Pennsylvania

"Of all students in households with income below $50,000, only 45 percent of those who did not have their own savings account enrolled in college, but 65 percent of those with savings from $1 to $499 enrolled and 72 percent of those with savings of $500 or more enrolled. Variations of children's savings accounts -- some with matching amounts donated -- have cropped up around the country, through the influence of several organizations, including the Corporation for Enterprise Development, a Washington, D.C., organization aimed at alleviating poverty through economic opportunity and which worked with Propel in developing the proposal."

"Despite taxpayer "investment" of nearly $8 billion per year, Head Start consistently fails to reap a return for either taxpayers or participating children. In December 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that administers Head Start, released a scientifically rigorous evaluation of more than 5,000 children participating in the program. It found that Head Start had little to no impact on cognitive, social-emotional, health, or parenting practices of participants."

"Children who enrolled in Head Start at 3 years of age improved more than children who started Head Start at age 4. More generally, studies show that children reared in poverty during their first 5 to 6 years have substantially poorer long-term educational, health and economic outcomes than children reared in poverty after 5 to 6 years of age. So the early years are very important."

"Roca, who also runs the Penn Program for Mindfulness at the University of Pennsylvania, was among four panelists who spoke about understanding stress in children who suffer trauma or live in poverty. They covered the effects on brain development and stimulation, and discussed the importance of nurturing infants, intervening at the preschool level, and teaching social skills."

"If the cuts occur, it's not likely that low-income families and the elderly will see immediate changes, experts said, although the timing of any potential changes isn't known. You're going to see vulnerable groups losing access to food aid that they've been relying on,' said Julie Zaebst, interim director of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. And as devastating as these potential cuts are, they're taking place in a context in which families and seniors are already feeling previous cuts.'"

"To determine how many property owners in the township are age 65 or older, residents will be asked to respond to a survey that they will receive with their spring property tax statements, which will be mailed in two weeks. The survey will enable supervisors to plan for the loss of property taxes from such a rebate."