The Coalition routinely tracks news and policy related to homelessness in Colorado and across America. Highlights from August, 2011 are below.

HOMELESSNESS POLICY: TIME FOR ANOTHER PARADIGM SHIFT
HuffingtonPost.com – Maria Foscarinis, August 2 - Last month marked twenty-four years since landmark federal homelessness legislation was signed into law. The Act, now known as the McKinney-Vento Act, was the first major federal legislation addressing homelessness. And while it remains critically important, it's time for a new approach.

ISSUE BRIEF: HELPING CHRONICALLY HOMELESS PEOPLE AVOID HIGH-COST HEALTH CARE
EndHomelessness.org, August 4 – A new issue brief from the National Alliance to End Homelessness highlights the effectiveness of Permanent Supportive Housing in reducing chronic homelessness and public health care costs.

HEALTH CENTERS DESERVE SUPPORT  
DailyCamera.com – Marguerite Salazar, August 16 - Last year, close to 40 percent of health center patients had no health insurance and over a million were homeless. Over 6 million were children ages 18 or younger and nearly 11.5 million were women and girls. Health centers provided prenatal care to close to half a million expectant mothers while tending to 168,000 births.

 

COLORADO SELECTED FOR NATIONAL INITIATIVE TO STRENGTHEN MEDICAID PRIMARY CARE PAYMENT STRATEGIES
CHCS.org, August 25 -  With the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid will expand significantly starting in 2014 and cover an additional 16-20 million people, many of whom are extremely low-income or experiencing homelessness – likely straining its already over-burdened primary care system. This initiative will assist six states in implementing and leveraging the upcoming primary care payment increase to drive improvements in quality, access, and payment system reform.

COLORADO K-12 HOMELESS STUDENT POPULATION GROWING FAST
HuffingtonPost.com - Andrea Rael, August 10 - This year there will be over 18,400 Colorado students completing their homework without a home. Over the past six years the state's K-12 classrooms have seen an 84.3 percent increase in homelessness among its students.    

 

2011 KIDS COUNT DATA BOOK RELEASED  

AECF.org, August 1 - Since 1990, the AnnieE. CaseyFoundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Book has been a steady reminder of the risks that our nation’s poorest kids face. Each year, it confirms the fundamental link between poverty and a range of negative outcomes— homelessness, illness, academic failure, early pregnancy—outcomes that can powerfully diminish a child’s chances of adult achievement and success.

AT THE FOREFRONT: POVERTY IMPACT PROJECTIONS
Clasp.org – Jodie Levin-Epstein, August 1 – A new report from the Center for Law and Social Policy analyzes Poverty Impact Projections, an emerging tool that is intended to measure whether legislation will decrease or increase poverty and what the impacts will be on the lives of low-income and homeless people.

Last Updated: November 23, 2011