What welfare? No safety net for Oklahoma's poorest children

Welfare as most people imagine it doesn’t actually exist anymore.  Public discourse conjures images of lazy people scamming the system and living large off their monthly government check.  It’s a popular, but wildly inaccurate narrative.  Welfare reform in the mid-1990s… Read more [More...]

Upcoming Event: The Senior Safety Net in Jeopardy, OKDHS Policy & Practice Lectures

The recession has had a devastating impact on the economic well-being of low income senior citizens, particularly people of color.  The ongoing debate over the future of Social Security and Medicare leaves seniors living near the poverty line with an… Read more [More...]

The public safety net at work

Today we released the 19th issue of our monthly Numbers You Need bulletin, which tracks monthly and quarterly data for key economic indicators. As in many recent months, the overall economic news was mixed: a slight increase in employment and… Read more [More...]

Faces of the recession

If  you did not see last Sunday’s Tulsa World, it is well worth checking out their front-page profile of families hit by the economic downturn, titled “Faces of the Recession”. Reporters Ginnie Graham and Mike Averill tell the stories of… Read more [More...]

Holes in the net

Recently, The New York Times had a front-page article spotlighting the extent to which victims of the economic downturn are able to access public benefits that are part of the nation’s safety net.  Most programs, including Unemployment Insurance, food stamps,… Read more [More...]