State further behind handling food stamps, medical benefits, By Brent Jones, March 15, 2010, Baltimore Sun: “Three months after a judge ordered the state to speed up delivery of food stamps and medical benefits to low-income Maryland residents, the problem has worsened, court filings show. At the end of January, the state’s Department of Human Resources was operating at an 81 percent compliance rate processing those requests, down 2.5 percentage points from the previous month, according to papers filed in Baltimore Circuit Court…”
Day: March 15, 2010
Child Welfare System and Poverty – Washington
What kids in poverty really need, By Jerry Large, March 14, 2010, Seattle Times: “People who wind up in Washington’s child- welfare system are often beset by ‘profound deprivation.’ Mark Courtney, whose organization conducted a study of the system, told me the depth of poverty has been a surprise even to people who regularly deal with child welfare. Data from a new study shows half of those families had problems securing housing, some were homeless, and two-thirds were so broke they needed food stamps. The study is part of an effort to transform the way this state helps its most endangered children, and it underscores the need to address poverty as a core part of that effort…”