While the poverty rate has increased in the United States since 2000, this study examined the depth of poverty experienced. Severe poverty can have significant public health concern, and between 2000 and 2004, severe poverty increased dramatically. Health effects include chronic illnesses, more frequent and acute disease complications, and increased costs for health services.

Authored by Lynne Fender and Jen Bernstein. This Urban Institute report was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. This study describes policies and practices in Connecticut, Minnesota, and Texas designed to coordinate the child support enforcement program, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to secure and sustain appropriate health care coverage for child support-eligible children. Based on site visits to the 3 States, the report documents both successes in cross-program coordination as well as challenges to effective coordination.

This paper considers four programs--Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), food stamps, child care subsidies, and the earned income tax credit (EITC)--that form the core work support system in the United States. It highlights differences in program funding, eligibility, and delivery systems. It describes trends in participation and synthesizes research knowledge about the observed differences in program participation. The paper concludes that these programs do not form an effective system. Each program operates under different rules that many low-income working families find daunting. A few recent state innovations offer potential for improving the system.

From the Urban Institute, this fact sheet reviews various work supports available to low-income families since the 1996 PRWORA. Although work supports were significantly expanded, they still fall short in providing families enough to promote asset building, leading to self-sufficiency.

This guide is part of HHS's ongoing effort to work with States to ensure that low-income families and children have access to health benefits. In 1999, State Medicaid application and eligibility policies and procedures in all 50 States, plus the District of Columbia and the Territories were reviewed. Working closely with States, CMS (formerly HCFA) analyzed the findings for these reviews and identified practices that need improvement as well as some promising practices that will be interesting models for other States.

This Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. issue brief was authored by Christopher Trenholm. The Santa Clara County Children's Health Initiative (CHI), launched in January 2001, seeks to extend health coverage to all uninsured children in that California county. This issue brief measures the effect of the initiative on enrollment in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, the two major State insurance programs. The study found that CHI increased enrollment by almost 13,500 children, or 28 percent. As a result of the gains, CHI increased State and Federal spending in Santa Clara County for the two programs by an estimated $24.4 million during 2001-2002.

The CalWORKs Project seeks to inform policy makers, using a variety of approaches, in order to positively influence CalWORKs policy and practice, particularly in the areas of identification, referral, and delivery of mental health (MH), alcohol and other drug (AOD), and domestic violence (DV) services to CalWORKs-eligible families.

From the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare, this paper provides an overview of methamphetamine, as social workers are seeing an increasing number of children and families affected by meth. Authors present the most current research on methamphetamine, its effects on families, and treatment options available.

This report from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) outlines best practices in policy regarding children's mental health and offers views on the status of family and youth support and advocacy systems. Authors conclude by highlighting selected innovative interventions.

This report from Mathematica reviews how States could finance services to youth with serious emotional disturbances and their families. Authors review how states are currently paying for home and community services for children and youth with mental illness, and offer information for how States can continue to support youth and families through intensive care.