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Link Biscuits: 1 February 2010

Submitted by Shawn Fremstad on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 21:33
  • Andrew Hahn, The Indianapolis Private Industry Council’s Cash Voucher Program for Disadvantaged Youth: "A promising six-year effort in Indianapolis made cash vouchers for emergency or compelling expenses available to participating community-based organizations (CBOs) and social service agencies to help their young adult clients pursue employment, education, and training goals. Since its inception, the Indianapolis Private Industry Council’s (IPIC) voucher program, with support from the Lilly Endowment, has provided over 2,400 young adults in its Youth Employment Service (YES) program with bill paying assistance. ... The IPIC initiative in Indianapolis has shown significant success in helping low-income youth succeed in school, job training, and work."
  • Department of Labor, Secretary Hilda Solis Presents DOL Budget Request for FY2011: "Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today, through a national online discussion with stakeholder groups, the general public and the news media, outlined the president's fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget request for the U.S. Department of Labor, which is built around the vision of "good jobs for everyone." ... Secretary Solis defines "good jobs" as those that: Can support a family by increasing incomes. Offer fair compensation. Narrow the wage gap. Allow for work-life flexibility. Promote safe and healthy workplaces. Give workers a voice. Foster fair working conditions in the global marketplace. Are sustainable and innovative, such as green jobs, providing opportunities to acquire the skills and knowledge for the jobs of the future. Help restore the middle class. ..."
  • Kaiser Health News, Medicaid Beats Private Insurance When it Comes to Prevention: "Sen. Lamar Alexander – as well as other conservative lawmakers – characterized Medicaid as a "medical ghetto" during Senate floor speeches on the health overhaul debate last year, American Medical News reports. But, the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health contradicts that common perception. "Based on nearly 92,000 interviews, it found that in 36 states, children in Medicaid and CHIP were as likely or more likely than privately insured kids to have had at least one preventive health care visit over a 12-month period.""
  • Wingham Rowan, Could Online Marketplaces Tackle Poverty?: "'National e-markets' would be safe, convenient, accessible Internet marketplaces with ultra-low overheads. The private sector alone cannot create these marketplaces, but they could quickly be realised using the same model that created the National Lottery. Recommendations include: Government should not fund, design, build or operate such marketplaces, but it could: provide a regulatory framework and access to validation procedures; divert public spending to local communities through the new markets, which could encourage the private sector to create regulated markets in return for a small cut of each transaction."