Concentrated Poverty

From beSpacific: Reversal of Fortune: A New Look at Concentrated Poverty in the 2000s

"The Federal Reserve System and its 12 member banks partnered with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program to produce a new, in-depth look at concentrated poverty in America. The two-year study, The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America - Case Studies from Communities Across the U.S., October 2008, profiles 16 high-poverty communities across the United States, investigating the historical and contemporary factors associated with their high levels of economic distress. The report is the first to analyze concentrated poverty and its impacts across the wide range of community types in which it occurs - urban, small city, and rural; white, black, Latino, and Native American; growing and declining; and every region of the United States. It finds that all of these communities face obstacles related to under-performing local schools and low adult labor market skills; insufficient quality and diversity of housing; lack of mainstream commercial investment; and the limited capacity of local public, private, and non-profit organizations to navigate this suite of challenges. Strategies to help both poor places and the people who live within them are needed to tackle the double burden of concentrated poverty in America today." Springfield MA is one of the communities profiled.

Fostering Connections to Success Signed into Law

On October 7, the President signed into law the “Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (H.R. 6893)” which Congress passed on September 17, 2008. This legislation targets specific deficiencies in the child welfare system and addresses some of the most important needs affecting foster children in America today, including extending federal foster care payments up to 21 years old, providing federal support for relatives caring for foster children, increasing access to foster care and adoption services to Native American tribes, and improving the oversight of the health and education needs of children in foster care. More..

Income and Poverty: Older Americans

The Congressional Research Service has just issued a new report on income and poverty among older Americans. "One-fourth of Americans 65 or older had incomes of less than $10, 722 in 2007, while another one-fourth had incomes of $32,160 or more." Lots of good charts and graphs of sources of income are included.

The Fight for Mental Health Parity

From the New York Times: More than one-third of all Americans will soon receive better insurance coverage for mental health treatments because of a new law that, for the first time, requires equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses. . The requirement, included in the economic bailout bill that President Bush signed on Friday, is the result of 12 years of passionate advocacy by friends and relatives of people with mental illness and addiction disorders. More from the New York Times..

Health Care: an Election Issue

Health Care as an Election Issue by Political Party Affiliation, April 2008 to September 2008

More results from the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll September 2008.