Child Poverty
The COVID-19 crisis has shed light on the parallel pandemics - poverty and racism - with which we are all too familiar. Right now, the ten million children who are already living in poverty and millions more are experiencing the highest amount of hardship than any other age group.
Child Poverty
Many of us have already urged the Senate to adopt specific policies, including reversal of the Trump administration’s public charge policy and inclusive provisions of the HEROES Act legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May. Since then, while the Senate has failed to act, the COVID-19 death count has doubled, and millions of working families have lost the enhanced unemployment and other financial lifelines then in place. Congress must take immediate action to address the pandemic and to provide support to all individuals and families, including immigrant families.
Child Poverty
In a positive move last Sunday, a federal judge struck down a dangerous Trump administration proposal to take SNAP benefits away from 700,000 Americans. In her opinion, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of D.C. deemed the proposal “arbitrary and capricious” and sided with the 19 states, D.C., New York City and a coalition of groups who sued to stop the final rule back in December.
Immigration
I can’t really pinpoint the first time I became politically engaged. I can’t remember a moment where politics wasn’t on my mind.
Child Health
While current vaccination rates are increasing, they have yet to reach a level that makes up for the large dip over the spring and summer months. Flu shots and other vaccines are safe, effective, and necessary now more than ever to keep our children and families healthy and keep our healthcare infrastructure from being overwhelmed.
Immigration
We, the undersigned 56 organizations, write to request an investigation into serious and flagrant problems in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) expulsion of unaccompanied children (UCs). We are especially concerned by DHS’s use of extended involuntary stays for UCs in hotels under the custody of the contractor MVM Inc. DHS and its contractors have violated the rights of unaccompanied children. It is imperative that OIG and CRCL give as full an account as possible as to these practices and how they have been committed.
Education
When children are not attending school in person, they are not only missing out on vital education that is hard to deliver virtually; they are also abruptly without services they rely on and support from educators and professionals trained to connect them with resources and ensure their most urgent needs are met. As many schools returned to virtual instruction this fall, students are approaching almost a full year without those supports and services—which include access to healthy food, care for their physical and mental health, caring adults tasked with ensuring their safety, and federally mandated supports for marginalized students.
Education
When children are not attending school in person, they are not only missing out on vital education that is hard to deliver virtually; they are also abruptly without services they rely on and support from educators and professionals trained to connect them with resources and ensure their most urgent needs are met. As many schools returned to virtual instruction this fall, students are approaching almost a full year without those supports and services—which include access to healthy food, care for their physical and mental health, caring adults tasked with ensuring their safety, and federally mandated supports for marginalized students.
Child Poverty
COVID is hurting our children—and so is Congress. New research from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia shows an additional 8 million Americans—including 2.5 million children—have fallen into poverty since May as a result of our leaders’ failure to extend and expand the income support families need to keep their children fed, clothed, and housed. Looking at changes in monthly poverty rates, Columbia found that monthly poverty has risen beyond pre-COVID levels since Congress allowed COVID relief to expire and failed to provide additional assistance.