Recipients say Pawlenty’s welfare cuts would be disastrous, By Madeleine Baran, March 30, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: “On a recent afternoon, Ja’Na Dickens held her three-year-old son on her hip, sliced up a pineapple for her three children, and expressed her determination to lift her family out of poverty. The 22-year-old mom has a lot to overcome. Her youngest son, Ira, was born with a rare genetic condition, and doctors said he had a year to live. In the last year, however, Dickens’ life began to change. Ira’s health improved. He started receiving 24-hour nursing care at the family’s Plymouth apartment. Dickens enrolled as a part-time student at North Central University in Minneapolis, with the hopes of getting her bachelor’s degree in social work. But Dickens’ plans could run headlong into Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s plan for balancing the state’s budget. Her family is one of 7,000 households with a disabled family member who would lose hundreds of dollars a month under Pawlenty’s budget fix…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty