Consumer groups, hospitals and insurers are clamoring for Florida to take the $51 billion in federal funds that have been offered to the state over the next decade to provide health coverage to the working poor. But those who are tuned in politically — even those who desperately want it to happen — say it’s very unlikely in 2014.
Poverty
Pantry Alert: Cuts in Food Stamps Benefits Will Affect 3.6 Million Floridians Staring Nov. 1
Florida’s food hardship rate is more than 21 percent, meaning that one in five Florida households reported that in the past year they struggled to buy enough food for the family. The state is one of the hardest-hit for food security.
When Domestic Violence Hits the Workplace: Businesses Contend With Collateral Damage
Gathered in a community where the city and county have approved workplace policies banning domestic and sexual violence, experts said Thursday that all employers should be aware that workplace violence affects not only victims but business profits.
ACLU Sues Florida DMV for Suspending Licenses of Those Too Poor to Pay Court Costs
More than 200,000 Florida drivers have had their licenses suspended for failure to pay legal fees as of the start of 2013–fees that are unrelated to penalties associated with their sentence. The suspensions disproportionately affect poor people, who, without a car, have even fewer means to hold a job and make good on payments.
Flagler Health Department Chief Defends Ban on Navigators, Citing Privacy and Logistics
Flagler County Health Department Director Patrick Johnson defended the state’s controversial ban from DOH property against outreach workers called Navigators, who help uninsured people sign up for subsidized health coverage under Obamacare–a law Florida officials have actively and chronically obstructed.
Flagler Health Department Launches “Gospel” to Combat Twin Killers: Tobacco and Obesity
Two initiatives will be the centerpiece of the Flagler Health Department’s strategy in the coming year: Tobacco Free Flagler and an effort to reduce the incidence of overweight and obese residents through more awareness of good nutrition, BMI and healthier activities.
Team Feed Flagler Kicks Off Food Drives at Local Events
Team Feed Flagler, the annual community Thanksgiving meal and food drive led and chiefly sponsored by Flagler County government, has scheduled several drop-off locations for donated food over the next three months. Chart included.
Predatory Human Traffickers Luring Teens and the Homeless as Cops Warn of Backyard Crisis
A nationwide crackdown last week by the FBI on child sex trafficking yielded 159 arrests and freed 105 children — nearly all girls between 13 and 17 — but experts say it’s the tip of the iceberg as 450,000 children run away from home each year and that one-third will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.
After Pledging to End $20,000 Request, Second Harvest Asks Flagler To Double It Instead
Two years ago Second Harvest pledged that the annual $20,000 it was receiving from Flagler County government to pay for a food stamps outreach program would end this year. Instead, the agency today asked the county commission for $40,000.
Homelessness in Flagler Persists, But Minor Conflicts Cloud Accomplishments and Services
It’s not that there isn’t a homelessness problem in Flagler and Bunnell, but while numerous and at times generous services are being provided, minor conflicts targeting some homeless people in Bunnell are disproportionately affecting the debate, and draining attention from what’s being done to help.