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"A report released Wednesday says that cutting the state's number of high school dropouts in half would result in annual savings of $127 million in TennCare, the state's Medicaid health care program for many of Tennessee's poor."

"Newark Mayor and U.S. Senate hopeful Cory Booker today will release a plan to curb childhood poverty nationally by increasing federal benefits for the poor, expanding access to affordable housing and making pre-school and college more available to America's low-income families."

"A recent survey by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that 19 percent of Kansas children are living below the poverty line. That's nearly 1 in 5. More than half of 3- to 4-year-olds in Kansas are not attending preschool. Study after study has proved that early education is the essential foundation for success in school, college, career and life. We can fight poverty and move to greater productivity by investing more in quality early education for disadvantaged children."

"A statewide program will soon start distributing fresh produce to more than 4,500 low-income seniors in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Farm Fresh Delivery Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Nutrition Service, provides seniors with locally grown fruits and vegetables from 18 farmers in the state."

"An audit of South Carolina First Steps, the state's school-readiness program, suggests too many parents are not preparing their children to learn, and the state should do more to help them. First Steps' goal is to reach children who face risks such as low birthweight, poverty, abuse or having teenage mothers. The Legislative Audit Council's report, released last month, found that 14 years after the program was created, the percentage of at-risk children in South Carolina remains high."

"Alarmingly, approximately 24 percent of Virginia's economically disadvantaged children failed to meet third-grade Standards of Learning in reading in the 2011-12 school year - a critical shortcoming foretelling future poor performance. This failure rate contributes directly to the $5 billion to $9.9 billion the Annie E. Casey Foundation estimates that childhood poverty costs the state of Virginia each year."

"Now, a major research project will bring handymen, occupational therapists and nurses into the homes of 800 low-income seniors in Baltimore to test if some inexpensive fix-ups and strategies for daily living can keep them independent longer, and save millions in taxpayer dollars spent on nursing home care."

"Teachers in low-income school districts often get specialized training about the culture of poverty in order to better understand their students' lives and take those challenges into account in the classroom."

"High-income families are spending more time and money than ever on their children's education, further widening the gulf between rich and poor students, according to a new report."

"This summer, instead of hanging out poolside or playing outside all day, about 100 Jefferson County Public Schools students will be working on reading comprehension as part of the district's Summer Reading Institute. The program, which is in its first year, is JCPS' way of reaching its homeless students, who number more than many people realize, said John David Marshall, JCPS assistant superintendent of diversity, equity and poverty."

"As ElderBranch highlights in their article on LGBT senior living, LGBT seniors face a variety of challenges, including a higher risk of poverty, than do heterosexual seniors. Finally being on a level playing field in terms of access to federal spousal benefits is therefore a significant step forward for this community."

"The local organization is among 45 Goodwill agencies nationwide to take part in the job training and placement program, funded through a $7.7 million grant from the Walmart Foundation [��_]The Beyond Jobs program is part of Walmart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative, which includes helping 200,000 U.S. women from low-income households with workforce readiness through job training, education, career counseling and mentoring."