The past several weeks has brought forward a national conversation about what happens when a family cannot meet its basic needs. Basic needs are the essential resources that impact one's health, belonging, persistence, and overall well-being. They are never luxuries – they are things that are absolutely necessary to live.
As a key part of the system of care for Vermont families, Parent Child Centers (PCCs) are community-based partners that work with families with young children across the state. For many families with very young children, we are the first point of contact and families look to us for guidance and resources. Families are coming to us with back rent due, utility shut off notices and car repair bills that they cannot pay because they need to buy food.
PCCs work to ensure that families receive the benefits and services they are eligible for by providing application assistance, advocacy and problem solving – including language translation. The federal government shutdown impacts have left thousands of vulnerable women, children, elderly, and people with disabilities in Vermont feeling hungry and afraid, and it’s unacceptable.
The Vermont Parent Child Center Network would like to thank the policymakers who took the right step here in Vermont and approved a plan to ensure Vermonters could receive their SNAP/3SVT benefits in November. We are grateful that 3SquaresVermont beneficiaries in Vermont will receive food benefits in November, regardless of the federal government shutdown.
Children need both nutrition and nurturing to grow and develop appropriately. When their families don’t have the food they need or are economically stressed in other ways, they are forced to make decisions on whether to pay bills like rent and utilities or pay for food. Research from the Stanford Center on Early Childhood’s National RAPID survey shows that parents who frequently make choices between which monthly bills to pay report higher levels of stress and anxiety. These conditions make it challenging for parents to provide the attention and nurturing that children need to thrive, and that is crucial during the most rapid period of brain development.
Economic stability is foundational to meeting basic needs, which are essential for well-being and growth of children, especially very young children. The research is clear that economic and material hardship in families is a stressor that can lead to higher risk for child welfare involvement. This is an ominous finding considering the situation we are in as a nation. Babies and their caretakers need every opportunity to thrive. We work with thousands of families that have a high number of financial stressors and no natural supports or safety nets.
PCC’s will continue to work towards the goal that all families can access a safety net. The latest report from Annie E. Casey Foundation Measuring Access to Opportunity in the United States: A 10-Year Update validates that safety net programs work and that withdrawing public investment brings serious consequences for child well-being.
We must not let this happen – our children deserve to have their basic needs of nutrition and nurturing met, and our future as a state depends on it. We can do better! When children have their basic needs met, they can reach their full potential, and we are better positioned to thrive as a state.
Kendall lives in Moretown and is executive director at the Family Center of Washington County, Parent Child Center for Central Vermont.
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