This blog is a place for journalists to discuss their experiences covering poverty. It works in tandem with onpoverty.org, a site run by Washington and Lee University's American Poverty Journalism Center.
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Job-seekers dumb down resumes to find jobs
With unemployment on the rise and fewer jobs available, some job-seekers are eager to take jobs for which they are overqualified. As a result they are understating their accomplishments and educational background to match those of competitors who are merely qualified for the opening. While a willingness to take any job may be good for entry-level positions, it is not ideal for career building, says one job counselor.
Original story
Labels: dumbing down resumes, overqualified, resumes, unemployment
Indiana halts rollout of newly privatized welfare system
Indiana officials have halted further implementation of the state’s privatized welfare intake system, which for the past 15 months has been handled by a team of companies led by IBM under a 10-year, nearly $1.2 billion contract. Complaints of lost documents, improper denial of benefits and lengthy delays led lawmakers to file a bill to stop the rollout until it’s determined the system can handle the additional caseload. Nearly two-thirds of Indiana’s 1.2 million welfare recipients are still being served under the old system.
Original story
Labels: Indiana, rollout, welfare intake system
Layoffs spare few major cities nationwide
Unemployment rates rose in 363 of the largest 369 U.S. metropolitan areas in December from a year earlier. Manufacturing layoffs are creating the largest increases in unemployment in Indiana’s Elkhart-Goshen region and in Dalton, Ga. Elkhart-Goshen’s unemployment rate increased 10.6 percentage points from December 2007 to 15.3 percent this December. Nationally, the jobless rate is a seasonally adjusted 7.2 percent.
Original story
Labels: Elkhart-Goshen, jobless rate, layoffs, manufacturing, metropolitan areas, unemployment rate
With unemployment soaring, the state’s unemployment office is hiring
In response to the onslaught of claims for benefits, the Rhode Island unemployment insurance call center will soon hire 40 people to help process new claims. The new positions, which will be paid for with federal funds, will double the call center’s staff and, officials hope, will reduce the backlog of claims.
Original story
Labels: Rhode Island, unemployment benefits, unemployment claims, unemployment insurance call center
Welfare outlays decline nationally even while unemployment soars
Despite soaring unemployment, 18 states cut their welfare rolls last year. Of the 12 states where job loss was at its worst, eight reduced or kept constant the number of people receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the main welfare program. Critics of the program worry that its structure – with federal funding fixed, even if caseloads rise – may deter states from being more generous because they would bear all of the increased costs.
Original story
Labels: long-term unemployment, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, welfare cuts, welfare rolls
Welfare fraud in Minneapolis-area county reported rising
Anoka County, Minn., investigators are finding an increasing number of cases of welfare fraud in which citizens receiving benefits are found to have falsely reported their assets, and city officials and Republican legislators are asking the federal Department of Human Services to crack down. While federal officials are aware of the fraud, they consider it to be an insignificant problem that is, moreover, difficult to police because unreported income is often hard to detect.
Original story
Labels: Anoka County, Minnesota, welfare fraud
Homeless at celebrated Hawaii park prompt calls for restrictions
Nearby residents and visitors to Waikiki are growing frustrated with the homeless camping out in the famous beachfront area’s Kapiolani Park. While the city has laws prohibiting people from setting up camp in the park overnight, the homeless have found a loophole, and now the city council is looking for a ban on using the park as a “sleeping place.” Residents of the area consider the presence of homeless people in the park to be a health hazard as well as a source of danger.
Original story
Labels: homeless, Kapiolani Park, Waikiki
Unemployed face delays in getting benefits
The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits has reached an all-time record of nearly 4.8 million, yet many are unable to get access to the help they need. Washington State reached a record in December for the most claims filed in a month, 90,000. The state, which has 150 workers at its employment security department and a backlog of 40,000 claims, hopes to develop new strategies to speed up the response process.
Original story
Labels: employment security department, unemployment benefits, Washington
Higher jobless payments proposed in Washington State
Washington State leaders are considering a controversial plan to give unemployed residents an extra $45 a week in jobless benefits. Currently, unemployment insurance offers people between $129 and $541 a week, but Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed using some of the state’s $4 billion unemployment insurance fund to lower the insurance taxes on businesses and boost weekly benefits for every recipient.
Original story
Labels: Chris Gregoire, jobless benefits, unemployment insurance, Washington
Downturn creates strains on Colorado’s health care system
The recession is causing problems for Colorado’s health care system. More people are registered for Medicaid than at any time in the past 40 years, and Denver Health, the prime urban outlet for uninsured residents, is handling 250 more patients than last year. Metro community health centers report receiving around 100 calls daily from potential uninsured patients, many times more than they are able to treat. In addition, for people with insurance, deductibles and co-pays have increased.
Original story
Labels: Colorado, Denver Health, health care system, Medicaid
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