- Obama’s lawyers challenge the money bail system: Can people be kept in jail just because they are poor?, By David Savage, August 25, 2016, Chicago Tribune: “President Obama’s civil rights lawyers are seeking a potentially far-reaching ruling to hold that the Constitution forbids the common practice of keeping people in jail prior to a trial, even for minor offenses, just because they are too poor to pay for bail. Every day, about 450,000 people are held under arrest in city and county jails because they cannot afford bail, according to the Southern Center for Human Rights and Equal Justice Under Law, a small Washington-based civil rights group…”
- Justice department steps in against jailing practices that target poor people, By Jamiles Lartey, August 24, 2016, The Guardian: “Maurice Walker’s case is far from exceptional. Arrested on 3 September 2015 for public intoxication, Walker, a 54-year-old black man with a serious mental disorder that leaves him unable to work, was faced with two options: pay a $160 cash bond and leave jail that day, or remain in jail over a holiday weekend. Walker told officials that he couldn’t afford the standard bond required by the city for the misdemeanor and wound up spending six days in jail, only being allowed out of his cell for an hour a day. Walker said he was also denied daily medication he took for his disorder…”
Month: August 2016
Medicaid and Home Health Visits
House calls might save Medicaid money for states, By Michael Ollove, August 25, 2016, Stateline: “Doctors who make house calls may seem like something from America’s Norman Rockwell past. But they never disappeared entirely, and there is new evidence that home visits can play an important role in providing health care to the aged and chronically ill — while saving taxpayers millions. The federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) said this month that a demonstration project has shown that delivering comprehensive primary care services at home helped to keep Medicare recipients with multiple chronic illnesses or disabilities out of hospitals, emergency rooms and nursing homes…”
Child Welfare Systems – Arkansas, Arizona
- Children in foster care in Arkansas reaches all-time high, By Brian Fanney, August 22, 2016, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: “The number of children in foster care has reached an all-time high in Arkansas, straining state officials who have long referred to the growth as a crisis. But the state has reversed a trend of losing foster families every quarter, according to reports prepared by the Division of Children and Family Services…”
- Critics say Arizona is cheaping out on child-welfare services, By Mary Jo Pitzl, August 21, 2016, Arizona Republic: “Social-service providers are warning that children could linger longer in foster care if the state of Arizona follows through with a new round of contracts they say will cut rates, lower standards and deter qualified applicants. The complaints arise as the state is on the verge of awarding new contracts for services the Department of Child Safety insists will get kids out of foster care and into permanent homes more quickly, without increasing costs to the state…”