Teens facing a tough labor market this summer, By Karen Herzog, June 3, 2010, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Young people are being squeezed out of summer jobs, and seasonal employers will have to do more with less, as a dramatically increased minimum wage that went into effect last year affects summer hiring for the first time. Wisconsin’s minimum wage increased for the first time in three years last July 24, from $5.90 an hour to $7.25 an hour for minors, and from $6.50 to $7.25 for adults. The biggest hit was to the state’s agricultural sector, including produce farms that hire kids to help guide suburbanites through strawberry patches. Though an agricultural exemption previously allowed farms to pay minors $4.25 per hour, all farm employees – regardless of age – now must be paid at least $7.25 an hour. Tween and young teen workers used to be bargain employees for farms, which in turn taught them how to be good workers. But the disappearance of the agricultural exemption is shifting more of those jobs to older teens who require less supervision…”
Day: June 3, 2010
Child Care Subsidies – Hawaii, Ohio
- Hawaii cuts result in 10% fewer families taking preschool aid, By Mary Vorsino, June 2, 2010, Honolulu Advertiser: “The number of families receiving state subsidies to cover preschool tuition costs has dropped by about 10 percent after the state’s decision to decrease the amount of help families can get, and providers say parents appear to instead be opting for cheaper, unlicensed care or leaving their children with relatives. The subsidies, which cover a portion of childcare costs, are provided on a sliding scale based on income. In certain cases the reduction in subsidies meant parents who were paying $120 a month for one child’s care now have to pay $540. Providers also say they’re expecting more decreases in families getting subsidies, which were cut in February, as programs set up to help residents tackle the new financial stresses of lower subsidies end or run out of money…”
- Fewer parents eligible for child care subsidies, By Meredith Moss, May 29, 2010, Dayton Daily News: “To earn more money to support her family, 22-year-old Clarrissa Moore took on a second job. That decision turned out to be a disastrous one for the Dayton mother and her 3-year-old son, Jaiden. Not only did the extra job put her over the limit for child care help, but it was simply too exhausting. By the time she resigned, and then reapplied for the child care subsidies she needed, she was turned down. The state income requirements had changed and Moore was no longer eligible. Moore is just one example of Ohioans being impacted by state budget cuts that took effect in July 2009…”
Financial Literacy
- Some schools teach financial literacy, but courses still in short supply, By Karyn Saemann, June 3, 2010, Capital Times: “It’s ‘payday’ in Jill Strand’s classroom at Glacier Edge Elementary School in Verona. Strand’s third-graders rush toward plastic bins crammed with parent-donated school supplies and trinkets, eager to cash the weekly mock paychecks issued by Strand for classroom jobs like collecting library books and checking desks for tidiness. ‘They don’t understand how much they’re really learning,’ says Strand. ‘They see it as fun, free-choice time.’ But in a sign that a deeper financial message is resonating, not all students are quick to part with the hard-earned classroom currency the paychecks are exchanged for. Kate Veak tucks her ‘Strand Bucks’ away, saying she is saving for something bigger, like a hardcover book. Strand recently chronicled her lessons in savings and investing in ‘Financial Literacy: TEACH IT!,’ a series of online teacher vignettes compiled by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, which won a 2010 award from the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy for the project. Strand says she may soon introduce her third-graders to the concept of sales tax and is considering letting them borrow from their classroom bank, potentially leading to discussions about credit card interest and maybe even payday loans. It’s not something you used to see kids learning at school…”
- We’re flunking personal finance, By Michelle Singletary, May 9, 2010, Washington Post: “The financial teaching grade is in for teachers — and it’s not good. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison surveyed K-12 educators, and, not surprisingly — or at least it wasn’t a shocker for me — most instructors don’t think they are suitably trained to teach their students the basics of personal finance. The study, ‘Teachers’ Background & Capacity to Teach Personal Finance,’ was funded by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). The teachers were asked to assess their instructional competency in six personal finance areas: income and careers; planning and money management; credit and debt; financial responsibility and decision-making; saving and investing; and risk management and insurance. Less than 20 percent of the surveyed educators felt they were ‘very competent’ in any of the six areas. No wonder: Barely one-third of them had taken a college course that included personal finance content, the researchers found…”