On October 1, 2021, Children’s HealthWatch submitted testimony in strong support of An Act to lift kids out of deep poverty (H.199/S.96) and An Act concerning public assistance for working families and the creation of a pilot program to address the impacts of the cliff effect (H.208/S.119). The mission of Children’s HealthWatch is to improve […]
High Levels of Household Food Insecurity Persist among Families in Boston, Massachusetts during the COVID-19 Pandemic Key Takeaways In Metro Boston, rates of household food insecurity have persisted at high levels among Children’s HealthWatch families. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, preliminary data show 38.5 percent of families with very young children were food insecure. Federal, state, […]
On November 23rd, Children HealthWatch submitted a letter to Massachusetts legislators, Representative Aaron Michelwitz, Senator Michael J. Rodrigues, Representative Denise Garlick, Senator Cindy Friedman, Representative Todd Smola, and Senator Patrick M͘ O͛ Connor. We urged them to include several provisions in the FY21 budget that are critical to promoting the health and well-being of children […]
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.