By Jim McLean
KHI News Service
TOPEKA, April 24
Leaders of a child advocacy organization hope the release of a report that shows more Kansas children are living in poverty will spur legislators to action.
The 2007 Kansas KIDS COUNT report issued early Wednesday by Kansas Action for Children shows that nearly 37 percent of Kansas children live in low-income families. Nearly 16 percent are in families living at the federal poverty level, which, for a family of three is $17,170. Almost 21 percent are members of families that earn no more than twice the poverty level, $34,340 for a family of three.
“It”s very easy to say “children living in poverty, what can we do about that?”” said Shannon Cotsoradis, executive vice president of the nonprofit advocacy organization. “But there are some very specific things. And I want to see the House and the Senate step up and support the opportunities we have to better serve young children living in poverty.”
Cotsoradis said several funding initiatives that legislators are considering as part of the final budget bill of the 2007 session
would specifically address the problem of children in poverty. Among those is a proposal to increase spending on pre-kindergarten programs by $3.5 million. Research shows, Cotsoradis said, that early education programs are effective in helping to break the cycle of poverty because they help children succeed in school.
“We know from decades of research that once they hit formal education at kindergarten it”s very difficult for them to catch up,” she said. “If they get to kindergarten and they”re already behind, it”s likely that they”ll stay behind.”
The Senate Ways and Means Committee included the pre-kindergarten spending during its Omnibus considerations.
Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, was a vocal supporter of the funding.
“I think this is one of the most important things that come before us,” she said during the committee”s deliberations.
Cotsoradis also praised the Legislature for approving Gov. Kathleen Sebelius” $1.6 million expanding of Early Head Start.
Also, two initiatives aimed at expanding health coverage are among KAC”s top remaining priorities. One being pushed by the Kansas Health Policy Authority would provide private health insurance for adults earning between 37 percent and 50 percent of the federal poverty level. The so-called premium assistance program is contained in Senate Bill 11, which has been approved by a conference committee but awaits consideration by the full House and Senate.
“Covering adults is one of the best ways to reach uninsured children,” Cotsoradis said, noting that many of the state”s estimated 46,000 uninsured children are eligible for either Medicaid or the State Children”s Health Insurance Program but not enrolled.
Cotsoradis said KAC also is urging legislators to approve Gov. Kathleen Sebelius” Healthy First Five proposal, which calls for spending $10 million to expand eligibility for the state health insurance programs to children and mothers living in families with incomes up three times the federal poverty level.
“When we talk about investing in children, there are few things that are more fundamental to child well being than access to health care,” Cotsoradis said. “As a state, that should be among our top priorities.”
Last week, the Senate Ways and Means Committee voted to include the governor”s initiative in its version of the Omnibus spending bill, but removed it again late Monday as they tried to trim overall spending. House leaders have been consistently opposed to the expansion. The combination of the Senate committee”s backtracking and the House leadership”s opposition suggests that the initiative has little chance of winning approval in the final days of the session.
The KIDS COUNT report also shows that the number of Kansas families that receive food stamps is increasing as is the number of children who qualify for free and reduced price lunches in Kansas schools. Today, nearly 40 percent of Kansas public school children participate in the program, which is often used to alert educators to children who may also have difficulty in school.
Cotsoradis applauded legislators for approving a $6.9 million funding increase for a program that helps low-income parents pay for childcare.
“Without that childcare assistance money many parents would not be able to stay in the workforce,” Cotsoradis said. “That”s an issue that policymakers really do understand.”
A significant improvement in Kansas” childhood immunization rate was among the positive findings contained in the KIDS COUNT report, which contains data on 24 indicators of child well-being. In three years, Kansas” national childhood immunization ranking improved to 12th from 43rd.
KIDS COUNT is a project funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to track the status of children in the United States. Kansas Action for Children has overseen the collection of data and release of the report in Kansas for 15 years.
-Jim McLean is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at
jmclean@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 110.