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Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity leads research and consulting initiatives that identify and address barriers to economic well-being.
Type
State
Issue
Address Working Poverty by Promoting Work Hour Security in Low-Wage Hourly Jobs
Commentary: Anna Haley-Lock, Charlotte Alexander, and Nantiya Ruan
Trying to Close a Knowledge Gap, Word by Word
"Recent research shows that brain development is buoyed by continuous interaction with parents and caregivers from birth, and that even before age 2, the children of the wealthy know more words than do those of the poor. [...] Too Small to Fail, a joint effort of the nonprofit Next Generation and the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, chose Latino children as its initial focus because more of them live in poverty than do children of any other racial or ethnic group. [...] Hillary Rodham Clinton is the co-founder of Too Small to Fail, which has raised $10 million so far."
CNN, March 31, 2014: 260,000 graduates in minimum wage jobs
"About 260,000 people who had a college or professional degree made at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics."
The Washington Times, March 28, 2014: Arizona House OKs revised $9.23B state budget
"A deal on a state budget in hand after days of wrangling between Republican factions, the Arizona House on Thursday evening adopted a $9.24 billion state budget that made changes to a plan passed by the Senate."
The McAlester News Capital, March 28, 2014: Many of state's lowest-performing students are not improving
"In public schools where at least three-fourths of students were from low-income families, about half of test-takers made no significant improvement over the previous year, according to an Oklahoma Watch analysis of state test results in spring 2013."
The Idaho Statesman, March 24, 2014: Boise's Mobile Rec has been a hit in low-income neighborhoods
"The same is true at other schools around Boise where the city's Department of Parks and Recreation sends its two Mobile Rec vans and crews to play games, hand out snacks and lead art activities. The program is reserved for schools where at least half the students receive federally subsidized lunches because they are in low-income families."
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 23, 2014: Task force targets educational needs of homeless youngsters in Pa.
"A task force charged with studying the educational needs of homeless youth in Pennsylvania has issued a report that includes establishing a statewide advisory council as one of 13 recommendations on how to best serve homeless students."
The Des Moines Register, March 19, 2014: The Register's Editorial: There are good reasons for 'estate recovery'
"Among the challenges states like Iowa face in implementing the Affordable Care Act: reconciling the new law with existing laws. Obamacare encourages states to expand their Medicaid programs to cover more low-income Americans. Decades-old federal law requires states to try to recover money from the estates of deceased Medicaid enrollees (if there is any money or assets) that the government paid for their health bills."
The Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2014: U.S. Education secretary praises L.A. program
"The program is a collaboration of Los Angeles public and private partners led by the Youth Policy Institute, which received a $30-million federal grant in 2012 to launch the initiative in the high-poverty neighborhoods of East Hollywood and Pacoima."
Newsday, March 16, 2014: Homeless schoolchildren numbers soar as federal funds decline
"The number of homeless schoolchildren has quadrupled in Nassau County and more than doubled in Suffolk since the recession first hit -- even as federal funding for homeless student programs has decreased."
The Tampa Tribune, March 12, 2014: Early learning center plan gaining steam
"Named for a former school board member who died in 2011, the center will provide day care and educational programs to children between the ages of 1 and 5 living in poverty."
