KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is in Kansas City today, promoting the "Where's baby? Look Before You Lock" campaign. It's part of a nationwide tour to remind people of the dangers of children left in hot cars.

As the school year begins, life is getting very busy for families. Sometimes parents get frazzled getting children to school and running them around to all their activities. NHTSA says that's why parents and day-care providers need to make sure children are not accidentally left in vehicles.

Kate Carr, president of Safe Kids Worldwide, says eight children died inside cars in the first week of August - but it happens year-round.

"It is not just a summertime occurrence. Deaths from hyperthermia or heat stroke have occurred in 11 months of the year in 46 of the 50 states in our country."

Carr says children left inside even for a couple of minutes can be in danger. Anyone who sees a child alone inside someone else's vehicle, Carr says, always should call 911.

Even with the weather moderating, says Dr. Denise Dowd, an emergency room physician at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, children left in cars still are in danger.

"It always heats up way above that inside of a locked car - because, even on a day when it's only 80 degrees or 70 degrees, it can quickly get up above 100 degrees. Kids can get hyperthermia there, for sure."

When routines are disrupted, experts say, parents tend to forget some details - so they urge using visual reminders. Dowd says that's a good idea, because it only takes a few minutes to put a child in extreme danger.

"Unfortunately, kids that get hyperthermia, especially babies, get sick pretty darned quickly. A child's body can triple the rate of an adult's, and once they get above 106 or 107, they can't survive that."

In half the cases, parents forget their child, NHTSA says - and in a third of the cases, children get inside an unlocked car themselves and can't get out.

Parents can ask a child-care provider to call them if a child doesn't show up as expected. Another recommendation is to keep a stuffed toy in the baby seat. Whenever the child is in the car, the toy is next to you as a reminder to "look before you lock."

More information is online at safekids.org.


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A new federal report shows anti-poverty policies enacted by New Mexico are making a big difference.

This month, the U.S. Census Bureau has released a supplemental report measuring poverty at the state level for the first time.

Emily Wildau, senior research and policy analyst at New Mexico Voices for Children, said the report still ranks the state last in the nation, at 28% under the Official Poverty Measure but when newly enacted state programs are taken into account, poverty decreased dramatically from 2021 to 2023.

"When you look at that same time period, and you use the measure that counts things like refundable tax credits and noncash benefits like SNAP, New Mexico's child poverty rate drops to just 8.9%," Wildau pointed out. "Which is actually better than the national rate."

The national child poverty rate is 10.4%. Wildau noted one disappointing figure in the data: The state's rate of uninsured children rose to almost 6% in 2023, compared to about 4% in 2022, likely because of changes made to Medicaid following the pandemic.

Wildau emphasized many policy changes made by New Mexico lawmakers are not reflected in nationally-generated data looking at children's well-being, often because the policies are new and have not been incorporated into how poverty is measured.

"We're doing really good things," Wildau outlined. "Increasing our state-level Earned Income Tax Credit, adding a new state-level Child Tax Credit and expanding SNAP eligibility October 1st up to 200% of that kind-of official poverty rate."

Along with New Mexico, 13 other states boosted fully refundable Child Tax Credits in 2024, aimed at enhancing economic security for low- and middle-income families. About 43 million people, or 13% of Americans, lived in poverty last year.

The number of West Virginia children living in poverty remains among the highest in the nation, and more children are living in households struggling with hunger, according to the latest federal data.

The end of pandemic supports combined with rising inflation, rent, and the cost of living, are to blame experts say.

The expanded Child Tax Credit cut child poverty in half, said Salaam Bhatti, SNAP Director with Food Research & Action Center.

When it ended, he said more families dipped back into poverty. Now, the child poverty rate has hit nearly 14%.

"Had we added a few more dollars to that program, it could have cut child poverty entirely," said Bhatti. "But it was a deliberate policy choice that the government made to not do that, and then another deliberate choice to remove that expansion."

According to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, child poverty in the Mountain State dipped from 25% in 2022 to around 20% in 2023.

But despite the reduced numbers, the number of kids living in poverty remains among the highest in the nation.

Nearly 14 million children live in households currently experiencing food insecurity, up by more than 3% from 2022.

Bhatti noted that nearly 35% of single parent households headed by women struggle to pay for groceries.

He said his organization wants Congress to protect the Thrifty Food Plan, which sets the standard for the maximum amount of SNAP benefits households receive.

"Some lawmakers want to cut that Thrifty Food Plan adjustment," said Bhatti, "and as a result, that would cut $30 billion from SNAP benefits over the next 10 years."

Experts say kids who eat healthy meals are less likely to develop high blood pressure, diabetes, dental cavities, and other health problems.

But as more kids go hungry or lack access to quality food, they're also more likely to be uninsured.

According to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the number of children without health coverage rose to nearly 6% in 2023.




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During this week's presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris proposed reviving the Child Tax Credit, which was part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Harris says she'd raise the credit to $6,000 for newborns, renewing focus on its impact for Ohio families. However, the U.S. Senate recently rejected House Resolution 7024, which aimed to expand the Child Tax Credit.

Analysts have said the proposal could have lifted 400,000 children out of poverty, including thousands in Ohio.

Lauren Reliford, public policy director for the Children's Defense Fund, cited a "lack of political will" as the main barrier to expanding the credit.

"But at this point, childhood poverty is a policy choice," she said. "The folks that have the power to do it know and have seen the evidence - and they haven't done it."

A Child Tax Credit expansion initially passed in the House with bipartisan support, including all but one Ohio representative. However, critics of the expansion have voiced concerns about the cost to taxpayers and potential misuse. These factors contributed to its rejection in the Senate, despite widespread support from family advocacy groups.

Reliford also pointed to the broader impacts of poverty on children and the long-term consequences of inaction.

"Poverty is a toxic stress," she said. "Children see their parents being stressed, and they take that on, too. And so, why are we allowing these children to grow up in spaces and places without the necessary resources they need?"

The Child Tax Credit has been credited with significantly reducing childhood poverty during the pandemic, but its future remains uncertain as the debate continues in Washington.