More than 3,000 Ohio children could lose access to Head Start programs under budget cut proposals now being considered by Congress. From birth through age five, Head Start provides low-income families with child care and learning opportunities to equip young children with the tools they need to start Kindergarten. Eva Bloom, director of development for Hocking Athens Perry Community Action, which operates six Head Start centers in those counties, said the cuts not only would hurt families, they would also trigger job losses in a rural part of the state lacking options for living wage employment. .
With just a few weeks left until the end of Medicare open enrollment, experts in West Virginia say now is the time to compare current coverage to next year s plan, and make changes to avoid large out-of-pocket expenses. Kimberly Taylor-Newsome, state program director for the West Virginia Aging and Disability Resource Center, said Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plan details often change every year, so individuals should not assume they can rely on the same benefits. "They can change their drug formularies, they change premiums, they can change deductible amounts, they can change the pharmacies that they work with," Taylor-Newsome outlined. " .
More than 1 million Latinos call Georgia home but the growing community faces an alarming gap in finding and using mental health services. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reported fewer Hispanic and Latino individuals seek help. It may be because of language barriers, poverty or just not feeling comfortable with cultural differences. .
A set of border security bills under consideration by Texas lawmakers will cause harm to migrants, residents, and state law - according to a state civil rights group. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is opposed to Senate Bill 11 - which would make it a state crime for illegally entering Texas from Mexico, and authorize state police to arrest violators. It s similar to legislation that failed to pass in an earlier session this year. .
An amendment on Tuesday s ballot in Maine to transfer ownership of the state s two private utilities to the public is considered a dead heat. Question Three asks whether the assets of Central Maine Power and Versant Power should be transferred to a new nonprofit consumer-owned utility called the Pine Tree Company. Pine Tree Power Campaign Manager Al Cleveland said utilities owned by foreign governments and corporations fail to adequately serve local committees and have slowed the transition to clean energy. .