Off the grid: A flood of federal aid often fails to reach America`s poorest families
(Washington Post National)

The federal government is in the midst of one of the biggest expansions of the social safety net in U.S. history, committing $5 trillion over the last year. And yet for all its successes, the trillions in aid have often failed to reach the poorest Americans in places like the south end of Peoria where hundreds lost power last fall.