skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Building Trust Key to Ensuring All MN Kids are Counted in Census

play audio
Play

Friday, May 15, 2020   

MINNEAPOLIS - The 2020 Census count has been delayed by the pandemic, but groups wanting to ensure that children are counted are getting their message out. In Minnesota, efforts are underway to educate families in communities of color.

The state has declared May 15 as "Count All Kids Day." It's estimated that 2% of children statewide were missed in the 2010 count.

Nationwide, children of color were missed at double the rate of their white peers. Camila Mercado Michelli is advocacy manager at CLUES, a Minnesota nonprofit that serves Latinx families.

She says they're trying to dispel any myths that census takers are government workers up to no good.

"There is, like, this distrust with a government agency," says Michelli. "And because the Census Bureau falls in that group, that's one of the biggest challenges."

She says gaining trust will convince more families to participate in the process and include their children in the count. CLUES has been holding community discussions that include census representatives and immigration attorneys, to help assure concerned residents that their information will be protected.

Jennifer Bertram, KIDS Count coordinator at the Children's Defense Fund of Minnesota, says the undercount of young children in the last census cost the state nearly $200 million in federal aid.

And as Congress considers providing more long-term help for pandemic recovery, she says a more accurate count will help young kids - who have already seen the effects of achievement gaps during the crisis.

"Just reflecting on who has access to reliable internet is really making a difference," says Bertram, "in terms of how children can get access to their educational needs right now, and who has access to proper nutrition."

Advocates fear that the number of young children missed could double in the 2020 count, if not enough awareness is raised.

Disclosure: Children's Defense Fund- Minnesota Chapter contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Children's Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021