Kids

Education and State Economic Strength: A Snapshot of Current Data

There has been a widening gap between workers with bachelor’s degrees and those without, especially among the highest-paid 10 percent of workers with bachelor’s degrees. The report shows that states where a higher portion of the workforce holds a college degree also have higher median wages — a pattern mirrored in differences between cities within Massachusetts as well. The ever-strengthening link between education and wages has benefited Massachusetts, where the share of workers with bachelor’s degrees increased more than in any other state from 1979 to 2016. Last year (2016) became the first state ever in which a majority of the labor force held a four-year degree.

Massachusetts Still a Leader in Health Care; Federal Proposals Put Successes at Risk

Massachusetts ranks 2nd for health in the national KIDS COUNT rankings of the states. But health care achievements and future progress could be at risk if Massachusetts loses funding from the federal government that has been crucial to Massachusetts’ successes. The federal government provides critical funding for health insurance, as well as for a wide range of public and behavioral health programs. More than $10.4 billion of the state’s $44.6 billion budget comes from the federal government to help pay for health care. These funds provide essential health insurance, nutritional support for pregnant mothers and babies, crucial prevention and treatment for substance use disorders, and other protections to keep children healthy. Proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, dramatic cuts to Medicaid, and other proposals in the President’s budget could cut several billion dollars from the state budget within several years, and could profoundly affect Massachusetts’ ability to ensure that every child in the Commonwealth grows up healthy.

For Families Raising Children in Challenging Circumstances Federal Budget Cuts Could Make Conditions Worse

Massachusetts ranks 7th in family and community conditions for children in the national KIDS COUNT rankings of the states. Recent victories and future progress could be at risk if Massachusetts loses federal funding that has been crucial to Massachusetts for building strong and healthy family communities and shaping our children’s physical and social environments.

Massachusetts Leads Nation in Education; Federal Budget Proposals Could Have Wide-Ranging Impacts

Massachusetts ranks 1st in education in the national KIDS COUNT rankings of the states. Recent victories and future progress could be at risk if Massachusetts loses funding from the federal government that has been crucial to Massachusetts’ successes. A large portion of the $2.5 billion in federal grant money that comes to Massachusetts outside of the state budget supports education. The President’s proposed budget that cuts federal funding could affect Massachusetts’ ability to ensure that every child in the Commonwealth grows up ready and able to learn, and that our classrooms are able to provide high-quality education on the road to college and success in life.

Economic Conditions of Families Better Than in Most States; At Risk From Proposed Federal Budget Cuts

Massachusetts ranks 13th for the economic well-being of children in the national KIDS COUNT rankings of the states, but continued progress could be at risk if Massachusetts loses federal funding that has been crucial to some of Massachusetts’ successes. Cuts to federally-funded poverty reduction programs such as SNAP (“food stamps”), cash assistance (TANF), housing assistance, as well as other cuts proposed in the President’s budget to employment and economic development programs could limit access to income support programs, could limit families’ access to meaningful work, and could create budget challenges at the state level. Together, these circumstances could have a measurable impact on children’s economic well-being.

Partnership in Peril: Federal Funding at Risk for State Programs Relied on by Massachusetts Residents

This paper examines the major federal funding sources that the state uses to provide access to affordable health care, help children thrive, assist low-income families, and care for veterans. In addition to describing the sources of federal funding, we examine the policy changes Congress is likely to consider that could threaten this funding and the services the funding supports. This fiscal year, one of every four dollars that supports the state’s budget comes from the federal government 2–close to $11 billion in federal funds.

Counting Kids at School: 6 Steps to Better Numbers

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has recognized that recent improvements to school meals programs can unintentionally reduce funding for low-income school districts as the result of less accurate headcounts of low-income students. The Department has already made significant improvements to its data systems and is developing further recommendations at the direction of the Legislature. Based on MassBudget’s ongoing research on direct certification and its impact on Chapter 70 funding, MassBudget has developed six recommendations to improve the Commonwealth’s low-income student count.

One in Seven Massachusetts Children Still in Poverty; Almost All Have Health Insurance

Children in Massachusetts are better off as a whole than children nationally. And thanks to more than a decade’s worth of health reform in Massachusetts, children here are far more likely to have health insurance than children almost anywhere else in the U.S. Even so, close to one in seven children in Massachusetts lives in poverty, and is at risk for a wide variety of lifelong challenges.

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