Voices for Illinois Children 2020 Summer Newsletter

From Voices Executive Director Tasha Green Cruzat

Dear Friends,

Since I last wrote to you, the coronavirus pandemic has continued to impact our economy, schools, and daily routines. While things have gotten better in Illinois, we still cannot escape the fact that nearly 6,900 Illinois residents have died of the disease as of late June. Nearly 142,000 have tested positive for the disease. The state’s unemployment rate for May stood at 14.7% (compared to 3.5% for May of 2019). As more businesses reopen, that rate will hopefully come down. Yet, a great many Illinois residents still face unemployment or reduced hours.

George Floyd tragically died in Minnesota. His death sparked protests across the nation as well as here at home. These protests and community meetings across the state have rekindled much needed discussions on how to improve the status of our state’s Black and Latinx residents. It has caused us to refocus our efforts to invest in underserved communities and to provide every opportunity possible to every child in our state.

I had intended to write more about these two events.  However, events in Chicago these past two weeks have changed my plans. In that time, children ages 1, 3, 10, 13, 16, 17 (2 children), and 18 were killed by gunfire. That’s not to take anything away from the adults shot and killed – adults who may be leaving behind children of their own.

During the course of a year, I spend many hours in meetings discussing ways to improve child care, health care for children, the K-12 education system, mental health services, and economic supports for our children. Long-term, along with investments in communities across the state, I believe these efforts will benefit our children and their families. However, they certainly will not lead our children to productive lives as adults if they keep getting killed.  

Illinois KIDS COUNT Report on Children’s Health

Last week, Voices for Illinois Children released an Illinois KIDS COUNT Report on children’s health. The report shows continued health disparities for children across the state when the data is analyzed by race and ethnicity. It also looks at the social determinants of health. Among its findings:

• The percentage of Black children who lived in poverty (35%) in 2018 was higher than the state figure (16%) and all other racial/ethnic groups (Latinx 20% and multiracial 18%).
• Twenty-nine percent of Illinois children live in households that are overburdened by housing costs (i.e., they pay 30% or more of their income on housing). Black (46%), Latinx (38%), and multiracial (31%) children outpace the state rate.
• Nearly 40% of Illinois children receive health care insurance through Medicaid or some other publicly funded means tested program.
• Infant mortality among Black infants (13 per 1,000 births) was consistently two times the state rate (6.1 per 1,000 births), while all other racial/ethnic groups fall below the state rate.
• Pediatric asthma emergency room visit rates (per 10,000) were, by far, highest among Black children (227.21). Rates for Latinx children (54.93) and white children (36.55) were significantly lower.

Our report contains a set of recommendations that include:

• Extending the requirement for DHS to collect statistical data on the racial and ethnic demographics of program participants for each program administered by the Department to other state agencies
• Making additional investments in school-based health centers
• Improving All Kids managed care organization operations
• Increasing community-based mental health services
• Taking further steps to address racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality

Voices Podcasts

The Man with the Data: Voices KIDS COUNT Project Manager Dr. Bill Byrnes

The primary researcher and author of our last two KIDS COUNT reports is Dr. Bill Byrnes. In addition to his work on the reports, Bill maintains our KIDS COUNT Data Center and writes policy papers and blog posts on a variety of topics related to data on the well-being of Illinois children. You may also see him online or at a variety of public forums providing presentations on the KIDS COUNT data.

Bill joined the Voices staff in November of 2018. He obtained his Ph.D. in sociology from Loyola University Chicago. His dissertation explored the effects of mass incarceration on the middle class. He also worked as a research fellow at Loyola’s Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) studying homelessness, service provision to survivors of domestic violence, and manufacturing job training.

Bill has co-authored several published pieces in Critical Sociology, Sociological Spectrum, the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, and co-authored 17 research reports during his work as a research fellow. Prior to his work as a Ph.D. student, Bill was a social worker in Chicago’s south and west suburbs. During that time, he worked as a case manager providing services to people with developmental disabilities. The work he now does at Voices is heavily informed by his experience as both a sociologist and social worker.

In his free time, Bill enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, and learning the fine art of smoked barbecue.

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