skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump Orders End to Federal Benefits for Undocumented Migrants; AL Senate committee advances bill to teach middle schoolers conflict resolution; Public health experts warn about pollution from burned plastics in LA fires; Schools struggle to keep up with diabetes tech, leaving parents to fill gaps.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

State legislators chip away at early voting laws, the North Carolina Supreme Court election saga continues, and universal private school voucher programs expand nationwide, putting public school funding at risk.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A Taos, NM sheriff won't comply with immigration enforcement that could erode public trust, NH worries that a dearth of charging stations will force tourists driving EVs to vacation elsewhere, and Southern states promote workarounds to improve education.

Report Calls for Better Poverty Index for Connecticut, Nation

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 25, 2015   

HARTFORD, Conn. - It's being called a better index for measuring poverty in Connecticut and the nation because it takes into account the impact of of anti-poverty programs and regional cost differences. The new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation says the government's poverty index was created in the 1960s and is now is out of date.

Jim Horan, executive director with the Connecticut Association for Human Services, agrees a new tool, created in 2011 called the Supplemental Poverty Measure, provides a more accurate reading on how families in the state are really doing.

"We decrease from 196,000 kids in poverty to 102,000 kids in poverty because of SNAP, the Earned Income Tax Credit, subsidies for housing as well as Social Security," says Horan.

The Casey Foundation says when the impact of government programs is included in these calculations, more than 11 million children were lifted out of poverty between 2011 and 2013.

The Casey Foundation's associate director for policy reform and advocacy Laura Speer says it's vital to get the most accurate possible assessment of child poverty, because estimates are that it costs the nation about $500 billion a year as those children grow up from lost productivity to health and crime-related costs.

"We know this is a really important measure," says Speer. "So we need to get better, being able to track how many kids are living in economic deprivation in our country."

Horan says this better data can make all the difference when it comes time to proving the need for continued funding for safety net programs.

"A lot of times people think government programs are just a big waste and it's kind of a black hole and what difference does it really make," says Horan. "The main thing we find valuable with the Supplemental Poverty Measure is it really does take into account what difference the government programs are making."

The report shows even with those vital safety net programs, 13 million children nationwide live below the poverty line.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Continuous glucose monitors are now used by most of the estimated 300,000 people in the United Staates who are younger than age 20 and living with Type 1 diabetes, according to health experts. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Phil Galewitz for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Trimmel Gomes for Florida News Connection reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Serv…


play sound

After thousands of homes and businesses burned in the Los Angeles fires, public health doctors are warning about the toxic pollution from plastics …

Social Issues

play sound

As Congress continues to threaten deep cuts to the Medicaid program, a new KFF report shows how some of the proposed changes could end coverage for …


Montana's Lewis and Clark Caverns were first protected by the Department of the Interior under President Teddy Roosevelt in 1908. Management was transferred to the state of Montana in 1937. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Over the last 120 years, U.S. presidents have used the Antiquities Act almost 300 times to recognize national monuments, protecting portions of …

play sound

New legislation would transition more ocean-going container ships to run off electricity instead of diesel while they are docked at Washington ports…

More than 7.5% of the Commonwealth's electricity comes from solar power. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Virginia lawmakers and clean air advocates are closely watching budget talks in Congress. They hope clean energy tax incentives, passed in previous …

Social Issues

play sound

As Mississippi grapples with chronic violence and unconstitutional conditions in its prisons, new research provides a roadmap for reducing harm and …

Environment

play sound

By Seth Millstein for Sentient.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collabora…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021