Human Services
Low-income water assistance program set to end
Advocates are pushing to extend the program as poverty rates in the U.S. are on rise, an increase attributed to the end of other expanded pandemic benefits for food, rent and unemployment.
States will soon be required to track post-welfare employment outcomes
The new rule, part of the debt deal struck in June, is a bipartisan effort by Congress to improve welfare assistance and lift recipients out of poverty.
Crunch time in Congress could hit state and local programs
The legislative logjam on Capitol Hill is backing up everything from child care to disaster funding. Plus, more news to use from around the country in this week's State and Local Roundup.
Cities struggle to solve the public restroom problem
There's a lack of public restrooms in U.S., which particularly affects the homeless. New policies and portable toilet models are helping to address the shortage.
Food assistance for new moms and toddlers projected to fall short
The number of low-income women signing up for the federal Women, Infants and Children program is sharply increasing. But funding levels don't look likely to change.
For states, the rollout of 988 still faces some challenges
One year in, states are struggling to staff up the suicide prevention lifeline and get the word out about its existence.
Post-pandemic, SNAP benefits aren’t high enough to buy food
A new study finds that people in three-quarters of the nation’s counties don’t receive enough food assistance to pay for their groceries.
Child welfare staffing crisis can only be solved by addressing capacity issues first
COMMENTARY | We need creative solutions to provide enough capacity for caseworkers to complete their work in an effective, timely and efficient way.
As states hunt for new voters, Massachusetts adds thousands via Medicaid applications
Any eligible voter in the state who applies for Medicaid is automatically added to the rolls, unless they opt out. Other states are exploring similar systems, which experts say could be more effective in increasing voter rolls.
Amid looming ‘child care cliff,’ states scramble to bolster programs
Billions in federal subsidies for child care providers are set to run out in September, causing as many as 3.2 million children nationwide to lose their daycare spots. Plus, more news to use from around the country in this week's State and Local Roundup.
State coffers to take a hit with the end of extra federal Medicaid funding
During the pandemic, states received more than $117 billion in additional federal Medicaid funding in return for pausing disenrollments. That extra money is set to end this year.
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