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.  And every Friday, look for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

• In an op-ed appearing in the New York Times, William Saletan argues for a practical, moral approach to the family planning debate.

• In an article on the Earned Income Tax Credit, the St. Louis Post Dispatch interviews several single mothers who say that their benefit goes to basic bills, debt, and childcare.

• The Miami Herald profiles a Girl Scouts program that offers scouts from low-income families activities encouraging healthy lifestyles.

• In a report on a controversial community center closing, the Kansas City Star reports on a neighborhood where single mothers account for 55 percent of residents.

• In an op-ed in the Deming Headlight, Children’s Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman argues that impoverished parents need help raising children and mentions several programs that provide assistance to low-income mothers.

• The Associated Press highlights a think tank report urging more public funds for family planning, which the report said dramatically lowers abortion rates among low-income women.

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

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

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.  And every Friday, look for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

• In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Kay Hymowitz argues that fathers are indispensable and that because children of single mothers more frequently grow up in poverty and face other problems, mothers who choose to raise kids alone are adopting an “untenable” position.

• Columnist Jim Wooten, in an op-ed for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, proposes that cases like the California octuplets demonstrate that there should be set limits for the number of children women can bear and for which they can expect to receive public assistance.

• A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article highlighting a high mortality rate for black infants in Wisconsin cites teen pregnancy, poverty, and lack of prenatal care as concerns.

• Writing an op-ed in response to Bristol Palin’s recent interview, Tina Griego, columnist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News, argues that opportunity and education are needed to avoid teen pregnancy.

• Volunteers in Dunlap, Tennessee, are raising funds to establish a prenatal care center to offer alternatives to abortion, as reported by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

• The Bradenton Herald writes that child care advocates in Florida are advocating an increase in cigarette taxes to avoid cutbacks to Healthy Start, a program supporting at-risk pregnant women and their children.

• According to the Associated Press, women in New Mexico suffer from a high rate of postpartum depression.

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

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

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.  And every Friday, look for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

• A New York Times article profiles a 19-year-old Native American woman from an impoverished reservation trying to turn her life around through boxing.

• The Chicago Tribune, in an article on a federal law meant to help homeless kids stay in school, interviews a homeless single mother working to keep her oldest in the same school as the family moves.

• The Los Angeles Times reports that the removal of family-planning funding for the poor from the stimulus package, as well as other indicators, shows that Democrats are likely to approach abortion issues slowly and with caution.

• A recent appeal by Philadelphia anti-hunger advocates utilized video testimonies from 40 women describing their experience with hunger, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

• In an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, columnist Jim Wooten highlights the example of octuplets born in California to argue against children being raised by single mothers.

• The Salt Lake Tribune covers a report indicating that Utah Latinas have a high teen birth rate, which correlates with 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

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

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. And every Friday, look for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

• In a New York Times op-ed, columnist Gail Collins criticizes verbal sparring over the stimulus bill, which led to cuts from the bill, including funding for family planning for low-income women.

• The Washington Post notes that President Obama’s new faith-based office will attempt to reduce both poverty and the number of abortions, while USA Today mentions that its increased scope will include teen pregnancy.

• According to the New York Times, one of the most significant elements of the new SCHIP bill for low-income health care is that it covers pregnant legal immigrants.

• The Kansas City Star covers a state lawmaker who is citing her sexual orientation and stance on Roe vs. Wade as possible reasons she’s been left of Kansas’s House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families.

• An Orlando Sentinel column sheds light on the increased need faced by a charity that provides low-income women appropriate professional attire for job interviews.

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

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

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. And every Friday, look for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty.

Here’s this week’s news:

• The Los Angeles Times profiles a transitional residence offering housing and support services to homeless women and their children.
• Many are concerned that a last-second Bush Administration policy allowing doctors to refuse services on grounds of “conscience” will negatively affect women and the poor, as noted by the Los Angeles Times.
• As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, a California judge struck down an eligibility requirement making it harder for some low-income women to receive state assistance with pregnancy and childbirth.
• The Salt Lake Tribune reports that many women victims of domestic violence have difficulty finding affordable housing in a recession market.
• The Associated Press notes a report saying that because of poverty and other factors, the percentage of women being incarcerated on the rise.
• In a tough economic climate, a Connecticut organization offering literacy and life-skills training to low-income women needs basic goods like food rather than toys, according to the Connecticut Post.
• The Wilmington News Journal reports on a training session for a women-centered volunteer day with Habitat for Humanity.
• The Tulsa World covers a charity that assists low-income parents – often single moms – with infant care expenses.
• The Casper Star Tribune highlights a Wyoming-based job training nonprofit that has been a success placing single moms in good jobs.
• The Corpus Christi Caller-Times editorial board criticizes a city council decision to cut a grant to Planned Parenthood.

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

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans. 

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 are the holiday week’s top stories on women and poverty. The round-up will normally appear on Fridays:

• In an Op-Ed for the San Francisco Chronicle, a sociologist argues that the abortion debate must recognize the connection between poverty and abortion.

• The Sacramento Bee reports on two low-income counties with low rates of mothers seeking prenatal care.

• The Buffalo News says that legislators must ensure WIC benefits for local mothers and their children.

• Teen mothers are struggling to get by, according to the Salem Statesman-Journal.

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

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.