Children’s welfare report examines state spending, By Lucas L. Johnson II (AP), June 6, 2012, Knoxville News Sentinel: “Children’s advocates say a report released Wednesday on the welfare of children in Tennessee supports their belief that more preventive care programs will benefit youth long term, as well as save the state money. The Kids Count report, partially funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, focused on children’s well-being, but also examined how the state spends funds to improve the lives of children. Linda O’Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, said universal prevention services have the lowest per child cost and the greatest cost-benefit potential because of their ability to prevent downstream costs. However, they received the least funding, according to the report compiled by the commission…”
Day: June 7, 2012
Medicaid and Children’s Dental Care
Many kids on Medicaid don’t see dentist, By Steven Reinberg, June 7, 2012, U.S. News & World Report: “Only about one-third of U.S. children on Medicaid receives dental care in a single year, and how often these kids see a dentist depends on where they live, a new study finds. In 2007, the prevalence of visits to the dentist ranged from 12 percent in Nevada to 49 percent in Vermont, but didn’t reach 50 percent in any state or the District of Columbia, the researchers found. The researchers also compared the 2007 findings with data from five years earlier…”
Children and Food Insecurity
- End of school means days of hunger for some local kids, By James Fuller, June 6, 2012, Daily Herald: “‘No more pencils, no more books’ is part of the familiar school’s-out-for-summer chant. But when classrooms close for the summer, so do school cafeterias and their free and reduced lunch and breakfast programs. For thousands of area children, that means a harsh summer lesson about hunger and improper nutrition. A study by Feeding America, a hunger relief charity, shows there are more than 400,000 children in Cook and the collar counties who spend at least some time hungry or not receiving proper nutrition. One in five children in the 13 northern Illinois counties face hunger on a regular basis. Northern Illinois Food Bank officials say that problem becomes more acute in the summer months when school food is not a guaranteed part of a child’s day…”
- Nearly one in five Northland children classified ‘food insecure’, By John Lundy, June 5, 2012, Duluth News Tribune: “One out of every five Douglas County children doesn’t get enough food to support an active, healthy lifestyle, a report released on Monday said. Nationwide, one of every four children is ‘food insecure’ in more than 1,000 counties, said the study by Feeding America, a nonprofit focused on domestic hunger relief. Although the numbers aren’t that dire in the Northland, the study still shows that 18.6 percent of children in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin are food insecure, according to a news release on Tuesday from Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank. That includes 20.6 percent in Douglas County and 18.2 percent – 6,990 children – in St. Louis County…”
- 1 in 4 children at hunger risk, report says, By Gary Scharrer and Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje, June 5, 2012, San Antonio Express-News: “More than one in four Texas children, or 27.1 percent, were at risk of going hungry in 2010, according to the report released Monday by Feeding America. More than 118,000 Bexar County children, 26.8 percent, live in food insecure households, the report found. Texas lawmakers must involve entire communities to end childhood hunger, said Bee Moorhead of the interfaith group Texas Impact…”