Children select beads to make bracelets. Kansas lawmakers have work to do to ensure Kansas children get a good start in life, writes John Wilson. (Sam Bailey/Kansas Reflector)
A month ago, Kansans made their desires clear through votes at the national and state levels. Many Kansans are struggling: inflation has driven up grocery prices, affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce, and many of our rural communities are struggling.
These challenges destabilize low- and middle-income families and make it more difficult to achieve the American dream.
This difficulty is reflected in the data we recently analyzed in our Kansas KIDS COUNT Data Book 2024. The results are shocking. Compared to the previous year, 2022 data shows that food insecurity for children is rampant in all Kansas counties, families are struggling to afford housing, and our health care system is not working for those who need it most.
We found that temporary pandemic relief measures were largely successful in giving Kansans what they want and desperately need: financial security. In 2021, we saw responses to child poverty, food insecurity and housing affordability all improve, thanks in large part to government programs that put wiggle room back into household budgets after the financial burdens of the pandemic worsened.
But in the first year without this relief, we are seeing some of the most concerning numbers in Kansas in the past decade. Between 2021 and 2022, another 37,000 Kansas children were food insecure and another 17,000 struggled with high housing costs that consume more than a third of family income.
Figures like these should determine how we orient ourselves as we enter the new year. We know what worked, and Kansas children need our help now more than ever.
The best way to pull Kansans out of the hole the pandemic has put them in is to give them a hand instead of ripping support away from them.
One policy we support is a state child tax credit, which would give every Kansas parent a credit on their state tax return for each of their children. We know an idea like this works. Nationally, it lifted nearly 2.9 million children out of poverty during the early years of the pandemic.
If Kansas lawmakers were to enact a child tax credit, we could impact more than 700,000 children.
While a tax credit could help every struggling Kansas family, we also need targeted solutions to help Kansans who are struggling to afford housing. For example, if Kansas expands the Homestead Property Tax Refund Act (passed in 1970), renters could once again benefit from the program after being excluded since tax year 2013. In the first full year after this change, thousands fewer claimed the credit, reflecting that Renters are among those whose budgets are much smaller than they were just over a decade ago.
We also want to keep our children and their parents healthy. As we focus on the financial side of Kansas, we can’t forget the system we all rely on to meet our health needs.
Our Data Book shows that Kansas families are suffering and have been for some time. By 2022, almost ten entire kindergarten classes will still not exist due to the stagnant infant mortality rate (5.9 per 1,000 births). One important health metric that shows little improvement is uninsured child rates. This means that 5.2% of all children do not have health insurance. Another 1 in 5 babies in Kansas are born to mothers who did not have access to high-quality prenatal care during pregnancy; this is especially important in rural Kansas counties, where residents may have problems with transportation or scarce health care options.
Kansas lawmakers should listen to the will of the people and expand KanCare, one of the most popular policy proposals in the state. By doing this, we can close the coverage gap, reduce the burden on our health care system, and provide the relief Kansans want.
We cannot let the next legislative session pass without providing targeted assistance to Kansas children in need. Kansas residents have spoken and want solutions to the problems they have been facing since the pandemic began.
We need every lawmaker to enter the 2025 session with the belief that there are tangible answers to the complex problems we face. This requires sharing the real-world experiences of everyday Kansans with those who have the power to be changemakers. I am confident that we can make our state one that delivers on this country’s promise of opportunity for all, but we can’t get there without rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.
John Wilson is president of Kansas Action for Children. Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policy or excluded from public debate. Find information here, including how to submit your own comments.
