address frequent complaints from residents, tourists and the business community about homeless people and panhandlers downtown and in other areas. One ordinance under discussion would make it a crime to sit or lie on sidewalks or other public spaces.”
• St. Cloud Times, May 18, 2013: (Op-Ed) Welfare recipients deserve chance, not misconceptions
  “Contrary to popular misconceptions, to receive welfare assistance you must be caring for a child in your home, and the benefits do not increase if more children are added to your family. The people we serve through our welfare-to-work programs come from all different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, but they all want to be able to provide a better life for their children.”
• The News-Press, May 18, 2013: Lee County homeless numbers stay nearly static
  “Lee County's homeless population remained almost unchanged from last year according to a January survey of people living on the street. The count indicated 848 people were homeless in January, compared with 842 for the same time in 2012. The numbers were released Friday by the Lee County Homeless Coalition.”
• Livingston County Press, May 18, 2013: Medicaid struggle brewing
  “A struggle between the federal government and Lansing lawmakers over Medicaid expansion will determine whether as many as 6,000 low-income Livingston County residents will receive health-care coverage next year. It is up to the Michigan Legislature whether to expand Medicaid to those with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty guideline under the Affordable Care Act, also known as ‘Obamacare.’”
• Daily Journal, May 18, 2013: (Editorial) Keeping low-income students from being throwaway kids
  “As Richard Weissbourd continues to find teachers and schools focusing on the life-diminishing troubles of the increasing number of low-income children across the nation, I'll be reporting them here along with those I discover elsewhere.”
• Tulsa World, May 18, 2013: (Op-Ed) Programs help feed children in summer
  “School is being released for summer break in area districts this week. That means students eating at school may go hungry at home. Hunger gap: About 85 percent of students in Tulsa Public Schools qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program. The district's Summer Café program sponsored at 65 community locations helps bridge the hunger gap by offering breakfast and lunch to students.”
• Daily Camera, May 18, 2013: (Op-Ed) It starts at home
  “All the while, low-income students' parents cannot pay for books or games. They cannot afford tutors or extra curricular and enrichment activities. They generally have to work more and consequently cannot spend a lot of individual time with their kids. For that same reason, they cannot volunteer in classrooms. Sometimes they do not have sufficient education to help their kids with schoolwork. And they often do not bestow the value of education upon their children.”
• Deseret News, May 18, 2013: (Op-Ed) Involve the poor in solving poverty
  “The war on poverty was lost because we hired professional soldiers to fight, but never involved the civilians, the poor, in having a say in their destiny. Bureaucracies are good at managing problems but are unable to solve them.”
• The Seattle Times, May 18, 2013: Private charity no match for federal poverty aid, experts say
  “Americans like to think of themselves as bighearted and eager to help those less fortunate. Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the crises after the explosions in Texas and Boston — these disasters brought out the best in people, who didn’t hesitate to give. But for the steady-state emergency that is hunger in America, no amount of charitable giving has been enough, experts say.”
• The Columbus Dispatch, May 17, 2013: South Bloomfield mayor won’t OK low-income housing proposal
  “The village council unanimously supports the plan, but Wilson opposes putting a 50-unit apartment complex amid the village’s largest subdivision. So he refused to sign paperwork that would have scored more points for the proposal as the Ohio Housing Financing Agency evaluates which projects will receive federal assistance to build affordable housing.”
• Des Moines Register, May 17, 2013: Tax reform package is wide-ranging
  “Iowa House and Senate negotiators have reached a deal on a sweeping tax relief plan that helps business property owners, limits residential and agricultural property tax hikes, lets workers keep a bit more of their earnings and assists low-income wage earners.”
• Tampa Bay Times, May 17, 2013: Count (and recount) finds 2,275 homeless in Hillsborough County
  “Advocates for the homeless found a total of 2,275 homeless people in Hillsborough County — about half the number from two years ago — in a count and recount this year.”
• The Houston Chronicle, May 17, 2013: (Op-Ed) As summer heats up, so do tricks that deprive relief
  “Texas summers are getting hotter. More money is being generated for this fund. Yet the Legislature is going to give less and less to Texans who can't afford to keep the power on during the summer. That's a travesty. It is dangerous for our seniors and children, and represents yet another broken promise in Austin.”
• The Nation, May 17, 2013: (Blog) Fighting Poverty Through Wall Street Accountability
  “One of the challenges is that there are so many things wrong right now—that you can be involved in any of a thousand causes. The problem is if they are disconnected it doesn’t add up to anything. So, people who are opposed to poverty have a dozen different things they’d like to move on the Hill, none of which are likely to pass at this time.”
• Iowa City Press-Citizen, May 17, 2013: A visual look at poverty and test scores in Iowa City
  “This spreadsheet lists each grade at each school from this past fall’s Iowa Assessments. The first four columns represent school-wide percentile rankings in main subject areas.”
• Iowa City Press-Citizen, May 17, 2013: Test scores illustrate poverty gap
  “The reasons low-income children sometimes perform worse on exams aren't totally clear, even to administrators and researchers who study the issue, said Pam Ehly, the Iowa City Community School District's instruction director. ‘It's difficult to pinpoint what the reason is - you can look at correlates like if they didn't engage in preschool, that's a factor. If you don't have funds as a family for additional opportunities like going to a museum or having books at home, those factors become compounded and it has an effect,’ she said.”
• The Cincinnati Enquirer, May 17, 2013: Homeless can get help early
  “[M]ost individuals or families first come into contact with a system of services, as opposed to simply appearing on the streets one day. Fearful of finding themselves in such a situation, they reach out for help in advance, frequently by contacting an emergency assistance agency or the United Way’s 211 help line.”
• Omaha World-Herald, May 17, 2013: Learning Community plans programs to help kids in poverty
  “The 11-district cooperative in the Omaha area originally lacked explicit authority for programs targeting children under age 5. State law called for programs aimed at elementary-age children. Nebraska lawmakers this month gave the education cooperative new spending authority and authorized expansion into early childhood education for children in poverty.”
• Bangor Daily News, May 17, 2013: (Editorial) A better way to help people escape welfare
  “The bill’s greatest value is that it recognizes that parents seeking public assistance are individuals with unique needs, not a static class of people. As Gov. Paul LePage continues to demonize and depersonalize ‘welfare,’ Eves’ bill represents a humane, realistic step toward combating stigmatizing stereotypes that too often frame political debate about welfare reform.”
• Bangor Daily News, May 17, 2013: If more people are on Medicaid, why are Maine hospitals giving away more care for free?
  “Meanwhile, Gov. Paul LePage's administration and Republicans have argued that Maine should learn from past moves extending Medicaid coverage to new categories of low-income residents. Since those previous expansions took effect, they say, the amount of free care provided by Maine hospitals has continued to grow.”
• Times-Picayune, May 17, 2013: (Op-Ed) Scholarship program shouldn't be a dream deferred
  “The latest barrier being put in the way of children's interests is the decision by the Louisiana Supreme Court that the funding method for the Louisiana Scholarship Program is unconstitutional. Fortunately there is a fix. Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Legislature must find a different method to fund the program, which allows some low-income families to send their children to private and parochial schools.”
• Los Angeles Times, May 16, 2013: Mayor's race: The real money problem in L.A.
  “Los Angeles is the low-wage capital of the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. L.A. has more workers who struggle to survive on poverty pay than any other metropolitan area in the country. During 2011, the most recent year for which data are available, 822,244 people working at full-time, year-round jobs earned less than $25,000 a year. That represented 28% of the labor force. These figures are for L.A. County.”
• The Charlotte Observer, May 16, 2013: Troutman requests low-income housing grant that Iredell County rejected
  “Troutman officials say they would administer a $225,000 federal grant to renovate owner-occupied low-income housing throughout Iredell County if the Iredell County Board of Commissioners stands by its controversial May 7 vote to not accept the grant.”
• Boston Herald, May 16, 2013: Democrats in House blast welfare reform cuts
  “House Democrats yesterday slammed a proposed Senate spending plan that gutted House-approved welfare reforms, calling it a ‘disgrace’ and vowing to fight to restore them in the final state budget.”
• Deseret News, May 16, 2013: Garden helps homeless veterans feel a sense of community
  “Homeless veterans living at the Valor Apartments have a new garden to help them heal, thanks to volunteers from Home Depot.”
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 16, 2013: Uninsured, low-income visits to hospitals up 30% since 2006
  “More than 1 million visits to Wisconsin's hospitals were by patients who were uninsured and low-income in 2011 - an increase of more than 30% since 2006, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Center's annual Guide to Wisconsin Hospitals.”
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 16, 2013: Wal-Mart earnings reflect stress on low-income consumers
  “The latest results indicate that many American households with lower incomes continue to struggle even as the job and housing markets show signs of improvement.”
• The Atlantic, May 16, 2013: Why American Colleges Are Becoming a Force for Inequality
  “Far from wanting to enroll more low-income students, colleges recruit more affluent ones who will pay full price to attend. A follow-up survey of college business officers found that the most common strategy to deal with financial challenges in the next few years was to ‘raise net tuition revenue.’”
• Ventura County Star, May 16, 2013: Venura County's homeless population drops 8.4 percent, survey finds
  “A total of 1,774 adults and children were homeless, an 8.4 percent drop from 1,936 last year, the study found. Those who work with homeless people say a housing-first approach and intensive case management have been instrumental in taking people off the street.”
• The Spokesman-Review, May 16, 2013: Spokane expands full-day kindergarten to all schools
  “Currently, 15 of the district's highest-poverty schools offer full-day kindergarten. This decision expands the opportunity to 19 more schools and would mean hiring the equivalent of at least 25 full-time teaching positions and possibly 27 other faculty, such as counselors.”
• Portland Times Herald, May 16, 2013: Maine Democrats meld Medicaid expansion, hospital payback
  “Democrats in the Legislature continued their push Wednesday for an expansion of publicly funded health insurance for low-income Mainers and moved to link the expansion with Gov. Paul LePage's plan to pay hospitals about $484 million in outstanding Medicaid reimbursements.”
• The Commercial Appeal, May 16, 2013: (Op-Ed) Quality teachers foster student quality
  “Poverty has a massive impact on our students, and it is without question an enormous challenge in the work of educators in Memphis. It is critical that states and cities, churches and nonprofit organizations, businesses and civic groups work together with schools and continue to address the underlying causes of poverty.”
• Great Falls Tribune, May 16, 2013: (Op-Ed) Hunger still a threat in Montana
  “Hunger is directly related to limited income and economic insecurity. Low wages, job loss, lack of affordable housing and high medical costs often leave families with little money for food. More than 144,000 Montanans are living below the poverty line; 43,000 of them are children. Thousands more are just a lost job, injury or serious illness away from joining them.”
• The News & Observer, May 16, 2013: (Op-Ed) How school vouchers successfully customize education, change lives
  “The debate over a private learning option for poor schoolchildren in North Carolina has a familiar ring to it because Florida faced similar fears a dozen years ago. But a targeted and accountable scholarship can strengthen our commitment to equal educational opportunity by giving more tools to the students who face the greatest odds.”
• The Washington Post, May 15, 2013: In D.C., parents miss work, lose jobs trying to get child-care subsidy
  “It’s never been easy for low-income parents in the District to secure high-quality child care. But now the stakes are very high. This fall, the District will begin limiting how long families can stay on welfare to five years. Liberals and conservatives agree that affordable child care is essential in moving people off welfare and into jobs and in helping them keep those jobs.”
• The New York Times, May 15, 2013: Judge Orders Extension of Hotel Program for Hurricane Sandy Evacuees
  “Officials said they had exhausted efforts to find permanent housing for a hard-to-place group of 156 households. Advocates for storm victims argued that many of them were in danger of being tossed onto the streets or into homeless shelters if the hotel program ended.”
• Metro Times, May 15, 2013: Penrose Rising
  “The Campbells’ Penrose house — newly built and energy-efficient — was the first of dozens being made available to low-income renters in this neighborhood just north of Seven Mile Road between Woodward and John R.”
• The Advocate, May 15, 2013: Another Medicaid expansion bill fails
  “An attempt to make a legislative end-run around Gov. Bobby Jindal's rejection of Medicaid expansion in Louisiana died in a Louisiana House committee Tuesday.”
• San Luis Obispo Tribune, May 15, 2013: (Op-Ed) California school aid, safety net programs in budget conflict
  “Gov. Jerry Brown declared in his revised budget that all of a multibillion- dollar revenue windfall must be given to schools, thus leaving advocates of restoring multibillion-dollar cuts in health and welfare services for the poor, the elderly and the infirm sputtering.”
• Sacramento Business Journal, May 15, 2013: Pacific Housing gets $480K boost to fund apartment complex for homeless
  “A $480,000 award to Pacific Housing will get work started on transforming an empty lot on 1540 Hood Road in Sacramento County into a 28-unit apartment complex for homeless women and their children.”
• Southwest Times Record, May 15, 2013: House Agri Committee Backs Food-Stamp Reform
  “The House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday agreed to a measure proposed by Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., to end bonus pay for those enrolling new food-stamp recipients.”
• U-T San Diego, May 15, 2013: Governor has plans for local funds
  “Brown argues that overall, counties will save as much as $300 million immediately — and $1.3 billion annually in three years — when thousands of low-income Californians become eligible for subsidized health care starting Jan. 1 under the new federal Affordable Care Act.”
• National Journal, May 15, 2013: Next Stops for Farm Bill: Senate and House Floors
  “Big fights between urban liberals and tea-party-minded conservatives are expected on the House floor, particularly over the future size of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps.”
• Providence Journal, May 15, 2013: Advocates: R.I.'s homeless population could surge because of federal cuts
  “The state's growing homeless population could surge because of federal cuts to housing and shelter programs, advocates at the State House said Wednesday.”
• The Washington Post, May 14, 2013: (Blog) The most important problem facing American children today
  “Children in America are the poorest members of society. One in five children live below the federal poverty line, and almost one in two are poor or near poor, with a disproportionate burden falling on the very young, racial and ethnic minorities, Native Americans and children from immigrant families. The task force plans to pay special attention to helping these groups of children.”
• The Washington Times, May 14, 2013: (Op-Ed) Putting out the welcome mat for prosperity
  “The two main reasons given for restricting current immigration are the myths that immigrants take away American jobs and that immigrants are more likely to go on welfare, thus putting an additional burden on the taxpayers. Rather than taking away American jobs, good economists understand that immigrants who work create wealth in America, which in turn creates more and higher paying jobs for everyone.”
• The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 14, 2013: Prevent more Gosnells by increasing birth-control access
  “Broadening access to birth control among low-income women reduces abortion rates. That was the conclusion last fall of researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Over a four-year period, researchers tracked 9,200 low-income women in the St. Louis area who were given their choice of FDA-approved birth-control methods at no cost.”
• San Francisco Chronicle, May 14, 2013: Medi-Cal funds would go to state, not counties
  “Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday said that the state should oversee the expansion of its Medi-Cal program as encouraged by the Affordable Care Act but that counties will have to give up funding used to care for low-income residents.”
• Springfield News-Leader, May 14, 2013: Home-life worries can disrupt ability to learn
  “More than half of Springfield students straddle the poverty line, and it's higher - three out of every five - at the elementary level. Teachers like Tate know that home-life worries, left unchecked, can disrupt the students' ability to learn.”
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 14, 2013: Texas Senate passes legislation requiring photo ID to get a marriage license
  “Legislation requiring photo identification to get a marriage license cleared the Senate on Tuesday by a 29-2 vote despite criticism that it could make it harder for many low-income couples to marry.”
• Bangor Daily News, May 14, 2013: GOP: Flaw in Obamacare language should delay decision on expanding Medicaid
  “At issue is an error in the text of the Affordable Care Act that would qualify about 48,000 low-income parents and adults without children for federal help to purchase private health insurance if Maine opts not to expand Medicaid. Those 48,000 residents would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid if the state expands its low-income health insurance program.”
• Sacramento Bee, May 14, 2013: (Op-Ed) State needs to make strategic investments for more women
  “At the same time, reduced support for child care and preschool as well as the state's welfare-to-work program – CalWORKs – have hollowed out the basic services that help women find work and be economically secure. Low-income women who have access to child care are more likely to find work, increase their earning potential, become financially independent and contribute to our state's tax base.”
• Times-Picayune, May 14, 2013: Medicaid expansion resolution fails in Louisiana House health committee
  “The push to force Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration to accept more federal dollars and expand health care coverage in Louisiana hit another roadblock Tuesday when a House committee rejected a resolution requiring the state's top health agency to expand Medicaid eligibility standards.”
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 14, 2013: St. Louis County scrambles after missed funding for homeless
  “The county found out in March that it wasn't awarded an expected $1.6 million share of $23 million in homeless grants for Missouri from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The funds are administered through HUD's Continuum of Care programs, which are typically managed locally through county governments.”
• The Washington Post, May 13, 2013: (Blog) Millions of Americans live in extreme poverty. Here’s how they get by.
  “Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), a Census program that tracks samples of tens of thousands of households across 2 1/2 to 4 years, Edin and Shaefer estimate that in 2011, 1.65 million U.S. households fell below the $2 a day per person threshold in a given month.”

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