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

Day: September 14, 2012

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the US: 2011

  • U.S. income gap between rich, poor hits new high, By Don Lee, September 12, 2012, Los Angeles Times: “The U.S. poverty rate leveled off last year for the first time since the Great Recession, but the halting recovery deepened the financial pain for middle-class families and pushed to a new high the income gap between the country’s richest and poorest citizens. The number and share of people living in poverty was essentially unchanged from 2010 levels. That ended four straight years of increases, though not in California, where the rate rose to a 16-year high, the Census Bureau said Wednesday…”
  • More than 20 million saved from poverty, By Tami Luhby, September 13, 2012, CNNMoney: ” Federal lifeline programs have helped keep millions out of poverty, U.S. Census data shows. Social Security payments lifted 21.4 million people — including 14.5 million senior citizens — over the poverty line in 2011, while unemployment benefits prevented 2.3 million Americans from falling into poverty. The Census Bureau doesn’t take into account non-cash benefits, such as food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit, when it measures income. But it calculates how these programs would have helped keep poverty in check…”
  • Poverty rate unchanged, but still historically high, By Pam Fessler, September 12, 2012, National Public Radio: “The U.S. poverty rate last year was unchanged from the year before, according to new figures Wednesday from the Census Bureau. But that still means almost 1 in 6 Americans was poor. The new data show that 46.2 million people in the U.S. lived below the poverty line – about $23,000 for a family of four. The number of poor was almost exactly the same as it was the year before, but still historically high…”
  • Census figures show U.S. poverty rate remains high, By Alfred Lubrano, September 12, 2012, Philadelphia Inquirer: “The number of people living in poverty in America last year remained stalled at the same record high level as in 2010, newly released government figures show. In addition, real median household income declined by 1.5 percent between 2010 and 2011 to $50,054. At the same time, the number of people without health-insurance coverage fell from 50 million to 48.6 million during the year. The figures, released Wednesday, come from a U.S. Census Bureau report…”
  • US incomes fall to 1989 levels. How did that happen?, By Mark Trumbull, September 12, 2012, Christian Science Monitor: “The typical US household saw its income fall last year to 1989 levels. That news, contained in a US Census Bureau survey released Wednesday, points to difficult questions of how the US can get back on a track of job growth and rising prosperity. Median incomes fell 1.5 percent in 2011, while the official poverty rate remained essentially unchanged at 15 percent…”
  • Census: Rich-poor gap widens, By Dennis Cauchon and Paul Overberg, September 13, 2012, USA Today: “The income of American households continued to shift dramatically in 2011, falling sharply for middle-income and working-age people while rising for top earners and seniors, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday…”

Child Welfare System – Nebraska

  • Teens often repeat in Nebraska foster care, By Martha Stoddard, September 14, 2012, Omaha World-Herald: “Toddlers and teenagers are equally likely to become foster children in Nebraska, but it’s mostly troubled teens who enter the system repeatedly. Linda Cox, interim director of the Foster Care Review Office, told state lawmakers Thursday there are distinct differences between children who are removed from home for the first time and those who are removed additional times. She described some of the differences at an interim study hearing looking at why the Nebraska rate of children in foster care is among the nation’s worst. Nebraska had the nation’s second-highest rate of removing children from home in 2009, according to federal data. The rate was more than double the national average of 3.4 removals per 1,000 children…”
  • Experts address numbers of children in child welfare system, By JoAnne Young, September 14, 2012, Lincoln Journal Star: “As the Legislature continues to work on child welfare reform, its Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony Thursday at the first of two hearings on preventing unnecessary placement of children in out-of-home care. The high per-capita numbers of children in the child welfare system, compared with other states, is the next problem the Legislature wants to tackle. The relationship between poverty and entry into the child welfare system is complex and often overlooked, said Becky Gould, Nebraska Appleseed executive director. And that relationship is key to keeping children with their families, rather than unnecessarily in the system…”