Progress in American children's quality of life began to reverse in 2009. One relatively bright note is that public safety nets should maintain the percentage of children with health insurance at just below 90%.
Progress in American children's quality of life has fluctuated since 2002, and began a decline in 2009.[...] [According to the 2010 report of an ongoing study of multiple key indicators of child welfare coordinated by Duke University Professor Kenneth Land] conditions for children deteriorated through 2009 and are projected to bottom out in 2010.Virtually all the progress made in the family economic well-being domain since 1975 will be wiped out.[...] The total number of children with health insurance is expected to remain at just under 90 percent in 2010, due to the fact that publicly supported health insurance policies and programs will provide a public safety net for children who have lost private coverage.[...] Unemployment of youths aged 16-19 is expected to peak around 2009. Unemployment rates in 2009 are expected to be at 40 percent for African American youth and 30 percent for Latino youth.[...] It must be emphasized that there will be a diversity of impacts of the current economic downturn - geographically across the nation and across racial/ethnic subpopulations and socioeconomic groups. Low-income African American and Latino children are generally more susceptible to the consequences of economic fluctuations, as are the children of immigrant families.
The recession continues to have a strong negative impact on states' provision of services to children, with at least 42 states cutting programs. Federal stimulus funds help cushion the impact, but are set to end.
At least 42 states have cut public health, programs for children with disabilities, K-12 and early education, and higher education [in 2009] .[...] The federal stimulus passed earlier this year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), did a lot to protect and invest in children. It included more than $50 billion in state relief for education and Medicaid and tens of billions of dollars in nutrition, health, income stabilization, and tax relief for working families. Yet substantial cuts still were necessary in 2009, and the Medicaid assistance that states received is scheduled to end on December 31, 2010.[...] Without further relief, states will have to take steps to eliminate deficits for state fiscal year 2011 that will likely take nearly a full percentage point off the Gross Domestic Product. That, in turn, could cost the economy 900,000 jobs next year.[...] [Note: the report includes a state by state summary of cut backs.]
[...] the financial crisis has forced states to make historic cuts to close what the National Conference of State Legislatures found was an overall budget gap of $174.1 billion this year [2010] and has lawmakers looking to trim another $89 billion next year.[...] Oftentimes agencies are in limbo: They don't know how much state money they'll get, or how long it will take lawmakers to make funding decisions. Last year, Illinois' budget process dragged on so long two crisis nurseries were forced to close on the weekends and overnight a potentially dangerous move given that some parents drop children off because of domestic violence or medical emergencies.
Babwin, D. (2010, May 16). State's budget woes hitting programs for kids hard. ABC.com, Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10661346 [posted 7/2/2010]
Child abuse is rising as the economy worsens.
As parents struggle to make ends meet in these troubled economic times, some are taking out their frustrations on their kids - leading to a spike in child abuse.... But perhaps the worst news is what you do not hear about on Wall Street: a troubled economy often sparks a rise in child abuse cases. Officials with the New York Center for Children on the Upper East Side say they see a growing number of frustrated parents taking their anger out on their kids. "I think a lot of it has to do with the stress at home," said NYCC Director Dr. Edward Greenblatt. "It's very difficult to deal with and many times parents take it out on their children and so it's very important for parents to be aware of how the stress is affecting them." According to the National Child Abuse Coalition, research has long demonstrated a correlation between increased rates of unemployment and higher rates of child maltreatment.
NOVEMBER 24, 2008, Correlation Exists Between Economic Troubles, Rise in Child Abuse, by Cheryl Wills, NY1 News, http://www.ny1.com/default.aspx [posted 1/22/2009]
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