Cuts to Child Care Subsidy Thwart More Job Seekers

A lack of affordable child care has left many low-income working parents struggling to balance their work and personal lives. With increased cuts in subsidized child care, it challenges parents ability to search for reasonable work and care for their children at the same time. From the New York Times:

Despite a substantial increase in federal support for subsidized child care, which has enabled some states to stave off cuts, others have trimmed support, and most have failed to keep pace with rising demand, according to poverty experts and federal officials.

That has left swelling numbers of low-income families struggling to reconcile the demands of work and parenting, just as they confront one of the toughest job markets in decades.

The cuts to subsidized child care challenge the central tenet of the welfare overhaul adopted in 1996, which imposed a five-year lifetime limit on cash assistance. Under the change, low-income parents were forced to give up welfare checks and instead seek paychecks, while being promised support — not least, subsidized child care — that would enable them to work.

Now, in this moment of painful budget cuts, with Arizona and more than a dozen other states placing children eligible for subsidized child care on waiting lists, only two kinds of families are reliably securing aid: those under the supervision of child protective services — which looks after abuse and neglect cases — and those receiving cash assistance.

It's a misconception that many accept welfare as a way to avoid working. For many, accepting welfare is a last resort and the process can feel embarrassing and degrading:

Ms. Wallace abhors the thought of going on cash assistance, a station she associates with lazy people who con the system. Yet this has become the only practical route toward child care.

So, on a recent afternoon, she waited in a crush of beleaguered people to submit the necessary paperwork. Her effort to avoid welfare through work has brought her to welfare’s door.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” she says. “I fall back to — I can’t say ‘being a lowlife’ — but being like the typical person living off the government. That’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to use this as a backbone, so I can develop my own backbone.”

As the American social safety net absorbs its greatest challenge since the Great Depression, state budget cuts are weakening crucial components. Subsidized child care — financed by federal and state governments — is a conspicuous example.

Read the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/business/economy/24childcare.html

The Great Recession: Its Long Term Impact on Children and Families

"More children will live in poverty this year. More will have two parents who are unemployed. Fewer children will enroll in prekindergarten programs, and fewer teenagers will find jobs. More children are likely to commit suicide, be overweight, and be victimized by crime.

This is all according to a report released Tuesday by the Foundation for Child Development that measures the impact of the recession on the current generation.

These are the children of the Great Recession, a cohort that will experience a decline in fortunes that erases 30 years of social progress, the report contends. Known as the Child and Youth Well-Being Index, the report predicts that in the next few years, the economy may recover and the unemployment rate may drop, but the generation growing up now could feel the harsh impact of the recession for years to come.

“These are the lasting impacts of extreme recessions,” said Kenneth Land, a professor of sociology and demography at Duke University and the author of the report."

For the entire article, see Education Week at:

www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/08/35child_ep.h29.html?tkn=QYQFJKFoqCOehNMnkkr1mEVvXAqqXoJLZWWF&cmp=clp-edweek

Grand Rapids schools struggle to create college culture that Promise brought to Kalamazoo

Grand Rapids schools struggle to create college culture that Promise brought to Kalamazoo

Grand Rapids schools have struggled to create college culture that Promise brought to Kalamazoo. An article in the Grand Rapids Press compares the struggles of Grand Rapids Public Schools with the success that the Kalamazoo Promise has garnered for Kalamazoo Public Schools. From the article:

Superintendent Bernard Taylor saw a presidential visit as a means of elevating the importance of graduation in a district where only 51 percent of students graduate on time, and a college readiness study determined that fewer than a quarter of graduates are prepared for college level work in any core subject. Meanwhile, enrollment continues a long decline and student poverty rates are risinge. (Taylor declined to comment for the story.)

Grand Rapids Public Schools also is trying to rally community support for reforms at its comprehensive high schools, where student achievement is improving by some measures.

A Kalamazoo-style Promise was explored by The Grand Rapids Community Foundation, education program officer Cris Kooyer said. A private study calculated how big an endowment it would take to guarantee new graduates up to 100 percent of college tuition but concluded the district is too big.

"We don't have a Promise, but if we're strategic, intentional and collaborative, we think Grand Rapids can help students achieve more," Kooyer said.

The district benefits in many other ways from a generous philanthropic community, Kooyer said.

Examples include the Meijer Foundation funding classroom grants and United Way's Schools of Hope program providing tutors. The DeVos Family Foundation funds the district's participation in University of Pittsburgh's academic excellence initiative called Institute for Learning, Steelcase backs a college-bound program called U-Prep Academy, and Spectrum Health, Rockford Construction and Amway are active in career-based programs housed within comprehensive high schools called Centers of Innovation.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/06/grand_rapids_schools_struggle.html

Turning Poverty into a multi-billion dollar industry

Turning Poverty into a multi-billion dollar industry

In a recent story, NPR investigated the growth of the Payday lending industry and its manipulation of those in poverty. From the story:

Payday lending operations have grown rapidly in the United States since the early 1990s. At the industry's peak a few years ago, there were more payday lenders in the United States than McDonald's and Burger King stores — combined.

"The payday lender is kind of the emergency banker for the working poor," explains journalist Gary Rivlin. "The idea is that you have some bills that you have to pay today — your check isn't coming for a couple weeks, and you can take a loan out against that upcoming check."

In return, a person agrees to pay interest on the loan — which can be up to "200 percent interest or more on their money," Rivlin says. "It's a bridge loan to cover a gap, but the problem is, the gap keeps getting wider and wider."

Rivlin goes behind the scenes of the payday lending industry in his new book Broke, USA, which examines the $33 billion-dollar-a-year "poverty industry." Rivlin, who attended an annual conference of check cashers to learn industry tips, says he decided to write about the industry because of its rapid growth in recent years.

Rivlin answers a variety of questions throughout his interview, including why these loan operations exist in the poorest neighborhoods:

"[Payday loan operations] are there because banks have fled certain neighborhoods — it's working-class neighborhoods, inner city neighborhoods, some rural neighborhoods. Where can you get your loan? You go to a payday lender, you go to a consumer finance shop [or] you go to a pawn broker. To me, the real reason payday has grown like it has is more of an economic reason than a geographic reason. There's been stagnating wages among the lowest 40 percent [of wage earners] in this country, and so they're not earning anymore real dollars. At the same time, rent is going up, health care is going up [and] other expenses are going up, and it just becomes harder and harder and harder for these people who are making $20,000 [or] $25,000 [or] $30,000 a year to make ends meet. And the pay lenders are really convenient. Between going home from work and going shopping, you can stop at one of these stores and get instant cash in five minutes."

The story sparked a long conversation on Facebook about the Payday lending interesting. Some comments were particularly insightful:

• Banks won't cash checks unless you have an account. if you can't afford an account (i.e. fees, overdrawn charges have you upside down) you have no choice but to cash at these places or through friends...have you never been poor? banks are soooooooo NOT free of charge.
• Having worked at a place that had a check cashing service, it's been my experience that people use those businesses because they can't get a bank account (extremely bad credit, owe money to someone-usually a bank) or don't think to get a bank account.
• it's an outrage! I looked through a free newspaper here in Houston called the Greensheet last month and there were over 9 full pages of advertisements for these payday lenders and check cashers places..... ACK! How scary is that?!!
• I can so relate. I was so poor between 2000-2006, I was forced to use payday lending services. It was either that or have utilties turned off. Hellish way to live. The USA now thrives off of Poverty Pimps.
• Isaiah 3:14-15 - The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.
• It's amazing how expensive it is to be poor -- if you don't believe it, leave your middle-class bubble and visit a convenience/grocery store within walking distance of a housing project. You'll see crappy, unhealthy food offered at up to triple the price you pay at your nice clean well-stocked suburban store. It's so incredibly messed up.

Read the full article at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127236038&sc=fb&cc=fp

More and More Districts Offer Summer Free Lunch Programs for Hungry Students

State wide 46 percent of students in Michigan K-12 schools qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Out of 1.6 million children, that is more than 725,000 children (727,829** to be exact in the fall of the 2009-2010 school year) who qualify for free/reduced price lunch.

Since children are hungry not just during the school year, many school districts (not just the large urban districts) are starting to offer summer free lunch programs for students.

Brandywine Schools on the Indiana border on the southwest side of Niles is one such school district.

"After being notified that the district qualified to take part in the program, (a major qualifier being a population with 50 percent reduced lunch students) (Sue) Furney (the district's financial officer) said food service officials went through a one day training course at the state’s capital to prepare them and educate them on the program.

A program that could have a very significant impact on hungry tummies.

“During the school year, they (children) have a lunch available to them,” Furney said. “In the summertime, they don’t have a structured school program to provide that for them. So our question was – how many kids maybe aren’t eating a lunch at home?”

Some students may not even have lunch materials available to them, she said, especially if parents are unemployed or struggling to make ends meet.

Lunches will be served at Merritt Elementary School, 1620 LaSalle Ave. in Niles."

www.nilesstar.com/2010/06/04/who-says-theres-no-free-lunch/

** Statistics on free/reduced lunch participation are available in statewide data or by district or even building in spreadsheet format at:

www.michigan.gov/cepi/0,1607,7-113-21423_30451_36965---,00.html

Lutherans Discuss Issue of Poverty From a Religious and Moral Perspective

Many of us who are concerned about poverty come at the issue from a deeply religious or moral perspective.

All of the major religions of the world have some aspect that speaks to the issues of compassion for the less fortunate.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in its current issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics devotes the entire issue to poverty.

Here is one example:

"One billion human beings are hungry today. One billion people do not have enough to eat. The number alone is staggering. But what makes it scandalous is the fact that God’s abundant creation — the fertile earth and seas — can produce adequate nutrition for all. Scarcity is not the problem."

The full series of articles on poverty can be found at:

www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Journal-of-Lutheran-Ethics.aspx

Michigan campaign aims to dispel "myths" about assistance programs

With politics polarized on many important issues in our country, it comes as no surprise that welfare and consequently welfare reform have been under rhetorical crossfire for quite some time. There are some who believe that welfare makes our citizens dependent on government aid and a tax burden on the rest of the population. To combat this ideology, The Michigan Department of Human Services is conducting a series to demonstrate that welfare is both effective and necessary to maintain stability in Michigan:

For those who are skeptical of government assistance programs, the state of Michigan wants you to know something: Welfare works.

And in times like these, social safety net programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, child care and unemployment benefits aren’t just effective, they’re in huge demand, the state says.

“There is an unprecedented need for these programs,” said Ismael Ahmed, director of the state Department of Human Services. “These days, people seeking assistance could be your neighbor, a friend or a family member. A lot of people don’t realize how close they are to needing help.”

To dispel some of the misinformation about assistance programs — for example, that they are a waste of taxpayer dollars and that those who receive benefits abuse the system or live mainly in urban areas — the state has launched an educational campaign entitled “Welfare 101: Busting myths about welfare.”

“Those myths have caused a stigma that may prevent some people who truly need help, especially families with young children and the elderly, to come forward,” Ahmed said. “We want to put an end to that because the safety net helps families get back on their feet.”

Among the arguments cited includes evidence on making sure welfare fraud does not go unnoticed:

• According to DHS Director Ishmael Ahmed, every $1 that the state investigates towards fraud brings a return of $5 to the program.
  
• The Government Accountability Office estimates that for every $1 in food stamps, a mere 1 cent was obtained fraudulently.
  
• In addition to helping to meet a need, every $5 in food assistance generates $9.20 in local economic activity, the state says.

Read the full article here: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/06/welfare_needs_rising_sharply.html

Funding for At-Risk Pre-Schoolers Faces Uncertain Future in Lansing

"The state House has restored funding for a program that assists thousands of at-risk preschoolers in Michigan, but a final showdown awaits in the Senate.

On Thursday, the Democratic-led House approved $1 million in funding for the Child Care Expulsion Project. This would preserve an 11-year-old program that offers counseling to families of children at risk of being expelled from child care because of behavioral problems...

..."This is an important program for Michigan," said Jack Kresnak, president and CEO of Michigan's Children, a children's advocacy group. "This is the state's only mental health program that deals with very young children's emotional and mental health issues. It not only helps children, but it helps day care providers how to deal better with children who are not socialized and have trouble adjusting to day care."According to Michigan Children, an estimated 7,000 children under age 5 are expelled from child care centers or preschools in Michigan every year. By contrast, fewer than 2,000 K-12 students are expelled in the state annually."

www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100529/NEWS04/5290324/1005/NEWS04/Funding-in-limbo-for-program-that-helps-at-risk-preschoolers

SW Michigan Agency Seeks to Improve the Quality of Life for Those Suffering from Mental Illnesses

Cassopolis Family Clinic, (is) a community health center providing medical care to residents of Cass and southeast Berrien County, (earlier this week) during Woodlands Behavioral Healthcare Network's second annual Mental Health Breakfast to fight stigma and to share recovery stories, the agency awarded ... its community service award.

"Folks with a mental illness or developmental disability tend to have a mortality rate 20 years earlier than the general public," (Woodlands Executive Director Kathy) Boes said. "There are a multitude of factors which come into play, but that's pretty frightening. Often they have a lack of social support and medical insurance that could cover preventive health care. Sometimes they have been institutionalized and mistrust caregivers. The other component that impacts general health is medication. Over many years Cass Family Clinic has supported our consumers. They provide emergency care and preventive care. They're almost a support system for the individuals we serve."

"Mental illness, a developmental disability or substance abuse do not mean the end of a quality life, Woodland Behavioral Healthcare Network Executive Director Kathy Boes told a capacity crowd Tuesday morning at the second annual Mental Health Breakfast at Dowagiac Elks Lodge 889.

“You don’t need to give up on life,” she said at the 2 1/2-hour event. “Recovery is possible. You can get your own apartment and live independently and no longer spend time in a hospital.”

Bob Weber, Woodlands’ case management supervisor, explained the evolution of recovery. He first came to the agency in 1994 and has been back since 2001.

Recovery, a word long associated with treatment for substance abuse and condition disorders, “in a nutshell, it’s a philosophy of how to live your life the best you can, with all your limitations and strengths, so you can be productive and healthy and have relationships.”"

www.dowagiacnews.com/2010/05/24/stories-of-recovery-resilience-and-redemption/

Michigan Cuts Medicaid Dental Care: The Results? Nothing to Smile About

"Last summer the Michigan legislature removed adult dental benefits from Medicaid. That means more than 690 thousand people in Michigan are without dental insurance.

One group is experimenting with different ways to provide dental care to the people most in need.

When someone's smile lights up a room, it can be an indicator of their health and overall wellbeing. The Center for Disease Control says poor dental health contributes to a variety of illnesses, and in more severe cases even death.

That's what happened to Blanche LaVire.

She was a 76 year old woman who died last November in a group home near Alpena. She had infected abscesses in her mouth and needed of oral surgery. The trouble was she relied on Medicaid for her health care and months earlier, Michigan cut funding for all adult dental benefits in an effort to save money.

For many developmentally disabled people like LaVire, Medicaid was their only option for dental coverage."

www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1655074/Michigan.News/Medicaid.Cuts.Mean.Nothing.To.Smile.At