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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

Does Poverty Measurement Tell Whole Story?

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Wednesday, February 25, 2015   

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The formula the federal government uses to measure poverty in the U.S. is outdated and should be modernized to better reflect the true picture of poverty in America.

That's the finding of a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Christine Hollis, Kids County director with New Mexico Voices for Children, says the Federal Poverty Level guidelines, established in the 1960s, only consider the cost of food and none of the other major expenses of raising a family.

"The Federal Poverty Level doesn't take into account the basic costs of living in New Mexico; like housing, transportation, the cost of childcare, health care and all of those things that a family has to pay for in order to support their families," she says.

Hollis says the poverty guidelines also don't consider the cost-of-living differences that can change based on where a person lives.

The report from the Casey Foundation calls on the government to start using the Supplemental Poverty Measure developed by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011.

Hollis says it measures the impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and other safety-net programs. She says without such programs, New Mexico's child poverty rate could double.

"If we did not have those programs operating in New Mexico, we would probably see another 102,000 children who would be considered in poverty," she says.

Hollis adds, using the Supplemental Poverty Measure can also help lawmakers develop a keener understanding of which safety net programs are working the best.

She says child poverty costs the U.S. an estimated $500 billion a year in lost productivity and earnings, as well as health and crime-related costs.


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