Families with children in Missouri and across the nation by the hundreds of thousands fear for their rent, worry over their next meal and suffer depression and hopelessness, according to a report on U.S. Census data by KIDS COUNT.

“The coronavirus crisis has been the most extraordinary public health catastrophe in a century,” said Lisa M. Hamilton, President and Chief Executive Officer, of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which created the KIDS COUNT barometer on the well-being of U.S. children.

COVID-19’s impact is “shocking the economy, forcing shifts to remote learning and work and widening racial and economic disparities already endemic to American life,” Hamilton said in the report, released today (June 21).

The KIDS COUNT data, which extends through 2019 — before the pandemic hit — provides some encouraging news, marking a decade of progress as fewer children in Missouri lived in homes below the poverty level than at any point in the previous 10 years.

The improvements could be erased without bold action by policymakers to sustain efforts under way to help speed recovery from the pandemic, said Bill Dent, the executive director of the Family and Community Trust (FACT) in Missouri.

Dent praised the work of FACT’s community partnerships throughout the state, which include LINC in the Kansas City area, for reacting quickly to aid families and neighborhoods.

“In Missouri we have seen firsthand the great challenges the pandemic unleashed on communities in our state,” Dent said. “We are fortunate to have our network of 20 Community Partnerships who were nimble enough to pivot to meet the ever-changing needs of children and families during this time of crisis.”

“Their ingenuity has been remarkable,” Dent continued, “and we need to capitalize on their experience to help inform state and community leaders on what worked and what did not.”

In its December 2020 policy report, KIDS COUNT implored states and the nation to act quickly. There was some rapid response, including the American Rescue Act in March 2021, which has dedicated $350 billion in recovery aid, including expansion of the federal child tax credit for one year to $3,600 per child under 6 and $3,000 per older children up to 18.

America’s families — including Missouri families — are going to need more action, Hamilton said.

The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book’s in-depth statistics do not capture data from the past year, but the 2021 report examined the alarming effect of the pandemic by analyzing the Household Pulse Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau in addition to its nationwide data collection.

In March 2021, among families with children, 12% of Missouri families feared being able to pay rent or mortgage on time, 8% sometimes or often did not have enough to eat, 21% of the adults felt down, depressed or hopeless, 7% had no health insurance, 11% had no internet and computer to access school and in households where someone was planning to attend college, trade school or other post-secondary education, 42% canceled or reduced their plans.

The numbers trended worse nationwide and were particularly alarming for Black and Latino households with children — with 30% in fear of not paying rent or mortgage and more than 20% sometimes or often not having enough to eat.

“Children should not go hungry in the richest country in the world,” Hamilton said. “Families should not have to forego medical care. Parents should not endure unceasing anxiety about being evicted.”

The report makes several recommendations, including:

Make expanded federal child tax credit permanent, expand income protection, increase access to quality child care, and prioritize school funding and broadband internet access, with attention to the disparate impact of the pandemic on communities of color.

The recovering economy of the nation and states should rise to this challenge, she said.

“State leaders can and should be deliberate and bold in implementing policy solutions,” she said, “to repair the damage wrought by both the pandemic and long-standing inequities.”

“The coming months (and future Data Books),” she said, “will reveal whether the cumulative effects of policy, improved economic responses and a reduction in COVID-19 cases combine to spark a recovery.”

Many indicators in the data through 2019 show improvement since 2010, including the percentages of children living in poverty, proficiency in 4th grade reading, and graduation rates. But percentages of children in unhealthy conditions remain high, and children in Black, Latino and mixed-race families are still significantly more likely than children in white families to live in unhealthy conditions.

In state-by-state comparisons, Missouri ranked 30th in overall child well-being, 26th in economic well-being, 21st in education, 38th in health indicators and 27th in family and community indicators.

In 2019, 229,000 children in Missouri — or 17% — still lived in poverty. And 352,000 children — or 26% — lived in households where parents lacked secure income.

About the Family and Community Trust (FACT)

FACT is Missouri’s KIDS COUNT affiliate. It is the state-level private/public organization that governs a network of 20 Community Partnerships focused on achieving better results for children and families. To read data-informed stories and access specific data and information about the well being of children in your state, visit mokidscount.org. To access the data tool, visit missourikidscountdata.org. To download the mobile app, search Missouri KIDS COUNT on iOS and Android.

About the Annie E. Casey Foundation

The Annie E. Casey Foundation creates a brighter future for the nation’s children by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow. For more information, visit www.aecf.org. KIDS COUNT® is a registered trademark of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.