Unemployment and Foreclosure

States slow to tap $7.6B fund to help jobless pay mortgages, By Julie Schmit, September 18, 2011, USA Today: “A $7.6 billion federal program to help homeowners avoid foreclosures had distributed about 1% of its money to distressed owners 16 months after its creation, government reports show. The Obama administration awarded the funds last year to 18 states most affected by unemployment and fallen home prices. The states developed their own foreclosure-prevention programs targeting assistance to lower-income jobless and underemployed homeowners. By June 30, 17 states had used the funds to help about 7,500 homeowners, show reports states filed to the Treasury Department. New Jersey, which began its program in May, started making loans only this month. Funds are flowing more rapidly now, state officials say. All the states have launched their programs. The last was Illinois last week…”