States begging Congress for $24B Medicaid bailout, By Chris Woodward (AP), June 9, 2010, Miami Herald: “Four governors and a leading national economist urged Congress on Wednesday to send an additional $24 billion bailout to the states, saying cash-strapped governments face deep budget cuts and thousands of lost jobs without the aid. The money would flow through Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor jointly financed by state and federal governments. Congress picked up a larger share of Medicaid costs through the 2009 stimulus bill, but that aid will expire in December. States have been hoping for a six-month extension as the slow economic recovery continues to crimp tax collections. In a recent survey, the National Conference of State Legislatures found that 30 states already were factoring the money into their budgets for 2011…”
Day: June 11, 2010
US High School Graduation Rate
Graduation rate for US high-schoolers falls for second straight year, By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, June 10, 2010, Christian Science Monitor: “The national high school graduation rate has slipped in recent years, despite an array of public and private efforts to boost the percentage of students going on to college. But some districts are beating the odds, succeeding with many students who otherwise may have fallen through the cracks. The percent of students earning a standard diploma in four years shifted from 69.2 percent in 2006 to 68.8 percent in 2007, according to an analysis of the most recent data in ‘Diplomas Count 2010.’ It was the second consecutive year of decline, says the report, which was released Thursday by Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center, a nonprofit in Bethesda, Md. That translates to 11,000 fewer graduates in 2007 than in 2006. At its peak in 1969, the national graduation rate was 77 percent…”
Child Poverty – Arkansas
Children in poverty worsens, By John Lyons, June 11, 2010, Fort Smith Times Record: “More Arkansas children are living in poverty now than a generation ago, according to a report released Thursday. Based on 2008 data, 24.9 percent of Arkansas children live in poverty, compared to 22.6 percent 31 years ago, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families reports in ‘Child Poverty in Arkansas 2010: A Deepening Problem.’ The report draws on U.S. Census data and uses the federal poverty level. In 2008, a family of four earning less than $21,000 a year was considered to be living in poverty. In 1979, a family of four earning less than $7,412 was considered poor. The report notes that Arkansas’ child poverty rate is higher than the national rate of 18.2 percent…”