Kids Count: Delaware child, family well-being imperiled by pandemic

By Mike Finney
Posted 6/21/21

NEWARK — The COVID-19 pandemic crippled the U.S. economy and drove record unemployment numbers. It also turned into the worst crisis to hit families in decades as kids had their educations …

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Kids Count: Delaware child, family well-being imperiled by pandemic

Posted

NEWARK — The COVID-19 pandemic crippled the U.S. economy and drove record unemployment numbers. It also turned into the worst crisis to hit families in decades as kids had their educations disrupted along with youth development.

According to a new 50-state data report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation “2021 Kids Count Data Book,” released today, there has been an insufficient response to the crisis that could erase nearly a decade of progress in child well-being following the Great Recession.

The foundation is urging policymakers to act boldly to address persistent inequities that impact children’s health, education, communities and economic stability so the country can sustain the beginnings of a recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

“Every child needs food, health care, safe and stable housing and access to education in normal times, but most especially in times of crisis,” Janice Barlow, director of Kids Count in Delaware, said in a statement. “Robust federal interventions, from the Cares Act to the American Rescue Plan, have been important in keeping families afloat during the crisis.”

Sixteen indicators measuring four domains — economic well-being, education, health and family and community context — are used by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in each year’s Data Book to assess child well-being.

The annual Kids Count data and rankings represent the most recent information available but do not capture the impact of the past year.

Delaware ranked 32nd overall, according to the Kids Count Data Book, which is a 50-state report released annually to track child well-being in the United States.

The report also revealed that Delaware’s percentage of students not graduating on time was dropping immediately before the pandemic and, at the same time, the state saw an increase in the percent of children living in high-poverty areas.

There were 16% of Delaware children who lived in households with an income below the poverty line in 2019 and Delaware’s percentage of children living in high-poverty areas increased immediately before the pandemic, according to the household data accumulated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which analyzes how families have fared between the Great Recession and the COVID-19 crisis.

The foundation said that growing up in poverty is one of the greatest threats to healthy child development. It increases the likelihood that a child will be exposed to factors that can impair brain development and lead to poor academic, cognitive and health outcomes.

Nearly 32,000 Delaware children were living in poverty pre-pandemic. Furthermore, the percentage of children living in high-poverty areas increased from 4% in 2008-2012 to 5% in 2015-2019.

COVID-19 has intensified this historical socioeconomic divide, with more families struggling to maintain housing or put food on the table as caregivers lost jobs, income and benefits like health insurance.

During the pandemic, in 2020, 20% of households with children in Delaware had little or no confidence in their ability to pay their next rent or mortgage payment.

During the same timeframe, 14% of households with children in Delaware sometimes or often did not have enough food to eat in the past two weeks.

However, by March 2021, this figure had fallen to 12%, suggesting the beginnings of a recovery. Furthermore, racial and ethnicity disparities in this measure shrunk in this household measure.

Some other data being released by the Kids Count Data Book today include:

• Economic well-being: In 2019, 16% (32,000) of Delaware children lived in households with an income below the poverty line.

• Education: In 2017–2019, 49% (11,000) of Delaware’s young children were not in school.

• Affordable health care: In 2019, 5% (10,000) of Delaware children did not have health insurance.

• Family and community: In 2019, 38% (73,000) of Delaware children lived in single-parent families.

While the American Rescue Plan included several of the Foundation’s suggestions, the organization says that sustained investment is necessary for an equitable and expansive recovery, including making the child tax credit permanent.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation also suggests that policymakers establish mechanisms that ensure federal resources reach communities of communities of color, which are still disproportionately impacted, and hold state and local leaders accountable in this process.

The organization also says that simply returning to a pre-pandemic level of support for children and families would shortchange millions of kids and fail to address persistent racial and ethnic disparities.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is the most extraordinary crisis to hit families in decades,” said Lisa Hamilton, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “Deliberate policy decisions can help them recover, and we’re already seeing the beginnings of that.

“Policymakers should use this moment to repair the damage the pandemic has caused — and to address long-standing inequities it has exacerbated.”

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