President Trump’s budget proposal, which has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, includes cuts to several programs that benefit Rhode Island children. This all comes at a time when child poverty, homelessness, and the number of children without health insurance Is on the rise in the Ocean State. That’s according to the latest report from Rhode Island Kids Count.
Morning Host Luis Hernandez spoke about the implications of the spending package with Paige Parks, executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count.
Interview Highlights
On which programs could be affected by federal cuts
Paige Parks: We are paying very close attention to how this budget proposal will impact kids’ access to health insurance, their access to nutrition programs, as well as their access to higher education opportunities. There are elements of the bill that would have impacts on the Pell Grant, as well as access to out-of-school time and after school programs.
On how program cuts could impact child hunger
Parks: The SNAP program is a really important anti-hunger program that helps our kids that have limited income or if their family is facing unemployment, it allows them to still be able to have access to meals. So there are just under 45,000 in Rhode Island in October, 2024 that received a SNAP benefit. 70% of those households are at incomes that make less than $26,000 a year for a family of three. So these are families in high need.
What’s important to know about the budget is when you make one change to one program, it will impact the many other programs it touches on. The eligibility for SNAP directly relates to our school meal programs. So we have 35,000 children that participate in the School Breakfast Program, and more than half of all of our students in Rhode Island participate in the National School Lunch Program. That’s just under 76,000 kids. So if children are no longer eligible for SNAP, it’s going to impact and make them also ineligible for the School Lunch Program. It will also impact our schools that are providing universal healthy school meals as schools may not be able to provide that program anymore. So we’re really concerned about potential increases in child hunger if this bill goes through as is.
On how program cuts could affect racial disparities in Rhode Island
Parks: It would make the disparities much worse because these are programs that are helping our kids in greatest need, who tend to be children of color, children in low-income families. It helps them be able to have a chance, makes childcare more affordable, and provides affordable, high-quality out-of-school time programs so that families and parents can work. It also provides what we know is really important, health insurance coverage for these populations. There’s a long history that has led these particular populations to not have the same access. So that’s why these programs are extremely important, and overall, our state is becoming increasingly diverse, so we need to make sure that our children of color, our children of low-income families, have a better start in their lives.
On how federal program cuts could impact state spending and taxation
Parks: So under this bill, there are a lot of costs that will have to be assumed by the state… No one wants to talk about increasing taxes or increasing revenue streams, but taxing the top 1% is one way that we can generate revenue, so that we can maintain these programs that really are a backbone for our future generations of Rhode Island. No one wants to have that conversation, but it’s a necessary conversation and we have 209,000 children in our state who are relying on us to have that conversation and to have them at the forefront.
