Economic Opportunity Report articles from January 2006

Economic Opportunity Report archives from January 2006

And the impact is.(Slants & Trends)
January 9, 2006... AND THE IMPACT IS--Imagine if every piece of federal legislation came with a "poverty impact statement." That is just what would be required under a bill introduced before the House adjourned for winter recess. Offered by Rep. Barbara Lee...

Anti-poverty funding endures 1 percent cut in final take on FY06 appropriation.
January 9, 2006... Anti-poverty programs will fall victim, along with other domestic discretionary programs, to a 1 percent across-the-board funding cut imposed by Congress to try to hold down federal spending. Just when the Community Services Block Grant...

Court orders extension in housing of Katrina evacuees at hotels, motels.
January 9, 2006... The federal government must house Katrina evacuees in hotels and motels through Feb. 7, under a court order barring the government from shutting down the hotel housing program any earlier. In a recent ruling, Louisiana federal Judge...

Research needed on raising wages beyond minimum for TANF recipients.(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... The Government Accountability Office has asked the Health and Human Services Department to conduct additional research into how to increase incomes of welfare recipients. While acknowledging HHS efforts to improve job prospects for...

Congress poised to pass welfare plan with heightened work requirements.
January 9, 2006... A welfare reauthorization plan with stiffened work requirements is close to becoming law, as Congress last month attached the measure to the budget reconciliation bill in a rare move. Narrowly passed by the House Dec. 19 and the Senate Dec....

Programs to fight domestic violence expanded as VAWA renewal enacted.
January 9, 2006... Increased funding for women's shelters and law enforcement training on domestic violence are featured in newly signed legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Signed into law by President Bush Jan. 5, the bill reauthorizes...

Expected $2 billion LIHEAP increase falls apart in last-minute moves.(Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program)
January 9, 2006... Low-income households lost a chance for an extra $2 billion in home energy assistance when Congress lopped the extra aid off of a funding bill late last month. The move, which angered and disappointed advocates for the poor, came as a...

Higher energy costs leads to USDA approval of N.Y. food stamp change.
January 9, 2006... Food Stamp beneficiaries in New York will receive $10 more in monthly benefits this winter to offset increased home heating and utility costs, thanks to a USDA waiver allowing the state to change the federal formula used to calculate the aid....

Calendar.(Calendar)
January 9, 2006... * Jan. 26-28: National Leadership Conference on Child Welfare Issues will be sponsored by the Alliance for Children and Families in Clearwater Beach, Fla. Contact: Maggie Skarich, (800) 221-3726,...

Changes afoot to bring more federal oversight for head start grantees.
January 9, 2006... Community Action Agencies and other Head Start grantees will face "a changing landscape" of more and deeper oversight and monitoring, as the federal government steps up accountability of the preschool program for low-income youngsters, a...

Exchange program.(Funding Opportunities)
January 9, 2006... Exchange Program: Strategies for fighting poverty are among the priorities in an exchange program sponsored by the State Department. Nonprofit groups may apply for Professional Exchanges Program grants to support exchanges and...

Public welfare foundation.(Funding Opportunities)
January 9, 2006... Public Welfare Foundation: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis for grants to meet human needs in disadvantaged communities. General support and project-specific grants are made with an emphasis on service, advocacy and empowerment...

Janus foundation.(Funding Opportunities)
January 9, 2006... Janus Foundation: Grants are available to nonprofits in two areas: at-risk youth through education; and community service and volunteerism. The foundation accepts applications throughout the year. See...

Public housing.(Federal Register)
January 9, 2006... Public Housing: HUD published supplemental information for public housing agencies and the public on the way it calculates the public housing operating subsidy. The final rule on calculating formula expenses under the new Operating Fund Formula...

Medicare prescription drugs.(Federal Register)
January 9, 2006... Medicare Prescription Drugs: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is seeking comments on the "highest priorities" for research, demonstration and evaluation projects for supporting and improving the Medicare, Medicaid and State...

Community services.(Federal Register)
January 9, 2006... Community Services: The Office of Community Services plans to conduct online evaluations with active Community Economic Development and Job Opportunities for Low-Income Individuals grantees from 2001 through 2004. OCS will be evaluating those...

CACFP age limits.(Federal Register)(Child And Adult Care Food Program)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... CACFP Age Limits: More emergency shelters and more homeless children are expected to be eligible for meals under the Child and Adult Care Food program, under interim rules issued this month by the Food and Nutrition Service. The rules raise to...

Assisted housing for students.(Federal Register)
January 9, 2006... Assisted Housing for Students: HUD published a final rule tightening eligibility for Section 8 housing for postsecondary students. This rule, which takes effect Jan. 30, implements a provision of the fiscal year 2006 HUD appropriations....

CDBG.(Federal Register)(Community Development Block Grant)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... CDBG: HUD revised Community Development Block Grant rules to bar state and local governments from using CDBG funds for "job pirating" activities that "are likely to result in significant job loss." The rule also applies to Brownfields Economic...

The next round.(Slants & Trends)(federal budget)(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... THE NEXT ROUND--No sooner was the FY06 budget finally wrapped up than did all eyes turn toward the FY07 budget request, expected from President Bush Feb. 6. Without question, continued tough battles are ahead for human service programs, as the...

At a minimum.(Slants & Trends)
January 23, 2006... AT A MINIMUM--Another year, another round of state legislative sessions, another flurry of proposals to raise the minimum wage. As Congress has repeatedly failed to approve Democratic measures to raise the minimum wage above the current $5.15,...

Katrina evacuees still await housing, house panel told in field hearings.(Slants & Trends)
January 23, 2006... Some Katrina evacuees are still waiting for trailers nearly six months after the hurricane destroyed their homes on the Gulf Coast. That was the number one complaint voiced during recent field hearings held by a House panel in New Orleans and...

Bush-Clinton fund.(Katrina Briefs)(hurricane relief fund: George W. Bush and Bill Clinton)(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Bush-Clinton Fund: The hurricane relief fund established by former Presidents Bush and Clinton last week announced it would allocate $24.4 million to Louisiana, $12.2 million to Mississippi and $3.2 million to Alabama. The allocations will be...

Displaced college students.(Katrina Briefs)
January 23, 2006... Displaced College Students: Assistance to community and technical college students affected by hurricanes in Louisiana and Mississippi will be provided through $2 million awarded to the American Association of Community Colleges by Lumina...

Food stamps.(Katrina Briefs)
January 23, 2006... Food stamps: Food stamp participation rose by 1.8 million people from August to October, largely because of help needed by victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The six states most affected by the hurricanes-Louisiana, Texas, Alabama,...

Hurricanes leave Gulf Coast region in need of new job training infrastructure.
January 23, 2006... Even before the hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast last fall, a large number of low-income residents lacked the job skills needed to dig themselves out of poverty. With the hurricanes having left matters immeasurably worse, the solution now is for...

WIA serves fewer job trainees than were helped in old federal program.(Workforce Investment Act )
January 23, 2006... Fewer low-income people are getting job training services under the Workforce Investment Act than were helped by the program that preceded WIA. That assessment comes from a new report issued by the Center for Law and Social Policy, as...

Criminalization of homelessness is on the rise in cities nationwide.
January 23, 2006... Cities are increasingly criminalizing homelessness, making it harder and harder for people living a life on the streets, a new analysis shows. More laws were found to be targeting homeless people, with a 12 percent rise in laws barring...

Poorest students get short end of the stick in education funding.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... The nation's poorest school districts-and therefore those educating the nation's poorest students-spend about $900 less per pupil than do the wealthiest districts. That conclusion comes from a new analysis of school funding data released...

School breakfast participation hits record high; program still underused.
January 23, 2006... A record number of low-income children are getting subsidized school breakfasts, but the program still is vastly underused-reaching just two in five eligible children. In the 2004-05 school year, 7.5 million children got free or reduced...

Hurricane effects.(Funding Opportunities)
January 23, 2006... Hurricane Effects: Nonprofit groups in the Mid South are eligible for grants of up to $50,000 for "critical temporary support" to help them get up and running again after the fall's hurricanes. In total, the Foundation for the Mid South plans...

Displaced youth.(Funding Opportunities)
January 23, 2006... Displaced Youth: Applications are due Feb. 2 for $645 million available under the Education Department's Emergency Impact Aid Program and $5 million under the Assistance for Homeless Youth program to cover costs for educating students displaced...

Early reading first.(Funding Opportunities)
January 23, 2006... Early Reading First: Pre-applications are due Feb. 20 and full applications May 8 for Early Reading First grants targeting programs for low-income children. The grants are available to public and private organizations that operate Head Start,...

SuperNOFA.(Federal Register)(super Notice of Funding Availability )(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... SuperNOFA: HUD last week published the policy requirements and general section for the upcoming FY2006 SuperNOFA announcement. HUD took this step to allow prospective applicants for discretionary housing programs to become familiar with HUD...

Section 8.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Section 8: HUD published proposed rules governing renewal of Section 8 project-based assistance contracts that would include tenant protections if a contract were not renewed and establish rent levels when an expiring contract is renewed....

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
January 23, 2006... * Jan. 25-27: The U.S. Conference of Mayors will hold its Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. Contact: (202) 293-7330, www.usmayors.org/74thWinterMeeting. * Feb. 7: A public hearing will be held by A National Dialogue: The Secretary of...

Prescription drug coverage.
January 23, 2006... Prescription Drug Coverage: More than 2.6 million people signed up for the new Medicare prescription drug coverage program in the past month, bringing to almost 24 million the number of people covered, HHS announced last week. In the first 30...

Child care.
January 23, 2006... Child Care: A new federal report has found African American children the most likely to be in child care at nine months old. Sixty-three percent of African American children were in child care at that age, compared with 50 percent of all...

Public housing.
January 23, 2006... Public Housing: HUD has awarded $32.9 million in grants to public housing agencies to help give residents access to information leading to jobs and self-sufficiency. The grants were made under two programs of the agency's Resident Opportunities...

Head start.
January 23, 2006... Head Start: Find Funding Opportunity Numbers to locate the correct application package in applying for Head Start Continuation Grants at www.grants.gov/Apply. See www.headstartinfo.org/publications/im05/iim05_09.htm.