COLUMBUS, Ohio -- As the Ohio Senate continues hearings on the biennial state budget, there are calls for lawmakers to move the needle on investments in child wellbeing.

While the House version of a $74 billion two-year budget would increase funding for K-12 education and invests in student wellness, the Ohio Children's Budget Coalition contended it rejected proposals to address infant mortality, child lead poisoning and other issues.

Will Petrik, budget researcher for Policy Matters Ohio, noted the plan does include a 2% income tax cut at a time when the state is surpassing revenue projections.

"Ohio has enough," Petrik asserted. "We have enough resources to make sure that kids and families can thrive, and it is ultimately about choices. Since 2005, Ohio has cut the income tax rate several times."

The coalition urged the Senate to consider several provisions to help children and families, including increasing funding for the state's home-visiting program for new mothers and their babies, and extending postpartum coverage for Medicaid eligible women from 60 days to 12 months.

Gina Wilt, advocacy director for the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said increased funding is also needed to support local programs that help young adults and pregnant youths escape homelessness.

"We have, over the course of a year, over 8,000 youths experiencing homelessness ages 16 through 24," Wilt stated. "And we know that homelessness can cause lifelong consequences for health, development."

The coalition urged the Senate to increase the initial eligibility for publicly funded child care from 130% of the federal poverty level to 200%, instead of 138% as proposed by the House.

Tracy Najera, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund of Ohio, contends it would better prepare children for the future.

"It's investments early that avoid larger costs later on down the line," Najera stressed. "Either in terms of youths not graduating from high school, not having the soft and hard skills needed to be employable later on in life, or heightened risk of involvement with the justice system."

Today, the Senate Finance Committee holds another hearing on the budget, which must be signed by the governor by June 30.

Online extortion cases involving children have been rapidly increasing in Kentucky and nationwide, and legislation signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear aims to protect kids from digital abuse. Perpetrators use social media platforms, gaming sites and messaging apps to target youths, posing as peers to coerce victims into sharing explicit photos.

Lorin Payne, Louisville Metro Police Department detective, said many parents are unaware of how easy it is for predators to access children online and the techniques they use to groom children.

"Give a child a phone they have access to, the world essentially, everything online, but now the world has access to your child," she explained.

Payne added that she is receiving around six calls a week from parents or caregivers reporting extortion cases. From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI says it received more than 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors, primarily boys, that led to at least twenty suicides. Cases of digital child abuse or sextortion can be reported to Kentucky's Child Protection Hotline at 1-877-KY-SAFE1 or through the state's online reporting system at 'reportitky.org.'

Shannon Moody, chief officer of policy and strategy with Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Kosair For Kids Face It Movement, said the bipartisan Senate Bill 73 requires sixth graders receive age-appropriate educational materials on red flags and what to do if sextortion happens to them or a peer.

"It strengthens the current law around making sexual extortion a crime in and of itself, whether it's a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the severity. It also empowers victims by giving some clear legal remedies to seek justice and recover damages," she said.

The Family Nurturing Center in Florence serves 10,000 Kentucky children and families each year.

Jane Herms, president and CEO, said 30% of its teen counseling cases involve sextortion. She says increasing awareness on the issue and emphasizing the importance of having conservations about sextortion with kids is critical to prevention.

"Digital abuse is still child abuse, and it really is emotional terrorism, and it leaves very deep psychological scars. It is trauma for children, and you see the impact," she stressed.

Research shows nearly forty percent of teens and around 23% of nine- to 12-year-olds believe sharing nude images with adults they meet online is common. Kosair has developed resources for kids' Cyber Safety at 'faceitabuse.org/cybersafety.'

Groups working to fight hunger in Iowa say proposed cuts to SNAP benefits would fall squarely on the state's kids, who rely on them for food and other needs.

State lawmakers are considering a measure that would limit what items SNAP recipients could buy.

House File 970 would limit SNAP money to buying so-called "healthy" foods - grains, dairy, meat, eggs, fruits and vegetables, or other items considered necessary for good health.

Food Bank of Iowa's Senior Manager of Food Acquisition and Advocacy Emily Shearer said the change could have a dramatic effect on the one in six Iowa kids who face hunger.

"If there are cuts to SNAP, children will be impacted, seniors will be impacted, those with disabilities will be impacted," said Shearer. "So, the majority of people on SNAP that are able to work are working - it's just not enough to make ends meet."

Backers of the bill say they're guarding against abuse of the program.

If it is approved, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services would have to request a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to override the current list of foods and beverages SNAP recipients can currently buy.

A 2016 USDA study found there are very few differences in the buying habits of families using SNAP and those who don't.

Shearer said it's been hard to counter the false claims that low-income Iowans have less healthy eating and buying habits, or that they use their SNAP benefits to buy unhealthy items.

"Nobody's buying tobacco and alcohol with their SNAP benefits. They're just not," Shearer insisted. "But with SNAP restrictions the way they're written currently, they're so vague - there's discussion that something like pasta sauce, or soup or jelly, are those going to be restricted? I don't think anyone would define those as 'junk food.'"

The USDA reports about 130,000 Iowans received SNAP benefits in 2024.

Each legislative session, Oregon's Joint Ways & Means Committee holds a statewide roadshow to hear from residents about their priorities. At the Salem stop April 16, supporters of the Food for All Oregonians bill are urging people to speak up. A coalition of over 180 organizations says bipartisan momentum is growing behind the bill, which would extend food benefits to all of the state's kids, regardless of their immigration status.

Ali King, a member of the Our Children Oregon coalition, said policy experts, parents, and other supporters of the bill have a clear message.

"We've all seen firsthand how our worsening hunger crisis impacts our children and state and it's unacceptable that one in six Oregon children don't have enough to eat," she declared.

King says Food for All Oregonians is one of the top priorities for her organization's 'Children's Agenda,' a package of legislation dedicated to improving the well-being of Oregon's children, youth, and families. The bill is currently in the Ways and Means committee.

A previous version of Food for All Oregonians would have extended food benefits to older adults as well as children. Opponents take issue with providing food benefits to people who are undocumented. King says, though the bill is linked to immigration status, it is not only about immigration.

"We can't allow Oregon's innocent children to become the collateral damage of partisan politics. It's really important that regardless of your views on immigration, we recognize that no one deserves to go hungry," she continued.

Food for All Oregonians would establish a new program in the Department of Human Services to provide food benefits to children up to 6 years old who would otherwise qualify for SNAP but for their immigration status. The estimated cost for this biennium is about $7.5 million. Coalition members say they will continue to work until all Oregonians have access to the food benefits they need.


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