Colorado and other states are hoarding more than $6 billion intended for struggling families, according to new analysis.

In 2020, Colorado denied more applications for cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program than it accepted. Ali Safawi, a research associate at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, said many Colorado families with children are not getting the help they need, even though the state has some $87 million in unspent TANF funds.

"So in Colorado, we see that for every 100 families with kids living in poverty, just 20 receive TANF," he said. "That means that 80 families out of that 100 are not, even though they are experiencing poverty and could really use that assistance."

Welfare reforms passed under the Clinton administration, aimed to help families transition to jobs that would end what critics called a cycle of dependency, gave broad leeway to states for how to use TANF funds. In Colorado, TANF distributions vary greatly depending on which county you live in.

Safawi noted that most Colorado families living in poverty already are working, but at jobs that do not pay a living wage. He added that investing in children's well-being pays off down the road. When families have cash resources to meet their basic needs, their kids do better in school, earn better wages as adults and are more financially self-sufficient.

"We know from a lot of research that giving cash to families who are struggling with very low incomes has a significant difference for children," he said, "and these impacts are not just immediate; we see improvements in their health and their economic outcomes well into adulthood."

He pointed to Columbia University research showing that raising a low-income family's income by just $1,000 a year, about $83 a month, creates more than $10,000 in societal benefits. Safawi said one way to get assistance to more Colorado families is to increase qualifying income limits, which are exceptionally low.

"It's $421 a month for a family of three," he said. "That means if they make over that, they don't qualify. We don't really see income eligibility that low anywhere else outside of the Deep South, which has a long history of limiting assistance primarily to Black families."

A new survey finds 8 in 10 Kentucky parents say afterschool programs could help their child combat social and mental-health struggles by reducing unproductive screen time.

Experts say demand for these types of programs has increased in the Commonwealth.

Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance Jodi Grant said after-school programs often are understaffed partnerships between schools and community-based organizations. She said local districts currently can't keep up with demand.

"In Kentucky," said Grant, "for every child that's in a program, the parents of four more want their kids to be in a program - and these parents and these kids are choosing to be there."

She also pointed out that Black and Latino children are among those most likely to lack access.

According to the survey, more than 60% of parents of color, and those with low incomes, said they want after-school programs that help their child build life skills and reduce risky behaviors.

Director of the Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance Tom Haggard said he believes state leaders haven't prioritized after-school programming.

"We really haven't put in the state dollars toward after-school or summer learning at a really impactful level," said Haggard. "Many of the other states have made investments in after-school, and that just isn't something that we've been able to do yet in Kentucky."

Grant pointed to federal COVID dollars as a resource to help support and expand after-school and summer learning programs for kids.

"We absolutely need to be doing more to tap into more dollars for the families that can't afford these programs," said Grant, "because they are creating opportunities for the kids for the working parents and for our long-term economy."

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, around a dozen states nationwide currently are providing funding dedicated to after-school programs.

Groups fighting for children's rights say they are disappointed Gov. Gavin Newsom's May budget revision did not include more money for the Hearing Aid Coverage for Children Program. Newsom proposed about $16 million, but advocates want lawmakers to bump it up another $5 million in the final budget.

Mike Odeh, senior director of health for the nonprofit Children Now, said hearing loss in babies and toddlers causes serious delays in speech and learning.

"It's a developmental issue, and it's not appropriate for kids to be sent to school without the appropriate supports like hearing aids," Odeh contended.

At a legislative hearing in 2019, experts testified only 1 in 10 children in California has hearing-aid coverage through a private health plan, and every month of delay in starting hearing aids correlates with decreased long-term language potential.

The state Department of Health Care Services estimates 7,000 low-income children in California need hearing aids, but only about 68 children are actually enrolled.

Odeh pointed out it is because the program only covers people who have no other insurance options.

"Some kids are getting rejected because they don't meet the income criteria," Odeh noted. "And so they would likely be eligible for MediCal, some are getting rejected because they have partial coverage that maybe provides a $500 benefit of coverage for hearing aids. But hearing aids are about $6,000 for kids and need to be replaced every three years."

Advocates argued with more money, the program could be expanded to help families who struggle with high copays and deductibles.

May is mental health awareness month. As part of that, groups in Idaho are using HOPE Week to help kids in crisis and reduce the state's worrying number of child suicides.

Jean Mutchie is president of the Idaho Resilience Project and a community health manager at Saint Luke's Health System. She said the project and Optum Idaho are teaming up to promote positive moments for kids, which can ease adverse experiences.

Mutchie said Optum Idaho is distributing 20,000 kites across the state - to gets them outside and playing.

"We're really focusing on kites, bikes and hikes," said Mutchie. "So really encouraging people to get outside with somebody else and engage in a positive activity."

HOPE stands for "Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences," and the theme for this year's HOPE week is "hope lives here."

Mutchie said there are a lot of ways to promote the mental well-being of children. She said connections with an adult who is not a family member can help protect their state of mind.

"And if you ask a lot of kids, they can't identify a trusted adult who's not part of their family," said Mutchie. "And so that one non-family member who is that trusted adult in a child's life can make an enormous difference. And data backs that up."

COVID-19 has taken a big toll, and is raising concerns about the number of Idaho children in crisis.

Recent surveys show as many as three quarters of respondents thought the pandemic had worsened mental health in the state, and a huge majority say addressing children's mental health is an especially urgent priority.

Mutchie said one key is that people should feel like they can ask for help.

"Really encourage people to seek help, destigmatize, understand that it's OK to not be OK and it's really OK to reach to somebody," said Mutchie. "And also encourage other people to start to build connection and support to really combat isolation and some of the lack of connect that we've faced during COVID."

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 takes calls twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.




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