Investing in Housing Vouchers Improves Neighborhoods and Health Every parent strives to ensure their child grows up in a stable home where they can reach their fullest potential. Decades of research shows that when children – particularly young children – have access to high-quality, affordable homes and in neighborhoods with economic opportunities, green space, good […]
Millions of families across the United States – disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and immigrants – struggle to maintain adequate housing and live on the brink of eviction and homelessness. The economic fallout of COVID-19 has exacerbated this challenge, and placed one in six families at risk of eviction – three times […]
Research consistently shows that children and their families need access to safe, stable, and affordable homes throughout their lifetimes in order to thrive. However, rising housing costs coupled with stagnant wages and disinvestment in affordable housing has resulted in extreme housing cost burdens and housing instability for millions of families across the United States. Due […]
On September 22, 2021, Children’s HeathWatch submitted testimony to inform the distribution plan for the $4.8 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding in Massachusetts. In this testimony, Children’s HealthWatch urges the Committees to allocate a portion of the funds to programs that reduce health disparities in the Commonwealth. Specifically, we strongly advocate […]
On September 21, 2021, Children’s HealthWatch responded to a request for information from the Congressional Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Caucus. The first section of the response covers our experience with SDOH challenges, and we answer questions about which specific SDOH challenges our organization has seen to have the most impact on health, as well […]
Originally posted on the Community Catalyst Blog. It’s been six months since passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and provisions designed to decrease child poverty and increase health coverage and access are making an impact. Families have been able to afford food and basic expenses to keep their children healthy because of the […]
Originally posted on Newsweek. Next week, 36 million American households will receive their third monthly payment of the recently expanded Child Tax Credit. The credit, which has a long history of bipartisan support and was increased under the American Rescue Plan, provides families on average more than $400 each month, a cash infusion that experts […]
As a network of pediatricians and child health researchers, Children’s HealthWatch is deeply concerned with the impending and devastating consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision on August 26th to overturn the national eviction moratorium. Issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in response to the alarming health implications of eviction during the […]
Originally posted on the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its re-evaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP). The TFP is how benefits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are determined, and its recent re-evaluation led the USDA to increase benefits in the program by 27 […]
Children’s HealthWatch applauds the USDA’s re-evaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan. As a network of pediatricians and public health researchers, Children’s HealthWatch commends the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its commitment to making evidence-based decisions in its recent re-evaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP). The TFP is the cost basis for the […]