CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The new coronavirus stimulus bill will bring some food assistance to hungry Americans, and it couldn't come soon enough for West Virginia's families with children who aren't getting enough to eat during the pandemic.

A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found since March, 17% of families with kids in the Mountain State often go hungry.

Sean O'Leary, senior policy analyst for the West Virginia Center on Policy and Budget, said that's three percentage points higher than the national average.

He added closing schools contributed to a lack of food because the state's schools offer free meals to kids.

"If you go back before this, West Virginia is a poor state and food insecurity has always been an issue," O'Leary explained. "Looking at that food insecurity number, it's doubled and tripled some weeks when we've tracked it week by week, particularly for, you know, it's always higher for those households that have children."

The report also found 18% of the nation's families with kids don't have confidence they'll be able to pay their mortgage or rent on time. In West Virginia, that number is 16%.

The report is based on census survey data taken last spring.

It shows a quarter of families in West Virginia reported feeling down, depressed or hopeless during the pandemic, higher than the national average of 21%. O'Leary attributes it to stresses from the pandemic-induced recession and a loss of stimulus assistance in a state that lost more than 90,000 jobs.

"The enhanced unemployment benefits expired in July," O'Leary noted. "So a loss of that aid that sort of aided as time has gone on, that sort of created a lot of economic insecurity, a lot of stress, and I think that helps explain some of these mental-health numbers."

He reported West Virginia's weekly unemployment benefit is only $230 a week, so the new unemployment stimulus package of $300 additional dollars a week Congress is expected to pass will help.

But he cautioned 11 weeks is not a lot of time for families to recover from the last five months.


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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The 800 children living in foster care near Albuquerque are some of the first to receive a new therapeutic kit designed to help them manage change, uncertainty and trauma.

The city has rolled out "EcoCare Kits" as a tool to connect foster children to the healing qualities of nature.

Austin Adderholt, community outreach and recruitment manager for New Mexico Kids Matter, said the agency is always looking for new approaches in the foster-care system to benefit kids for the long term.

"What we're trying to do is make sure that we're introducing our foster kids to mindfulness and connection with nature, to help them cope with the trauma that they've been through," Adderholt explained.

New Mexico has been one of the hardest-hit states for children losing a primary caregiver due to COVID-19, according to a report by the Journal of Pediatrics. The report said along the U.S.-Mexico border, up to 67% of all children who lost a parent or caregiving grandparent identify as Hispanic.

Adderholt pointed out New Mexico Kids Matter is also working to see if the therapeutic nature kits have a positive impact for kids working through the court system.

"We're going to be giving them to our court-appointed special advocates, which are our CASAs, who are the advocates for the foster kids in court," Adderholt noted.

Three hundred kits were initially created. They contain a magnifying glass to study bugs; a bandana that serves as a board game; and an award-winning children's book, "Everybody Needs a Rock," set in the Southwest.

Dave Simon, director of the Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department, wants New Mexico children to discover nature is a lifelong gift.

"The thing about the kit that stands out is that we designed it so it could be used in natural settings," Simon emphasized. "But this kit can also be used in a child's backyard. We know that the immense healing powers of nature can help, no matter where the child is."

Simon plans to take the New Mexico-created kit to national conferences and hopes it will catch on as a national model for working with foster children.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The $1.7 trillion Build Back Better Act now moves to the Senate where it will face an uphill battle after passing the House Friday.

New York family advocates say it's critical for the social safety-net package to be delivered to President Joe Biden. The legislation will invest in child care for 1 million New York children age five and younger, reducing the average annual cost of family income to no more than 7%.

Dede Hill, director of policy at the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy in Albany, said the major investment in early childhood education under Build Back Better added to the groundwork already laid through public pre-K programs in New York City and elsewhere in the state.

"This is going to be a real opportunity for our three- and four-year-olds all over New York to have access to high-quality pre-K," Hill explained. "And for their families to also have the whole continuum of care and have access to child care for their babies and toddlers."

If passed, nearly 300,000 more three- and four-year-olds in the state will access pre-school for free. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said he wants to pass Build Back Better by Christmas.

Under the bill, the Child Tax Credit would be expanded for another year. Pete Nabozny of Rochester-based The Children's Agenda said the city has one of the highest poverty rates in New York as well as the nation. He said the Child Tax Credit will sustain families in Rochester and throughout the state with help to pay bills and buy groceries.

"The continuation of this child tax credit means that the cut to child poverty that we saw over the course of last year because of this temporary expansion will at least continue for another year," Hill pointed out. "Families will have that support to help them pay their bills and make ends meet and be able to care for the children."

More than 3.3 million children in New York received the monthly Child Tax Credit in Oct., providing $3.3 billion dollars to New York families between July and October.

HELENA, Mont. -- Supporters of the Build Back Better Act are touting the benefits it will bring to families in Montana and across the country.

A number of provisions in the legislation would directly help families, such as extending the Child Tax Credit. The credit went into effect during the last round of pandemic aid from Congress, providing cash directly to families monthly.

Kelly Rosenleaf, executive director of Child Care Resources in Missoula, said the measure has pulled Montana families out of poverty.

"Right now, nearly 200,000 children in Montana are benefiting from the child care tax credit as of October, and that's providing about $200 million to Montana families between July and October," Rosenleaf outlined.

The Build Back Better Act is receiving pushback because of its cost. The House could vote on the legislation as soon as this week.

Another provision in the Build Back Better Act would open up preschool for all Montana children ages three and four. The state is one of only six without investment in universal preschool. Currently, only 18% of three- and four-year-olds in Montana attend preschool.

Rosenleaf pointed out another important piece would ensure no families pay more than 7% of their income for child care. She noted more women than men have left the workforce and stayed out of it because of the lack of affordable care.

"It is an underpinning of the workforce," Rosenleaf asserted. "If we don't invest in child care, we will continue to have a workforce shortage."

The pandemic has put into stark relief the struggles families face. Rosenleaf believes there is something to be learned in every crisis.

"In this crisis, more attention has been drawn to these issues around dependent care -- both for children and for seniors -- and those issues as they impact our workforce. So some good might come," Rosenleaf concluded.