Utah ranks 4th among states in child welfare survey / Public News Service

An annual report on child well-being ranks Utah among the best in the nation, but advocates warn it has also highlighted a growing mental health crisis.

The Kids Count 2022 data book compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranks Utah 4th out of 50 states, appearing in the Top Ten in all four major categories.

Martin Muñoz, director of Kids Count at Voices for Utah Children, said there has been a 26% overall increase in mental health issues from 2016 to 2020, and the numbers are rising dramatically in communities of color, and especially among LGBTQ children.

“Within our LGBTQ community, facing policies to put them in a place that can make them feel like they’re not part of society is very concerning,” Muñoz pointed out. “We really need to take a step back and see how children are affected.”

Muñoz noted that the survey ranked Utah 1st in strong family and community indicators, 6th in economic well-being, and 10th in health and education. He added that while the rankings are good, Utah lawmakers need to do more to help children, by dedicating some of the state’s budget surplus to more mental and behavioral health care.

Muñoz thinks one area where Utah could improve is to develop special programs to help students who have fallen behind during the pandemic. He argued that too few are graduating with their class.

“We did better overall, but also graduating from high school, graduating on time, we still struggle, especially those who face disability-related challenges,” Muñoz pointed out. “We have to make sure that all of our students graduate on time.”

Although rates have dropped, more than 90,000 children in Utah still live below the poverty line.

Leslie Boissière, vice president of external affairs for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said the federal government has offered supports to help families, such as additional food aid during the pandemic, but noted that the aid will likely expire. soon.

“It is extremely important that policymakers seize the opportunity and lessons learned during the COVID-19 period, when more resources were provided to families,” insisted Boissière. “So that we can ensure that the basic needs of every child are met – that fewer children live in poverty and that the overall well-being of children in this country increases.”

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Children in Missouri are facing unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression, according to the Kids Count Data Book 2022, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The report reveals that mental health is a concern across the country as children have felt the pressures of COVID-19. Nationally, almost 12% of children suffered from anxiety or depression, while in Missouri it was about 11%.

Tracy Greever-Rice is with the Missouri Family and Community Trust, part of the Kids Count network. She said it was crucial that children have access to mental health care.

“In metropolitan areas, we have groups of mental and behavioral health professionals,” Greever-Rice said. “But in more rural areas, access becomes more difficult and is affected by non-clinical elements like transport.”

She added that affordable health coverage options, whether through private insurance or Medicaid, are also key to ensuring access to care. About 6% of Missouri children lack health insurance, according to the report.

Missouri showed improvement in all economic indicators in the report, including a child poverty rate below the national average.

Leslie Boissière – vice president of external affairs for the Casey Foundation – said the federal government has offered supports, such as additional food aid during the pandemic, but notes that the aid will likely expire soon.

“It is extremely important that policy makers seize the opportunity and lessons learned during the COVID-19 period,” Boissière said, “when more resources were provided to families. So that we can ensure that every child has their basic needs met and that the general well-being of children increases.

Missouri hot spots in Kids Count data include fourth-grade reading proficiency and eighth-grade math proficiency, as well as the percentage of low birth weight babies and overweight or obese youth.

Greever-Rice said these are areas where good short-term and long-term policies can make a big difference in the lives of children as they reach adulthood.

“Attention to these issues will make a big difference, and prevention is not only good for individuals,” Greever-Rice said, “but also a more effective and less expensive way to do public policy.”

Missouri ranks 27th overall for child well-being.

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Despite many challenges, schools and advocacy groups across Eastern Kentucky are working to make the upcoming school year as normal as possible and get children back into the classroom.

Alissa Taylor, Kentucky State Director for Save the Children, said school districts in the region have delayed the start of the school year and are working to approve a new start date. She explained that schools are the focal point of many eastern Kentucky counties, and with some buildings destroyed, community centers have also disappeared.

She stressed that her staff were working to ensure teachers had supplies.

“And not just the structural reconstructions of schools and classrooms,” Taylor pointed out. “But all the material that has accumulated over the years and the teachers have invested their hard-earned money into creating a fun and engaging environment for children.”

The floods killed at least 37 people. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are expected to visit communities in the area today, along with Governor Andy Beshear.

Greta Wetzel, Eastern Kentucky Flood Response Team Leader for Save the Children, noted that disasters can erode children’s sense of safety and negatively affect their behavioral health and ability to learn.

“We know this is going to have an emotional impact on the kids,” Wetzel said. “We want to make sure we’re there to help them. With all their mental health needs, as they rebuild and get back to learning.”

Taylor added that given the lack of basic infrastructure in some areas, local school districts will coordinate to place children in nearby schools.

“The water infrastructure and the power grid are going to take a very long time to fix,” Taylor acknowledged. “We’re looking at families going maybe months without a water source in their homes, roads being rebuilt, it’s just going to take a very long time to get these communities back on track.”

Save the Children has set up the Eastern Kentucky Flood Crisis Fund for donations to help provide water, hygiene kits, diapers and other essential supplies to residents.

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Child advocacy groups are sounding the alarm over the welfare of Ohio’s children.

The Kids Count 2022 data book released today highlights some troubling trends in how children in Ohio are faring in their lives, including a 45% increase in chronic absenteeism between 2019 and 2021. And nationally, more than one in nine children have suffered from anxiety, depression or both.

Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio research director Kim Eckhart said absenteeism and mental health issues are interconnected.

“If a young person has symptoms of anxiety and depression, it’s much more difficult for them to participate in academic activities,” Eckhart said. “And other basic needs really need to be met for kids to be successful. That’s very clear when you see chronic absenteeism so high.”

The report ranks Ohio 28th for education, with an increase in the number of three- and four-year-olds who are not in preschool and nearly one in five high school students who do not graduate in time.

However, Ohio showed improvement in all four economic indicators, including a slight drop in the number of children living in poverty and those whose parents did not have stable jobs.

Leslie Boissière – vice president of external affairs for the Casey Foundation – explained that children who grow up in poverty or without having their basic needs met experience more stress.

“There is a direct correlation between trauma, stress and poverty,” Boissière said. “We know that the financial hardships families experience – lack of access to basic needs, such as nutrition and health care – have a direct impact on the well-being of children.”

Eckhart said the findings underscore the critical need to expand access to mental health services for children. She explained that Ohio still has nearly $2 billion in unallocated federal COVID relief funds, and the state’s revenue surplus is about 11% higher than original estimates.

“There’s money and resources available at the state level to provide things like school-based health centers,” Eckhart said, “where you can have the kinds of student-counsellor ratios needed to that all children have access to these types of services.”

The report ranks Ohio 31st among states for child well-being.

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