- 30,000 college students kicked out of food aid program in Michigan, By Paul Egan, August 8, 2011, Detroit News: “Michigan has removed about 30,000 college students from its food stamp program – close to double the initial estimate – saving about $75 million a year, says Human Services Director Maura Corrigan. Federal rules don’t allow most college students to collect food stamps, but Michigan had created its own rules that made nearly all students eligible, said Brian Rooney, Corrigan’s deputy director. As a result, the number of Michigan college students on this form of welfare made the state a national leader. For example, Michigan had 10 times the number of students on food stamps as either Illinois or California, Rooney said. Cutting off the students is part of what Corrigan says is an effort to change the culture of the state’s welfare department and slash tens of millions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse…”
- Michigan will cut public assistance to families who received federal aid, By Robin Erb, August 10, 2011, Detroit Free Press: “Federal assistance may be running out for nearly 14,000 of Michigan’s needy families. The five years allowed to them have expired, and the state no longer is willing to extend the time through hardship exemptions. At the same time, the state is revamping how it hands out the assistance and plans to limit the total time allowed to four years in most cases, likely beginning Oct. 1, according Maura Corrigan, director of the Michigan Department of Human Services. On Tuesday, DHS began sending out notices that assistance will end to Michiganders who had passed their five-year federal limit, but received extensions…”
Day: August 10, 2011
Rural Homelessness – Minnesota
Five shelters for homeless to open in rural parts of state, By Madeline Baran, August 9, 2011, Minnesota Public Radio: “Five new homeless shelters will open in rural Minnesota this year as part of a broader effort to shift some state and federal money away from programs in the Twin Cities. The state’s Department of Human Services awarded grants to open shelters in Cass Lake, Pine County, Mankato, Faribault and Marshall, agency officials said Wednesday. At the same time, the agency cut grants to several Twin Cities-based programs, including a drop-in center for homeless adults in St. Paul and a free voicemail service for low-income adults. Advocates for the homeless said shelters are urgently needed in rural areas, but they said the government should spend more to avoid cuts to urban programs…”
Kids Count Report – Tennessee
More of county’s youth in poverty, courts, By Mealand Ragland-Hudgins, August 9, 2011, Daily News Journal: “Rutherford County children fared better than their peers across the state on the 2010 Kids Count report, although increases were seen in the areas of local children living in poverty or being referred to juvenile court. Released today, the report is an analysis of issues that can affect children’s well-being in all 95 of Tennessee’s counties. Included in the report is data on high school dropouts, children on public assistance, medical care, safety and risky behaviors. Most data in the report is based on numbers compiled in 2008 or 2009, depending on what information was available. Individual rankings by county were not provided, and data was only broken down by city for Memphis and Nashville-Davidson County…”