PHOENIX - The Paycheck Fairness Act is up for a vote today in the U.S. Senate. Nearly four decades after the Equal Pay Act passed, many women earn less than 80 cents to the dollar earned by men. The Act also directly affects the nearly 314,000 Arizona children who live in households with single mothers (as of the 2010 census).

Cynthia Zwick, director of the Arizona Community Action Association, says the idea of paying men more for being the traditional family breadwinners hurts children as well as women. She says a couple hundred extra dollars in a single mom's paycheck can make the difference between food on the table and keeping the lights on.

"Any additional funding that comes into a family is going to be helpful. If it's not for child care, it will likely be used for food, utility assistance or any other of the basic needs that a family needs just to survive."

The Paycheck Fairness Act takes steps to close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, and to ensure that women can investigate whether they are being discriminated against. It also strengthens penalties against employers who violate pay-discrimination laws.

One argument made by opponents of the law is that pay discrepancy is more a factor of the choices women make than actual discrimination.

Sarah Crawford, director of workplace fairness at the National Partnership for Women and Families, says that the pay gap results in an average disparity of more than $8,000 a year. She says that, of the households headed by women in Arizona, more than a third live below the poverty level.

"The wage gap robs women of more than 67 weeks of food, seven more months of mortgage and utilities payments on average, 27 more months of family health-insurance premiums, or over 2,000 gallons of gas."

Cynthia Zwick says that when women head the household, the wage disparity tends to victimize their children, especially when it comes to opportunities for personal development.

"Likely they're unable to participate in many of the extracurricular, intramural kind of sports programs, arts and crafts: there's often charges for those kinds of things. So kids are really not given the same opportunity to participate that they might otherwise."

According to census figures, for every dollar paid to white non-Hispanic men working full-time year-round, white non-Hispanic women working full time year-round earned 77 cents; African-American women 62 cents and Hispanic women 54 cents.

The bill is at www.govtrack.us.




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Everybody loves to get something free and right now, kids aged 12-17 can get a fishing and hunting license at no cost from the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The license is good for one year and normally sells for $15.

Bobby Jones, outdoor connection coordinator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said the free licenses are funded by donations to the Nevada Youth License Fund.

"This is actually the third year that the program's been active," Jones explained. "We keep it open as much as possible. We're just limited by the amount of donations that we have. Right now, we have almost 2,000 available and they go fast."

Youth can get a free license on the Nevada Department of Wildlife website or wherever the licenses are sold. Children under age 12 do not need a fishing license. The state said almost two-thirds of the kids who have taken advantage of the program in the past have never had a hunting or fishing license before.

Jones emphasized the program is designed to tempt kids to leave the digital world behind for a short time and enjoy some time outdoors. It could lead them to even consider a nature-based career like wildlife biology, forest management or outdoor education.

"Essentially what we're up against is a lot of kids are engaged in their phones and social media, TV," Jones pointed out. "They're constantly bombarded with things. We're trying to make it a little bit easier for them to enjoy the outdoors."

Some of the most popular fishing spots include Lahontan in the Fallon area, Wild Horse and South Fork in Eastern Nevada, and Lake Mead down south.


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The University of Nebraska is addressing a shortage of lawyers who represent the state's most vulnerable children, especially in rural areas.

The attorneys are being equipped to work with kids who have suffered through physical, emotional, or financial trauma - and are often living in poverty.

Of Nebraska's 5,500 licensed attorneys, only 7% of them practice in rural areas.

Michelle Paxton, director of the Nebraska Children's Justice and Legal Advocacy Center, said two thirds of child neglect and abuse cases originate outside the Lincoln and Omaha metro areas, in what she calls "rural legal deserts."

"We have twelve counties in Nebraska with zero attorneys living in those counties," said Paxton. "We have 22 with less than three."

Paxton said that there are too few qualified rural child justice attorneys, which means lawyers may drive hundreds of miles for juvenile cases, creating delays and court backlogs.

The University of Nebraska program will add lawyers trained to handle issues unique to children in low-income families.

Attorneys who work on juvenile court cases are getting the tailored knowledge they need, but Paxton added that the program is also creating an opportunity for those attorneys to network and get support from other lawyers in the field - who are often isolated.

"And so they don't often have another attorney doing this type of work that they can rely on for support and mentorship," said Paxton, "and our program provides that support and mentorship so that they are not only willing to continue working in juvenile court, increase their hours in juvenile court and increase their commitment. "

The advocacy center will also develop a case-tracking tool, enabling people to find an attorney online.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.



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Statistics show one in five children in Texas struggles with hunger.

Approximately 10,000 students a day are getting a nutritious meal through the Summer Food Service Program offered by the Houston Food Bank. The meals are distributed across the food bank's 18-county region.

Jourdan Stansberry, senior manager of education programs for Houston Food Bank, said they partner with summer camps, churches and other nonprofit organizations to serve the students. She added anyone who is not near a meal site can take advantage of their non-congregate option.

"Sites that are considered rural by the Texas Department of Agriculture," Stansberry explained. "It's a grab-and-go model where families can pick up the meals, It's like a five-day bundle of frozen meals, breakfast and snacks, so 10 meals all together. They're able to pick it up and take it home."

Locations of the meal sites in the Houston area and across Texas are available at the Department of Agriculture's Summer Meal Site Map. The meals are available to anyone 18 years old or younger or students with a disability, up to 21 years old.

The meals are distributed at more than 250 sites around the Houston area. Students do not have to register to take advantage of the meals. Stansbury emphasized it is a great way to ensure kids have access to fresh fruits and vegetables during the summer. She added the menus consist of more than just a sandwich and chips.

"One thing that I know has been pretty popular is our orange chicken with rice, and we also have broccoli, vegetable-medley side that goes along with that. We saw also chicken tikka masala," Stansbury outlined. "We try to expose them to different meals, not only healthwise but also culturally."

The Houston Food Bank expects to distribute around 800,000 meals this summer. The meal program runs through Aug. 8.


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