Poverty Law News

Consumer

Payday Lenders Evade Regulation
The California Reinvestment Coalition surveyed 253 payday lending establishments across the state and found that consumers are being misled or not given enough information about payday loans. The survey reveals that relaxed laws and a lack of regulation are allowing payday lenders to gouge California consumers who do not fully understand what they are getting into.

Health

Questions and Answers About Illinois Covered
Any new and ambitious plan that addresses the current health care crisis in Illinois is bound to raise questions from politicians, the press, and the general public. This article from the April issue of Poverty Action Report, published by the Shriver Center, answers commonly asked questions about Illinois Covered and appropriate responses that clarify portions of the policy while keeping the focus on the importance of providing health care for all.

Highlights of Recent Changes to the Medicaid Act
Two recent federal laws--the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and the Tax Relief and Health Care Act--affect various provisions of the Medicaid program, including citizen documentation, cost sharing, benefit packages, and transitional medical assistance. The National Health Law Program has prepared a memorandum addressing these changes.

Health Care Indicators by Race/Ethnicity and State
This data update from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows variation across states and racial and ethnic groups for six key health and health care indicators. The data update takes a look at disparities in infant mortality, diabetes-related mortality and AIDS cases among African Americans and Hispanics in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It also provides similar breakdowns showing the percentage of each group in each state that is uninsured, enrolled in Medicaid and living in poverty.

Housing

Federal Bill to Reform Voucher Program
H.R. 1851, the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2007 proposes several improvements to the Housing Choice Voucher Program, a housing subsidy hard hit by budget cuts and disastrous funding formulas over the last few years. The Shriver Center reports on the bill in the April issue of Poverty Action Report.

Groups Call for Moratorium on Foreclosures on Subprime Loans
A coalition of national civil rights groups, including the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, NAACP, the National Fair Housing Alliance, the National Council of La Raza, and the Center for Responsible Lending have called for mortgage lenders, loan servicers, and the investors who hold unaffordable subprime loans to institute an immediate six-month moratorium on subprime home foreclosures and to work actively with homeowners to help them keep their homes by putting these borrowers into affordable loan products.

Sheltering Neighborhoods from the Subprime Foreclosure Storm
This report from the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress analyzes the subprime mortgage phenomenon at the local level, describes the high spillover costs of foreclosures, and argues that foreclosure prevention is cost effective.

Immigration

Children in Immigrant Families
Children in immigrant families now account for 20 percent of all children in the United States, according to this research brief from Child Trends. Drawing on new results of Census 2000 data, the brief highlights the proportion, dispersion, national origins, language, and early education of children in newcomer families, both for the United States as a whole and in various states.

Welfare

Using Vouchers to Deliver Social Services

The Department of Health and Human Services has contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct a study of voucher use and provider choice for clients in HHS programs. The study will explore (1) the goals and policy contexts that shape voucher strategies in human services programs; (2) the extent to which vouchers currently are used in select HHS programs; (3) how voucher systems are implemented and the advantages and challenges they pose; and (4) lessons learned about using vouchers to expand service options available to clients, including services provided through faith- and community-based organizations. This paper serves as a primer for understanding vouchers and their role in delivering social services.

Poverty Law News
April 20, 2007