SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Dual reports featuring new data on child outcomes reveal persistent health inequalities among children in Illinois.

The 2020 Illinois KIDS COUNT report, released in conjunction with the national 2020 KIDS COUNT Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows that roughly 30,000 more Illinois kids were uninsured in 2018 compared with 2016.

Bill Byrnes, KIDS COUNT project manager with Voices for Illinois Children - Powered by YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, explained there also was a higher percentage of children of color without health insurance than white children.

"When you look at the percentage of kids who are Black who are uninsured, their rate is 3.9%. For Latinx kids, it's 4.4%," Byrnes said. "And when you look at white children, by way of contrast, their rate of uninsured is 2.7%."

Other disparities uncovered in the health report include infant mortality among Black infants was two times the state rate, and blood lead levels were at their highest among Black children.

The Casey Foundation's 2020 Kids Count Data Book looks at 16 indicators of child well-being, and Illinois' overall national ranking slipped from 23rd to 24th in the last year.

Byrnes said the national Data Book examines factors long considered important social determinants of health, such as high housing cost burden, educational achievement and single-parent households. And he said economic inequalities persist.

"The rate of child poverty was 19% in 2010 and it decreased to 16% in 2018," he said. "Even though that's a good decrease, there's still in 2018, 457,000 kids in the state who live in poverty."

Byrnes contends policymakers will need to consider some of the issues outlined in the report, especially in terms of the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said this includes mandating that state agencies collect data broken down by race and ethnicity and increasing the availability of community-based mental-health services.

"We would also argue that we need to provide more economic supports to children and their families whether that's in the form of direct cash payments, increases in food stamps, utility assistance, rental and mortgage assistance, and so on," he said.

The national 2020 Kids Count Data Book noted the pandemic has had a negative effect on kids, and the foundation will continue to monitor child well-being outcomes as the nation recovers.


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It is time for families to prep kids for the school year and Wyoming experts said sleep and social media hygiene are key.

Children's health experts said routine physicals, comprehensive eye exams and dental appointments can keep kids healthy during the school year and prevent them from missing classes for unexpected appointments.

Dr. Michael Sanderson, a pediatrician and president of the Wyoming Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said sleep is among one of the more challenging routines to reestablish during the school year.

"Parents tend to let kids' sleep routines and their screen time restrictions go during the summertime," Sanderson observed. "Five or six hours or more per day, which is definitely not their usual routine while school is in session."

Sanderson added if their screen time is on social media, children are likely feeling the stressors of bigger issues. He pointed out with a big election coming up, kids of certain age groups are 'very in tune' with politics, which are increasingly extreme. He reminded parents to monitor kids' social media use and be mindful of what kinds of materials kids are seeing.

After a 2023 2023 Wyoming House Bill to provide grants to assist K-12 public schools in providing mental health services died in committee, attention to kids' mental health at home continues to be vital.

Dr. Rhonda Randall, chief medical officer and executive vice president of UnitedHealthcare Employer and Individual, said there are other ways to establish good routines, including having scheduled family dinners when possible.

"You know, I recognize that you can't do that every night," Randall acknowledged. "Everyone's busy and sometimes running in different directions, but doing that as often as possible really does create a routine that's predictable and healthy for the child."

Randall added routines at home can help children feel more confident and stable in school, too.

Foster families will have free access to Idaho state parks under a new initiative.

The Idaho State Park Foster Family Passport program will give families annual passes to the state's 30 parks. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the Department of Parks and Recreation are partnering on the program, which is funded by Regence BlueShield of Idaho and the Idaho Business for the Outdoors.

Laura Denner, division administrator of family and community partnerships for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, explained the motivation behind the program.

"We really know that outcomes are better for the families and children when they're engaged in extra activities and Idahoans really love the outdoors," Denner pointed out. "We thought this was a great opportunity to help those families get out and be together in our Idaho wilderness."

Denner noted there are about 1,400 foster children in Idaho but only about 1,100 foster families, about half the number the state needs. Denner hopes additional benefits like the passport program will help attract more families to fostering.

Along with passes, Denner said the Department of Parks and Recreation is offering classes throughout the state so foster kids and their families can learn outdoor skills.

"It might be cooking over a campfire, building a campfire, setting up a tent and a camp space," Denner outlined. "It could be things like paddleboarding."

Denner added the state is finding other ways to retain and attract foster families as well. Starting in October, state employees who become foster parents will be eligible for eight weeks of parental leave when they welcome a child into their home.


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Some Tennessee parents now have access to monthly supplies of free diapers under the state's Medicaid program.

TennCare provides coverage for expectant mothers, seniors, and people with disabilities - including one in five Tennesseans, and half of all births and children in the state.

Allexa Gardner - a research fellow with the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families - said children under age two enrolled in TennCare or Coverkids are eligible, and the new benefit covers four major diaper brands.

"You are now able to receive up to 100 diapers per month per child, without any prescription and at no cost to you," said Gardner. "Diapers can be obtained at the pharmacy counter at participating pharmacies, which are now listed on the TennCare website. Importantly, this will not count against a child or a mother's limit of five prescriptions a month."

Gardner emphasized that the need to provide information about the benefits in multiple languages to reach all eligible families. She added the diaper allowance is limited up to 200 diapers per 60 day period.

Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, said diaper accessibility for low-income families is a huge economic benefit that will also mean healthier kids.

But she added that right now, the new program has a few barriers, as only a limited number of locations are providing the free diapers.

"Huge counties - like Murray, Dixon, Sumner - have no pharmacies that are providing diapers," said Johnson. "Population areas, like Memphis and Nashville, there's only three pharmacists in all of the city that do this. Unfortunately, there's been more focus on the media than on the actual implementation and execution."

TennCare says more pharmacies will be added as the program rolls out. Johnson said her organization is reaching out to low-income families across the state to let them know about the diaper program.