According to this year’s Factbook from the advocacy group Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, 16.3% of Rhode Island children live in poverty, a higher mark than the national average. Even Newport – a popular summer destination for tourists – has a child poverty rate of 32%.
As the number of Rhode Island children living in poverty increases, advocates are concerned about the impact it will have on kids’ mental health and educational attainment. Ocean State Media’s Luis Hernandez spoke with Paige Parks, executive director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, about those concerns and some potential policy solutions.
Interview highlights
On the high rate of child poverty in Newport
Paige Parks: For the last couple of years, Newport has had some of the highest [poverty] rates in the state. Thirty-two percent of their children (are) living in poverty. Only Central Falls has a rate higher than Newport. So we made a decision this year to make Newport a “core city” because many of their outcomes – including their child poverty rate – mirror those of Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket.
On how the high cost of housing in Rhode Island is impacting children
Parks: When kids don’t have safe, affordable housing where they know they can put their head every night, and the economic stresses that families are undergoing – that kind of trauma that living in poverty, especially for long periods of time, creates for kids – that’s when we see a lot of negative outcomes and impact. We see kids with mental health challenges, challenges in school, difficulty in school, mental behavioral health. It all stems from poverty. Poverty is the leading indicator in every single indicator in the Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook.
On the reduction in the number of kids who are waiting for admission to in-patient psychiatric services and early intervention services, which Parks says is good news.
Parks: So the state put in funding for the Mobile Response Stabilization Services – MRSS – and we’re seeing the outcomes of that. MRSS has a 92% success rate, so if a kid is in a mental health crisis, they will get to that child wherever they are and get them connected to services. This has been a huge, huge factor in why we’re seeing less wait times in the emergency room.
For early intervention, the state invested in a Medicaid rate increase for early intervention. This has allowed early intervention programs to be able to hire and provide more wages for those really critical early intervention staff, and now we’re seeing less wait for those kids who need those services at the most critical times in their development. So I think the story here is that when you pay attention to something and you invest in it, you see better outcomes.
On her priorities for state lawmakers
Parks: Well, we want them to continue to invest in our early childhood programs. Our childcare is absolutely essential. We need to make sure it’s high quality and that it’s affordable. Childcare affects so many people in Rhode Island, whether it be parents or grandparents who are now having to care for their grandchildren in their retirement because their children can’t afford childcare. So we need to make some really important investments in childcare so that we have more availability, high-quality staff getting paid the wages they deserve.
We also need to invest in our Rhode Island Works program. That is our workforce development program for our low-income families. The Rhode Island Works program is a job development program, and it also provides cash assistance for families. So when families are in this transition, they have some cash to help them. It helps to lift children out of poverty. We need to continue to invest in that program.
