Since April 2020, we have been using the RAPID Survey Project to ask families with young children about their ability to meet basic needs. In mid-2022, we saw a rise in the number of parents reporting at least one material hardship. RAPID measures material hardship by asking parents if they are experiencing difficulty paying for basic needs, such as food, housing, utilities, child care, healthcare, and wellness activities.

A previous fact sheet on California families with young children provided insights on access to and engagement with Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and child care support programs. In this fact sheet, we report on similar insights with data collected from families with young children in Los Angeles County (LA), the most-populated county in California.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold in the U.S. in March 2020, Congress temporarily boosted several social support services, including Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as CalFresh in California).

This fact sheet summarizes the rates of overall material hardship, housing related hardship, and hunger, set alongside the timeline of federal policies designed to reduce hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This fact sheet summarizes the rates of overall material hardship, housing related hardship, and hunger, set alongside the timeline of federal policies designed to reduce hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.