Welfare caseloads rise, cause frustration, By Catherine Jun, April 5, 2010, Detroit News: “State welfare workers are juggling an astronomical number of requests for help, causing delays in emergency benefits to families and in some cases kicking them erroneously off welfare, according to state employees and welfare recipients. And in crowded welfare offices around the state, the frustration of families waiting for food, medical or cash assistance is reportedly boiling over, with threats and assaults against caseworkers. ‘They’re just frustrated with us. We can’t get their work processed fast enough,’ said Nancy Opatich, who works at the Michigan Department of Human Services office in Warren and who testified before a Michigan House subcommittee in the fall. Since 2001, the welfare assistance caseload in Michigan has dramatically swelled to 2.4 million cases, triple that of 2002, raising per-worker caseloads to 740 from 320…”
Day: April 5, 2010
US Unemployment Rate
Jobless rate may rise as many are drawn back to labor force, By V. Dion Haynes, April 5, 2010, Washington Post: “The increase in jobs highlighted in the nation’s most recent unemployment report carried the sound of economic promise, but Obama administration officials said Sunday that the public shouldn’t expect any dramatic improvement in the jobless rate, largely because of the effect of thousands of ‘discouraged’ unemployed people who have resumed their search for work. Some economists assert that the unemployment rate, which held steady at 9.7 percent in March, is likely to be driven higher as many more such people are lured into looking for work by signs of recovery…”
2008 Child Maltreatment Report
New federal report shows drop in child abuse rates, By David Crary (AP), April 1, 2010, Washington Post: “The rate of child maltreatment in the U.S. dipped in 2008 to its lowest level since 1990, but the number of abuse-related child fatalities continued to rise, according to new federal figures. The annual report from the Department of Health and Human Services, issued Thursday, said the estimated number of victimized children had dropped sharply, from 903,000 in 2006 to 772,000 in 2008. However, there were 1,740 reported fatalities, up from 1,330 in 2000. Carmen Nazario, HHS assistant secretary for children and families, said she was encouraged by the decrease in maltreatment, but sounded a note of caution. ‘The results show too many children still suffer from abuse and neglect, and we have not yet experienced the full impact from the economic situation,’ she said. The HHS data was for the 2008 fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, and did not reflect the recession that took hold in the final months of that year…”