How's Your State's Unemployment Insurance Doing?

by Leigh Graham · 2009-06-10 15:00:00 UTC
Topics: show more

And more Firefox tabs I need to close - on a new high school for foster students, the recession's impact on kids, how we're spending stimulus funds, and the California showdown:

"Fourteen states have...run out of money to pay [unemployment] benefits and been forced to borrow from Washington a total of more than $8 billion. That number is almost certain to grow as more states reach the brink." Handy interactive map included!

Recession May Have Lasting Impact On Kids: According to the Foundation for Child Development,

"through 2010, virtually all the progress made in family economic well-being since 1975 will be wiped out because of the recession, taking a lasting toll on children...Along with the direct impact of the decline in families' economic well-being, children will likely suffer from a range of indirect effects of the recession, the report forecasts. Obesity may rise from parents' reliance on cheap meals, behavioral problems could increase if adolescents who are not in school cannot find jobs, and state and local budget cuts could limit the availability of pre-kindergarten programs."

At least we're spending most of the stimulus money on social programs, right? In fact, check this out: "one of every six dollars of Americans' income is now coming in the form of a federal or state check or voucher."

We're going back to Cali for a second: think this is all a ploy to get a federal bailout?

Sigh. Let's end on a high note: Philly is about to open the first charter school for foster kids in the nation.

"Enrollment at the school is strictly voluntary and is designed to provide additional support and a stable education for teens who otherwise would be forced to switch schools when they move to other foster families or facilities...more than 75 percent of Philadelphia students in foster care between 2000 and 2004 dropped out of school."

Best of luck to these kids and their new high school!

(Photo of Arise Academy Charter High School from Philadelphia Department of Human Services)


Leigh Graham
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