It should go without saying that no child deserves to go hungry. But with the House of Representatives’ recent vote to cut $150 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), it seems this is not a closed debate anymore. And that puts the 20 million children who currently participate in SNAP, or food stamps, […]
Food insecurity, defined by the US Department of Agriculture as “lack of consistent access to enough healthy food for an active healthy life,” is related to many adverse physical and mental health outcomes in adults and children. Twenty years of food insecurity research shows us that this is often a hidden condition that lacks physical […]
During the last 20 years, low-income families have had their incomes plateau or decline as their housing costs soared. Public aid has not been expanded to meet the growing need: only 1 in 4 households that qualify for housing assistance receives it. As a result, today most renting households below the federal poverty line spend […]
On October 20th, 2017, Children’s HealthWatch signed on to a letter from Health Care to All addressing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In the letter, the undersigned organizations offered their comments on the MassHealth Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver Amendment. This amendment reduces MassHealth eligibility, and move those who are affected by the […]
As pediatricians, public health researchers, and child health and policy experts with the non-partisan organization Children’s HealthWatch, we urge members of Congress to ensure sufficient federal funding for programs that provide families necessary resources for becoming and staying healthy. Our research shows that access to food, stable homes, home energy, and affordable health care is […]
On September 25, 2017, Children’s HealthWatch wrote a letter to Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden of the Senate Committee on Finance urging them to oppose the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson proposal and abandon the cuts and structural changes it proposes.
Introduction This study examined how mothers’ Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) relate to their children’s developmental risk and assessed how the association is mediated through mothers’ depressive symptoms and fair/poor health. Methods Mothers of children aged between 4 months and 4 years were recruited from the emergency department of a children’s hospital between March 2012 and […]
On September 19, 2017, Allison Bovell-Ammon, Children’s HealthWatch Deputy Director of Policy Strategy, submitted testimony to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development in support of House Bill 2365 and Senate Bill 1004, which will raise the minimum wage in Massachusetts to $15 an hour by 2021.
Stephanie Sakho believes that people who work should have fuller refrigerators than she does. The divorced, certified nursing assistant from Southwest Philadelphia puts in 40 hours a week. But even with her salary and a $300 monthly allotment of food stamps, there isn’t always enough to feed her 10-year-old daughter and year-old son. “I think […]
On August 22, 2017, Allison Bovell-Ammon, Children’s HealthWatch Deputy Director of Policy Strategy, testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Housing in support of Senate Bills 719 (An Act Relative to the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program) and 724 (An Act Relative to the economic mobility and stability program) and House Bills 2245 (An Act to interagency efforts […]