The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. This week: How the abortion rate for poor women is more than twice the average…. Plus, the hardships of teen parents.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty. Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

· The Wall Street Journal reports on a 2008 survey that found that the abortion rate for poor women was more than twice the average and more than five times that of women in households making more than 200% of the poverty level.

· In an op-ed in the San Luis Obispo Tribune, Linda Lewis Griffith discusses the hardships of teen parents, most of whom are single mothers whose children are more likely to live in poverty than those born into two-parent households.

· The Daily Times profiles several low-income single mothers who are staying at Sussex County Community Crisis Housing Services, which offers services and shelter to single women and their children.

· A proposal for a group foster home for teen mothers has been shelved while the city conducts a study to see whether the project best addresses the needs of the city’s homeless youth, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. This week: How the VA is helping women veterans confront issues like sexual trauma and homelessness…. Plus, support systems for young mothers.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty. Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

· Kiana Miles, a 19-year-old single mother, and Elana Williams, 24 and recently homeless, tell the New York Times that they just finished a second week of work thanks to the newly initiated “Put Illinois to Work” program.

· The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports on the success of the “Healthy Babies Healthy Ladies” program, which was initiated to decrease infant mortality rates by offering free prenatal care to women who are impoverished or have been affected by domestic violence or substance abuse.

· According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Veterans Administration is creating new gender-specific facilities that will cater to female veterans, helping them confront issues of military sexual trauma and homelessness.

· The Kansas City Star profiles Anita, a young mother with no family who was given a support system by the Olathe’s Mother to Mother Ministry, which helps pregnant women who live in poverty or have been abused.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. This week: How Jacksonville nonprofits help female homeless veterans….Plus, underprivileged students prepare for college.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty. Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

· In a New York Times op-ed, Elaine Tyler May reflects on the many social changes that were predicted with FDA approval of oral contraceptives 50 years ago, including an end to poverty.

· The Florida Times-Union reports on the Veterans Reintegration Center, a Jacksonville nonprofit that helps find housing, jobs and support services specifically tailored for female homeless veterans.

· A recently released report says that Kentucky women still fall below the national average in median annual earnings and that there continues to be a disproportionate number of women living in poverty, according to the Associated Press.

· The Chicago Tribune profiles the individual successes of a few students at the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School, a single-sex school that prepares underprivileged girls for college.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. This week: Why a lawmaker says marriage is a bipartisan issue….  Plus, cuts could hurt infant care programs.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty. Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

· In an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and Dr. Linda Malone-Colón, executive director of the National Center for African American Marriages and Parenting, argue in favor of supporting marriage in part because of the high poverty rate of children born to single moms.

· In a St. Petersburg Times op-ed, journalist Diane Steinle advocates for legislation that will confront the pay gap, which can consign women workers to poverty.

· New Jersey’s Daily Record reports that Morris County will receive $1.42 million in funding for the Head Start program, which includes prenatal care for low-income women.

· Advocates say Florida budget cuts could hurt Healthy Start infant care programs that help low-income moms, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity.  This week: Why extreme poverty can lead to pregnancy problems…. Plus, cuts could be made to a monthly stipend that former Florida foster children depend on.

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.  Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

· US birthrates have dropped since the beginning of the recession, with low-income women particularly likely to postpone having a child, according to the Washington Post.

· The Chicago Tribune discusses how many programs catering to female veterans have a hard time enrolling homeless women because many are not aware that free education, job training and housing are available to them.

· The Philadelphia Daily News profiles Shay Kelley, who lost her job and became homeless last year and is now traveling the country working on the 50/50 project, an effort to spend a week in each state helping other homeless people.

· The News-Press reports that Florida may shut down the Healthy Start Coalition, jeopardizing the health of 10,000 low-income women and infants that rely on the state-funded program.

To learn more about Spotlight visit http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

· The Boston Globe publishes the findings of a new study that suggests that a mother’s psychological stress during pregnancy may cause asthma, which disproportionately affects low-income children living in cities.

· The Massachusetts State legislature could pull funding from several programs that help teen mothers complete high school, according to the Boston Herald.

· A low-income single mother tells the Boston Globe that she turned down a promotion because the extra pay would have bumped her income over the limit for a needed child-care voucher.

· The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that New Jersey family-planning centers that largely serve low-income women would lose all of their state funding under the budget proposed by Gov. Christie.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty. Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit the Washington Area Women’s Foundation for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.

Here’s this week’s news:

· New York Newsday reveals that women lag behind men in saving for retirement, contributing to a high rate of poverty among unmarried women age 65 and older.

· The Chicago Tribune reports that thousands of low-income Illinois women on waiting lists for mammograms will be aided by $4.7 million in new funding for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program.

· Public-health experts fear the continuing economic recession will take a toll on women as deeper cuts are made in public-health programs for low-income households, as reported in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

· The Vallejo Times Herald examines how older women who are divorced, separated, or widowed or who have never married are twice as likely to be uninsured as their married peers, and thus much more susceptible to financially crippling medical bills.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit the Washington Area Women’s Foundation for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.

Here’s this week’s news:

· The Philadelphia Daily News describes the role of parental poverty in foster cases, including for a 19-year-old mom with trouble finding housing.

· The Oklahoman highlights a bill passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives that would prevent women from selling their eggs, a practice that can jeopardize the fertility and health of low-income women, who most often choose to undergo the procedure.

· In an opinion article for the Des Moines Register, Rekha Basu calls attention to abused women in Iowa, many of whom are raised in poverty.

· The Kansas City Star reports on the success of “Making Cent$ in the City,” a one-day financial education workshop sponsored by the Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City that aimed to teach financial responsibility to women and girls as a way to fight poverty.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team

 

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.  Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

• In an op-ed about underage sex slavery in Ohio’s Dayton Daily News, columnist Martin Gottlieb discusses how poverty and abusive families push young girls into prostitution.

• The mortality rate of California women who die from causes directly related to pregnancy has tripled in the past decade; researchers are trying to determine if the risk of death increases with poverty, as reported in the Ventura County Star.

• Protestors opposed to the opening of a new Planned Parenthood site are declaring to the Telegram & Gazette that the Massachusetts town of Fitchburg was chosen because of its high poverty rate.

• The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Nebraska Medicaid has recently restored coverage for the prenatal costs of many low-income pregnant women. Coverage will end, however, for about 1,000 undocumented immigrants.

• Sacramento County is failing to distribute state and federal money to child care centers that handle low-income kids and help out single-mother families, according to the Sacramento Bee.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit Washington Area Women’s Foundation for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org

To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team