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Find the latest stories, research, and insights on policies, programs, and ideas shaping the national conversation on poverty and economic mobility.
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N.C. Hurricane Survivors Are Still Waiting For State Help
“In the 459 days that Willa Mae James spent living in a Fairfield Inn in Eastern North Carolina, her footsteps wore down paths in the carpet: from the door to the desk, from the bed to the wooden armchair by...
Medicaid Expansion in MS Appears Dead For Now
“JACKSON, Miss.—Mississippi will not expand Medicaid this year because of federal Medicaid funding cuts under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a top Republican in the Mississippi Senate says. “There is no expansion,” Mississippi Senate Medicaid Chairman Sen....
Judge Extends Freeze on Social Service Cuts in 5 Blue States
“A federal judge on Friday extended an order blocking the Trump administration from withholding funds for child care and social services in five Democratic-led states, keeping at bay for now cuts that the states say are politically motivated and would...
Congress Targets Housing Crisis As Solutions Elude Trump
“President Trump has struggled to address the housing crisis. But Congress has been moving forward with legislation that, if signed into law, could bring the most significant changes to federal housing laws in a generation, potentially igniting a building boom....
HHS To Expand Faith-Based Addiction Programs For Homeless
“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Monday that the federal government would expand funding for faith-based addiction treatment as a response to mounting public drug use and homelessness in American cities. Mr. Kennedy, who credits 12-step programs with...
New SNAP Work Requirements Take Effect in More States
“New work requirements are expanding across more states this week for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the nation’s largest federal assistance program. As of Feb. 1, adults between the ages of 18 and 64 without dependent children must...
Rural Wisconsin Community Charts Course For Intergenerational Care
“In Walworth County, Wisconsin, a grassroots effort is reimagining what care can look like across generations. A local community group has launched the “Nursery to Nursing Home” campaign, a proposal to transform a vacant wing of the county’s nursing home...
SNAP Users Face Dizzying Array of New Rules From State Waivers
“In Iowa, food stamps can be used to purchase ice cream at a convenience store, but not a fruit cup with a fork attached. Next month, consumers in Idaho will be able to use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to...
Homelessness Appears to Decline, Reversing Yearslong Trend
“Homelessness appears to have fallen in the last year of the Biden administration, according to local counts reported to the federal government but not yet released under President Trump, an analysis of the local data shows. A large sample of...
The Housing Crisis Has Families 'Running in Place'
At the end of a long day at school, 14-year-old Na’Kaya Godfrey, and her 12-year-old brother, Junior, returned home to a dark, empty house in Stone Mountain, Georgia, outside Atlanta. On this dreary winter afternoon, she turned on the space...
Can Rural Newsrooms Win Over Gen Z?
“Toto might not be in Kansas anymore, but future journalists are. For many, reporting in rural communities may seem as foreign as the Land of Oz. And young adults studying journalism face somewhat similar anxieties north of the border. Journalism...
Nearly Half of Hispanic Children Live in Families With Low Incomes
“Just under half (46%) of Hispanic[1] children under age 18 live in families with low incomes, according to our new analysis of 2023 American Community Survey data (see figure). For this analysis, low-income families include those with earnings up to...
