A new report shows how the COVID-19 pandemic and related federal policies have impacted child well-being in the United States.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a charitable organization which aims to promote child and youth well-being in the United States, released its 2023 Kids Count Databook, an annual report that presents state and national data across four domains — economic well-being, education, health and family and community — and ranks states in terms of overall child well-being.
The report notes that half of the indicators tracked by the report “worsened since before the pandemic,” while four stayed the same and only four showed improvement.
“The most recent data available show that fewer parents were economically secure, educational achievement was hit hard and more children died young than ever before,” the report reads. “Even so, during these trying times, child poverty remained unchanged and more children than ever were insured, outcomes that demonstrate the impact policy has on child well-being.
States like Massachusetts (No. 3), Wisconsin (No. 10) and Maine (No. 12) are positioned within the first quartile of overall state well-being rankings.
But despite their high rankings in well-being and education, the report showed that children still suffer in certain areas.
For instance, Massachusetts data showed that children whose parents lack secure employment worsened from 25% to 29% between 2019 and 2021. According to the report, 57% of fourth-graders in Massachusetts are not proficient in reading, up from 55% in 2019.
In Wisconsin, reading scores for fourth-graders worsened, with 67% not being proficient compared to 64% in 2019. And 23% of parents of children need more secure employment.
In Maine, children living in poverty grew from 14% to 15% from 2019 to 2021, the report shows.
The report ranks Texas No. 44 overall, and No. 48 in terms of health. Only one factor in the health category showed improvement between 2019 and 2021: children without health insurance, which decreased from 13% to 12%.
“Children with health insurance are more likely to have a regular source of health care they can access for preventive care services and developmental screenings, to treat conditions or to address injuries,” the report reads.
The report hailed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill, the American Rescue Plan. According to an analysis cited by the report, the bill provided “$40 billion in funds for families and the child care sector helped head off 75,000 permanent child care center closures, preserving 3 million child care spots.
“Unfortunately, temporary pandemic-era aid has not been converted into permanent solutions,” the report reads.
The report also offered recommendations for improving children’s well-being throughout the United States. It suggested that Congress reauthorize and strengthen the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act — which currently “partially offsets costs for only 1.3 million of the more than 12 million kids in child care” — and increase public pre-kindergarten and Head Start funding.
The report also urged the government and private sector to work together to improve the infrastructure for home-based child care and called on Congress to broaden the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program, which caters to student parents.
