RICHMOND, Va. - To assist more parents looking for or returning to jobs as the pandemic begins to ease, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed legislation expanding eligibility for the state Child Care Subsidy program.

Now, said Emily Griffey, chief policy officer for Voices for Virginia's Children, a single parent making less than $60,000 a year can qualify for state help paying for care for a child younger than age five. The previous income limit was less than $32,000 a year.

Griffey said work requirements also have been relaxed, so parents can get child-care assistance while looking for a job, instead of after they've found one.

"Child care can cost more than a mortgage," she said, "and so, to have this kind of financial assistance to get folks back on track after the pandemic could be really transformative for families."

She noted that House Bill 2206 is funded by federal stimulus money and coronavirus relief funds dedicated to child-care assistance. The short-term eligibility requirement will end July 1. People can apply online at commonhelp.virginia.gov or call 1-866-KIDS-TLC.

Griffey said about 90% of Virginia's child-care programs have reopened in the past few months, after the pandemic forced many of them to close last year. She said she thinks the reopenings and the subsidies will help women, particularly women of color, groups that experienced heavy job losses in the health crisis.

"Child care was unaffordable for most families before the pandemic, and right now, we want to make sure that families are strong and that women can get back into the workforce," she said. "And so being able to find affordable child care is one of those critical elements."

Federal funds also will supplement Virginia's child-care educator incentive program. That will allow some child-care centers that receive public funding to get grants of up to $2,000 this year to boost the quality of their programs and reduce turnover.


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Groups fighting for children's rights say they are disappointed Gov. Gavin Newsom's May budget revision did not include more money for the Hearing Aid Coverage for Children Program. Newsom proposed about $16 million, but advocates want lawmakers to bump it up another $5 million in the final budget.

Mike Odeh, senior director of health for the nonprofit Children Now, said hearing loss in babies and toddlers causes serious delays in speech and learning.

"It's a developmental issue, and it's not appropriate for kids to be sent to school without the appropriate supports like hearing aids," Odeh contended.

At a legislative hearing in 2019, experts testified only 1 in 10 children in California has hearing-aid coverage through a private health plan, and every month of delay in starting hearing aids correlates with decreased long-term language potential.

The state Department of Health Care Services estimates 7,000 low-income children in California need hearing aids, but only about 68 children are actually enrolled.

Odeh pointed out it is because the program only covers people who have no other insurance options.

"Some kids are getting rejected because they don't meet the income criteria," Odeh noted. "And so they would likely be eligible for MediCal, some are getting rejected because they have partial coverage that maybe provides a $500 benefit of coverage for hearing aids. But hearing aids are about $6,000 for kids and need to be replaced every three years."

Advocates argued with more money, the program could be expanded to help families who struggle with high copays and deductibles.

May is mental health awareness month. As part of that, groups in Idaho are using HOPE Week to help kids in crisis and reduce the state's worrying number of child suicides.

Jean Mutchie is president of the Idaho Resilience Project and a community health manager at Saint Luke's Health System. She said the project and Optum Idaho are teaming up to promote positive moments for kids, which can ease adverse experiences.

Mutchie said Optum Idaho is distributing 20,000 kites across the state - to gets them outside and playing.

"We're really focusing on kites, bikes and hikes," said Mutchie. "So really encouraging people to get outside with somebody else and engage in a positive activity."

HOPE stands for "Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences," and the theme for this year's HOPE week is "hope lives here."

Mutchie said there are a lot of ways to promote the mental well-being of children. She said connections with an adult who is not a family member can help protect their state of mind.

"And if you ask a lot of kids, they can't identify a trusted adult who's not part of their family," said Mutchie. "And so that one non-family member who is that trusted adult in a child's life can make an enormous difference. And data backs that up."

COVID-19 has taken a big toll, and is raising concerns about the number of Idaho children in crisis.

Recent surveys show as many as three quarters of respondents thought the pandemic had worsened mental health in the state, and a huge majority say addressing children's mental health is an especially urgent priority.

Mutchie said one key is that people should feel like they can ask for help.

"Really encourage people to seek help, destigmatize, understand that it's OK to not be OK and it's really OK to reach to somebody," said Mutchie. "And also encourage other people to start to build connection and support to really combat isolation and some of the lack of connect that we've faced during COVID."

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 takes calls twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.




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May is National Foster Care Month and Idaho is focused on bringing more foster parents into the fold.

It's always been difficult for states to recruit the number of foster parents they need to support children. But Julie Sevcik, project manager for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, said the pandemic has added another challenge.

She said the state relies on recruitment coordinators who can speak to potential applicants face-to-face, at in-person events, about the critical need for foster parents.

"Those two years of not being able to attend events, because they were canceled because of COVID," said Sevcik, "that did decrease our inquiry numbers quite a bit, as well as our new foster parents."

There were 1,5000 children in foster care in 2020, according to Idaho Department of Health and Welfare data. It also notes 65% of children are eventually reunited with their families.

Since there have been fewer foster parents over the years, Sevcik said her agency can struggle to identify the best matches for children with a smaller pool to choose from.

She said that presents other challenges as well, for parents who already are fostering children.

"We also will struggle to provide those foster families with a break in between their placements," said Sevcik. "To allow them the time that it takes to come back together again as a family and be prepared to accept another child in their home."

Sevcik said her agency provides resources for prospective foster parents, including a mentor with experience in this field, and training also is available.

She said it can be difficult work, but also rewarding for foster parents to see biological families make the changes they need to reunite with children.

"Foster parents are our absolute greatest asset," said Sevcik, "to being able to meet the needs of children who are unable to be safely managed in their own biological families. And we just appreciate everything that they do."