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

Day: March 2, 2018

Arizona Daily Star Series on Foster Care

Arizona Daily Star investigation: Fixing our foster care crisis, series homepage, Arizona Daily Star: “The Arizona Daily Star investigated how our state came to have one of the nation’s highest rates of child removal, and how we can keep more kids at home by helping at-risk families break generational cycles of trauma, neglect or abuse…”

Welfare Reform – Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s unprecedented welfare reform could inspire conservative changes elsewhere, By J. B. Wogan, February 27, 2018, Governing: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is poised to sign a sweeping package of bills aimed at reducing welfare rolls by expanding work requirements and adding other restrictions. The proposals include several changes that no other state has tried and would require approval from the federal government…”

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

  • Rewards program encourages SNAP recipients to make healthy choices, By Teresa Wiltz, February 28, 2018, Stateline: “Cities and states are trying new ways to entice food stamp recipients to eat their fruits and vegetables. One approach that’s gaining popularity: offering rebates to low-income families when they buy fresh produce. A program in Massachusetts was so popular that it ran out of rebate money and had to be suspended…”
  • How might Trump’s food box plan affect health? Native Americans know all too well, By Maria Godoy, February 25, 2018, National Public Radio: “The Trump administration unleashed a flood of outrage earlier this month after unveiling a proposal to overhaul the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps. The plan would replace half the benefits people receive with boxed, nonperishable — i.e. not fresh — foods chosen by the government and not by the people eating them.  Among those horrified at the thought: American Indians who recognized this as the same type of federal food assistance that tribes have historically received, with devastating implications for health…”