- Indiana agency begins hybrid welfare plan rollout, By Ken Kusmer (AP), January 26, 2010, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “Indiana’s human services agency said Tuesday the state’s third try at effectively enrolling and keeping people on food stamps and other welfare benefits has begun rolling out, but one affected caretaker said the frustrations keep mounting. The Family and Social Services Administration said it has begun implementing what it’s calling a hybrid welfare intake system, involving caseworkers and some automation, in 10 southwestern Indiana counties. It follows the agency’s aborted bid to turn over highly automated welfare intake to private vendors – a plan designed to replace an outdated, paper-based casework system – that remains in 33 counties…”
- Indiana agency begins hybrid welfare plan rollout, By Eric Bradner, January 26, 2010, Evansville Courier and Press: “The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration rolled out its pilot ‘hybrid’ system for processing welfare applications in a swath of 10 Southwestern Indiana counties on Tuesday. The rollout means the state’s human services agency now has three ways of handling applications for Medicaid, food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families operating simultaneously. The hybrid pilot is now in place in Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Warrick and Vanderburgh counties. The recently abandoned ‘modernization’ effort, which severely restricted face-to-face interaction with agency workers and instead had those seeking benefits apply online or by phone, remains in 49 counties.
Day: January 28, 2010
Kids Count Report – Missouri
- At risk children in Missouri on rise, By Nancy Cambria, January 28, 2010, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “After periods of noted declines, teen births and high school dropout rates are on the rise in Missouri. Kids Count, an ongoing study of how children and teens are faring in this country, released the warnings Wednesday in its annual county-to-county look at Missouri. The study was released by the group Citizens for Missouri’s Children. The study examines 10 indicators of child well-being over a four-year period, and then ranks each county on the overall quality of life for children. Following a disturbing national trend, births to teens aged 15 to 19 increased in the state, up about a percentage point to about 9,150 teens. Many of those increases occurred in rural areas of the state. In the region, St. Louis City dropped its rate by nearly 10 percent, but other counties spiked, especially Jefferson and Warren counties, which both experienced about a 5 percentage point increase…”
- Report: Boone County ranks 10th in children’s well-being, By Kelly Brdicka and Kourtney Geers, January 27, 2010, Columbia Missourian: “Every day in Missouri in 2008, 255,953 children lived in poverty; 31 teens left high school without graduating, and 25 girls – ages 15 to 19 – gave birth, according to the Citizens for Missouri’s Children’s 17th edition of the Kids Count. The report was published in the 2009 Missouri Data Book, which was released Wednesday and compiles information from more than 30 organizations and covers issues important to the welfare of children including economic security, early education, health, child protection and juvenile justice…”
Worldwide Unemployment and Job Losses
U.N.: ’09 added 27 million jobless, By Bradley S. Klapper (AP), January 28, 2010, Detroit News: “Twenty-seven million people around the world lost their jobs in 2009, the U.N. labor agency said Wednesday, warning of a jobless spike in a report released on the opening day of the World Economic Forum. About 12 million of the newly unemployed were in North America, Japan and Western Europe, the International Labor Organization said. The jobless jumped by nearly four million in both Eastern Europe and Latin America, while unemployment rates were more stable last year in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The figures point to the need for a ‘global jobs pact’ to boost employment around the world, the ILO said…”