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

Tag: Agencies

Unemployment Claims System – Florida

State to finally replace ancient jobless-claims computer, By Jim Stratton, May 21, 2013, Orlando Sentinel: “In good news for the jobless and employers alike, the state’s 1970s-era computer that processes unemployment claims is finally getting replaced. The new system is coming this fall, five years after the computer almost ground to a halt. The $63 million network is expected to make online filing easier for jobless Floridians. Officials say it will give them ready access to their payment history and allow them to quickly determine whether a claim has been approved. It should ease the workload on employers — who pay for the state’s unemployment trust fund — and help the state reduce and recover overpayments. Officials with the Department of Economic Opportunity estimate it will cut program costs by $43 million a year…”

Poverty Programs and Spending Cuts

US poverty spikes but help from Washington shrinks as government struggles with debt, Associated Press, April 1, 2013, Washington Post: “Antonio Hammond is the $18,000 man. He’s a success story for Catholic Charities of Baltimore, one of a multitude of organizations trying to haul people out of poverty in this Maryland port city where one of four residents is considered poor by U.S. government standards. Hammond says he ended up in Baltimore three years ago, addicted to crack cocaine and snorting heroin, living in abandoned buildings where ‘the rats were fierce,’ and financing his addiction by breaking into cars and stealing copper pipes out of crumbing structures. Eighteen months after finding his way to Catholic Charities via a rehabilitation center, the 49-year-old Philadelphia native is back in the work force, clean of drugs, earning $13 an hour cleaning laboratories for the Biotech Institute of Maryland and paying taxes. Catholic Charities, which runs a number of federally funded programs, spent $18,000 from privately donated funds to turn around Hammond’s life through the organization’s Christopher’s Place program which provides housing and support services to recovering addicts and former prisoners…”

Access to Assistance Centers – Minneapolis, MN

Hennepin County moves social services out into community, By Julie Siple, February 13, 2013, Minnesota Public Radio: “A $40 million project in Hennepin County will bring government help closer to the people who need it. For two decades, county residents seeking assistance with food, money or health care have gone to the county’s main financial assistance center in downtown Minneapolis. Between 25,000 and 30,000 people visit the building every month. Hennepin County has a five-year plan to close that center and move services closer to clients by building six regional hubs, the first of which has been up and running for about four months in Brooklyn Center…”