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

May 1, 2020

As businesses across the nation slowly begin to reopen, many laid-off workers face a difficult decision: Do they feel it’s safe enough to return to their jobs?

 

The social problems borne of poverty, including homelessness and trauma, are a key reason COVID-19 sickens and kills far more people of color.

 

A relatively healthy population, fewer people living in poverty and strong compliance with social-distancing rules have helped Colorado avoid the high death tolls some states have endured from COVI…

 

Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for federal payments to help families during the coronavirus pandemic. So are their spouses, even if they are U.S. citizens.

 

Pennsylvania is bracing for a significant surge in applications for food stamps and other assistance programs. Advocates are scrambling to help Philadelphia-area residents apply for help as state offices are closed to the public.

 

In southeastern California, 6,000 students in the Coachella Valley Unified School District aren’t accessing the meals they’re entitled to.

 

“I heard complaints from teachers that they were trying to teach their students, they were trying to help their own children and manage the home,” said a school superintendent in Georgia.

 

2020 Kids Count data profiles find improvements in child poverty and death rates, increases in neglect and abuse investigation involving minors

 

The students’ lawyers argued that literacy is a fundamental skill to living in a democracy, and thus protected by the U.S. Constitution. In a landmark decision, a federal appeals court agreed.