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"Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick III said the county stopped providing grocery shopping and laundry assistance to its senior citizens in 2005. The county Aging office had to cut services and lay off staff to close a $1.3 million budget deficit."

"These are the numbers that matter most: 2.3 million people in New York State without a high school diploma 1.3 million in the city. The economy needs educated workers. Anyone willing to study for the G.E.D. deserves help. "

"This program provides children in low-income areas with free breakfasts and/or lunches during the summer. No registration is required -- children can just show up at the approved site during the designated time period."

"Providing low-income students access to higher education is a national priority, and the federal Pell grant program, which provides up to $5,550 per student per year, is a major tool. But its cost to taxpayers is enormous."

"Samantha Garvey, who was living in a homeless shelter with her family when she was named a semifinalist in the national Intel science talent search early this year, is packing up and heading for Maine."

"'This evaluation shows that high-quality pre-kindergarten programs with a heightened emphasis in language and literacy experiences are beneficial for all children, especially children of poverty,' said Tamika Carmouche, project director for NSECD research."

"A survey of 1,123 manufacturing executives released last year found that 67 percent of companies had a moderate to severe shortage of available, qualified workers. The report estimated 600,000 jobs nationwide were going unfilled because of a lack of qualified candidates"

"Missouri lawmakers have cut millions of dollars from the state's early head start programs, which pays for daycare for children of low-income parents. The budget cuts leave these parents scrambling, trying to figure out how to pay for daycare for the month of July."

"Fifteen more seniors will have meals delivered to their homes every week for a year, thanks to the joint efforts of two local agencies and Jack Hopkins Social Service Funding grants promoting agency collaboration."

"Now the building, Carolina Community Actions at 546 S. Cherry Road, is where the poorest among us, the elderly and the disabled go to get help to keep electricity on for a refrigerator. Or to keep fans running. Or if lucky, air conditioning humming. Social Security is all Bell has."

"Jennings describes equity-based change as leveling the playing field for minorities, women and the poor. Standards-based change, he says, means using common testing benchmarks. Both initiatives can be seen in every state."

"The review is taking place with a backdrop of a new assignment plan that replaces a system that attempted to keep any school from being overloaded with low-income students. The new plan's emphasis on choice appears to be inducing low-income and minority families to choose schools closer to home."