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The US Census Bureau now considers the impact of food stamps on the poverty rate.
More than 16% of Americans now find themselves in poverty, which is the highest level ever, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
People are considered in poverty if they make $11,139 annually for an individual, or $22,314 for a family of four. Right now, 49.1 million Americans live at or below this level, nearly three million more than was initially reported this fall.
The revised number was determined by a new formula created by the Census Bureau that takes into account how programs like food stamps offset poverty and how increased costs of healthcare and housing impact it as well.
It was funny when it happened to Macaulay Culkin, but being left home alone is often no laughing matter for a child. And with many families struggling in this tight economy, more and more kids are being left to fend for themselves while their parents are out earning a living. Continue reading »
According to a new study funded by the Foundation for Child Development, as many as 500,000 children are or will become homeless in the United States this year. This sobering statistic is just one of 28 indicators that researchers say point to a declining quality of life for America’s children. Continue reading »
In 120 school districts across the country, kids always have a three-day weekend. As a means to balance increasingly tight budgets, some school districts are moving to a four day school week.
One of those districts is Peach County Schools in Georgia. Faced with laying off 39 teachers last year, the 4,000 student district chose instead to close down schools one day a week, cutting over $400,000 from their budget. And it paid of in more ways than one.
Kids came to school more often, as did their teachers, cutting the substitute teacher budget by two thirds. Test scores rose, and the graduation rate will reach 80 percent for the first time in years, say district officials. Working parents in Peach County were able to send their kids to an inexpensive “Monday care” program sponsored by the local Boys and Girls club.
It’s working for Peach County, but can four day school weeks really have a positive impact on learning?
Do you live with mom or dad? Or do mom and dad live with you? A trio of articles over the past day has taken on the old-fashioned multi-generation household – which, it turns out, isn’t so old-fashioned after all.
According to Liz Weston, personal finance columnist at MSN Money, a record-breaking number of Americans are living in family units that consist of at least two adult generations of family members. While immigrants from Asian or Latin American nations have been on the leading edge of this trend for decades, the economic recession of the past two years has caused the numbers to soar, with a more than five percent increase in these family units between 2007-2008 alone. Continue reading »
Parents aren’t all that willing to create yet another mouth to feed during these lean economic times. So concludes the Pew Research Center after analyzing U.S. state fertility and economic data from the past few years.
The good sitters have us over a barrel. You don’t want to pay too little and risk losing the rare chunk of gold that is a responsible sitter with good references who your kids actually love.
But you don’t want to bankrupt yourself just get a date night either. And surveys like the recent “Nanny Survey” out of Park Slope, Brooklyn, don’t make life much easier with statements like “Pay rates vary considerably from family to family, depending on a wide variety of factors, including some not obvious in these statistics (e.g., how demanding the employer is, Nanny’s ability to be flexible with hours, etc).”
So how do you throw all those factors out and just get down to the dollars and cents? Turns out there are just five factors you really need to consider when it comes time to pull out your wallet – or woo a new sitter. Continue reading »
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
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