Wyoming committee recalculates low-income child support payments, By Kyle Roerink, January 10, 2013, Casper Star-Tribune: “The state House Judicial Committee passed a bill Thursday that would reduce child support payments for low-income parents in Wyoming. The bill’s intent seems counter-intuitive, but it should bring in more money for children. In many cases, parents obliged to pay child support won’t pay anything if they cannot afford the court-mandated amount, said Brenda Lyttle, child support enforcement director with the Wyoming Department of Family Services. Under the terms of the bill, the amount the parent is ordered to pay may be less, but there’s more of a chance the order will be enforced, she said…”
Tag: Wyoming
States and Medicaid Expansion
- Medicaid expansion could add thousands of jobs in state, By Liv Osby, December 7, 2012, Greenville News: “Expanding the Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act could mean some 44,000 new jobs and millions in additional revenues for the state by 2020, according to a new report from the South Carolina Hospital Association. That includes a total of 10,172 jobs in the Upstate, 3,152 of them in Greenville County and 831 in Pickens County, the report obtained by GreenvilleOnline.com shows. About a third of the jobs will be outside the health care sector because of the multiplier effect. And that additional employment would translate into about $1.5 billion in labor income and $3.3 billion in economic activity by 2020, according to the report prepared by the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business. Medicaid now covers about one in four South Carolinians, most of them children…”
- Study: Expanding Medicaid could save Wyoming millions, By Joshua Wolfson, December 7, 2012, Casper Star-Tribune: “Expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act could save Wyoming more than $47 million over six years, according to a Wyoming Health Department report released today. Medicaid expansion would allow the state to spend fewer general fund dollars on other health programs, more than offsetting the cost of adding thousands of new people to the program, the study shows. The Health Department expects Medicaid expansion will cost the state $151 million between 2014 and 2020. But over that time, it projects $198.5 million in offsetting savings if Wyoming chooses to fully participate in the expansion…”
2012 Kids Count Report – Western States
- Oregon tumbles in report on kids, By Saerom Yoo, July 24, 2012, Statesman Journal: “An annual report that ranks the 50 states on the well-being of their children says that Oregon’s place has taken a dive. The 23rd Kids Count Data Book, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, ranks Oregon 33rd — a drop of 15 spots since last year. The foundation measures child well-being using statistics about economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. In previous reports, Oregon consistently ranked in the top 20 because of its positive performance on child health care. This year, the foundation focused more on economic and community characteristics, which are the indicators weighing on the state’s children, according to the report…”
- Nevada takes hit on kids’ well-being, By Siobhan McAndrew, July 25, 2012, Reno Gazette-Journal: “Compared to the rest of the country, Nevada’s kids are more likely to live in poverty, come from a single-parent home and less likely to attend preschool or graduate high school on time. Trailing just behind New Mexico and Mississippi, a report ranked Nevada 48th in child welfare indicators. The low rankings in education, health and economic situations affect a child’s ability to succeed and thrive, according to the 2012 Kids Count Data Book released Wednesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The nonprofit has been collecting data from states since 1990 in an effort to create new initiatives and lobby lawmakers…”
- Calif. sinks to 41st on kids’ well-being, By Neal J. Riley, July 25, 2012, San Francisco Chronicle: “Ranked highly among the states on child welfare issues last year, California is now one of the worst, according to a new report. The Golden State tumbled from last year’s position of 16th to 41st on children’s overall well-being, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a national philanthropy group for children, reported in its annual rankings Wednesday…”
- Kids Count report: Number of Utah kids in poverty up 45%, By Cathy Mckitrick, July 24, 2012, Salt Lake Tribune: “Utah is among 43 states where the number of children living in poverty has increased, according to the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book released Wednesday. From 2005 to 2010, the number of Utah children living below the federal poverty threshold — $23,050 in gross annual income for a family of four— rose from 11 percent to 16 percent, roughly a 45 percent increase. However, the Annie E. Casey Foundation study also ranks Utah 11th in the nation in terms of overall child well-being…”
- Wyoming ranks in top half of states for child well-being, By Joshua Wolfson, July 25, 2012, Casper Star-Tribune: “Wyoming’s child and teen death rate inched up during the second half of the past decade, even as the national rate declined 15 percent, according to figures released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The rate of child and teenage deaths in Wyoming rose from 45 to 47, per 100,000, during the years 2005 to 2009. The national average decreased from 32 to 27 deaths over that same period. The disturbing trend contributed to Wyoming’s poor health score in the foundation’s annual Kids Count report, which measures child well-being. The state ranked 47th in the nation in the health category…”
- Montana behind neighbors in children’s well-being report, By Charles S. Johnson, July 25, 2012, The Missoulian: “Montana ranked 28th best nationally in some key indicators of children’s well-being, but once again trailed its four neighboring states, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2012 Kids Count Data Book showed Tuesday. The private foundation ranked states on their overall child well-being using what it calls four ‘domains,’ or categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Within each category, there are four sets of measurements…”
- National report gives Arizona poor marks in child well-being, By Michelle Reese, July 26, 2012, East Valley Tribune: “Arizona is not doing well by its children, according to an annual report released this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In fact, the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book shows only four states in the country are doing worse in terms of the overall well-being of children. Arizona dropped nine rankings from last year’s report. Using economic, education, health, and family and community facts related to children in Arizona from 2005 through 2011, the foundation determined Arizona sorely needs to make improvements to a number of areas, including children’s access to health care and early childhood programs…”