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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Day: July 12, 2010

Haiti Earthquake and the Displaced

In Haiti, the displaced are left clinging to the edge, By Deborah Sontag, July 10, 2010, New York Times: “Hundreds of displaced families live perilously in a single file of flimsy shanties planted along the median strip of a heavily congested coastal road here called the Route des Rails. Vehicles rumble by day and night, blaring horns, kicking up dust and belching exhaust. Residents try to protect themselves by positioning tires as bumpers in front of their shacks but cars still hit, injure and sometimes kill them. Rarely does anybody stop to offer help, and Judith Guillaume, 23, often wonders why. ‘Don’t they have a heart, or a suggestion?’ asked Ms. Guillaume, who covers her children’s noses with her floral skirt when the diesel fumes get especially strong. Six months after the earthquake that brought aid and attention here from around the world, the median-strip camp blends into the often numbing wretchedness of the post-disaster landscape. Only 28,000 of the 1.5 million Haitians displaced by the earthquake have moved into new homes, and the Port-au-Prince area remains a tableau of life in the ruins. The tableau does contain a spectrum of circumstances: precarious, neglected encampments; planned tent cities with latrines, showers and clinics; debris-strewn neighborhoods where residents have returned to both intact and condemnable houses; and, here and there, gleaming new shelters or bulldozed territory for a city of the future…”

Medicaid Reimbursement Rates – Texas

Texas doctors threaten to drop Medicaid out of fear of more fee cuts, By Robert T. Garrett, July 12, 2010, Dallas Morning News: “Doctors in the Dallas area and across Texas are threatening to opt out of Medicaid because of payment cuts, which would further damage the state’s already uneven delivery of health care to the poor. The 1 percent trim to provider fees that starts Sept. 1 sounds modest. But doctors, insurance industry officials and health care experts widely see it as the first of many hits coming to doctors’ wallets as Texas’ fiscal woes deepen. State leaders’ instructions for agencies to identify additional 10 percent budget cuts in the next two-year budget cycle mean more fee cuts may come next summer. Experts say further reductions could drive off doctors, dump more patients on hospital emergency rooms and ensure a rocky start for the federal health care overhaul, which by conservative estimates could add 1.5 million Texans to Medicaid by 2015. The cut demonstrates a potentially recurring problem with budget cuts as state leaders contemplate a shortfall that could hit $18 billion: Cuts that lawmakers make now to programs that are already stretched thin could cause deeper long-term woes…”

High School Graduation Rates – Mississippi

  • Graduation rates drop in Miss., By Marquita Brown, July 12, 2010, Jackson Clarion-Ledger: “To encourage her son to stay in school, Kimberly Smith would use herself as an example. She only had a sixth-grade education. At times the family had no electricity, no food and sometimes no place to stay. ‘This is why you need to go to school,’ Smith would tell her son, Carlos. ‘You want to live like this the rest of your life? Or you want to do something about it?’ Carlos graduated this year as Wingfield High School salutatorian with numerous scholarships, including national awards, and will attend Jackson State University in the fall. Kimberly Smith represents an element education leaders say is needed to improve state graduation and dropout rates – parental involvement. Mississippi’s graduation rate for the Class of 2009 dipped to 71.4 percent from 72 percent, according to numbers released from the state Department of Education on Thursday. The drop was greater in Jackson Public Schools…”
  • Dropouts: Budget strains hit weakest, Editorial, July 12, 2010, Jackson Clarion-Ledger: “In a competitive world, the lack of a high school diploma is an almost unsurmountable barrier to success. Yet, Mississippi still struggles with its high school graduation and dropout rates. The state Department of Education reports that graduation rates dropped slightly last year – from 72 percent to 71.4 percent. The state’s dropout rate increased slightly – from 16 percent to 16.7 percent. The negative trend, while slight, comes at a time when the state has been emphasizing high school dropout prevention. Worse, it could show a more vulnerable area as funding for education is being cut, putting a strain on districts seeking to provide help for students who are at-risk…”