Originally posted on WBUR. The first monthly child tax credit payments are going out today, and the IRS estimates that roughly 39 million households, which covers around 88% of children in the country, will receive the credit. But what about the families who won’t receive a check? We talk with Dr. Megan Sandel, a pediatrician […]
Originally posted on the Boston Globe. Local groups are working hard to make the process easier. At their urging, the IRS recently introduced a ”non-filers portal” where people who do not file taxes can register to receive the credit. Even that “could really be simplified,” said Allison Bovell-Ammon, director of policy strategy at BMC’s Children’s […]
Originally posted on USA Today News. More kids going hungry The pandemic has deprived millions of children of school-related services that normally blunt the harm caused by poverty. From March to May 2020, students missed more than 1.1 billion free or reduced-price meals that would have been provided in school. Children who experience even occasional “food insecurity” […]
Originally posted on Financial Regulation News. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation that seeks to reduce the number of evictions in the United States. The Eviction Crisis Act of 2021 – introduced by U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Rob Portman (R-OH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Todd Young (R-IN) – would address the eviction […]
Originally posted on HealthCity. To sustain health equity, focus on specific zip codes BMC pediatrician Megan Sandel, MD, MPH, believes to move toward true, sustainable advancements in health equity, health systems must directly address the disinvestment in communities of color and work to change systems that make economic opportunities, including living-wage jobs, inaccessible for so many. “Place […]
Sen. Markey to speak at June 10 webinar on maximizing tax benefits BOSTON, MA — The Shah Family Foundation, in partnership with Children’s HealthWatch, Greater Boston Legal Services, Massachusetts Association for Community Action (MASSCAP), and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI), today launched a new centralized website called FindYourFunds.org to help Massachusetts residents access available […]
Originally posted on the Washington Monthly. Dr. Megan Sandel, a pediatrician, experiences a troubling revelation whenever she sees a patient in the Boston Medical Center’s Grow Clinic. The clinic seems like a normal health-care facility in an advanced country, she notes: a waiting room, a medical assistant taking a child to be weighed and measured […]
Originally published on Coons.Senate.Gov. “We know that children thrive when their families are able to afford basic needs today and save for a better future tomorrow. Removing asset limits in programs means knocking down barriers for families so children stay healthy and are able to reach their highest potential.” – Dr. Megan Sandel, pediatrician and […]
Originally published on SciLine. Food insecurity—a disruption in food access due to lack of resources—as much as doubled in the United States as result of COVID-19. But even prior to the pandemic, more than 10% of U.S. households suffered from insufficient food access, affecting 5.3 million children. SciLine’s latest media briefing covered the health and developmental effects of food insecurity for children, including when […]
Originally published on Fox 8. Hungry children are often unhealthy children. Dr. Deborah Frank is a physician who is part of Boston University’s School of Medicine. “Food is medicine,” said Dr. Frank. The organization SciLine assembled Frank and two other scientists to discuss childhood hunger in terms of before and since the pandemic. Dr. Eliza […]