Teenage pregnancy, birth, abortion rates all falling, report says, By Amina Khan, May 5, 2014, Los Angeles Times: “Looks like good news may come in threes. The teenage pregnancy rate, birth rate and abortion rate have all dropped sharply since their respective peaks in the 1990s, according to new research by the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on reproductive health. The recent fall in these three rates shows that teen births may be down in part because fewer teens are getting pregnant in the first place, researchers said…”
Day: May 6, 2014
Payday Lending
States look to crack down on payday lenders, By Elaine S. Povich, May 2, 2014, Stateline: “The demise this week of a Louisiana bill that would have reined in payday lending demonstrates how hard it is for states to regulate the quick loan industry, which consumer groups criticize as a trap for the working poor. Supporters say payday lenders, which emerged in the 1990s, provide a valuable service to lower income borrowers when they need small amounts of money to tide them over from one paycheck to the next. But critics say payday lenders lock desperate people into repeat loan cycles with annual interest rates that can approach 600 percent. An estimated 12 million borrowers use payday loans each year…”
Electronic Benefit Transfer Cards and Fraud – Maine
- A Maine family’s struggle to beat back welfare fraud allegations, By Luisa Deprez and Sandy Butler, May 2, 2014, Bangor Daily News: “There has been much discussion recently about fraud among Maine residents receiving government assistance. The LePage administration claims fraud is rampant, yet Maine’s attorney general notes that she has prosecuted only 37 Department of Health and Human Services cases in the last three years. Advocates for the poor also disagree, noting that claims of fraud are ill defined and greatly overblown…”
- Despite federal warnings, program to put photos on EBT cards begins in Bangor, By Mario Moretto, April 28, 2014, Bangor Daily News: “A pilot program intended to strengthen the integrity of Maine’s welfare programs kicked off Monday in Bangor, where some recipients of public assistance funds traded in benefit cards for new ones featuring photo identification. The new project adds a photo ID to electronic benefits transfer cards, which are used like debit cards by welfare recipients. The cards carry funds that can be used to buy food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, and cash benefits through a program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families…”