BISMARCK, N.D. – A new report reveals the persistent disparities for children of color and those in immigrant families, in North Dakota and across the country.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2017 Race for Results report measures key milestones in child development across racial and ethnic groups. It says in North Dakota, inequality looms large for Native American families.

Karen Olson, program director North Dakota Kids Count says gaps for children of color stem mainly from poverty, which can mean a childhood of traumatic experiences that cause toxic stress...

"That affects children's health, brain development, and social and emotional well-being," she explains. "So, I think it's important that we implement culturally relevant and appropriate education practices, services to help end that cycle of trauma."

Olson says disparities for children of color decreased across the board from the 2014 Race for Results report due in large part to greater opportunities, and greater attainment, in education. She also notes an effective program known as "Sources to Strength" that is working to prevent suicide among Native American kids and teens.

Laura Speer is the associate director of policy reform and advocacy at the Casey Foundation. She says kids are the future parents, workers and leaders of the United States - and if they're given the opportunity to fully participate in society, the country will benefit.

"As they get older, these kids are going to drive local and state economies," she notes. "They're going to contribute to their communities, and they're really going be the driving force in ensuring that we're all better off in the long run."

Speer encourages lawmakers to level the playing field for all kids. The report says programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, tax credits, housing and childcare make a big difference in parents' ability to support their children.


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A Pennsylvania nonprofit is praising Gov. Josh Shapiro's new budget proposal, which includes a funding increase for early childhood education.

The budget boosts support for child care, pre-K, early intervention, and other programs - and addresses staffing shortages.

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children President and CEO Kari King said low wages fuel child care worker shortages, with pay of just over $15 an hour.

She said she hopes the governor's proposed $55 million funding package for child care workers will strengthen programs statewide.

"It's actually a new appropriation that's being referred to as the 'child care workforce recruitment and retention fund,'" said King. "The estimate is that about that $55 million would provide just about $1,000 to child care workers that would qualify."

The budget proposal contains an additional $17 million for Pre-K Counts, while funding for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program would remain unchanged.

The state House and Senate must vote on the budget by June 30.

King noted that her group appreciates the Shapiro budget proposal, which includes an increase of just over $16 million for what's known as Early Intervention Part C.

She explained it's for families regardless of income, and it supports physical and language development from infancy through a child's entry into Kindergarten.

"We're focused on, right now, kind of the earliest part of that, what we refer to as infant and toddler early intervention," said King. "This is where you can have services for your child, if you're seeing they're not physically developing as you would expect - some things like walking or being able to sit up, [or] as their language develops."

King added that $10 million in the budget is specific to helping the child care sector and its workforce through a rate increase. And the budget for Early Intervention Part B, for toddlers ages 3 to 5, includes a proposed increase of more than $14 million.

Foster children with nowhere to go are spending up to a week or more in Kentucky office buildings, according to a preliminary report from the state.

Most kids were age 11 or older, and the youngest was just 1 year old. The problem stems from a lack of foster homes and beds in state residential care facilities.

Allison Ball, auditor of public accounts for the State of Kentucky, said her office has continued to receive reports from constituents revealing kids are also being housed in hotels and state parks throughout the Commonwealth.

"Quite a bit of these children were removed straight from their home, so probably mom or dad, and then and then moved straight into an office building to sleep for a period of time," Ball observed. "It's a worrying picture. It's a deeply sad situation."

According to state data, as of February 2025 there were more than 8,200 children in Kentucky's foster care system.

Shannon Moody, chief officer of policy and strategy for Kentucky Youth Advocates, said when children are either removed from the home due to safety reasons or are unable to stay in foster care or kinship care placement, social workers are left with few options.

"Office buildings are not an appropriate place for a child to be cared for," Moody emphasized. "Especially if they have histories of trauma, where they are experiencing issues of not feeling safe."

Ball added a more extensive investigation is ongoing to assess barriers and come up with solutions.

"I've asked the ombudsman to do a more thorough review," Ball pointed out. "Now that we know what we're dealing with, we need to find out what kind of oversight is happening for these children, how many children are sleeping at one time in office buildings."

Gov. Andy Beshear recently signed an emergency amendment to increase per diem rates for therapeutic foster care. Advocates said the state still needs a clear plan to fund critical supports for kinship care outlined in last year's Senate Bill 151.


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Educators in California are speaking out against plans in Congress to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal in the Golden State.

Medi-Cal pays for health care for more than 37% of California's children, and more than 51% of kids in LA Unified, the state's largest school district.

Corey Tamblyn, a school psychologist at Pajaro Valley Unified School District in Watsonville, said right now schools get federal dollars to do assessments of Medi-Cal-eligible kids.

"So, a lot of times we serve as the intermediary to identify things that are happening in students, like autism as well as mental health disorders," said Tamblyn. "Without these monies, I do think that we're going to be less supportive of our families, more burdens are going to be put on families."

Studies show that kids who get preventive care through Medi-Cal are less likely to be absent from class, are more likely to graduate from high school and college, and earn higher wages in adulthood.

Massive cuts to Medi-Cal would mean less money to community clinics and rural hospitals that serve low-income families.

And since the state would have to backfill funds to maintain basic levels of care - that would take billions of dollars away from other state budget priorities, such as education and law enforcement.

Tamblyn noted that Medi-Cal also reimburses schools for services to students with disabilities.

"What, essentially, I think it will do is erode and deteriorate services for kids," said Tamblyn. "It's kind of putting the most vulnerable kids at risk."

Last week, the House budget committee, controlled by Republicans, passed a budget resolution that calls for tax cuts of up to $4.5 trillion, which critics say would primarily benefit corporations and the wealthy.

The committee also set a goal of cutting $2 trillion in federal spending.



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