Tennessee's "State of the Child 2022" report is an assessment of how children are faring, and this year's edition focuses on the situation for children post-pandemic.

The report from the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth examines kids' health and mental health, education, family economics, and the state's child welfare and youth justice data.

Richard Kennedy, executive director of the Commission, said a goal of the report is to keep children's issues on the minds of lawmakers and community partners across the state, as they discuss ways to make life better for kids and families. He added the report shows a significant improvement in one key area.

"I think the real story in the report is that Tennessee has seen a historic decline in child poverty," Kennedy pointed out.

The report showed between 2019 and 2021, the number of children in poverty declined by 8%, and among kids under age five, it decreased by 18%. However, the reasons behind are due in large part to the assistance many families received from the federal government during the pandemic.

The report noted Tennessee ranks 47th in the nation for young people experiencing a major depressive episode who did not receive mental health services; 71% in Tennessee compared to 60% nationally.

Kylie Graves, policy specialist for the Commission, said one concern is the availability of providers.

"Tennessee has some challenges in terms of just getting access to rural counties and rural communities," Graves explained. "Sometimes, if you're in one of those counties, finding a mental health provider can be really challenging."

Graves acknowledged the Tennessee Department of Education has been working to invest in mental health providers in schools. She added a child is six times more likely to maintain and receive mental health treatment if it is offered in a school rather than a community-based setting.

The report found Tennessee struggles with foster care placements, and even had the highest rate of foster care instability in the nation from 2016 to 2020. Kennedy asserted it is a call to action, saying the state needs more families who are trained and able to open their homes to the variety of young people in need of foster care.

"So, I think the real need is that Tennesseans who have ever considered fostering, have ever considered being a support for a foster parent, should really step forward and be willing to volunteer to do that," Kennedy urged.

One factor in foster care instability is a child's age. Tennessee trends above the national average, with a higher percentage of kids ages 11-16, an age group typically harder to place in foster care.

Iowa has released an interactive website to help parents find real-time child care options for their kids.

Iowa Child Care Connect, which the state has nicknamed "C3," uses crowdsourcing technology, helping people use up-to-the-minute data to find child care where and when they need it.

Sheila Hansen, senior policy advocate for the nonprofit Common Good Iowa, said C3 is a vast improvement over what the state had before.

"It was kind of clunky and it wasn't really very fast," Hansen recounted. "Hopefully this will be a vast improvement upon that and families will be able to just go in there and immediately find openings in their area."

The site also offers information on subsidies the providers accept along with current real-time openings and quality ratings. Hansen argued the state should focus on improving pay and working conditions for child care workers.

She acknowledged while the technology is a step forward, Common Good Iowa and other advocates said the state does not need more brick-and-mortar child care centers. It needs more staff, which has been the real challenge.

"That's because they're just unable to find the people who want to work in child care because the pay is so low or the benefits aren't there," Hansen explained.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services requires child care providers to complete various training requirements and update their certification every two years.


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The deadline is approaching for families to apply for food benefits in Washington state.

The national program known as SUN Bucks is the U-S Department of Agriculture's summer EBT program, which was created during the pandemic and made permanent this year. Most families were automatically eligible for the program, which provides a one-time payment of $120 per child in a household. Families who did not receive the benefit and believe they are eligible can apply through Saturday.

Norah West, assistant director of the Office of Communications and Government Affairs for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, said many students get meals through school.

"Having kids be out of school during the summer months makes it a little harder to get access to that nutritious food, and the price of groceries are not going down," West pointed out. "We're pleased to be able to offer even a small amount of assistance to folks."

Kids were automatically enrolled in the program if they are at a school in the National School Lunch Program and qualified with a meal application or Family Income Survey, or they're between age eight and 18 and in a house qualifying for benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Families meeting the National School Lunch Program's income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced-price meals can apply for SUN Bucks. In Washington state, more than 580,000 kids have received benefits this summer, totaling nearly $69 million. West noted the USDA has other summer meal programs as well.

"The federal government also offers two other programs called Sun Meals and Sun Meals to Go through school districts, and those are on site meal programs or in some rural areas," West outlined. "People may have the option to go to a site and pick up food and take it with them."

This summer, 37 states chose to participate in the SUN Bucks program.


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As Pennsylvania children return to school, health advocates stress the importance of keeping them insured.

The 2023 State of Children's Health in Pennsylvania report found more than 145,000 children are without health insurance.

Becky Ludwick, vice president of public policy at the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said the back-to-school season is an ideal time to raise awareness among parents in Pennsylvania about free and low-cost public health insurance options. She added many children lost Medicaid coverage during unwinding but some have transitioned to the Children's Health Insurance Program.

"There's an increasing number of kids going without health insurance or have lost health insurance over the past year," Ludwick reported. "We just really want to take this time as kids are gearing up to get back into school again, to remind parents on what they can do to get their kids insured. So we're looking really at Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program."

According to Children's Health Insurance Program guidelines, a family of three earning $60,000 annually can enroll in the program for an average monthly premium of $58 per child, with additional copays as needed. No family earns too much to apply.

Ludwick pointed out the American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes the importance of back-to-school checkups, including routine vaccinations. She stressed enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP is open year-round and recommended parents contact the programs to ensure their children have comprehensive coverage for their health needs.

"We would encourage the families to reach out as quickly as possible on getting their child enrolled through Medicaid or CHIP," Ludwick stated. "In order to get that coverage, to make sure that they are then covered for their yearly physicals, immunization. That also covers mental health services and dental."

Ludwick pointed out recent measles outbreaks have highlighted declining vaccination rates, particularly for the MMR vaccine, which is putting communities at risk. Vaccination coverage among kindergartners in Pennsylvania has declined gradually, with the latest data showing a drop below 95% for the first time in six years.