IRP Poverty Dispatch

Missourians mobilized by the thousands to get Medicaid expansion on the ballot this year, a move that will impact 230,000 low-income residents in the “coverage gap.”

A federal judge Sunday struck down a Trump administration rule that could have stripped food stamps from nearly 700,000 people, saying the US Department of Agriculture has been “icily silent” about how many Americans would have been denied benefits had the changes been in effect during the pandemic.

Social supports are scarce for 269,000 homeless students in California, UCLA report finds.

Researchers looked at the devastating financial effect the pandemic has had on Americans, with Blacks, Latinos and children faring the worst.

Faced with a deluge of fraudulent unemployment claims, California officials said Thursday that 350,000 of the debit cards they issued containing benefits have been frozen because of suspicious activity.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues into its eighth month, a growing number of Americans are exhausting their state unemployment benefits and shifting to extended payments funded by the federal government.

With temporary layoffs turning permanent and career paths derailed, economists say a new coronavirus wave could derail the recovery.

Many jobless workers are learning their benefits are expiring even as the job market remains tough.

We teamed up with local news organizations across the country to document the lives of a dozen Americans who found themselves out of work in the pandemic.

Two new studies show the effect of the emergency $2 trillion package known as the Cares Act and what happened when the money ran out.

“It is a big deal for states and businesses.”

If so many people are out of work and on the edge of eviction or foreclosure, how come we’re not seeing more evidence of economic disaster? Why hasn’t it…

Millions have applied for unemployment benefits, but many low-wage workers who needed the most help this spring couldn’t get it, report says.

Efforts to prevent fraud in state unemployment systems are outdated, hurting millions of people with legitimate claims by causing lengthy and unnecessary delays while not managing to catch much fraud.

At a time when America labor has been redefined and essential employees are celebrated as everyday heroes, Florida voters in November will decide whether the value of work should change, too.

Court-ordered fines and fees are a big business in Colorado, generating $132.8 million in 2019 alone, according to a new state report. Fines and fees resulting from court cases disproportionately a…

Studies show that food insecurity has doubled overall and tripled among families with children due to the pandemic.

Some low-income students have dropped out, and there are growing concerns about hunger and homelessness.

The crisis’s economic damage has been especially devastating to some of the world’s poorest nations.

The comeback since the start of the pandemic is kind to those who can work from home, to firms serving them and to regions hospitable to them. Left behind are the less-educated, old-line businesses and areas dependent on tourism. Rising wealth coincides with lines at food banks.

Jennifer Lorincz loved her job as a sales manager for a fabric company, even though it meant traveling across six states from New York to Indiana. But in August, she joined what has become the fastest growing part of the labor market — workers who have permanently lost their job.

Tens of thousands of workers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other states must repay the funds or have their aid docked.

President Donald Trump called off negotiations between the White House and congressional Democrats Tuesday afternoon, dashing hopes of another weekly supplement to unemployment benefits.

A new analysis shows that coverage levels fell for a third straight year. And that was before the pandemic struck.

Just over 4 million more Americans turned to Medicaid last spring as the coronavirus pandemic upended the nation’s economy, new federal data released Wednesday shows.

Two years ago, about 12% of American households reported they didn’t have enough food. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, that number has nearly doubled. It’s even more severe for Black and Hispanic families.

In December, Illinois will be the first state in the nation to provide Medicaid-like coverage for hundreds of undocumented immigrant seniors 65 and older.

The results of a B.C. research project that gave thousands of dollars to homeless people are in and, according to one researcher, could challenge stereotypes about people “living on the margins.”