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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Nevada tries to deal with increased demand for welfare
Nevadans are waiting in lines from two to four hours to apply for welfare benefits. One office in Las Vegas handled 19,000 applications last month and cases are expected to rise from 23,000 to 30,000 per month by the end of the two-year period. To help shorten wait times, the state welfare agency plans to create an electronic application so potential recipients have the necessary documents when they arrive at the office. The department will also need 200 to 300 more workers.
Original story
Labels: elecotronic welfare application, Las Vegas, Nevada, wait times, welfare benefits
Budget cuts in Utah hit mentally ill hardest
Diminishing funds for Medicaid services will harm the quality of life of mentally ill Utah residents more drastically than any other disabled group. The state has a $1.5 billion revenue shortfall and has proposed cuts to mental-health services totaling nearly $3.5 million. However, with another $10.5 million loss in federal funds, the total cuts to mental-health services come to nearly $14 million.
Original story
Labels: budget cuts, Medicaid, mental-health services, mentally ill, Utah
White House regards health care reform as top fiscal priority
President Obama’s top priority is to reform the U.S. health care system, since he believes controlling the costs of the two governmental health systems -- Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor -- is critical to saving the nation from bankruptcy. At the economic summit where Obama made these statements, top administration officials said they were committed to stabilizing the Social Security system and ensuring taxes bring in enough money to fund the government.
Original story
Labels: economic summit, health care system, Medicaid, Medicare, Obama
Unemployment fund shortfalls in Vermont may lead to higher employer taxes
Decreases in Vermont’s unemployment fund may prompt large tax increases on employers and a squeeze on benefits for those who lose their jobs. A proposal now before the state legislature would require employers to pay another $40 million in taxes a year for the next two years, while cutting the benefit paid to jobless workers. The state’s unemployment insurance fund may be failing by the end of the year and may have to borrow $35 million in 2010 to remain solvent.
Original story
Labels: jobless, taxes, unemployment, vermont
Colorado food stamp delays worsen
With thousands more people applying for assistance via food stamps, wait times have been increased by 30 days in 10 Colorado counties, in violation of federal law. Officials say the problem is the volume of applications, with 200,000 more Coloradoans applying than this time last year. However, even before the recent increase in wait times Colorado was on a federal watch list for chronic problems in its food stamp program.
Original story
Labels: Colorado, food stamps
South Carolina will accept bailout funds to raise unemployment checks
Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is accepting federal stimulus money to enable state unemployment benefits to be raised by $25 a week, the first increase in two years. The governor, who previously vocally opposed bailout packages, decided to take the money after realizing other states would be doing the same. The governor is still unlikely to support the part of the stimulus plan that extends benefits to part-time workers.
Original story
Labels: bailout, Governor Mark Sanford, South Carolina, stimulus, unemployment checks
Low-income patients turn to their children as care-givers
Children across the country are providing care for sick parents or grandparents, including lifting them off beds or toilets, managing their medication, and washing, feeding and dressing them. A 2005 study suggested that about 3 percent of households with children 8 to 18 included child care-givers. Many are single-parent, low-income families, and experts expect their numbers to grow as the recession compels patients to forgo paid help.
Original story
Labels: child caretakers, patients
Economy expected to worsen in 2009
The latest survey by the National Association for Business Economics predicts the economy will shrink by 1.9 percent this year, a much deeper contraction than the 0.2 percent predicted in the fall. NABE forecasters predict the economy to slide backward at a pace of 5 percent in the January-March quarter. The economy should expand in the second half of this year, but some analysts think the jobless rate will peak at 9 percent and not return to the 5 percent range until 2013 at the earliest.
Original story
Labels: 2009, economy, National Association for Business Economics
Obama to give $15 billion to states for Medicaid
President Barack Obama will begin distributing $15 billion to states struggling with Medicaid costs. The money will come from the newly passed $787 billion economic stimulus measure. Some GOP governors may reject the proposed expansion of state unemployment benefits as part of the stimulus package because it will require a tax increase on employers once the stimulus money runs out.
Original story
Labels: Medicaid, Obama, stimulus, taxes, unemployment
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