Poverty Law News

Attorneys/Legal Services

LSC Budget Request
The Legal Services Corporation has requested an appropriation of $430 million for FY 2008, an increase of $18 million over its FY 2007 request. More than 95 percent of the request is for basic field grants to programs and for grants to improve efficiency and effectiveness through the use of technology. On February 14, the Senate approved H.J. Res. 20, an appropriations continuing resolution containing $348.5 million for LSC in FY 2007, a $22 million increase over LSC’s FY 2006 budget. H.J. Res. 20 was approved by the House of Representatives on January 31, and will now go to the President for approval.

Unmet Legal Needs of Low-Income Utahans
Utah Legal Services and And Justice for All report that only 13 percent of very low-income households in Utah with legal problems received legal assistance last year. Low-income Utahans report needing civil legal help with family law, employment, housing, and consumer law issues most often.

Reflections on the History of Legal Aid in Virginia
The December 2006 issue of Virginia Lawyer, a publication of the Virginia State Bar, features a series of articles on the history of civil legal aid in the Commonwealth of Virginia, including recollections from some of the leaders of the movement to establish services for the poor.

Employment

Minimum-Wage Effects in the Post-Welfare Reform Era
This study published by the Employment Policies Institute estimates the effect of the minimum wage on employment levels, wages, and earnings of teenagers and young adults for a wide variety of demographic and skill groups. The study also considers the effect of Earned Income Tax Credit expansions on employment, wages, and earnings.

Food Programs

Food Geography
Many low-income and minority adults and children suffer from diet-related health problems at rates significantly higher than the population as a whole. In many low-income neighborhoods, individuals and families struggle to maintain a healthy diet due to limited access to healthy food in their communities. This report from the Food Trust documents disparities in access to food among residents within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Information regarding consumption of fruits and vegetables, perceptions of grocery quality and required travel to reach a supermarket is examined by age, race, poverty status, and health status.

Immigration

Proposed Fee Restructuring for Immigration and Naturalization Benefits
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, has published a proposed rule that would adjust the immigration and naturalization benefit application and petition fees. This rule would increase the immigration and naturalization benefit application and petition fee by a weighted average of $174, from an average fee of $264 to $438. Fact sheets and other information about the proposed rulemaking are available at the agency's website.

Juveniles

Child Well-Being in Rich Countries
Of the 21 wealthiest nations, the United States and Britain are the worst places to be a child, according to this report from the UNICEF. The report ranks child well-being in six dimensions: material well-being, health and safety, education, family and peer relationships, behaviors and risks, and subjective well-being.

Child Welfare Program Option
The Center for Law and Social Policy reports on the Bush Administration's proposed "child welfare program option," which would permit states to accept a block grant for foster care funds. CLASP asserts that the proposal would eliminate the federal guarantee of help for children who are abused or neglected and require foster care.

Prisons

Michigan Reentry Law Wiki
Legal Aid of West Michigan has created the Michigan reentry law wiki, based on the manual Providing Civil Legal Assistance to People with Criminal Convictions in Michigan. This online version of the manual includes additional and updated information from its original paper source. Topics include cleaning up criminal records, child support, employment, financial aid for higher education, public benefits, parental rights termination, and restitution and fees.

Welfare

Poverty Guidelines and Public Benefits Eligibility
The Department of Health and Human Services revised the federal poverty guidelines on January 17, 2007. David Yen of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago has prepared a chart that sets forth income guidelines for various programs that are based on the new federal poverty guidelines.

State-Level Fact Sheets on President's Budget
The budget request released by the administration on February 5 proposes cuts in domestic spending.  The National Priorities Project has prepared state-level fact sheets detailing the impact of the proposed budget on individual states.

The Economic Costs of Poverty
When children grow up in poverty, they are somewhat more likely than non-poor children to have low earnings as adults, which in turn reflects lower workforce productivity. They are also somewhat more likely to engage in crime (though that’s not the case for the vast majority) and to have poor health later in life. Their reduced productive activity generates a direct loss of goods and services to the U.S. economy. This report from the Center for American Progress review a range of rigorous research studies that estimate the average statistical relationships between children growing up in poverty and their earnings, propensity to commit crime, and quality of health later in life.

Poverty Increases in 85 Percent of Illinois Counties
Eighty-seven of Illinois's 102 counties have seen an increase in poverty, according to this report from the Heartland Alliance and the Illinois Poverty Summit . Nearly 1.5 million Illinois residents live in poverty--more than the population of the entire city of Philadelphia, the fifth largest city in the nation.

Poverty Law News
February 16, 2007