- More U.S. kids living in high-poverty areas: study, By Susan Heavey, February 22, 2012, Chicago Tribune: “Years of economic setbacks have taken their toll on the nation’s youngest residents, with another 1.6 million children living in high-poverty neighborhoods, according to one study that shows nearly 8 million children residing in poor areas in 2010. In 2000, 6.3 million children lived in high poverty in the United States, a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found. The growth – a 25 percent increase – reverses the trend just a decade ago that saw fewer children living in communities with high poverty rates, according to the nonprofit group. And three-quarters of those children live in such areas despite having at least one parent working, the study showed…”
- Colorado’s percentage of kids living in severe poverty soars, By Karen Augé, February 23, 2012, Denver Post: “Over the past decade, the number of Colorado children living in communities of concentrated, severe poverty grew at one of the fastest rates in the nation, a new study has found. The number of children living in areas of poverty here – 92,000, or 8 percent – is still relatively low compared with many states, according to the Kids Count Data Snapshot on High-Poverty Communities, compiled by the nonprofit Annie E. Casey Foundation. In 2000, the report found 20,000 Colorado kids living in high-poverty areas…”
- Muskegon County ranks ninth-worst for percentage of children living in high-poverty areas, By Megan Hart, February 23, 2012, Muskegon Chronicle: “Muskegon County is ninth-worst in the state when it comes to the percentage of children living in areas of high poverty. About 19.1 percent of Muskegon County children lived in areas of high poverty, defined as an area where 30 percent or more of the population falls below the federal poverty guidelines. That’s $17,000 for a family of three or $22,000 for a family of four. Of Michigan’s 83 counties, 33 had children living in high-poverty communities, according to a report the Annie E. Casey Foundation released Thursday. The report used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey from 2006 through 2010. The Casey Foundation advocates for policies to help families living in poverty…”
- Report: 67% of Detroit kids live in high-poverty areas, By Karen Bouffard, February 23, 2012, Detroit News: “More children live in high-poverty neighborhoods in Detroit than in any of the nation’s 50 largest cities, according to a new report. Roughly 67 percent of Detroit children live in a neighborhood with concentrated poverty, according to the ‘Data Snapshot on High-Poverty Communities’ from Kids Count. That’s 10 percentage points more than the next worst city, Cleveland, where 57 percent of children live in high-poverty areas. Michigan ranked 44th among the states for the number of children living in neighborhoods where 30 percent or more of the population is in poverty, defined as about $22,000 per year or less for a family of four…”
Day: February 23, 2012
Child Welfare System – Minnesota
- Audit: Child-welfare checks uneven in Minnesota, By Jeremy Olson, February 21, 2012, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “Minnesota’s child welfare system needs stronger guidance to ensure that vulnerable children are treated consistently from one county to another, a legislative audit concluded Tuesday. Testing county and tribal child-welfare agencies with 10 fictional cases of abuse and neglect, state auditors found wide variations in whether local officials deemed investigations necessary. It was a virtual 50-50 split, for example, on whether agencies would investigate a claim of a small child found wandering a block from home. And 64 percent said they wouldn’t investigate as maltreatment a domestic abuse incident that occurred while a child was in another room. Despite these so-called ‘gray area referrals,’ many of the state’s child-welfare intake workers made reasonable and thoughtful deliberations, said Carrie Meyerhoff, the lead author of the report for the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor…”
- Report finds gaps in Minnesota child protection system, By Sasha Aslanian, February 22, 2012, Minnesota Public Radio: “The Legislative Auditor says there are gaps in Minnesota’s child protection system — variations in how counties and some Indian tribes first respond to cases of alleged mistreatment of children. The report was fueled by two concerns: That the child protection system is screening out too many cases; and there’s too much variation in how child protection laws are applied across different counties. However, the report found that overall, county and tribal agencies are doing an adequate job deciding whether to act on suspected cases of child abuse or neglect…”
Stimulus Spending and Assistance Programs – Ohio
Stimulus bolsters public assistance, By Russ Zimmer, February 18, 2012, Fremont News-Messenger: “Most stimulus spending in Ohio last year went to supplementing public assistance programs for the poor, according to a CentralOhio.com analysis of data gathered by investigative news nonprofit ProPublica. The $840 billion American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 turned 3 years old Friday and is, by all accounts, winding down. The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board has paid out all but $100 billion, a board spokeswoman said. About $16.8 billion has been injected into Ohio since the bill’s passage on Feb. 17, 2009, ProPublica reports. More than a quarter of it — $4.5 billion — has been directed toward helping the state cover its share of Medicaid bills and meeting the greater demand on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Last year, state government received at least $2.1 billion from stimulus-funded sources, according to Ohio Office of Budget and Management spokesman Dave Pagnard…”