- Advocates warn sequester could mean big cuts for the low-income, By Pam Fessler, February 26, 2013, National Public Radio: “Many programs affecting low-income Americans — like food stamps, Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — are exempt from across-the-board spending cuts set to go into effect March 1. But many other programs are not, and that has service providers scrambling to figure out how the budget stalemate in Washington might affect those who rely on government aid…”
- Sequestration’s effects: WIC program may cut free food to low-income children, Bloomberg News, February 22, 2013, Newsday: “Four-year-old children in low-income families who receive free milk, fruit and vegetables through a U.S. government nutrition program might be turned away within weeks if federal spending cuts take effect March 1. Administrators with the Women, Infants and Children program say they would have to trim their caseloads by 600,000 applicants or participants across the country because of the spending cuts…”
- Automatic US budget cuts would go deeper than the military in Virginia, to child care, elders, Associated Press, February 25, 2013, Washington Post: “Virginia’s huge military presence in the Washington suburbs and Hampton Roads would suffer the biggest blows if automatic federal budget cuts take effect, but education, child care such as Head Start, environmental programs and nutrition for elders would all feel the pinch…”
- Nationwide cuts could trouble low-income children, seniors, By Alfred Lubrano, March 1, 2013, Philadelphia Inquirer: ” Milk could be taken from babies in low-income families if automatic federal budget cuts go into effect Friday. At the same time, meals normally delivered to senior citizens via Meals on Wheels might disappear – although not in Philadelphia, where the elderly will retain their food but might lose some access to free transportation instead. In addition, low-income children could lose their spots in Head Start, while child-care assistance might be trimmed as part of the 5.1 percent across-the-board cuts nationwide known as sequestration. But the key words for all involved are if and when…”
- Jobless, cities could be first to feel budget pain, By Jim Kuhnhenn and Andrew Taylor (AP), February 27, 2013, Cincinnati Enquirer: “Who’ll be the first to feel the sting? Jobless Americans who have been out of work for a long time and local governments that are paying off loans to fix roads and schools are in tough spots when it comes to the automatic federal budget cuts that are scheduled to kick in Friday. About 2 million long-term unemployed people could see checks now averaging $300 a week reduced by about $30. There could also be reductions in federal payments that subsidize clean energy, school construction and state and local public works projects. Low-income Americans seeking heating assistance or housing or other aid might encounter longer waits…”
- State reverses decision on suspending federal jobless benefits, By Mary Beth Schneider, February 27, 2013, Indianapolis Star: “After a torrent of criticism, Gov. Mike Pence’s administration reversed its decision to suspend extended federal unemployment benefits for about 32,000 jobless Hoosiers. The state Department of Workforce Development quietly posted a notice on its website Saturday telling out-of-work Hoosiers they’d be out of a check because of federal budget cuts from the sequestration that Congress and the White House have been unable to avert. Indiana was the only state to take that step…”
- Arizona jobless could see compensation reduced, By Josh Brodesky, March 1, 2013, Arizona Republic: “More than 20,000 Arizonans, already jobless for months, will see their unemployment checks shrink if mandatory federal spending cuts take effect. The roughly 10 percent cut is arguably the most pressing way many of the unemployed will feel the effects of sequestration, which will trim $85 billion from the federal budget if lawmakers don’t reach a deal. The cuts are set to take effect today as talks continue…”
Tag: Women Infants and Children (WIC)
Women, Infants, and Children Program
- Why are fewer moms applying for safety net program?, By Pamela M. Prah, April 30, 2012, Stateline: “More Americans are collecting food stamps than ever before, but fewer needy mothers are using another federal government program that offers free baby formula and food for young children. There isn’t one answer to explain the recent decline in the number of women and young children in the program, commonly known as WIC, which the government officially calls the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. It makes sense that more Americans are getting food stamps since that program, known formally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is open to people of all ages who need help recovering from the recession. WIC specifically serves pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants and children up to age 5, a much narrower demographic. Still, it’s puzzling that WIC would be shrinking in these hard times, rather than getting bigger…”
- Missoula health department says state’s WIC use lowest in U.S., By Keila Szpaller, April 28, 2012, The Missoulian: “The state of Montana has the lowest rate in the country – 30 percent – of serving children who qualify for federal help getting good nutrition, according to the Missoula City-County Health Department. ‘We suspect from our focus groups and from our experience with the program that the state has rules that are not federally required, and some of those rules are very difficult for the client at the checkstand, if not humiliating,’ said Ellen Leahy, director of the local health department. Leahy last week shared the news about the federal WIC program – Women, Infants and Children – with a committee of the Missoula City Council, and she said the local agency is ‘advocating and agitating’ to change burdensome state requirements…”
- Muskegon County WIC food assistance enrollment, use down, By Megan Hart, April 16, 2012, Muskegon Chronicle: “Fewer Muskegon County families are using nutritional assistance for women and young children, officials say – a trend they hope to reverse. Public Health Muskegon County maternal child services supervisor Gwen Williams said about 7,620 Muskegon County people were enrolled in the Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (better known as WIC) as of February. That’s down from a high of 7,821 people in 2011, she said, and many more families are eligible…”
Women, Infants, and Children Program – Massachusetts
Child nutrition program faces cuts, By David Abel, April 16, 2011, Boston Globe: “Governor Deval Patrick and state lawmakers are proposing to slash more than 20 percent of state money from a decades-old program that helps thousands of low-income mothers afford formula and other basic foods for their children. The Women, Infants, and Children program, widely known as WIC, is regarded as a pillar of the social safety net, providing 130,000 low-income women in Massachusetts who are pregnant, breast-feeding, or raising young children with supplemental food, health care referrals, and nutrition education. Despite concerns raised by advocates for the poor, state officials said they have no choice but to make the cuts because of the state’s budget crunch…”