Dear John,
In case you missed it...this week the Voices for Human Needs blog reports on efforts in Congress to help the nation's critical child care industry survive -- and on what happens if pandemic-era support for child care is allowed to expire, beginning at the end of September. We also examine the latest Census Bureau poverty data -- and how inaction by Congress allowed the child poverty rate to spike dramatically between 2021 and 2022. And we detail a sign-on letter -- signed by 680 local, state, and national organizations -- asking Congress to responsibly fund needed programs and avoid the chaos of a government shutdown. Finally, we release the newest Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship, which this week reports on why millions of students aren't back at school and the help they need. Please share!
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This week on the blog...
'If we let critical child care stabilization funding expire, things are only going to get worse'
September 15
Senate and House Democrats this week introduced the Child Care Stabilization Act, which would provide $16 billion in mandatory federal funds each year over the next five years to prevent tens of thousands of child care facilities across the country from having to shut their doors. READ MORE »
Plunging millions back into poverty: After historic reductions in 2021, some in Congress force a painful reversal
September 12
In 2021, poverty and child poverty declined to historic lows. There were 3.37 million fewer poor children in 2021 than in 2020, a drop from 9.7 percent to 5.2 percent of children in poverty in just that one year. But in 2022, this unprecedented progress was painfully reversed. The number of poor children rose by a stunning 5.1 million children over the previous year, increasing to 12.4 percent of all children. READ MORE »
680 groups tell Congress: Responsibly fund needed services and avoid the chaos of a government shutdown
September 12
The Coalition on Human Needs and 680 local, state, and national groups delivered a message to Congress Tuesday: do your duty and keep government running. The groups delivered a letter to every member of the House and Senate urging passage of a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution (CR), including “emergency funding that supports current services and addresses urgent needs and is free of poison pill policy riders that are harmful and irrelevant to the functions of government.” READ MORE »
CHN's latest Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship
September 11
The not everyone back to school edition. It’s September, and our children really should be back at school. But millions are missing – described as chronically absent. Why? Part of the explanation may be academic disengagement during the pandemic. Another part is the nation’s youth mental health crisis – the two causes are probably related, although the youth mental health crisis existed before the pandemic began. READ MORE »
Coalition on Human Needs
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