Fifteen percent of Rhode Island children ages 18 and under were living below the federal poverty threshold in 2006, according to the new Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook. That’s an improvement from 2004 when the figure was 21 percent, a difference of 15,000 children.
The decrease occurred “during a time when the state was making critical investments in child care, health care and adult education,” said Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count. Now, several state programs that assist impoverished families could be cut under Gov. Donald L. Carcieri’s plan to reduce the deficit, she warned.
“It is imperative that we maintain and restore our critical investments in working families so that they can access the child care, health care, and education necessary for stable employment,” Burke Bryant said.
The organization’s annual report for 2008, which was released at a breakfast last week, evaluates 62 different aspects of children’s lives and charts improvements and declines.
One of the programs evaluated, Head Start, serves 47 percent of the estimated 4,848 eligible 3- to 5-year-olds in Rhode Island. The federal program is supplemented by $3.3 million in state funding which has been proposed for elimination, potentially affecting the 400 families the state funding serves.
The program is designed to allow low-income preschool children – who typically are 18 months behind their higher-income counterparts developmentally – to begin school on equal footing with their peers. According to research cited in the Factbook, children who participate in Head Start have improved literacy skills, reduced behavioral problems, less grade retention, reduced special-education enrollment and increased high school graduation rates.
Also up for elimination is the Comprehensive Child Care Services Program. State law allows families who are eligible for, but not receiving Head Start support, to get child care assistance. It currently provides services to 955 children.
“When we are faced with difficult fiscal choices, there are few issues more pressing than ensuring that all our children are safe, secure and have the opportunity to reach their full potential,” said Bill Bentley, president and CEO of Voice for America’s Children, in his keynote speech.
The need for child care subsidies for families living in poverty can be evidenced by looking at the average annual cost of child care in Rhode Island: In 2006, it cost $10,557 for one infant to be in full-time child care and $8,736 for one preschooler.
Rhode Island child care rates consume 45 percent of the median single-parent family income, compared with the federal affordability guideline that families spend no more than 10 percent. At that rate, a Rhode Island family would need to make $87,000 per year to afford the average cost of child care for a 3-year-old at a licensed center.
Among other areas evaluated, the Family Independence Program – the state’s welfare program – has seen a 46-percent decline in caseloads since 1996. FIP provides families with cash assistance and work supports, such as food stamp benefits, health insurance, and subsidized child care.
In 2006, about 3,500 families were able to leave the program for employment, while state funding for cash assistance has been cut since 1996, from $58 million to $16 million in 2007.
While Burke Bryant says this is good news, as it is a sign that families are moving into the work force, she notes that the successful decline of welfare cases is largely supported by the availability of child care assistance, which are the subject of proposed budget cuts.
There were other positives:
• 94 percent of the children in Rhode Island had health insurance in 2006.
• Rhode Island has the lowest child death rate for ages 1 to 14 in the country.
“High quality child care and early learning programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers have long lasting positive effects on how children learn, develop, cope with stress, and handle their emotions,” said Bentley. •
