Extra cash for low-income mothers may influence baby brains

poverty

Published
January 24, 2022

Extra cash for low-income mothers may influence baby brains

The findings build on evidence that cash support can improve outcomes for older children, said study co-author Katherine Magnuson.
Published
January 2, 2022

Maine lawmakers study direct cash payments as anti-poverty tool

Bipartisan support exists for a 2019 basic income proposal that would supplement the safety net for Mainers in need.
Published
December 30, 2021

Overseers of the poor: Ending the ‘town farm’ experiment

The Great Depression changed the face of poverty. The Social Security Act changed the quality of life for many poor. Twentieth-century improvements to institutional welfare programs put an end to the almshouse for good.
Published
December 9, 2021

Overseers of the poor: Life on the farm

Municipal archives provide a wealth of information about poverty in Maine in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Published
December 2, 2021

Overseers of the poor: Oxford letters portray the plight of town paupers

For centuries Maine communities relied on Elizabethan-era laws to determine support for poor residents and nonresidents.
Published
October 15, 2021

Strategy shifts as advocates work to give shelter to Maine’s homeless

A virtual forum this week discussed how the focus now is on finding housing for people before addressing their medical, mental health and other needs.
Published
June 27, 2021

New child tax credits offer lifeline for some Maine families

The monthly payments will go to some 230,000 Maine families, part of an expanded child tax credit approved by Congress under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Published
May 21, 2021

Lawmakers consider bill to eliminate cash bail for minor charges

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, would allow those charged with Class E misdemeanors like drinking in public to be released from jail without posting cash bail.
Published
May 18, 2021

Biden moving to improve legal services for poor, minorities

President Joe Biden plans to take executive action to ensure minorities, low-income Americans and others have better access to quality legal representation after services dwindled during the Trump administration.
Published
April 22, 2021

Legislators weigh whether to require free tampons and pads in Maine schools

Hoping to ease the burden on students, legislators may mandate free sanitary supplies in bathrooms.