District cuts affect summer meals for children, By Alfred Lubrano, May 4, 2012, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Fewer students will be eating free breakfast and lunch in summer school this year because budget troubles are forcing the School District of Philadelphia to reduce the number of academic and enrichment programs it offers. This year, about 10,000 students will be enrolled in summer programs, nearly half of the 19,000 who attended in 2011, a district representative said. Summer school will be available only to high school seniors who need credits to graduate, special-education students, and students who qualify for education programs funded by federal grants. That means parents will have to scramble to feed children – many of them low-income – who are accustomed to free school meals but will not receive them…”
Day: May 8, 2012
Hospitals and Charity Care – Maine
Charity-care demands grow for hospitals, By Jessica Hall, May 6, 2012, Kennebec Journal: “Maine hospitals have doubled the amount of free care they provide over the past five years as the weak economy pushed more people out of work, and companies shifted an increasing amount of health care costs onto employees. ‘The economy is having a significant impact. As the economy continues to stay stagnant, companies are changing insurance. People are adjusting what insurance they carry and others have lost insurance,’ said Sue Hadiaris, vice president of planning and development at Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford. More scrutiny has been placed on free care as health care has become big business and top hospital executives in Maine fetch six-figure salaries. Hospitals vary in the types and amounts of free services they provide, as well as how they disseminate charity care information to their patients, advocates said…”
Homelessness and Housing – Texas, Florida
- Decline in homelessness spurs effort to build long-term housing, By Renée C. Lee, May 6, 2012, Houston Chronicle: “Houston’s homeless population declined by 5 percent this year, creating a positive backdrop for a new collaborative effort aimed at moving more people off the streets and into long-term housing. The number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless dropped from 8,242 counted in January 2011, to 7,830 counted in January 2012, according to the annual tally by the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Fort Bend County. In addition, the number of people in permanent housing with additional services, known as permanent supportive housing, increased slightly, suggesting the concept might be a promising approach to reducing homelessness in Houston…”
- For homeless kids, school can be a struggle, By Tasnim Shamma, May 8, 2012, Miami Herald: “Students wondering where they’re going to sleep at night may have trouble paying attention in class. In Miami-Dade County, the number of kids without a home is in the thousands and growing. The county school district counted more than 4,406 students who were homeless in the 2010-11 academic year. Eleven-year-old David Thomas and his eight siblings used to be included in those statistics…”