- Hard choices: Oregon can’t keep up with rising health, social services costs, By Michelle Cole, September 28, 2010, The Oregonian: “The Great Recession placed a heavy burden on Oregon: Nearly one in five people relies on the state to help put food on the table. More than 635,000 depended on government-provided health care last year. Tens of thousands of seniors, children and people with disabilities counted on the state for help. Looking ahead to the next state budget, it’s clear that Oregon cannot afford those same services for all who need them. Even if state government spent every dollar of new revenue on health and human services and none of that money on schools, police or prisons, it would still come up $200 million short. Complicating the math: More than $1 billion in federal stimulus and other supports that helped the Oregon Department of Human Services and the newly formed Oregon Health Authority cope with record demand will dry up as of July 1…”
- $281M cut from state social programs ‘devastating,’ advocates say, By Janet I. Tu and Carol M. Ostrom, September 29, 2010, Seattle Times: “Cutting programs for the mentally ill, disabled and poor elderly residents, the state’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) announced Wednesday a wide swath of reductions totaling nearly $281 million and bringing a flood of concern from advocates for the poor and vulnerable. The 6.3 percent across-the-board cuts, some of which will begin in October, include nearly $113 million of state funding for Medicaid programs providing hospice care to the dying, and medical care for those too disabled to work, children and pregnant women, among others. The cuts are being made in response to Gov. Chris Gregoire’s directive to pare spending to help balance the state’s budget, as required by the state constitution…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty