Government
Parents Will Pay for Kids, Not Feds
Published October 13, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
A pilot project in Wisconsin revealed that when parents owing child support know it is going to their children - and not government agencies, as has been the case recently - they are more likely to pay, and pay on time. Now, more states are putting child support payments directly in the hands of parents on public assistance, rather than diverting it to cover their own administrative costs.
Despite the fact that there's an obvious cyclical benefit here - if you give parents the money directly, they have less need to rely on the state for assistance - many governments are still reluctant to make the change, citing their own budget woes. Sigh. I've always thought it particularly punitive and hypocritical that we chastise mothers and fathers for seeking public assistance, then siphoned off a critical chunk of money owed to them that could help with their economic hardship. Good for the few states who are catching on.
And a hollow laugh at the reality that when you convince people that government is wasteful, they might take issue with sending their money right along.
Here's hoping more states come around to passing on these millions and millions of overdue dollars to parents and children in need.
(Photo "A Day at the Races" by bufferchuck)
Maine a Medicaid Model?
Published October 12, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
The Commonwealth Fund has released new data demonstrating "shockingly wide" health disparities across the 50 states. This is the third annual survey, and one reflecting data from 2007, so expect the overall state-by-state performance to get much worse in the coming years.
What's interesting about the results is the exceptions to the general correlation between states with higher incomes and lower poverty rates also having better resident health. In particular, Maine is singled out for its position in the Top 5 states with good health despite being a relatively poor place. Some reasons? It offers Medicaid to childless adults, a rarity, and requires stringent information sharing among providers in order to track and respond to issues like repeat hospitalizations.
The Medicaid extension seems key here, as efforts like SCHIP have improved the "medical safety" net for kids, yet ever more adults are losing health insurance and going without necessary care. According to researchers, places like Minnesota or Massachusetts that perform well also show "a greater willingness to use government to improve social conditions." Massachusetts has the fewest uninsured adults, with only 7% lacking coverage.
The moral of the story for thinking about universal health care? Besides that we should maybe be looking to Maine and other states for critical best practices?
"The nation doesn't have one system and one reality, it has at least 50 each with its own economic, social and demographic characteristics."
"States cannot go it alone. Health reform is needed on a national level."
(Photo of Greenville, ME by Lee Coursey)
Food Stamp Funding Up 19%
Published October 11, 2009 @ 05:43PM PT
President Obama is expected to sign into law shortly the FY2010 agriculture spending bill that includes an unprecedented $58.2B for food stamps. Combined with the funding for food stamps in the stimulus, this reflects an increase of 19% over existing funding levels. More than 1 in 10 Americans are benefiting from food stamps, even as millions more wait for their applications to move through overcrowded public systems. The average monthly support for a family of 4 is $226.
What I just learned is that the supplemental nutrition program WIC for women, infants and children supports almost half of all children born in the US. That is a lot of hungry, little bellies!
President Obama is waiting for 10 of 12 more spending bills to come across his desk. Let's hope they all bring more generous benefits like this.
(Photo "stuffing face" by juhansonin)
Desperation Reigns In Detroit
Published October 10, 2009 @ 09:27AM PT
You may have heard by now of the crush of Detroiters who descended on Cobo Hall this week to apply for homelessness prevention assistance. 50,000 - 60,000 residents have received applications for 3,400 packages of up to $3,000 to cover utility bills and fees associated with keeping one's home or moving into a new one.
The Detroit Free Press Editorial team beat me to the Katrina metaphors, and even threw in "tsunami" for good measure to describe Detroit's economic disaster.
But seriously: I know no flood waters have ravaged Detroit, nor have unseasonal weather conditions killed anticipated crop loads, but how can we not classify Detroit's 30% unemployment, 30% poverty rate, and upwards of 80,000 vacant homes as a national disaster? Are we so despairing ourselves, or so immune to economic conditions, that we've become inured to the increasingly regular photos of hoards of desperate Americans crowding our convention centers for whatever meager, emergency assistance we throw at them? If I could turn this into a photo essay I would: Those prior two links are of African-Americans lining up for free healthcare in South Los Angeles, and Detroiters at Cobo Hall waiting for aid applications. Those Depression-Era bread lines are NOT a thing of the past.
(Photo of Katrina survivors outside the Convention Center in NOLA by Wyn Henderson for FEMA)
Poverty + Food Insecurity = Obesity
Published October 08, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
Nearly two years ago, researchers at Johns Hopkins University predicted that by 2015, nearly 75 percent of the population in the United States will be overweight or obese.
As our waistlines have continued to grow with the mass availability of highly processed packaged foods and cheap meat made possible by government subsidy programs, it might seem as though weight gain is a symptom of overabundance.
However, there is a very real link between being poor and being overweight, regardless of how contradictory these problems seem to be. When hunger is lurking and money is tight, many people tend to purchase the foods that offer the greatest caloric content for the price. Unfortunately, these products usually aren't fruits and vegetables.
The fact that there is a correlation between poverty and obesity is not news. It has been documented in studies, and can be observed first-hand in many low-income communities across the country. (However, new data suggest that gender and age are significant factors in the link between poverty and obesity, and that young girls may be the most at-risk demographic.)
No Work for Welfare in CA
Published October 07, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
Cue the hyperventilating about dependency and free riders: California, in an effort to save money, has suspended work requirements for some of its public assistance recipients for the next 17 months. Never mind that its welfare-to-work program will become even more stringent in 2011, and that it cannot even afford to subsidize the critical child care needed for recipients to work in the first place. Layabouts will be getting rich off your tax dollars, without earning a dime! Shiftless miscreants.
Oh, what's that now? What are we seeing in Fresno, one of the first places to implement the new, less expensive policy? "Belying stereotypes, only about 10 percent of those who could be exempted from the work requirements — and supporting aid like child care — chose to do so in the first month." Turns out, people like receiving job prep and trying to play an active role in society! Let's try to remember that when we crank up the wailing about welfare queens despite the fact that "opting out" will become "mandatory" in the future due to CA's insane budget realities.
50% of Americans Lack Sick Leave
Published September 29, 2009 @ 03:20PM PT
With a vaccine for the H1N1 virus still some time away, the lack of paid sick leave for almost half of all working Americans in the private sector is a potential public health crisis. Not only are these working adults likely to show up at work with potential infectious symptoms - or fear losing their job - they are likely to send sick kids to school for the same reason. Why is this on the Poverty blog?
Nationwide, the same trend holds: The proportions of workers without paid leave are higher in lower-wage industries, including food service, nursing care, and retail workers.
These are the folks we interact with on a regular basis - the person handing you your coffee or your morning bagel; the woman coming to care for your already infirm grandmother in her home.
I'm so sick of the argument that basic government regulation that protects public health and minimizes worker exploitation is bad for small business. I paraphrase a good corporate friend on Facebook - if you can't afford to pay your workers a living wage or benefits, you have a bad business model. And I'll add: as anti-poverty and economic justice advocates, we'd be happy to work with you to fight for a more equitable business climate for your small company.
15 states and cities are currently working on paid sick leave bills. Check them out and find out how you can support on-going campaigns.
Photo "Children with message in support of Paid Sick Days, Milwaukee - 2008" by Voces de La Frontera)
