Pages tagged "News Article"
Federal lawmakers seek to raise the smoking age to 21
A large group of federal lawmakers has introduced theTobacco to 21 Act (S.2100), legislation that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21.
“We know that the earlier smokers begin their unhealthy addiction to nicotine, the more likely they are to suffer from tobacco-related diseases or die,” said Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i). “This year, Hawai‘i became the first state in the nation to raise the minimum smoking age to 21. It was an historic public health achievement that we should adopt nationwide. By raising the minimum tobacco age of sale to 21 across the country, we can cut the number of new smokers each year; build a healthier, tobacco free America; and save lives.”...
Bass, McDermott Introduce Healthcare Maintenance Legislation for Former Foster Youth
As they continue to address the needs of the hundreds of thousands of young people who are currently a part of the foster care system and the tens of thousands who leave the system each year, Reps. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.)—Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth—announced they introduced H.R. 3641, the “Health Insurance for Former Foster Youth Act of 2015,” legislation that will close a loophole and guarantee that foster youth will still receive health insurance through Medicaid until they turn 26 years old regardless of their state of residence.
One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act was to ensure that young people could stay on their parents’ insurance until they turn 26. Because foster youth do not have legal guardians, the law addressed foster youth by guaranteeing that as long they were in the foster care system by the time they were 18 years old, they would be able to receive Medicaid until they turned 26...
Who is homeless? Federal agencies don’t agree on who needs help
By The Editorial Board
Define homelessness. Think that sounds easy? Well, when it comes to federal agencies, the answer can be confusing — and contradictory.
A report released by the advocacy group First Focus Campaign for Children and based on U.S. Department of Education statistics showed a troubling increase in the number of homeless students both statewide and across the nation. Nationally, there were 1.4 million children identified as homeless attending public schools in 2013-14, 22,765 of them in Pennsylvania...
Pennsylvania sees rise in homeless students
By Mary Niederberger
The number of homeless students attending public school in Pennsylvania increased by 18 percent between the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years — an increase more than double the national average of 8 percent, according to statistics reported by the U.S. Department of Education.
And while that one-year increase seems dramatic, even more troubling is the 94 percent increase in homeless students in the state since the start of the economic recession in the 2007-08 school year...
Pennsylvania sees rise in homeless students: http://bit.ly/1FcQql0 v/ @PittsburghPG h/t @First_Focus #HCYA #InvestInKids
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There Are More Homeless Students Now Than Before The Recession
By R
On a national level, it seems that economically at least, we’re climbing out of The Great Recession, which experts say lasted from 2007 to about 2009. But new federal data suggests that the recovery has been very uneven, and, in fact, young people are among the groups struggling the most.
In the 2013-2014 school year, the number of homeless children in public school reached a new peak of 1.36 million nationwide. That’s double the number of homeless kids in public schools before the recession...
There Are More Homeless Students Now Than Before The Recession: http://on.mtv.com/1QfY1jh v/ @MTVNews #HCYA h/t @Campaign4Kids #InvestInKids
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Number of U.S. homeless students has doubled since before the recession
By Lyndsey Layton and Emma Brown
The number of homeless children in public schools has doubled since before the recession, reaching a record national total of 1.36 million in the 2013-2014 school year, according to new federal data.
The latest homeless count, an 8 percent increase over the 2012-2013 school year, is a sign that many families continue to struggle financially even as the economy recovers from the housing collapse of 2008. And it offers a glimpse of the growing challenges that public schools face nationwide as they seek to educate an increasing number of low-income children...
Number of U.S. homeless students doubled since before recession: http://wapo.st/1KNUBGs v/ @washingtonpost h/t @Campaign4Kids #InvestInKids
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Sonia Nazario’s Chutzpah Gives a Voice to Latin America’s Voiceless Migrants
By Bridget Kevane
Some might call Sonia Nazario a heroine. Others might call her a troublemaker. Some might not like her position on immigration. Others might not like her outspokenness about the inherent problems of immigrants leaving children behind. By any measure, however, Nazario may be one of the most important Jewish social activists that you have never heard of.
In 2015 alone she has received awards from the First Focus Campaign for Children and the Golden Door Award from HIAS Pennsylvania. She has also testified before Congress and the United Nations and is routinely speaking at college campuses around the nation. This week she was awarded an “honorary visiting professorship” at the Universidad Autónoma de Hidalgo in Mexico, from where she’ll also be reporting for the New York Times on migrant deaths in the country...
Poll: Majority Support Funding Children’s Health Insurance
A majority of voters support federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, even as some lawmakers are considering nixing the multi-billion dollar program.
A new poll from Morning Consult shows 64 percent of registered back federal funding for CHIP: 37 percent say they want the program to be fully funded, while the other 27 percent say they support funding at a lower dollar amount...
Poll: Majority Support Funding Children’s Health Insurance: http://bit.ly/1K6a7LT v/ @MorningConsult h/t @First_Focus
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Join fight to reduce child poverty
By Bruce Lesley
Nevada’s rising child-poverty rate is alarming (“23 percent of Nevada children live in poverty,” lasvegassun.com, July 21). But what’s appalling is that political gridlock obstructs action to reduce devastating child-poverty levels...
Read: Letter from @BruceLesley and @Campaign4Kids about gridlock preventing reduction of child poverty. http://bit.ly/1ORqJ9A #InvestInKids
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Homeless Children
By Bruce Lesley
The rise in local child homelessness (“Schools see more homeless students,” July 24th) is alarming. But what’s appalling is that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development policy doesn’t prioritize homeless families with children. In fact, America’s housing agency prefers to pretend they’re not even homeless...
Read: New letter from @BruceLesley and @Campaign4Kids about the problem of childhood homelessness. http://bit.ly/1LUYDen | #InvestInKids
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