Originally published on the Boston Globe. A generation-long experiment that capped family welfare benefits, by penalizing those who gave birth while on public assistance, is at long last headed for the scrap heap of bad ideas in Massachusetts. The day can’t come soon enough. Repeal of the so-called “cap on kids” has been kicking around […]
Pause for a moment. Now picture yourself as part of a family of four. You have two young kids, you and your spouse work full-time jobs. You and your spouse work hard to provide for your children and have provided everything they need, ensuring they have a fulfilling childhood. Possibly a better childhood than your own. Up until now, you managed to get by, but rent has crept up and […]
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is widely considered one of the most effective anti-poverty programs for working families. The Massachusetts EITC was first enacted in 1997. In 2015, both Democratic and Republican legislators in the Commonwealth, along with Governor Baker, successfully increased the Massachusetts EITC to 23 percent of the federal credit. More than […]
Children’s HealthWatch submitted testimony to the Members of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities in support of Senate Bill 69, “An Act to eliminate photo identification on electronic benefit cards.”
Children’s HealthWatch Principal Investigators in Boston submitted written testimony on improvements to the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to the Joint Committee on Education in Massachusetts. Improving CACFP will ensure that children in child care settings across the Commonwealth will have better access to the nutrition necessary for their rapidly growing bodies and brains.
On March 31, 2015, Children’s HealthWatch Principal Investigator, Dr. Megan Sandel, testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Revenue in support of a proposal to increase the state’s earned Income Tax Credit. “As a pediatrician, what if I told you I could write a prescription that would reduce the risk of pre-term births, low birth […]
On December 11, 2014, Children’s HealthWatch presented results from a four-month planning process to better understand how an increased Massachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit could be used as a strategy to improve housing stability and child health and development. Members of the Massachusetts Legislature, as well as advocates, researchers, funders, and providers were in attendance.
Two reports recently released by the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) provide new information regarding the state of child poverty in the United States from 2012 to 2013. Both reports found a statistically significant decline in poverty between 2012 and 2013. Despite this, poverty rates for children in Massachusetts continue to climb. Data from […]
Children’s HealthWatch signed on to a letter alongside organizations working to address homelessness and housing instability in the Commonwealth.
Marking the second installment in the five-city Children’s HealthWatch Policy Action Brief Series – Hunger: A New Vital Sign, Children’s HealthWatch published a new Policy Action Brief – RX for Healthy Child Development: Nutritious, Affordable Food Promotes Health and Economic Stability for Boston Families. The Boston brief, sheds light on the role that nutritious, affordable food plays in promoting health […]