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National News

• The New York Times, February 3, 2012: (Op-Ed) Romney Isn’t Concerned
  "Faced with criticism, the candidate has claimed that he didn’t mean what he seemed to mean, and that his words were taken out of context. But he quite clearly did mean what he said. And the more context you give to his statement, the worse it gets. "
• The Huffington Post, February 3, 2012: (Op-Ed) The 'Holeist' of Holes in the Safety Net
  "A key in fixing holes is being able to see and find them. Significantly, it turns out that Romney appreciates that the safety net has holes. As Politico reported, after his CNN interview, the candidate explained to a plane-load of media that 'he is 'sure' there are holes in the safety net and that 'finding those places is one of the things that is the responsibility of government.'"
• Orlando Sentinel, February 3, 2012: (Blog) Mom, children call motel home -- DCF hopes Facebook post helps them
  "Their family of three is being featured in the debut edition of a DCF Facebook campaign called 'Homeless 2 Home' -- created after staffer Carrie Hoeppner triggered an outpouring of help when she posted on her personal Facebook page about a homeless family facing Christmas without food. "
• USA TODAY, February 3, 2012: Komen says grant cuts 'mischaracterized'
  "Three of the 19 affected Planned Parenthood programs (northern Colorado, Orange County, Calif., and Waco, Texas) will continue to be funded because they are the only services for low-income women in their communities, Brinker says. The other programs will be funded through the end of the year. 'There will be no gap in services to these low-income women,' she said."
• The New Republic, February 3, 2012: It’s Not the Very Poor That Romney Doesn’t Care About, It’s the Working Poor
  "Let’s give Mitt Romney the benefit of the doubt: He didn’t really mean it when he said, 'I’m not concerned about the very poor.' Or, let’s just say he cares about them no less than he cares about the rest of us."
• Rueters, February 3, 2012: Komen defends funding move; Charity denies it bowed to political pressure on Planned Parenthood
  "The Komen foundation, known for its pink ribbon symbol, has collected more than $1.9 billion for breast cancer research and programs. Planned Parenthood provides abortion, birth control, pap smears and other health services to women. It had received about $700,000 annually from Komen to provide mammograms for low-income women."
• Chico Enterprise-Record, February 3, 2012: Board approves housing project for young adults at risk of homelessness
  "A Youth for Change project that could prevent grown foster kids from becoming homeless has its permits and can move forward, if it gets funding. The Chico Architectural Review and Historic Preservation Board approved Valley View Apartments' design Wednesday with a 4-0 vote, with board member Mike Borzage abstaining, associate planner Greg Redeker said. Borzage had concerns about the noise already in the area."
• Denver Business Journal, February 3, 2012: Proposal would discount hospital care in Colorado to poorer residents
  "SB 134 would require hospitals to offer discounts to uninsured patients who have family incomes at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level - $92,200 for a family of four. It also would mandate that hospitals offer to screen each patient for the discount program."
• Newsday, February 3, 2012: East End homeless find refuge at new daytime drop-in-center (Subscription Required)
  "A new initiative by a Riverhead homeless-services organization has turned an ordinary two-story house into a daytime drop-in center for the East End. The nonprofit Maureen's Haven, which operates a winter shelter network for the homeless among more than a dozen East End houses of worship, celebrated the opening of its daytime center yesterday."
• The News & Observer, February 3, 2012: (Op-Ed) Making friends of the homeless
  "Under a morning sky, these words from Isaiah 58 wash over a group of Cross Point Community Church workers as they hold hands during a departure prayer. Nearly 20 people have gathered at a Knightdale meeting spot bearing breakfast food and work gloves. A homeless camp in South Raleigh is the caravan's destination."
• The News Tribune, February 3, 2012: (Op-Ed) Poor? What poor? U.S. politics play to middle class
  "Mitt Romney doesn’t care about 'the very poor'? He’s not alone. Romney’s point – as he hurried to emphasize Wednesday after his awkward phrase popped out on CNN – was that the poorest Americans have a safety net while middle-class Americans are 'struggling.'"
• The Montgomery Advertiser, February 3, 2012: Recovery program works to help those struggling with addiction
  "The veterans group is new and growing. The first meeting was Dec. 6, said Paul Dickerson, a certified addiction professional in charge of the veterans group. Many of the people who show up to the meetings are homeless, Dickerson said, and the group works to connect those people with the resources available to them."
• The Desert Sun, February 3, 2012: Outpouring of support for 'tent city' host
  ""I can't kick them out. I just can't. They just need to know there is someone for them," said Dervishi, 56. Over the past couple of years, homeless people began to gather behind his store. So he installed a shower and bathroom for them to use. In recent months, dozens of brightly colored tents popped up in the empty lot behind the store - drawing ire from the Indio Police Department and some neighborhood businesses."
• The Bradenton Herald, February 3, 2012: Manatee County hoping to jump-start help for homeless
  "County commissioners Thursday decided to direct county staffers to join with their Bradenton counterparts and local civic activists in an effort to more effectively deal with the homeless."
• NPR, February 2, 2012: Obama, Perhaps Tweaking Romney, Emphasizes Duty To Poor In Speech
  "Later, Obama made a number of statements grounded in the religious imperative to help the poor. It's not surprising that he would make such observations at a prayer breakfast. But there did appear to be more of an emphasis on society's obligation to the poor in Thursday's version of the prayer breakfast speech than in the past."
• NY Daily News, February 1, 2012: A hike in the state’s minimum wage will boost the economy and benefit everyone
  "Over one million New Yorkers who barely survive now on minimum wage, could soon catch a breather. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Labor Committee Chairman Keith Wright, both Democrats, introduced legislation Monday to raise the minimum wage in New York State to $8.50 next in January."
• The San Francisco Chronicle, February 2, 2012: Condo left to S.F. to aid homeless
  "Never married, with no children and no close relatives, she decided that after she died she wanted her home to be used as a homeless shelter. Or if that wasn't feasible, she added, she wanted her property used 'where the need is greatest for the City and County of San Francisco, as determined by the Board of Supervisors,' according to her will."
• Detroit Free Press, February 2, 2012: Number of kids in poverty points to a cruel, troubling future
  "More than half a million of the state's children live in families whose annual incomes do not rise above the national poverty level, which is $22,000 for a family of four and $17,000 for a single-parent family of three. Even more troubling, the percentage of children living in families with income below half the poverty level ($900 per month for a family of four) more than doubled over the decade -- from 5% of children to 11%."
• Kalamazoo Gazette, February 2, 2012: Childhood poverty is an old story, we should all hope that in the future it is a non-story
  "While it is important to feed, clothe and provide shelter for Kalamazoo children and families living in poverty, local community and government organizations said today the focus needs to be on how to prevent poverty."
• The Desert Sun, February 2, 2012: Haven for the homeless draws ire of authorities
  "He thought he was simplifying things when he installed a shower and bathroom behind the shop for the homeless to use. He even built a porch and planted a garden and decorative landscaping to keep it attractive."
• The Huffington Post, February 2, 2012: Mitt Romney Not Concerned About People Living In Poverty -- But He Should Be
  "Mitt Romney told CNN this morning that 'I'm not concerned with the very poor. We have a safety net there.' He'll probably want to bet $10,000 to prove me wrong, but we aren't doing enough to fight poverty and Romney's proposed economic agenda -- a mirror image of the policies of George W. Bush that caused poverty to skyrocket -- will hurt our nation. "
• The Washington Post, February 2, 2012: Romney’s timely proposal to raise and index the minimum wage
  "His recent remarks have suggested callousness. But amid the kerfuffle, he offered one good idea: specifically, he told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he backs indexing the federal minimum wage to inflation, just as he did when running for governor of Massachusetts a decade ago."
• Chicago Sun-Times, February 2, 2012: Don't quit: Hope doesn't have to die in the 'hood
  "I was born a son of the ghetto, joint heir to poverty, the firstborn of a 17-year-old black mother married to a black male, sometimes mechanic, 22. My father was an alcoholic. This was how he lived. It was the way he died."
• The Dallas Morning News, February 2, 2012: DMN Charities campaign breaks $1 million mark for 12th time
  "'We are thrilled by the more than 1,800 donors in this year's campaign,' said Bob Mong, editor of The Dallas Morning News and chairman of the DMN Charities board. 'Big gifts or modest, they added up to raise more than $1 million for the homeless in our community.'"
• Anchorage Daily News, February 2, 2012: Second man dies in Anchorage home for chronic alcoholics
  "The 46-bed facility takes in homeless alcoholics and allows them to continue drinking alcohol. Worthman spent years on the streets of Anchorage and was well known by social services workers, said Melinda Freemon, spokeswoman for Rural CAP, the nonprofit that runs Karluk Manor."
• The Washington Post, February 2, 2012: Mitt Romney says he ‘misspoke’ about lack of concern for poor
  "Mitt Romney said in an interview set to air Thursday evening that he 'misspoke' when he said that he was 'not concerned about the very poor.'"
• The Bradenton Herald, February 2, 2012: Manatee County seeks input for new homeless shelter
  "At least 208 homeless people stayed a total of 115 nights at a shelter last year, according to data provided to Manatee County by 16 service providers, a county official said. Community leaders and county officials are discussing plans to build a new shelter to serve the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless, an effort they said will require the help of the entire community, including business owners."
• The New York Times, February 1, 2012: Cancer Group Halts Financing to Planned Parenthood
  "The move will halt financing to 19 of Planned Parenthood's 83 affiliates, which received nearly $700,000 from the Komen foundation last year and have been receiving similar grants since at least 2005. Planned Parenthood contends that the Komen foundation is yielding to longstanding pressure from anti-abortion groups, which Komen denies."
• Sacramento Bee, February 1, 2012: California redevelopment funding ends today: So what happens to affordable housing?
  "The end of redevelopment money for housing 'has everybody in the affordable housing community working to figure out how we continue to do the projects that we've been doing,' said Steve Gall, senior vice president in Roseville for USA Properties Fund, 'especially since economic reports suggest that poverty in America is at an all-time high.'"
• Asbury Park Press, February 1, 2012: Housing for homeless vets planned in N.J.
  "The administration wants all homeless vets - there were about 67,000 on any given night in 2011 - to get mental-health treatment and move into permanent housing. In what the administration calls an unprecedented effort, the Housing, Veterans Affairs and Labor departments and a network of federally funded community service agencies have been working together since 2010 with a focus rarely seen in the past, advocates say."
• Chicago Tribune, February 1, 2012: Educators say funding key to reducing dropouts
  "Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing state lawmakers to raise the age students can legally drop out of school from 17 to 18, a move aimed at improving graduation rates but one that local educators say won't accomplish much unless the state also provides the money to keep at-risk students in school."
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 1, 2012: Few in Pennsylvania maintain a financial safety net
  "More than one-third of residents in Pennsylvania are living so close to the edge financially they don't have enough saved to live at the poverty level for three months if they lost a job or had some other emergency."
• The Washington Post, February 1, 2012: (Blog) Romney, citing safety net, says he’s ‘not concerned about the very poor’
  "In an interview with CNN Wednesday morning that should have been a Florida victory lap, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney made a fumble that could give rivals an attack ad sound bite."
• Kalamazoo Gazette, February 1, 2012 (Op-Ed): County homeless program must continue for our children
  "First, take in the landscape of what our children and families are up against. The number of children living in poverty in our state jumped from 21.4 percent in 2000 to 40.7 percent in 2010. Nearly half of our state's children are living in poverty."
• The Associated Press, February 1, 2012: First lady to promote healthy food in California
  "That's set to change after first lady Michelle Obama visits the site of the grocer's future store in Inglewood on Wednesday to showcase efforts being made to draw grocers to low-income neighborhoods."
• The New York Times, February 1, 2012: (Editorial) Hurting Poor Borrowers
  "New York has some of the strongest anti-usury laws in the nation. But that could change if a deeply flawed bill pending in the State Legislature goes forward. The bill would allow check-cashing businesses, which are common in impoverished areas, to charge higher interest rates and to enter the lending business."
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, January 31, 2012: Broward public schools land at top of state rankings
  "So for elementary and middle schools, the rankings are based on student performance and improvement on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. For high schools, they are based half on FCAT scores and half on other factors such as high school graduation rates and student success in advanced classes. But these rankings concern some educators, who say it does not take into account how factors such as poverty can impact students' academic performance."
• Chicago Tribune, January 31, 2012: Number of asset-poor Americans is on the rise
  "'I'm underemployed,' said Pagan, who previously lived in a shelter for two months. She has an associate's degree and would love an office job. Marvin's dad helps with expenses, but she said she and her son -- a mostly A and B student who wants to be a doctor -- are living paycheck to paycheck, with no savings."
• Los Angeles Times, January 31, 2012: (Editorial) Food stamp food police?
  "Storms is pushing a bill that would prohibit recipients of food stamps from using them to buy soda, candy or snacks that she considers unhealthful."
• USA TODAY, January 31, 2012: Bill seeks Medicaid surcharge for smokers
  "The American Lung Association opposes the proposed co-payment. There is no evidence that it would encourage smokers to quit, said Jennifer Singleterry, the association's manager of cessation policy. Instead, low-income smokers on Medicaid would just have to pay more. 'We feel that this is a punitive measure for smokers,' she said."
• The New York Times, January 31, 2012: (Op-Ed) Pregnant, and Pushed Out of a Job
  "As a result, thousands of pregnant women are pushed out of jobs that they are perfectly capable of performing -- either put on unpaid leave or simply fired -- when they request an accommodation to help maintain a healthy pregnancy. Many are single mothers or a family's primary breadwinner. They are disproportionately low-income women, often in physically demanding jobs with little flexibility."
• The New York Times, January 31, 2012: The Shortfall in Cancer Screening
  "Many low- and middle-income people are now unable or unwilling to pay for screening tests or visits to the doctor. Their plight underscores the urgent need to retain the health care reform law that will expand proven screening and prevention programs at no charge to patients."
• Anchorage Daily News, January 31, 2012: Homeless shelters may get help from city
  "The city wants to raise the temperature at which it allows churches and social service facilities not normally used as homeless shelters to take in people from the streets or living in their cars. The proposal comes during an especially harsh Anchorage winter."
• NPR, January 31, 2011: The Clash Over Fingerprinting For Food Stamps
  "Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants New York City to stop requiring fingerprinting of its food stamp recipients, a stance that puts him at odds with the city's mayor, who favors the practice."
• Newsday, January 31, 2012: Report says many NYers have not saved enough for emergencies (Subscription Required)
  ""Growing numbers of Americans have almost no savings or other assets to fall back on if they lose their jobs or face a medical crisis," Andrea Levere, president of the Corporation for Enterprise Development, said in a statement. The nonprofit policy group in Washington, which issued the report, promotes improvements for low-income families."
• Huffington Post, January 31, 2012: Working Poor: Almost Half Of U.S. Households Live One Crisis From The Bread Line
  "What does it mean to be poor? If it means living at or below the poverty line, then 15 percent of Americans -- some 46 million people -- qualify."
• NPR, January 31, 2012: Restaurant Workers' Group Releases Ethical Eating Guide
  "The group Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United wants consumers to consider how the people making their food are being treated with the help of a 52-page manual released Tuesday called ROC National 2012 Diners' Guide: A Consumer Guide on the Working Conditions of American Restaurants."
• Eureka Times Standard, January 31, 2012: New program brings health care coverage to residents living in poverty
  "Sponsored by the County Medical Services Program (CMSP), Path2Health provides free medical, dental and vision services for low-income, uninsured adults in 34 primarily rural California counties, including Humboldt."
• The Olympian, January 31, 2012: Black communities suffering an epidemic of lethal violence
  "Poverty has a way of magnifying the consequences of the many setbacks and tragedies of life. The poor find it harder than others to bounce back from a broken-down car, a lost job or a murdered loved one. From that perspective, some of the more recent commentary on ways to solve violence, poverty and low-income blight glows with dismissive arrogance."
• The Weekly Standard, January 31, 2012: In Florida, Romney Promises to Protect Medicare
  "At a campaign rally in Florida Monday evening, Mitt Romney told the crowd: 'We will never go after Medicare and Social Security.' Romney's remark is already causing some conservatives to despair that he is throwing entitlement reform under the bus in order to pander to seniors."
• The Associated Press, January 31, 2031: Raising min wage razes jobs: study
  "As state Assembly Democrats rolled out a bill to boost the state’s minimum wage yesterday, a new study revealed that such a hike could lead to double-digit job losses among the hardest-to-employ New Yorkers."
• Green Bay Press-Gazette, January 29, 2012: Volunteers search for answers to area homelessness
  "With more people living on the streets in Green Bay, social service providers are warning that the city's congested network of homeless shelters and related programs is approaching what one official described as gridlock."
• New York Times, January 30, 2012: (Op-Ed) A Harder Squeeze on the Poor
  "House Republicans have hit upon a noxious scheme to help pay for an extension of the payroll tax cut: a tax increase on millions of poor working families."
• The New York Times, January 30, 2012: (Op-Ed) The Great Divorce
  "Since then, America has polarized. The word “class” doesn’t even capture the divide Murray describes. You might say the country has bifurcated into different social tribes, with a tenuous common culture linking them."
• Dayton Daily News, January 29, 2012: 78,000 area residents live in food wastelands
  "About 78,000 people in the Miami Valley live in poorer areas that lack markets that sell affordable and nutritious food, and low-income residents and those without post-secondary educations have some of the highest obesity rates in the state."
• The Boston Globe, January 30, 2012: Pine Street Inn, hopeFound merging to serve homeless
  "Two nonprofit agencies with a combined 70 years experience aiding Boston's homeless will soon merge, uniting their similar, but complementary services, in an effort to simplify the process for finding their clients permanent housing."
• The Olympian, January 30, 2012: Volunteers collect information from county's homeless population
  "About 100 volunteers hit the streets Sunday to help conduct the annual Thurston County Homeless Census. Results of the 24-hour count – which is scheduled to continue until 1 p.m. today – will be used to help social service providers determine local needs and qualify for state and federal grants."
• Chicago Tribune, January 30, 2012: Hospitals face penalties for readmissions
  "Health experts say low-income people often can't afford their medications or the healthier foods they are advised to eat. Many don't have cars and have trouble getting to follow-up medical appointments, and they can be confused about the sometimes complex instructions they are given for managing their conditions."
• Charlotte Observer, January 30, 2012: Facility creates 'ordinary' for the homeless
  "More than a year ago, William Pumphrey was part of a choir that celebrated the start of construction on an apartment building to serve the chronically homeless. He didn't realize then that he was looking at his future home. Early last week, Pumphrey learned he had earned a spot at the Moore Place apartments. Then he saw the second-floor apartment he'll move into early next month."
• Jersey Journal, January 30, 2012: Volunteers carry out 'Point-in-Time' homeless count in Hudson County
  “The annual count is required by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and helps the federal and state governments determine how to allocate funding for housing, substance abuse and mental health programs, organizers of the count said.”
• The News & Observer, January 30, 2012: Poverty, right before our eyes
  "In partnership with the state NAACP, the Justice Center and others, we met with about 1,500 Tar Heels in Washington, Roper, Elizabeth City, Winton, Scotland Neck and Rocky Mount. The goal was to move past bloodless poverty statistics and dusty academic reports to, in the Rev. William Barber's words, 'take the blinders off' and 'put a face on poverty.'"
• Deseret Morning News, January 28, 2012: Breaking the cycle of Utah poverty
  "Want to break the cycle of poverty? We have a state lawmaker who wants to do so. Sen. Stuart Reid wants to know why one-third of Utah adults on public assistance were also on public assistance as children."
• The News Tribune, January 30, 2012: Homeless census restores dignity
  "Paula Anderson started the 2012 Pierce County Homeless Survey with a list of three encampments, a church, the Puyallup Library, two motels and a Walmart parking lot. Also on the list were two Puyallup parks where, days after the recent snow and ice storms, fallen and falling branches had left them too dangerous to enter. Anderson shivered at what it might have been like for anyone staying there during the storms."
• The Dallas Morning News, January 28, 2012: Volunteers turn out to find the hidden homeless in Collin County
  "Each January, the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance conducts a homeless count in Dallas and Collin counties to gauge the need for local and federal funding. This year's homeless count came at a time when Collin County is seeing a growing need at food pantries and shelters."
• The Columbus Dispatch, January 29, 2012: Steubenville's finest; Ohio's No. 1 elementary school succeeds in an area better known for hardship
  "More than half the students come from poor households, but the trappings of high unemployment and poverty have not slowed them in school. Wells Academy was named Ohio's No. 1 public elementary school in the state's first school ranking based on student test scores."
• Press of Atlantic City, January 29, 2012: Some New Jersey schools remain segregated due to socioeconomic factors
  "According to the New Jersey Education Law Center, low-income students make up 70 percent of students in the former Abbott districts, but only 27 percent of enrollment statewide. The state's 31 poorest districts -- the so-called Abbotts, which receive additional state aid as a result of a series of New Jersey Supreme Court rulings starting in 1985 -- also serve more than half of the state's black and Hispanic students."
• Press of Atlantic City, January 29, 2012: South Jersey volunteers get ready to help elderly, low-income residents prepare income tax returns
  "The need is great in this region, which has a high proportion of elderly and low-income residents who can't afford to pay a tax preparer or who may risk missing refunds doing taxes themselves, said Linda Ranagan, site coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program through the United Way of Cumberland County"
• The Bellingham Herald, January 29, 2012: Bellingham homeless youth shelter needs funds for construction to finish
  "A shelter with 16 beds for homeless youths could be completed in two months, Northwest Youth Services Executive Director Riannon Bardsley said, if the agency gets the money it needs to finish the work."
• The Oregonian, January 28, 2012: Street cred begets realism
  "She and 13 other homeless or formerly homeless youth from Outside In's Guerilla Theatre have spent three weeks producing, directing and acting in original films based on their personal experiences with issues including domestic abuse, violence, classism and physical and mental health."
• The Oregonian, January 28, 2012: Clinic provides care for body and spirit
  "Dr. Bob Sayson traveled the world on medical missions before he saw a similar need right at home. It was April 2006 and Sayson was treating patients at the first Compassion Rockwood, an event that brought medical, dental and social-services help to people in Gresham's poorest neighborhood."
• The Kansas City Star, January 28, 2012: Rural communities have strongest reliance on disability benefits
  "They’re often places where two-lane highways wind around wooded hills, where mining or manual farm labor once put food on the table, and access to medical care has long been limited. Poverty begets bad health and greater rates of disability, experts say, and disabilities often lead to deeper poverty."
• The Oregonian, January 28, 2012: Study offers grim stats about area Latinos
  "A report from Portland State University and the Coalition of Communities of Color delivers grim news about Latinos living in Multnomah County: They are poorer, their jobless rate is higher, and the teen birth rate is six times that for whites."
• The New York Times, January 27, 2012: Obama College Aid Proposal Puts a Focus on Affordability
  "President Obama is proposing a financial aid overhaul that for the first time would tie colleges' eligibility for campus-based aid programs -- Perkins loans, work-study jobs and supplemental grants for low-income students -- to the institutions' success in improving affordability and value for students, administration officials said."
• Courier News, January 27, 2012: Students take part in vigil to recognize homeless
  "Five students from The Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison participated in a candlelight vigil to recognize the homeless on Dec. 21, the first day of winter, at the Edison Municipal Building."
• The Courier-Journal, January 27, 2012: City clears way for using school for housing
  "The Louisville Metro Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday that allows the city to buy the old Maupin Elementary School and transfer it to the nonprofit Family Scholar House, which will turn the blighted property into affordable housing for single-parent college students."
• Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, January 27, 2012: Open Door Community House expo offers help for the homeless
  "Bobbie Dawkins came to the employment expo for the homeless at Open Door Community House as a volunteer. 'It’s good to see the community come together,' she said, sitting behind a table for Journey to Recovery Therapeutic Community, brochures for the substance abuse recovery program fanned out in front of her. 'It’s help for them and people do care.'"
• The Montgomery Advertiser, January 27, 2012: Medicaid proposal draws criticism
  "The chairman of the House Ways and Means General Fund committee thinks the state could reduce Medicaid costs by putting the Alabama Medicaid Agency in the hands of a private firm. The proposal has drawn criticism from physicians' groups and an advocacy group for low-income Alabamians, both of which say there's nothing left to cut in Medicaid except essential care."
• Battle Creek Enquirer, January 27, 2012: Legal Services facing serious funding woes
  "But now the organization known to many as legal aid is facing a budget crisis which could reduce its ability to help. 'The impact is we may just have to say no,' said Megan Reynolds, managing attorney in the Battle Creek office. Legal services provides free legal help to low income clients in certain types of civil cases in 13 Michigan counties."
• Record Searchlight, January 27, 2012: Pump up number of homeless vets? Only to cut it back
  "Federal dollars to underwrite that support, naturally enough, follow documented need. If Shasta County can count300homelessveterans,itwoulddrawwhatcounty Veterans Service Officer Bob Dunlap says is "upward of $1 million" worth of new services to help them out of their rut."
• The Jackson Sun, January 27, 2012: Authorities, volunteers count area's homeless population
  "Numerous agencies and volunteers gathered Thursday night for Tennessee Homeless Solution's annual Point in Time Count of the Homeless Population in Rural West Tennessee. Tennessee Homeless Solutions is a freestanding non-profit based in Lexington that works to provide assistance to homeless people in West Tennessee."
• The Miami Herald, January 27, 2012: Miami-Dade students in Liberty City get free laptops
  "On Friday in Liberty City, more than 500 students at Holmes Elementary received their very own, green-and-white laptops. Students can use them in class and take them home. The idea is that their curiosity will spark learning in new ways."
• The Post-Crescent, January 27, 2012: Number of homeless people seeking shelter in Appleton area counted in annual nighttime search
  "Standing beneath the College Avenue viaduct - a bridge that crosses railroad tracks just west of Linwood Avenue - Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna shined a beam of light up the rocky bank on the bridge's eastern side."
• Huron Daily Tribune, February 27, 2012: Rise in abuse, neglect shadows growing poverty
  "A 38 percent increase in poverty probably is responsible for more abuse and neglect in Huron County. 'This report shows a staggering increase of confirmed child abuse and neglect victims, from 26 in 2009 to 62 in 2010,' stated Becky Gettel, Huron County Great Start Collaborative executive director, about a new Kids Count report."
• Flint Journal, January 27, 2012: Homeless count under way; Tally tied to funding that helps organizations turn lives around
  "Alvon Lathan spent five years of his life homeless and addicted to drugs before seeking the help he needed to get clean, find housing and secure a job. After years of treatment and help from local social service groups, Lathan, 49, completed truck-driving school. Monday, he got a call from a trucking company."
• Knoxville News-Sentinel, January 27, 2012: ET college students help count the region's homeless
  "Two and a half weeks, said Rhonda Davis. Davis and her three small children - a 4-yearold girl and twin 1-year-old boys - were included in a one-day count of homeless citizens done in counties across the country every year. This year's count, held Thursday in East Tennessee, included student volunteers from Carson-Newman and Maryville College who interviewed homeless people in parking lots, Laundromats, 24-hour stores and diners, shelters, and food banks."
• Latin American Herald Tribune, January, 27, 2011: U.S. Latinos Hit Hard by Lousy Economy
  "The survey by the Pew Hispanic Center said that 54 percent of Hispanics believe that their group has been the one most harmed by the economic decline of the last four years."
• The New York Times, January 26, 2012: An S.I. School May Close, In a First Under Bloomberg
  "Mr. Thomas, the Education Department spokesman, said the community's challenges were all the more reason for the city to step in. 'We don't believe students in those kinds of neighborhoods deserve to be languishing in a low-quality school,' he said. 'It's unfortunate that a lot of these schools are in low-income areas. Frankly, those are the students we need to help the most.'"
• The Washington Post, January 26, 2011: (Blog) The big flaws in Obama’s education argument
  "President Obama repeated a familiar refrain about the importance of teachers in his State of the Union speech: 'A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance."
• Los Angeles Times, January 26, 2012: (Editorial) Engineering a jobs program; Putting people from low-income neighborhoods to work on L.A. transit projects is worth a try
  "Under the deal, 40% of those hired must come from low-income neighborhoods, and 10% must be 'disadvantaged' -- meaning they fit at least two of nine criteria, including homelessness, single parenthood and veteran status."
• The Boston Globe, January 26, 2012: Patrick seeks job cuts, new school aid
  "Governor Deval Patrick proposed a $32.3 billion annual spending plan yesterday that would eliminate 240,000 free and subsidized lunches for senior citizens, apply the sales tax to candy and soda, and close a prison in Norfolk while boosting spending on education to unprecedented levels."
• The New York Times, January 26, 2012: At 19, Without a Diploma, a Job, or a Place to Call Home
  "De Andre Hill, 19, is the first to admit it: He grew up way too soon. He was raised in Greensboro, N.C., and spent his teenage years looking after three half-sisters, preparing dinners of burger patties and spaghetti for them, insisting they do their homework and comforting them when they cried themselves to sleep."
• The Tennessean, January 26, 2011: Local kids living in poverty Local high school helps with grandparent program
  "One in five Robertson County school-aged children were living in poverty in 2010, according to new U. S. Census data released. Sometimes, younger children fall victim to their parents’ financial struggles, said Monica Causey, the lead family contact with Early Connections Network in Nashville."
• The Columbus Dispatch, January 26, 2012: Feds increase county's grants; Extra money unexpected but always welcome
  "'If you are to look nationally, a lot of these dollars were cut,' Commissioner Paula Brooks said. 'Our population has grown, while other urban counties have gone in the other direction.' The money comes in three ways: About $1.8 million is through the Community Development Block Grant program, a 9 percent increase over last year. Officials had expected a 12 percent cut. About $144,000 is for emergency shelter grants for the homeless, 80 percent more than expected."
• The Sheboygan Press, January 26, 2012: University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan to continue some Upward Bound components
  "On the heels of an announcement that the Upward Bound program at the University of Wisconsin campuses in Sheboygan and Manitowoc would be shut down as of Feb. 1, the UW chancellor announced Wednesday that some components of the program will live on."
• Sacramento Business Journal, January 26, 2012: Judge approves settlement for adult day health care substitute
  "Similar to ADHC, the new program will offer center-based skilled health and nursing care, therapy, transportation and other services to eligible low-income seniors and people with disabilities. ADHC will be phased out and replaced by the new program on March 1."
• Asbury Park Press, January 26, 2012: Monmouth homeless survey records greater numbers
  "Mild temperatures and the promise of free breakfast, clothing and medical checkups may have helped bump up the numbers for this year's annual surveys to count the Shore area's homeless and potentially homeless population."
• The Associated Press, January 26, 2012: Maine poverty report focuses on children, seniors
  "Advocates for low-income Mainers are presenting a report that highlights the impact of poverty on children, families and seniors. The Maine Community Action Association released its annual Poverty Report Update on Thursday. The report was prepared by the Margaret Chase Smith Center at the University of Maine. The report highlights newly released county-by-county poverty data from the 2010 U.S. Census."
• Pensacola News Journal, January 26, 2012: Area homeless advocates find there is strength in numbers
  "Finding the homeless isn't always easy. But if anyone can find them, it's Harris, founder of Streets and Lanes Ministry. Each Wednesday, she and other volunteers trudge out to homeless camps to offer food, clothing, toiletries and even hugs."
• The Bradenton Herald, January 26, 2012: FCAT alone: A poor way to judge public schools
  "But some perspective is in order. The rankings do not factor in a district’s size, progress or demographics, or consider graduation rates, Advanced Placement outcomes or other educational benchmarks like overall student progress. School superintendents from around the state justifiably cried foul over the rankings, especially those districts with high numbers of children living in poverty."
• Jersey Journal, January 26, 2012: Bayonne faces reduced CDBG funding
  "Other CDBG funding, which is dispersed locally through the city's Community Development Office, is used to help create and sustain low-income and moderate-income housing, city officials said. Bayonne received $1.7 million in 2011, and now expects to receive $1.4 million this year."

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