Bearing Witness: Family Voices That We Can’t Ignore
This week we take new look at the how American families are meeting basic needs during the pandemic. In a July posting from our RAPID nationally representative survey, we reported on families’ ability to pay for basic needs such as food, housing, and utilities. At that time the government CARES Act was still in place. Among its provisions, the CARES Act included a supplemental $600/week pandemic unemployment stipend and a moratorium on evictions.
This week, we look at family financial wellbeing two weeks after benefits from the CARES Act expired. In order to tell the full story of what our data are revealing, our report this week also features quotes from survey participants about the challenges they’re facing.
“Everything seems to go at the same time. I’m in debt trying to keep afloat but need the credit I no longer have because we need a new vehicle but can’t even afford the car insurance.”
Key Findings
The proportion of households anticipating difficulty paying for basic needs this month is currently over 40% (when CARES was in effect, we found the number reporting current difficulties was 20%)[Footnote 1].
Two weeks after the Cares Act expired, nearly 40% of caregivers were worried that they will not have enough food for their families in the next month.
Nearly two-thirds of specific subgroups of caregivers (Black and Latinx households, single parent households, and lower income households) are worried about basic shelter and food for their families. In addition, we are starting to see reports of financial difficulties among non-low income households as well (fully one third report such challenges).
These findings are particularly troubling given our prior findings that experiencing material hardships is directly driving increases in caregiver emotional distress, which in turns is leading to negative impacts on children’s well-being. Decades of research on early childhood development make it clear that adverse childhood experiences such as what we are witnessing in our survey are, without intervention or additional support, likely to lead to a lifelong impact on children’s brain development, emotional well-being, and physical health.
With no plan for replacing CARES Act provisions in sight, and Congress currently in recess, the circumstances that millions of American families with young children are currently experiencing — and millions more will likely soon face — is alarming. These results call for policy makers to take immediate action.
Background
Even when CARES Act provisions were in place, households with young children were feeling financial burdens from the pandemic, and were reporting concerning rates of material hardship. In a previous RAPID survey post, survey data collected in July showed that income loss, financial difficulties, and difficulty providing basic needs were widespread among families with young children during the pandemic. At that time, roughly 20% of households in our nationally representative sample reported having a hard or very hard time paying for basic needs like food, housing healthcare, and utilities (e.g., water, electricity).
We also previously reported that caregivers in lower income households are experiencing higher levels of emotional distress than those in middle and high income households. Moreover, we found that insecurity about food is the single most important driver of caregiver anxiety, depression, and stress in lower income households.
This week, we find that, since the CARES Act expired, large numbers of households with young children are anticipating significant material hardship in the coming month. Reports in the media have documented eviction notices arriving on family doorsteps nationwide. Food donation centers are seeing sharp increases in need. Adding to the challenges families are facing, the price of groceries has also been increasing. These experiences are reflected in the comments of our survey participants:
“On 6/15 when CO ended the eviction moratorium my landlord gave us a 90 day notice to vacate. How do you find a place to live when this is going on?”
“I got laid off on 7/31/20 from my job due to downsizing because of Covid-19. I am now moving in with my parents because I cannot pay rent and all of my bills. I feel stressed to have to come to this decision, at 30 years old. I am blessed to have this as an option but it has brought me a lot of anguish.”
“Prices have gotten a lot higher during the pandemic. The foods we normally buy are sometimes out of stock so we’re forced to buy higher priced items. I had to take my child out of daycare because I couldn’t afford the cost anymore. It’s okay for now because I’m working from home but it puts more stress on me to try to get work done and keep her occupied at the same time.”
We look at survey data collected approximately 10 days after the $600 unemployment stipends and eviction protection ended. We asked caregivers about their concerns paying for basic needs (food, housing, utilities) in the coming month. Since our prior survey data has consistently found that greater difficulties exist among specific subgroups, we also looked at material hardship in Black and Latinx households, lower income households, and single-parent households. Our data show the following:
1. The proportion of families anticipating difficulty paying for basic needs since CARES benefits ended now stands at over 40%.
We found that approximately two weeks after the end of CARES benefits, 42% of families in our survey were worried about paying for at least one basic need (food, housing, utilities) this month. In contrast, in mid-July when we asked caregivers about their current experiences, approximately 20% reported difficulty paying for basic needs.
“I can’t pay the mortgage without help from my mom. The house has leaks and electrical issues that I can’t afford to fix.”
2. In well over a third of households with young children, caregivers are anticipating financial difficulty so severe that they aren’t sure whether they will be able to adequately feed their families.
“I only make enough to pay for bills but not enough to buy food, I don’t even make a lunch for work and I work in healthcare. I don’t have a sitter after work because I just use family. Sometimes I don’t even get to go get food shelf because there’s no sitter.”
We found that being able to afford food was caregivers’ number one concern. Only two weeks after CARES benefits ended, 38% of caregivers are worried about paying for food for their families.
We know from a previous post that food insecurity is the number one predictor of emotional distress among caregivers with young children. This means that these high rates of difficulty in paying for food are detrimental to caregiver well-being. We also know from earlier survey findings that emotional and behavioral difficulties among children are directly affected by caregiver emotional distress.
3. Black and Latinx households, and single-parent households, are experiencing among the highest rates of anticipated difficulty paying for basic needs.
The rates of anticipated material hardship are considerable higher among several subgroups in our survey.
Within Black families, 59% of caregivers were worried about providing basic needs for their families this month.
Within Latinx families, 61% of caregivers were worried about providing basic needs for their families this month.
Within single parent families, 60 % of caregivers were worried about providing basic needs for their families this month.
4. Anticipated Difficulty paying for basic needs is not confined to lower-income households.
Our data show that roughly two-thirds of households below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines are having difficulty paying for basic needs. Although it is logical that lower-income households would have more difficulties, the rates are nevertheless alarming. Equally concerning is that nearly one third of middle and upper-income households are reporting similar difficulties.
Implications
In households with young children, material hardship results in greater caregiver emotional distress. Worry about providing enough food is the number one driver of this distress. Given the increased rates of material hardship that we are seeing, the emotional well-being of caregivers is of grave concern and will likely get worse in the weeks to come as savings and/or credit runs out for families who had them. These worries are compounded by concerns about work, childcare, and safety.
“We are trying to decide whether we are sending our girls back to daycare or whether we’re going to keep them home and continue this insanity of working from home while parenting. Our daycare is open, but I am not thrilled with their safety protocols and I am stressed about getting Covid by sending them. I also know that I could save SO MUCH MONEY by not sending them and even though my mental health would suffer greatly, we could pay off my student debt which would help with our monthly expenses. I am worried about my 4 year old’s mental health though. Suddenly, she has unraveled and I think she would benefit from being back in daycare.”
The effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been studied for decades, and are very well understood to affect children’s emotional and psychological development. In recent years, these experiences have also been linked to diminished physical health, and increased morbidity and mortality due to disease. Across virtually all areas, there is a consistent relationship between the number of adverse experiences and increased risk.
Material hardship and financial difficulties for families are only going to increase as the pandemic continues and more time goes by in the current recession. Unemployment is continuing to increase, and no solid plans are in place for additional government aid to replace the CARES Act. As one survey respondent stated:
“Sweeping layoffs are coming at my company. I am terrified I will lose my job and we will be without healthcare benefits during a global pandemic. We have some savings so we would be ok financially, but healthcare costs could wipe us out and I’m not feeling great about the job market.”
For most caregivers, concerns about paying for basic needs are going to become an actual inability to pay for basic needs. This means that young children will face an accumulation of adverse experiences. A foundation of scientific evidence makes clear that unless we do something, we can expect to see the effects of these experiences for decades to come.
Recommendations
From these data, we can conclude that in the absence of CARES Act relief, many households that were somewhat insulated from economic worries are now in trouble, and these numbers may be expected to increase as time goes by without a CARES replacement.
Policy makers must make a new commitment to families with children. They must move to provide aid and help the growing number of families and children that are suffering due to the pandemic.
We urge members of Congress to act immediately and pass a new relief package particularly with respect to paying for basic needs; and for state policy makers to implement whatever additional supports are available to combat material hardship in these households.
Footnotes
[Footnote1]: The July RAPID report was based on contemporaneous data (i.e., caregiver reports difficulties at the time they were responding). In contrast, because there is no plan to replace the CARES Act at present, this week’s report focuses on the difficulties caregivers are expecting to experience in the next month.
Additional readings
“Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs),” Center for Disease Control and Prevention
“Feeding America Study Projects Local Food Insecurity Rates Amid Pandemic Could Reach Up To 1 in 3 Adults and 1 in 2 Children,” Feeding America
“The Impact of Coronavirus on Food Insecurity,” Feeding America
“The COVID-19 crisis has already left too many children hungry in America,” Brookings
“Millions of Evictions Are a Sharper Threat as Government Support Ends,” New York Times
“‘A Homeless Pandemic’ Looms As 30 Million Are At Risk Of Eviction,” NPR
“The pandemic may cause 40 million Americans to lose their homes,” CNBC
“Local agencies and volunteers help the hungry as pandemic continues,” WFMJ
About the project
When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged last winter, there were over 24 million children age five and under living in the United States. This period of early childhood is a critical window that sets the stage for health and well-being across the lifespan. As such, it is essential during the current health and economic crisis to listen to the voices of households with young children.
The weekly survey of households with children age five and under launched on April 6, 2020. Since then, we have been gathering weekly data about child and adult emotional well-being, financial and work circumstances, availability of healthcare, and access to child care/early childhood education.
These analyses are based on responses collected from 7,468 caregivers between the dates of April 06, 2020 and August 13, 2020. These caregivers represent a range of voices: 10.48% are Black/African American, 20.01% are LatinX, and 20.51% live at or below 1.5 times the federal poverty line. Proportions/percentages are calculated based on the item-level response rates, not out of the total sample size. The data for these analyses are not weighted.
We will continue to report on these issues as we learn more from each new weekly survey. We will also be producing policy briefs that make concrete recommendations about how to address the challenges we are seeing emerge from the family surveys.
Our goal is to use what we are hearing from families to improve the well-being of all households with young children, during the pandemic and beyond.
Suggested citation
Center for Translational Neuroscience (2020, August 25). Bearing Witness: Family Voices That We Can’t Ignore. Medium. https://medium.com/rapid-ec-project/bearing-witness-family-voices-that-we-cant-ignore-9e64b9bfbe41