skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

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

Progressives call push to change Constitution "risky," Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks, insurers while building real estate empire; new report compares ways NY can get cleaner air, help disadvantaged communities.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

House Speaker McCarthy aims to pin a shutdown on White House border policies, President Biden joins a Detroit auto workers picket line and the Supreme Court again tells Alabama to redraw Congressional districts for Black voters.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A small fire department in rural Indiana is determined not to fail new moms and babies, the growing election denial movement has caused voting districts to change procedures and autumn promises spectacular scenery along America's rural byways.

Discouraging Trends for MT Children Leading into Pandemic, Data Shows

play audio
Play

Monday, June 21, 2021   

HELENA, Mont. -- Troubling trends in Montana may have made the pandemic harder for children, a new report shows.

The latest Annie E. Casey's KIDS COUNT report ranks states based on 2019 data in four categories: economic wellbeing, education, health, and family and community. Montana ranks 22nd overall.

Xanna Burg, KIDS COUNT coordinator at the Montana Budget and Policy Center, said families have been struggling to afford housing, which became harder during the pandemic.

Burg added another concerning trend is the recent rise in Montana children without health insurance, up to about 15,000 in 2019.

"That was before the pandemic, and it's concerning because so many families, their health insurance is tied to their employment," Burg explained. "And so we're concerned that this number may have increased as a result of some of the job loss that we saw in the last year."

Burg argued Montana should support Medicaid and improve outreach in order to enroll more children in the program.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Foundation, said Congress passed pandemic relief quickly, including an expansion of the Child Tax Credit within the American Rescue Plan Act.

She explained the policy is expected to pull as many as half of the children living in poverty out of it, but noted it's only temporary.

"We are excited and grateful that lawmakers passed the expansion," Boissiere stated. "And we're calling on them to make that expansion permanent. We'd like to ensure that we don't have the largest ever, one year reduction in the number of children who live in poverty followed immediately by the largest ever one-year increase."

Burg noted Native American children in Montana face greater hardships than their white counterparts, including higher rates of poverty. She emphasized policymakers should look at the pandemic recovery as a chance to reimagine how we support children and families, instead of returning to the way it was before COVID-19.

"So when making decisions and creating supports for families, how can we think about specifically supporting Native children and other children of color in our state so that we don't see these disparities continue in the data?" Burg asked.

Disclosure: 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.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Conservative legal groups are calling for a constitutional convention as early as 2025. (Kasia Biel/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Progressive groups are speaking out against the idea of a constitutional convention, warning it could be used to impose conservative policies on …


Health and Wellness

play sound

Today is National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and Nevada is one of the 10 states with the highest HIV infection rates. In 2021, more than 11,00…

Environment

play sound

The current Farm Bill expires Sept. 30 and with a looming government shutdown, reauthorization does not appear imminent. Wisconsin farm groups say …


More than thirty states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized low-level cannabis possession offenses, according to The Marijuana Policy Project. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Kentuckians continue to be charged, jailed and fined for cannabis-related offenses at high rates, despite dramatic shifts in public opinion, …

Environment

play sound

Three conservation groups have sued to stop a large logging project near Yellowstone National Park they say threatens endangered species in Montana…

A $27 billion fund managed by the Environmental Protection Agency is designed to help states and local communities construct sustainable green projects to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gases. (Adobe Stock/AI)

Environment

play sound

Elected officials in New York and across the country are urging state and local governments to use new funding available through the Environmental Pro…

Environment

play sound

A new poll found Pennsylvania Republican voters want political candidates to prioritize preserving and growing manufacturing including tariffs in the …

play sound

New polling data showed most Ohio Republican voters say small-town factory jobs are not coming back, and want their elected representatives to …

 

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