State’s health budget trims funding for infant mortality, public aid, By Kathleen Gray and Robin Erb, June 11, 2014, Detroit Free Press: “Harper and Hutzel hospitals lost out on $6.5 million in state money to help fund their infant mortality and high-risk pregnancy programs in Detroit, when the Department of Community Health budget was approved by a conference committee Tuesday without the funding. In addition, the Department of Human Services saw $287.6 million in cuts to the money it’s spending on public assistance for poor Michiganders as the economy recovers and more people reach the 48-month limit for benefits and are kicked off welfare rolls. These are the cuts that hurt the most vulnerable people, said social service advocates at a time when the state’s unemployment rate still remains among the nation’s highest at 7.4% and poverty rates are increasing, especially among children. . .”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty