HELENA, Mont. - Paperwork, waiting lists, waiting periods and inconsistent information are examples of the challenges Montana families sometimes face when trying to access food stamps, child care payment assistance and energy-bill help. Those findings are in a report from the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) that also outlines ways for eligibility agencies to do a better job for families in need.

Report author Jim Koppel, who is director of the CDF of Minnesota, says another discovery was that there are some agency workers who feel overwhelmed by the increase in the number of people asking for help.

"We have a lot of families who are in need of these work support programs for the first time in their lives. They've lost jobs and they've run out of their personal safety nets."

Koppel says lawmakers and state agency leaders have a role to play in making sure information is consistent and families feel welcome and respected as they navigate the system.

"We have a lot of new families coming into the system who don't understand these applications. They're burdensome, they're hard to get through."

He describes stigma as an additional barrier for Montanans, because those who have to ask for help often know the eligibility workers and are embarrassed to go into a local office.

The report suggests better training for screeners to guide people to appropriate programs, and better coordination of those programs so families don't have to go to multiple locations for several different interviews.

The full report, "Public Work Support Programs: Addressing Barriers to Increase Access," is available online at
www.cdf-mn.org




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It's a week to celebrate kids, with National Daughters Day today and National Sons Day on Saturday. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is encouraging everyone to remember kids who are looking for their forever homes, and consider fostering or adopting a child.

Rita Soronen, Dave Thomas Foundation president and CEO, said the goal is to find permanent homes for as many children as possible before they age out of the system.

"Single parents can foster and adopt, non-traditional families can foster and adopt. You can live in an apartment, you don't have to own your own home, you don't have to be wealthy. If you have the interest, and the willingness to learn, and the willingness to commit to a child - and you're safe - then you meet that first level of qualification," she said.

She added that states cover medical and other costs associated with kids in foster care. The process to qualify to foster or adopt a child includes a series of classes, background checks and home studies.

The latest statistics show that more than 28,000 children are in the foster care system in Texas. Adrian and Shane Potter adopted siblings 12-year-old Isiah, 10-year-old Jordan and four-year-old Sophia in 2020 after they had been in separate foster homes for years. Adrian Potter said the foundation worked with the adoption agency to get the kids settled with the services they needed.

"Our case worker got us connected to therapists, private tutors, music private lessons, they connected us to a lot of people, " he explained

He said adopting children is life changing in many ways.

"Every day is fun, laughter, every day is a challenge, but every day is also fun because you get to see these kids who have gone through so much learn to trust and learn to love, " he said.

Nearly 360,000 children are in foster care in the United States.

A new federal report shows anti-poverty policies enacted by New Mexico are making a big difference.

This month, the U.S. Census Bureau has released a supplemental report measuring poverty at the state level for the first time.

Emily Wildau, senior research and policy analyst at New Mexico Voices for Children, said the report still ranks the state last in the nation, at 28% under the Official Poverty Measure but when newly enacted state programs are taken into account, poverty decreased dramatically from 2021 to 2023.

"When you look at that same time period, and you use the measure that counts things like refundable tax credits and noncash benefits like SNAP, New Mexico's child poverty rate drops to just 8.9%," Wildau pointed out. "Which is actually better than the national rate."

The national child poverty rate is 10.4%. Wildau noted one disappointing figure in the data: The state's rate of uninsured children rose to almost 6% in 2023, compared to about 4% in 2022, likely because of changes made to Medicaid following the pandemic.

Wildau emphasized many policy changes made by New Mexico lawmakers are not reflected in nationally-generated data looking at children's well-being, often because the policies are new and have not been incorporated into how poverty is measured.

"We're doing really good things," Wildau outlined. "Increasing our state-level Earned Income Tax Credit, adding a new state-level Child Tax Credit and expanding SNAP eligibility October 1st up to 200% of that kind-of official poverty rate."

Along with New Mexico, 13 other states boosted fully refundable Child Tax Credits in 2024, aimed at enhancing economic security for low- and middle-income families. About 43 million people, or 13% of Americans, lived in poverty last year.

The number of West Virginia children living in poverty remains among the highest in the nation, and more children are living in households struggling with hunger, according to the latest federal data.

The end of pandemic supports combined with rising inflation, rent, and the cost of living, are to blame experts say.

The expanded Child Tax Credit cut child poverty in half, said Salaam Bhatti, SNAP Director with Food Research & Action Center.

When it ended, he said more families dipped back into poverty. Now, the child poverty rate has hit nearly 14%.

"Had we added a few more dollars to that program, it could have cut child poverty entirely," said Bhatti. "But it was a deliberate policy choice that the government made to not do that, and then another deliberate choice to remove that expansion."

According to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, child poverty in the Mountain State dipped from 25% in 2022 to around 20% in 2023.

But despite the reduced numbers, the number of kids living in poverty remains among the highest in the nation.

Nearly 14 million children live in households currently experiencing food insecurity, up by more than 3% from 2022.

Bhatti noted that nearly 35% of single parent households headed by women struggle to pay for groceries.

He said his organization wants Congress to protect the Thrifty Food Plan, which sets the standard for the maximum amount of SNAP benefits households receive.

"Some lawmakers want to cut that Thrifty Food Plan adjustment," said Bhatti, "and as a result, that would cut $30 billion from SNAP benefits over the next 10 years."

Experts say kids who eat healthy meals are less likely to develop high blood pressure, diabetes, dental cavities, and other health problems.

But as more kids go hungry or lack access to quality food, they're also more likely to be uninsured.

According to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the number of children without health coverage rose to nearly 6% in 2023.




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