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Staff: OK Policy: Census data, new Kids Count report show Oklahoma families facing 'unimaginable choices' during pandemic

 

The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2020 Kids Count report, released Tuesday, states that “schools have been disrupted so profoundly (by the COVID-19 pandemic) that the effects could damage the prospects of an entire generation of young people.”

The COVID-19 pandemic is having an “outsized” impact on children and communities of color, with a new report indicating that roughly 1 in 3 Oklahoma households with children expressed some belief in October that they would experience an eviction or foreclosure within the next two months.

The report from Kids Count, a program of the Annie E. Casey Foundation that focuses on the well-being of children, also found that about 40% of Oklahoma adults living in homes with children said they’ve had difficulty paying for usual childhood expenses.

Additionally, more than 1 in 8 families in Oklahoma said they “sometimes or often” don’t have enough to eat during the ongoing public health emergency.

“Every child in Oklahoma deserves to have their basic needs met, yet the latest Kids Count report clearly shows Oklahoma families are facing unimaginable choices as they care for their loved ones,” Oklahoma Policy Institute Executive Director Ahniwake Rose said.

Kids Count policy reports use data from a U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey to focus on physical health, mental health, hunger and housing, each identified as factors of a child’s life that can “significantly” affect their well-being.

The newest Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Report, called “Kids, Families and COVID-19: Pandemic Pain Points and The Urgent Need to Respond,” examines families in all 50 U.S. states.

“The United States is enduring the most catastrophic economic crisis since the Great Depression,” the report states. “This time, however, the nation is also in the midst of a public health disaster that has not spared a single community. Schools have been disrupted so profoundly that the effects could damage the prospects of an entire generation of young people.

“And widening racial disparities require policymakers to prioritize equitable solutions. To help get families through this crisis, we need decisive action.”

The Oklahoma Policy Institute, known as OK Policy, noted that also among the findings were that Black and Latino families were more likely than white families to say they had “little to no confidence” that they could pay their next home mortgage or rent payment.

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