skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, November 22, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump suffers first defeat but as always doubles down for the next fight; From Ohio to Azerbaijan: How COP29 could shape local farming; Funding boosts 'green' projects in Meadville, PA; VA apprenticeships bridge skills gaps, offer career stability.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump has a new pick for Attorney General, his incoming "border czar" warns local Democratic officials not to impede mass deportation, and the House passes legislation that could target any nonprofit group accused of supporting terrorism.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The CDC has a new plan to improve the health of rural Americans, updated data could better prepare folks for flash floods like those that devastated Appalachia, and Native American Tribes could play a key role in the nation's energy future.

New Story Map Tool Will Track Effect of Pandemic on Kids

play audio
Play

Friday, May 8, 2020   

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A new online mapping tool being released today will help families and policymakers track the impact of the pandemic on children.

The site, from Missouri Kids Count, maps out county stats on child population, food insecurity, SNAP food benefits, child abuse and visits to the Emergency Room for asthma attacks.

Tracy Greever-Rice, program director for Missouri Kids Count, says the story map will help measure changes going forward.

"It's laying a baseline, and as time goes by we'll update it to see the actual impact of the pandemic," says Greever-Rice. "And the indicators that we include in it are ones that we know of are predictive of poor outcomes for kids."

The pandemic poses a threat to kids' physical health and undermines their well-being as their parents lose jobs during the lockdown. So the story map uses a rise in need for SNAP benefits as a real-time measurement of poverty brought on as the economy ground to a halt.

Greever-Rice says asthma ER visits are linked to poor outcomes for patients with COVID-19.

"We're also looking at asthma ER visits as an indicator that kids aren't getting treatment for their chronic condition," says Greever-Rice, "because people can't be visiting the health-care system for non-COVID things right now."

The story map tool was developed by Missouri Kids Count, which is part of the Family and Community Trust, in partnership with the Missouri Spatial Information Center and the Missouri Census Data Center.

Disclosure: Missouri Kids Count contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Hunger/Food/Nutrition, Poverty Issues, Youth Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The smoking rate among adults in Maryland is 9.6%, much lower than the national average of 12.9%. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new report on lung cancer by the American Lung Association showed Maryland has quite a bit of room to improve diagnoses and treatment but experts sa…


Social Issues

play sound

La Niña is bringing a cooler, wetter winter to Oregon and likely driving up heating bills as systems work harder. This is the third year of …

Environment

play sound

The number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed on roadways in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past 12 years and a New Mexico researcher wants to …


Social Issues

play sound

House lawmakers have passed a bill advocates said will be harmful to nonprofits in New York and nationwide. House Resolution 9495 passed with a 219-1…

Health experts said young children often catch walking pneumonia at school and bring it home, spreading it to their families. (Adobe stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Kyla Russell for WISH-TV.Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the WISH-TV-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service C…

Social Issues

play sound

A recent study from Florida Atlantic University highlights a concerning rise in alcohol-related deaths across the United States, with mortality rates …

Environment

play sound

By Dawn Attride for Sentient.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Ohio News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021