Related factsheet: ARPA and Child Well-Being in Oklahoma (May 2021)
From school and child care closings to economic disruptions, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed many gaps within our state’s systems that support children and families. As we look toward recovery, it…
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Oklahoma children need housing, food, health care, educational opportunities, and stable, nurturing environments to succeed. These essentials, however, are out of reach for many Oklahomans as the result of poverty, structural racism, and other barriers.
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While paid family and medical leave policies are standard in nearly every country, the U.S. is one of only eight countries in the world (and the only “developed” country) to not guarantee access to paid family and medical leave. However, nine states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation that provides paid family and medical leave to most employees.
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If we want Oklahoma’s children to recover quickly from the COVID-19 crisis and grow up to be healthy, thriving adults, then now is the time to increase our investment in the programs that provide the stability that our children need.
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By:
Rebecca Fine
December 15, 2020 // Updated: December 15, 2020
All children in Oklahoma deserve to have their basic needs met, especially during these unprecedented times. Unfortunately, data from a new KIDS COUNT® report show that too many Oklahoma families are struggling to weather this public health crisis.
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Additional federal dollars should be used to support low-income students through extended instructional time, lower student-to-staff ratios, and other initiatives. Such investments will prevent the COVID-19 slide from widening academic disparities even further.
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Our child care industry and the future of our state’s economy are at stake. Now it is time for the state to listen.
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By staying open, child care centers make it possible for those workers with children to carry out these important roles. Below are some policy measures that can support keeping child care centers open during the COVID-19 health emergency.
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By:
Rebecca Fine
September 24, 2019 // Updated: October 4, 2019
A new KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot shows that many children in Oklahoma live in high-poverty communities that often lack these vital necessities. In Oklahoma, Black and Latino children are more than four times as likely to live in areas of concentrated poverty (census tracts where 30 percent or more of the population lives in poverty).
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A new report from Oklahoma Policy Institute finds that new federal grant funding is making affordable child care a reality for more Oklahomans.
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