Students in foster care face ‘invisible achievement gap,’ study says, By Teresa Watanabe, October 13, 2013, Los Angeles Times: “Thousands of California students in foster care are suffering from an ‘invisible achievement gap,’ with worse academic performance, a higher dropout rate and placement in more failing schools than their statewide peers, according to a study set for release Monday. The study, which provides the first detailed statewide look at foster youths and their academic challenges, was made possible by a new data-sharing agreement between the state education and social services agencies. It comes as school districts across California prepare to launch the nation’s first effort to systematically address the yawning academic deficiencies among foster youths, using additional money provided by the state’s new school financing law…”
Day: October 14, 2013
US Poverty Rate
U.S. poverty rate stabilizes—for some, By Neil Shah, October 11, 2013, Wall Street Journal: “America’s poverty rate has stabilized after rising during and right after the last recession—yet a greater share of the poor are poorer than they have been in years. Forty-four percent of America’s poor are considered to be in “deep poverty”—defined as an income 50% or more below the government’s official poverty line. That percentage of Americans in deep poverty is up from 42% before the recession and near the highest level since data became available in 1975, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey…”
Social Security Benefits
Social Security raise to be lowest in years, By Stephen Ohlemacher, October 13, 2013, USA Today: “For the second straight year, millions of Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees can expect historically small increases in their benefits come January. Preliminary figures suggest a benefit increase of roughly 1.5%, which would be among the smallest since automatic increases were adopted in 1975, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.Next year’s raise will be small because consumer prices, as measured by the government, haven’t gone up much in the past year…”