Household reports of energy assistance receipt increased 48 percent during recession: Proposed cuts threaten vulnerable families

This brief examines heating assistance usage and the implications of President Obama\u27s 2012 budget proposal to cut $2.5 billion from the$5.1 billion energy assistance fund for low-income families at a time when families are struggling with higher energy costs amid a difficult economy. The federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) assists vulnerable families in paying their home heating and cooling bills. Nationwide, from the winter of 2006/2007 to the winter of 2009/2010, there was a 48 percent increase in households receiving energy assistance. This growth appears to have accelerated with the recession, particularly in the rural Northeast and Midwest. Many more families are eligible than receive assistance. Brief author Jessica Bean discusses how proposed cuts would have a concrete and immediate impact on families, particularly those in rural areas and in harsh winter climates

Reliance on supplemental nutrition assistance program continued to rise post-recession

This brief uses data from the 2007, 2009, and 2010 American Community Survey to provide an up-to-date look at changes in SNAP receipt over the course of the recession

Rural and central city residents with multiple children likely to be hardest hit by proposed WIC cuts

This brief uses data from the 2007 and 2010 Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement to describe the distribution of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receipt across the population and to detail place-based differences in receipt. WIC is a nutrition program that serves pregnant or postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5 (who meet certain criteria) by providing them with nutrition education and checks or vouchers for food purchases. The proposed fiscal year 2012 funding is $733 million less for WIC than fiscal year 2011 levels, and far less than what is needed to serve all who are eligible. This brief describes the implications of the cuts to the WIC budget to help policymakers and service providers to better understand the population likely affected by cuts to WIC funding

Renters more often burdened by housing costs after recession: Nearly half of all renters spent over 30 percent of income on housing by 2010

This brief uses data from the 2007 and 2010 American Community Survey to document changes in the proportion of household income spent on rental costs (rent plus utilities) during the Great Recession, by region (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) and place type (rural, suburban, or central city location). Particular attention is paid to how patterns of cost burden vary among renters of different ages and income levels and to the policy implications of these findings. Author Jessica Bean reports that nationwide, nearly half (49 percent) of all renters were “cost burdened” in 2010, spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, with the highest rates occurring in the West and in central cities. Renters under the age of 25 were most often cost burdened both pre- and post-recession, with nearly 60 percent of young renters spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent in 2010

The unequal distribution of child poverty: highest rates among young blacks and children of single mothers in rural America

Measuring by race, place, and family, this brief highlights poverty rates for two rural groups--young black children and children of single mothers--who each face rates around 50%

Total children covered by health insurance increased in 2009

This brief uses data collected in 2008 and 2009 from the U.S. Census Bureau\u27s American Community Survey (ACS) to examine changes in overall insurance coverage rates, as well as changes in types of coverage, and differences by region, state, and place type. The data show that together with new and more inclusive parameters for children\u27s health insurance coverage, rates of children\u27s health insurance have grown during the final year of the recession. Authors Jessica Bean and Michael Staley of the Carsey Institute discuss the complex factors contributing to the shift from private to public health insurance among children. The authors conclude that, because those who have health insurance are healthier overall and, more importantly, because healthy children are more likely to become healthy adults, focusing on covering eligible children should remain at the forefront of the nation\u27s agenda

More than one in ten American households relies on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the most responsive federal programs to economic downturns, as evidence by the increases in SNAP use between 2007 and 2009. Nationally, more than one in ten households relies on SNAP benefits, and the rate is even higher in rural areas, with more than 13 percent of households reporting use. This brief examines the trends in SNAP use across the United States since the recession began in 2007 and considers the impact of legislation in the Congress on those who rely on SNAP to make ends meet

Analysis of partial-reflection data from the solar eclipse of 10 Jul. 1972

Partial-reflection data collected for the eclipse of July 10, 1972 as well as for July 9 and 11, 1972, are analyzed to determine eclipse effects on D-region electron densities. The partial-reflection experiment was set up to collect data using an on-line PDP-15 computer and DECtape storage. The electron-density profiles show good agreement with results from other eclipses. The partial-reflection programs were changed after the eclipse data collection to improve the operation of the partial-reflection system. These changes were mainly due to expanded computer hardware and have simplified the operations of the system considerably

The Fishes of Maryland

Fish, from both a commercial and a sporting standpoint. Based on fishes collected in Maryland only. A general treatise on fishes, setting forth the species, describing them and telling of their distribution, habits and other pertinent facts such as adaptations and coloring. Includes marine, freshwater littoral fishes. (PDF contains 120 pages