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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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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.

Report: MT 20th in Child Well-Being; Mental Health Remains an Issue

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Monday, August 8, 2022   

Montana ranks in the upper half of states for child wellbeing, according to an annual report. But mental health among young people remains a concern.

The KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks states based on four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. This year, it places the Treasure State at 20th.

Xanna Burg is KIDS COUNT coordinator with the Montana Budget and Policy Center. She noted that depression and anxiety are high among Montana children and teens.

"The reality here is that Montana youth have struggled with mental health for years," said Burg. "So this isn't a new topic. But the concerning piece and really, the urgency behind talking about this now, is that the trends really are getting worse."

The data was collected from 2020, the first year of the pandemic. The report, from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, finds mental health is a concern across the country, as kids felt the pressures from COVID-19.

Nationally, nearly 12% of children had anxiety or depression. In Montana, the number was 13.4%.

Burg said more counselors in schools is one way to addressing these growing numbers, although she noted that the solutions might look different in rural communities.

"Rural communities might not have the student population to fund a full-time counselor," said Burg. "So, ways to think about sharing staff among school systems, implementing telehealth or partnering with other community health services may be other ways to think about how this need is filled."

The number of children in poverty has improved, but Burg said it's still concerning that 34,000 Montana kids are living in families with incomes below the poverty line.

She said the federal government has offered supports, such as additional food assistance during the pandemic, but noted that this help is likely to expire soon.

"So, at a state level," said Burg, "thinking about how we're supporting families that are still struggling to afford things like healthy food, so that when kids show up to school, they're ready to learn and they're not thinking about being hungry."



Disclosure: The 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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