skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

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.

ND Households with Kids Share Their Struggles in New Report

play audio
Play

Wednesday, December 16, 2020   

FARGO, N.D. - A new report confirms that vulnerable families in North Dakota are experiencing more struggles as the pandemic drags on. Households with children say housing payments and health coverage are becoming increasingly out of reach.

This week's report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation looked at all states, using weekly census survey data to get a better sense of what families are experiencing. Fifteen percent of North Dakota households said they're worried they won't be able to cover their rent or mortgage payments in the near future. One in eight households said they can't afford health insurance for their kids.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president for external affairs at the Casey Foundation, said it all adds up to an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"They're also struggling with their mental and their physical health," she said. "Twelve percent of families don't have health insurance, one in three has postponed getting needed medical care, and one in five have experienced depression since the pandemic."

The number of North Dakota households that report feeling down or depressed is one in seven. In addition to boosting mental-health services, the report recommended guaranteeing COVID-19 vaccines be available at no cost, boosting investments in education and ensuring schools are more equitably funded.

Also in North Dakota, 6% of households with children said they didn't have enough food to eat. Xanna Burg, who coordinates the Kids Count program for North and South Dakota and Montana, said that need more than likely runs deeper, since the survey data only covers short periods of time.

"So really, we think that hunger is something that families are struggling with in North Dakota," she said, "even though the snapshot of data in this report maybe indicates a lower percentage."

Burg said these problems of overall family instability stand to have long-term effects on a child's development, but she says that can be mitigated through short-term responses by policymakers, including a new COVID relief package being debated in Congress.

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


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021