skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, May 15, 2025

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

Supreme court to hear arguments in fight over birthright citizenship; Repeal of clean energy incentives would hurt AK economy, families, advocates say; Iowa dairy farm manure spill kills 100,000 fish; Final piece of AL's Sipsey Wilderness protected after 50-year effort.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

House Republicans get closer to enacting billions in Medicaid cuts. The Israeli government says it'll resume humanitarian aid in Gaza, and Montana's governor signs a law tightening the voter registration window.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Millions of rural Americans would lose programs meant to help them buy a home under the Trump administration's draft 2026 budget, independent medical practices and physicians in rural America are becoming rare, and gravity-fed acequias are a centerpiece of democratic governance in New Mexico.

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
According to Pew Research, of the 45 million immigrants in the United States, 4.7 million (10.4%) are Black. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

While Florida's immigration debates center on mostly Hispanic communities, the state's Black immigrant populations, including more than 300,000 …


Environment

play sound

The sale of public lands along with a rollback of protections for national monuments is back on the table now that Republicans control both houses of …

Social Issues

play sound

Advocates for juvenile justice reform in Washington are celebrating the passage of House Bill 1815. The law redefines "prison riot" and lets judges …


According to state data, more than 276,000 Kentucky households received SNAP benefits in April. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Congress is mulling a budget and tax proposal which could leave states picking up more of the tab for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program…

Environment

play sound

Environmental advocates have warned President Donald Trump's proposed budget could cripple restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. Federal agencies have …

Federal agencies including the U.S. Forest Service said it can take months and even years to recover from the emotional, financial and ecological impacts of a wildfire. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Large wildfires have ravaged parts of northeastern Minnesota and relief organizations are out in full force to assist displaced residents. They said …

Social Issues

play sound

A groundbreaking radio show from the early 1990s is returning this weekend in Arkansas. The PHAT LIP! You(th)Talk Radio show will be back on the …

Environment

play sound

Some Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, are considering repealing the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy incentives…

 

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