According to the Census Bureau's official poverty estimates, West Virginia saw its child poverty rate increase from 20.7 percent to 25.0 percent between 2021 and 2022, the only state to see an increase by the official measure (along with Puerto Rico). In 2022, West Virginia's child poverty rate was the second highest among the 50…
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West Virginia News, Exponent-Telegram, Spirit of Jefferson - SNAP restrictions included in this month’s federal debt limit deal will impact the Mountain State more severely than any other state on a per capita basis due to West Virginia’s aging population. Read the full op-ed. Nationwide, nearly 750,000 older adults aged 50-54 will be at risk…
SNAP restrictions included in this month's federal debt limit deal will impact the Mountain State more severely than any other state on a per capita basis due to West Virginia's aging population. Nationwide, nearly 750,000 older adults aged 50-54 will be at risk of losing their food assistance due to these new provisions, including 7,000…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - Today, Thursday, May 11, the U.S. officially canceled the designation of COVID-19 as a public health emergency in the country. Read the full article. Also this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) removed its designation for COVID-19 as a “global health emergency.” For the first time in more than three…
West Virginia has long faced significant health-related challenges, many of which could have been meaningfully addressed by bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. Maternal and infant mortality rates continue to rise nationally, and the most recent pre-pandemic state data indicated that infant mortality in West Virginia outpaces the national rate.[1] Opioid overdose deaths continue to take the…
WOWK - More families than ever are worried about putting food on the table right now. It’s because of a major decrease in food stamp, or SNAP, benefits. Read the full article. SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. When COVID-19 hit, the federal government gave people extra SNAP benefits. West Virginia has 167,000…
Williamson Daily News - Legislation that would give $500 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding to the West Virginia Economic Development Authority met with protest Thursday during a public hearing to discuss the proposal. Read the full article. The state has $677 million in unallocated federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. House Bill 2883 would…
Mountain State Spotlight - Lawmakers and members of the public are raising concerns about how Gov. Jim Justice’s office has used federal money related to the coronavirus pandemic — and whether those funds have gone towards helping the communities that need it most. Read the full article. West Virginia received two pots of federal money…
West Virginia News, Weirton Daily Times - West Virginia is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in excess tax revenue and federal COVID-19 relief dollars that lawmakers must consider what to do with. Members of the public are also weighing in on where that money should go. Read the full article. According to the…
West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice submitted a bill meant to transfer $678 million in federal American Rescue Plan dollars to state development funds. Not everybody thinks that’s a great idea. Read the full article. House Bill 2883 calls for $500 million to be transferred to the state Economic Development Authority, a $177 million transfer to the state…