- Schwarzenegger’s plan could cut deep for those who depend on state stipends, By Susan Ferriss, February 1, 2010, Sacramento Bee: “For Capitol insiders, it’s easy to chalk it up as a bluff when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposes terminating welfare-to-work and in-home care for the disabled if California doesn’t get billions in federal money he’s requested. But it’s no chess game for a welfare-to-work mother seriously trying to find a job, or a person in a wheelchair whose living stipend has already been slashed twice in one year. Social services spending is a big chunk of the state budget and is often cited as a prime example of runaway spending. Indeed, national comparisons show California is home to nearly a third of all welfare-to-work recipients. The typical $694 monthly welfare-to-work grant a mother and two children receive in California trails only Alaska and New York. The $845 monthly grant for low-income elderly or disabled individuals under the SSI/SSP program likewise is third-highest in the nation. But numbers also show that California’s safety net is getting less generous all the time…”
- Missouri governor’s budget proposal would trim into social safety net, By Jason Noble, January 31, 2010, Kansas City Star: “About $1.4 million in state funds reaches 844 teen parents and at-risk youths in nine sites across Missouri, connecting them with mentors and delivering parenting tips and life skills. Come July 1, however, state aid may drop to zero dollars under the budget proposal released earlier this month by Gov. Jay Nixon. ‘This is tragic what’s happening right now in the state,’ said Amy Beechner-McCarthy, executive director of the Community Partnership in Rolla. ‘And, unfortunately, it’s those with the least voice that are hurting the most.’ In his budget, Nixon strived to make $253 million in cuts with scissor snips rather than machete swipes. The effort was lauded by many in the social services arena, who feared deep cuts to education and aid to the poor. But even the smallest cuts will have real effects on the state’s social safety net, service providers said. The cuts, if carried through by the General Assembly, will cause populations in difficult circumstances to lose services. Advocates worry it also may end up costing the state more in the long run…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty