Data Snapshot: Fewer Young Adults Lack Health Insurance Following Key ACA Provisions

T he share of people without health insurance has dropped dramatically since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but declines have been most dramatic among young adults age 19 to 25. In 2008, one-in-three 23-year-olds were uninsured, likely reflecting their graduation from college and therefore, their ineligibility to be covered on parental plans. Beginning in 2010, the ACA allowed young adults to remain on their parents’ plans until age 26; the orange line in Figure 1 reflects this shift, as 26-year-olds, rather than 23-year-olds, became the most often uninsured by 2013

Data Snapshot: Nine Million Publicly Insured Children in the Twelve States Facing Federal CHIP Cutoff by End of Year

Funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)—the federal program that extends health insurance coverage to low income children not eligible for traditional Medicaid—officially expired on September 30, 2017. Given that states implement CHIP in different ways, states will run out of funds at different times, with twelve states exhausting their federal allotment by the end of 2017

Working Families’ Access to Early Childhood Education

In this brief, using data from the Census Bureau, state administrative systems, and a Carsey survey of working parents, author Jessica Carson examines the child care landscape of the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont and links these findings to a discussion of early childhood education policy and practice. She reports that 96 percent of Upper Valley parents surveyed said child care is necessary in order for them to work. The number of slots offered by licensed (home- and center-based) early childhood education providers in the Upper Valley is 2,000 short of the estimated number of young children whose parent or parents are in the labor force. Further, the cost of licensed care for an Upper Valley family with just one infant is equivalent to 16 percent of median family income, more than twice the 7 percent that the federal government considers affordable. She discusses possible multipronged strategies and policies to address the challenges working parents face accessing early childhood care and education in the Upper Valley and beyond

Data Snapshot: SNAP Declines Continue in 2016, but Not for Rural Places

In 2016, 12.4 percent of households reported Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) receipt, down 0.4 percentage point from 2015. Similar declines in suburbs and cities drove the national decrease, but the 14.8 percent of rural households receiving SNAP did not significantly change between 2015 and 2016

The Poverty-Reducing Effects of the EITC and Other Safety Nets for Young Adult Parents

In this brief, Jess Carson explores the poverty-reducing effects of key federal safety net programs among 18-24 year old (“young adult”) parents. An estimated 2.5 million very young children live with a young adult parent, with low-income children especially likely to do so. The brief finds that more than four in five young adult parents, regardless of income, participate in at least one major safety net program. Of these, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the most widely used and the most effective at reducing poverty under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, and poverty would increase by 6.7 percentage points without the EITC. Continued efforts to expand and support access to the EITC can provide young families with a key source of poverty-alleviating income

Who would be affected by a new minimum wage policy?

This brief describes the population who would be directly affected by the President’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour: workers earning between$7.25 and $9.00 per hour. Using data from the 2010 and 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, author Jessica Carson details the characteristics of these potentially affected earners and compares them with the hourly workforce more broadly, paying particular attention to rural-urban differences. She reports that nearly 17 percent of hourly paid workers earn between$7.25 and $9.00 per hour and would see a pay increase under the proposed minimum wage policy. The brief also shows that women, young adults, and workers who are nonwhite, never married, and less educated would disproportionately benefit from a changed policy. She concludes with a discussion of policy implications, emphasizing that to minimize potentially negative employment effects, any minimum wage legislation should be crafted with careful consideration of the implications that an increase may have for firms employing hourly workers

Rural Areas with Seasonal Homes Hit Hard by COVID-19

In this data snapshot, author Jess Carson finds that rural counties where at least 25 percent of the housing units are for seasonal use are hit especially hard by COVID-19 compared with urban and other kinds of rural counties

SNAP use increased slightly in 2012

This brief uses data from the American Community Survey to examine rates of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) receipt in 2012, track changes since the onset of the recession, and monitor receipt by region and place type. It also explores changes in SNAP receipt among households that may be at particular risk for food insecurity and considers rates among some less traditionally at-risk populations, exploring changes in their rates of receipt over time. Author Jessica Carson writes that reports of SNAP receipt in 2012 increased among populations at particular risk for food insecurity, including households with children, seniors, the poor, and householders with a disability, as well as populations less often considered at risk, including married couples and households without children. Despite increased reliance on SNAP, the program is presently facing substantial cuts in the U.S. House and Senate in the coming weeks. Carson concludes that any cuts to program funding should consider the vulnerable populations that have increasingly relied on these benefits in a tenuous economy where the social safety net is already frail

Many Eligible Children Don’t Participate in School Nutrition Programs; Reauthorization Offers Opportunities to Improve

This brief uses data from the 2013 Current Population Survey’s Food Security Supplement to document levels of participation in two of the largest programs authorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010—the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program—by region and place type (rural, suburban, and city), to identify areas where expanding participation may be especially important. Author Jessica Carson reports that only 64 percent of eligible households participate in the National School Lunch Program, and 52 percent participate in the School Breakfast Program. Fifty-nine percent of eligible suburban households and 63 percent of rural households participate in the National School Lunch Program, compared with more than 70 percent of eligible city households. Southern households are more likely to participate in the School Breakfast Program than households in the Northeast or Midwest; there are no regional differences in National School Lunch Program participation. She concludes that participation is moderate among eligible households, with room to increase participation among those in need. In particular, legislators with rural constituents may want to consider ways to redress low participation in their communities by supporting policies that expand enrollment

Toward a More Equal Footing: Early Head Start In Maine

In this brief, author Jessica Carson explores the characteristics of Early Head Start (EHS) in Maine, compares them to the national landscape, and connects these findings to a discussion of the federal and state policy climates. She reports that Maine has 837 EHS slots for more than 8,000 poor children age 0–2 in Maine. Limited funding means that EHS is unable to reach the vast majority of children living below the poverty line. Nearly half of Maine’s EHS enrollees participate via the home visitation service delivery model, compared with 37.3 percent nationwide. Although state supplemental funds pay for a small share of all Maine EHS slots (60 of the 837 slots in 2015-2016), in a climate where early childhood education and care is expensive, these slots provide critical access to some of Maine’s most vulnerable families. More broadly, because EHS can reach only a small number of Mainers, the state might consider ways to bolster the stability of this population in other ways, including through state home visitation funds and child care funds more generally. This research was supported by a grant from the Portland-based John T. Gorman Foundation, whose mission is to advance ideas and opportunities that can improve the lives of disadvantaged people in Maine