The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. For the week ending 10/01/2010: How stress can impact a child before she or he is even born. Plus, how the Paycheck Fairness Act can help families avoid the path to poverty.
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with the Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty. Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.
Here’s this week’s news:
• In an op-ed for the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof discusses recent research suggesting that a stressful uterine environment for the child of a low-income mother may promote the continuation of poverty from one generation to the next.
• Cathedral Center, a Milwaukee homeless shelter for women and families, has helped women like Arlena Herring transition to a life off of the streets, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports that recent Census data reveals that nearly half of Rochester’s children are living below the poverty line, with 51.2 percent of families led by single mothers living in poverty, a sharp contrast to the 6.9 percent of children who are poor and have married parents.
• Michelle Gillett of the Berkshire Eagle writes favorably about the Paycheck Fairness Act, a piece of legislation currently being debated in the Senate that Gillett believes will help women recover lost wages and contribute extra income toward college and retirement, helping many families avoid the path to poverty.
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The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team
