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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.

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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.

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Report: ME Families with Kids Struggle with Housing, Health Insurance

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Thursday, December 17, 2020   

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Many Maine kids are struggling during the pandemic with health care, mental health, housing and hunger.

Seven percent of Maine families with children reported not having enough to eat, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Twelve percent said they had only slight or no confidence in making their next rent or mortgage payment on time. And 5% don't have health-insurance coverage.

Stephanie Eglinton, executive director for the Maine Children's Alliance, said all of these "pain points" are tied to employment, and with so much job loss due to the pandemic, families need immediate relief.

"It's very clear that these effects on children and families are going to be felt for years and years," Eglinton predicted. "So we have to think about short-term relief, but also long-term recovery, and not forgetting families and children in that."

The numbers show racial disparities. For example, on housing security, 31% of African-American respondents reported being on the verge of failing to pay their rent or mortgage, compared with 26% of Latino, 16% of Asian-American and 12% of Caucasian respondents.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Casey Foundation said mental-health care is a part of making sure all children's basic needs are met. Eighteen percent of Maine households with kids reported feeling down, depressed or hopeless.

"We can't even begin to address the social, emotional challenges that children are experiencing," Boissiere observed. "The numbers are staggering, schools reporting excessive absences, and I think we can expect an increase in learning loss."

Eglinton noted child care is a major obstacle for many families as well. She pointed out nationally, nearly a third of respondents said they're less likely to return to work because they lack child care.

"Child care is really a public good," Eglinton asserted. "Not just for families to figure out but for our economic recovery and for businesses, right? Parents need to be able to work."

She echoed the report's call for immediate action, from beefing up the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to investing in high-poverty school districts. And she added racial equity should be front and center in any relief efforts.

Disclosure: Annie E Casey Foundation contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Education, Juvenile Justice, and Welfare Reform. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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