NEWS & UPDATES:
2008 Minnesota KIDS COUNT Data Book Chronicles Costly Rise in State's Child Poverty
"KIDS COUNT Coffees" Being Set Across the State for May, June and beyond
Children's Defense Fund Minnesota has released the 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book and is currently setting a schedule of Meetings, known as "KIDS COUNT Coffees," in communities across the state to let people know how children in each of Minnesota's 87 counties are faring.
This year's Data Book finds that there are 152,000 Minnesota children living in poverty - the highest level of the decade - costing the state an estimated $5.7 billion each year. The costly problem diminishes the state's long-term productivity and economic output, and increases the public cost of health care and crime across the state, according to the report.
"Poverty for children is not merely unfortunate, it is damaging, not only to our children, but also to our state's future," said Jim Koppel, CDF Minnesota Director. "Those living in poor households often go hungry, are less healthy, less safe, and more likely to fall behind in school and be unprepared for the work force. We don't need more research to know that growing poverty harms Minnesota; what we need is for our policy makers to understand that it is in our long-term interest to reverse this trend."
Read the Press Release
Download the 2008 KIDS COUNT book
Find out how Kids are Doing in Your County
(Interactive Maps, Graphs, and Profiles through National KIDS COUNT CLIKs web site)
CDF Minnesota Director Jim Koppel discussed CDF's support for the "Montana Healthy Kids plan" to cover most of the 35,000 uninsured children at a recent press conference in Helena, Montana. CDF is also supporting the development of Montana's "Bridge to Benefits" web site to help families across the state understand if they are eligible for work support benefits. Montana State Auditor John Morrison appeared with Koppel at the event.
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CDF Backs Initiative To Cover Uninsured Montana Children
Helena, MT - CDF Minnesota Director Jim Koppel announced that his
organization is making a long-term commitment to improving the lives of
Montana children and their families at a recent press conference in Helena.
Koppel said Children's Defense Fund Acton Council is backing the "I-155"
ballot initiative, known as the "Healthy Montana Kids Plan," to provide
health coverage to most of the 35,000 Montana children now living without
it. The Healthy Montana Kids Campaign is currently collecting signatures to
get the I-155 Initiative on the ballot in November. Children's Defense Fund
is committed to backing the effort in November and to creating a long-term
presence in the state to advocate on behalf of children, Koppel said.
Koppel was joined at the press conference by Montana State Auditor John
Morrison, who is chairman of the Healthy Montana Kids campaign, and by Tom
Jacobson of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Great Falls to discuss
CDF's efforts.
Koppel said that beyond the November ballot initiative, CDF is working in
partnership with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Great Falls to
develop a web-based screening tool that easily and clearly shows families
the public programs for which they may be eligible. Too often children and
their families go without health coverage or other benefits because are
unaware they are eligible. The initiative, known as "Bridge to Benefits"
has been successfully launched in Minnesota and will be available in Montana
later this year.
"Working Family Initiative" Seeks to Reverse Adverse Trends for MN Families
CDF Partnership with Other Statewide Groups Advances Efforts to Stabilize Families
With many working families across Minnesota facing stagnating wages and going without either health coverage or quality child care, CDF Minnesota has completed a successful round of "Working Families Initiative" meetings in partnership with two other statewide organizations. The groups joining CDF in the effort - Child Care WORKS, and the JOBS NOW Coalition - combined forces to promote policies to increase access to health care, child care, and family-supporting wages.
The groups held meetings in communities across the state. The first forum was held in Worthington. Read the story about the forum.
In the past few months, the groups traveled to communities across the state, including:
Rochester Tuesday, February 12
Read the Story About the Forum
Brainerd Tuesday, March 4
Read the Story About the Forum
Woodbury Tuesday, March 18
Winona Tuesday, April 15
Read the Story About the Forum
Lino Lakes Tuesday, April 23
The effort has allowed officials of the three groups to go to communities across the state to discuss efforts to reverse the trends that have led to 152,000 children living in poverty, and 85,000 going without health coverage and to examine the reasons why more than 1 million jobs in Minnesota don't pay a family-supporting wage.
For information on these issues or the Working Family Initiative, contact CDF Minnesota at 651-227-6121.
Bridge to Benefits
CDF Minnesota Outreach Specialist Ryan Johnson (left) helps demonstrate the new Bridge to Benefits website at an event to mark the launch of the new project. More than 60 people were on hand for the launch and got to hear how the project will help make Minnesota families more economically stable and to get hands-on demonstrations. The tool is available to anyone at www.bridgetobenefits.org.
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CDF Minnesota's "Bridge to Benefits" Project Helping Minnesota's Families
Children's Defense Fund Minnesota's "Bridge to Benefits" project has been improving the economic stability of thousands of Minnesota children and their families since it was launched in late 2007.
The initiative helps connect eligible working families across Minnesota with work support benefits, such as energy assistance, health care, child care assistance, food support, school meals and tax credits. Currently thousands of Minnesota children and their families with low or modest incomes are skipping meals, or going without needed medical care because they are unaware they are eligible for benefits that could bring them economic stability.
"Too often struggling families are forced to choose between medical care and keeping their homes warm in the winter because they don't make enough at their jobs to afford basic necessities," said CDF Minnesota Director Jim Koppel. "Bridge to Benefits is a project to improve their economic security by quickly helping them determine if they are eligible for work support benefits, and then giving them the tools necessary to apply. Many times these benefits make all the difference for a working family and that stability makes them more productive members of the work force."
Learn More
Look for Latest Issue of CDF Newsletter, "The Child Defender"
The latest edition of the Child Defender Newsletter is now available. It chronicles all of CDF Minnesota's latest activities, including the results of the most recent Legislative Session, the work to pass children's health care policy and legislation in Congress, and CDF's progress in getting children and families enrolled in health coverage.
Read a PDF version of the latest Child Defender
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