A new report from a child advocacy group says the number of children living in poverty in Alabama has grown, but, the state is making progress in reducing the number of teens having babies. The 2014 Alabama Kids County Date Book is issued by VOICES for Alabama's Children. The report says the number of children living in poverty increased by five percent between 2000 and 2012, with 26 percent of Alabama children living in poverty. It also found that births to teenagers 15 to 17 declined 40 percent during the same 10-year span. The report says Alabama's pre-kindergarten program has narrowed the achievement gap for participating children, but it is accessible to only 12 percent of 4-year-olds. The report's rankings of counties for child well being placed Shelby County first and Wilcox County last.
Alabama cotton farmers could soon make decisions that could determine what they plant in 2015 and how much. The National Cotton Council is holding workshops today in Dothan and Belle Mina** to go over new parts of the 2014 federal farm bill. The agenda includes a new kind of crop insurance called the stacked income protection plan or STAX. Robbie Minnick is with the National Cotton Council. He says farmers can pick policies that protect their income or the price they get for their crops.
“The purpose of these workshops is to introduce the STAC crop insurance program to producers, and try to explain how it works…the technical mechanics of it. So, they can have a better understanding of what kind of type of crop insurance product fits their operation better.”
Minnick says bankers are invited to attend the workshops as well as farmers.
The APR newsroom continues collaborating on the television show about business called Alabama, Inc. On tonight’s program, you’ll meet someone who looks like the lady next door. However, Dottie King is a business consultant who’s saved her clients millions of dollars. News Director Pat Duggins profiles King, who says she’s watched Birmingham’s business community grow up over years. She started her first consulting group in 1996 with a male business partner…
“Very often, we would ask a question and the answer would be directed to my business partner. But, that’s less and less the case. The flip side of that coin, is that middle aged women are very trustworthy.”
Alabama, Inc. airs tonight at ten on your local Alabama Public Television station.
