Families in Wyoming are coping somewhat better than in other states when it comes to putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their heads during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report.
But 14% of families with children still lack health insurance, largely because the state has yet to expand Medicaid coverage.
Samin Dadelahi, chief operating officer at the Wyoming Community Foundation, said families and kids are facing compounding challenges, including mental health.
"Children that are in virtual learning environments, that aren't learning as well as they could be if school was open normally," said Dadelahi. "And the hopelessness and the feelings of despair that people are feeling because they can't be with their families over the holidays. And you combine that with massive layoffs."
The report found 11% of Wyoming families with children do not have enough to eat, compared to 14% nationally. Fifteen percent are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage.
The recommendations include strengthening the Affordable Care Act to cover more families, expanding access to unemployment insurance, and prioritizing racial equity in recovery efforts.
Leslie Boissiere, vice president for external affairs at the Casey Foundation, said the pandemic has also exacerbated racial and ethnic inequities - with Native, Black, and Latino communities hit especially hard.
She said steps must be taken to ensure the nation's most vulnerable families can meet their basic needs.
"If you look at food security, 14% of households reported that they didn't have enough food to eat," said Boissiere. "When you compare that to African Americans, it's 23% - so almost double - and 19% for Latinos, compared to 9% for Asians and 10% of whites."
Dadelahi said the state's unemployment insurance program and CARES Act relief have helped stave off the worst impacts.
But she said she worries that recent cuts to safety-net programs, triggered by lost oil and gas revenues before the health crisis, are going to hurt even more in the wake of the pandemic's economic fallout.
"It's really about making sure that our governor and our legislature begin to switch that focus from budget cuts to revenue enhancement strategies," said Dadelahi. "There's just simply no other way around it, that we have to start looking at ways that we can increase revenue in Wyoming."
