skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Housing Advocates: Time to Boost Assistance for Low-Income MN Families

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 28, 2016   

ST. PAUL, Minn. – As the state Senate continues to debate its budget plan today, anti-poverty advocates are urging lawmakers to boost funding for a program aimed at helping low-income families.

Supporters of the Minnesota Family Investment Program, or MFIP, say the amount of cash assistance hasn't been updated in 30 years.

Kenza Hadj-Moussa communications director for the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, says the current maximum of $532 per month for a working family of three doesn't go as far as it did in 1986.

"Since cash assistance has eroded, we've seen family homelessness increase dramatically since the 1990s,” she states. “And so, while a $100 increase wouldn't necessarily prevent homelessness, it definitely helps in terms of general family stability."

Last year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a raise of $100 a month for the program. Even though the idea was backed by Gov. Mark Dayton, it wasn't approved. Currently, the Senate has no plans for an MFIP raise.

According to research from the St. Paul-based Wilder Foundation, while MFIP assistance has remained the same, the costs of housing and transportation have almost doubled in the state.

Hadj-Moussa argues that even a modest raise for the program in the next budget could make a big difference for low-income families.

"Thirty years is too long for families to wait,” she stresses. “No family can get by on $532 a month. We've got a $900 million budget surplus, and it's time for lawmakers to figure this out."

Meanwhile, Dayton's budget plan includes setting aside about $68 million to boost the monthly grant. That plan would be funded by a mix of federal and state dollars.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021