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A national report finds after-school meal participation remains below pre-pandemic levels, leaving many eligible students unserved.
New Mexico expanded universal child care eligibility to include grandparents raising grandchildren, addressing high rates of kinship care.
Child care for families with young children now costs more than rent in most major metro areas, driven by rising operating and reimbursement challenges.
Research and Practice
The New York Times: Youth Mental Health Improved When Schools Reopened, Study Finds
New research published in the journal Epidemiology found that children’s mental health improved significantly after schools reopened for in-person learning in 2021. Researchers analyzed nearly 200,000 medical claims from privately insured children aged five to 18 in California. Nine months after schools reopened, children’s likelihood of seeing a provider for a mental health condition decreased by 43%. Spending on mental health-related medications and other treatments like therapy decreased by 7.5% and 10.6%, respectively. The strongest effects were observed among girls. The research aimed to isolate the shutdown effect on mental health conditions by comparing schools that opened or remained closed between August 2020 and June 2021. The study only included students on private insurance, which could skew results, and the team plans to conduct a similar analysis based on Medicaid data.
See also: Adolescent Social Capital as a Source of Resilience Against Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Times of Crisis: Longitudinal Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic
K-12 Dive: After-School Meal Participation Still Below Pre-COVID Levels, FRAC Finds
According to a new report released by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), the number of children receiving after-school snacks and dinner through the federal Afterschool Nutrition programs remains below pre-pandemic levels. The two programs, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), get funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be distributed through state agencies. Only one in 16 children who participate in the free or reduced-price school lunch program received an after-school meal, suggesting that more children can benefit from the program. If all qualified states participated, then $163.5 million would be distributed by the federal government to support after-school meal programs. FRAC recommends policy changes to boost student participation in these meal programs, such as 1) consolidating after-school and summer nutrition programs to reach more children, 2) allowing schools under the NSLP to serve suppers, and 3) lowering the eligibility threshold so more communities can qualify for after-school nutrition programs.
Policy
K-12 Dive: Education Department Distributes More Than $208M in New Mental Health Grants
The U.S. Department of Education distributed $208 million in new mental health grants to 65 recipients, half of which are from rural areas. The funding is a portion of the $1 billion, equaling 200 grants, that were revoked by the Trump administration due to mentions of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The new recipients were selected following a revised application process, which included different requirements, such as that funding could only be given to school psychologists and not other mental health specialists. Districts are also prohibited from “promoting or endorsing gender ideology, political activism, racial stereotyping, or hostile environments for students of particular races.” Many school districts and states have sued the Trump administration for withdrawing funds from schools that they said met the benchmarks set by the administration, and several lawsuits are ongoing.
The 74: In New Mexico, Grandparents Caring for Grandkids Can Also Get Free Child Care Now
New Mexico’s new universal child care program now includes a provision that expands free child care to grandparents. The provision was added after state officials asked families about their child care needs and learned that, because many grandparents were retired, they did not meet the qualifications to receive government assistance. New Mexico has the highest share of children in kinship care in the U.S; eight percent of kids in New Mexico are raised by grandparents or other kin, which is more than double the national average of three percent. Many grandparents are also struggling financially, with one in three grandparents living at or below the poverty level. New Mexico joins 20 other states in providing exemptions for kinship caregivers so they can access child care assistance from the government. In 2025, 916 grandparent caregivers received child care assistance, and since the universal child care was launched, 61 additional households have now received funds.
Around the Nation
EdSurge News: Child Care Costs More than Rent in Most Metro Areas. Why Can’t We Fix That?
In a study of the 100 largest metro areas in the United States, researchers found that the cost of child care for a family with two young children is more expensive than the cost of rent. The costs of child care programs have increased due to rising inflation; some programs report that their insurance expenses have tripled. These added expenses have impacted the ability of child care providers to balance affordable programs for families and competitive wages for employees. Programs’ fiscal challenges are further exacerbated by low reimbursement rates and delays by the state. When states are delayed in providing reimbursements, staff still need to provide children with essential services, such as food. Additionally, some states use an outdated formula to calculate the amount they will subsidize child care programs, underestimating the costs of care, which leads providers to take on second jobs, raise prices for families, or apply for grants to afford to keep their businesses open.
See also: Access to Affordable Child Care in Indiana Got More Difficult This Year
The 74: Michigan School District Embraces New Approach to Teaching Kids to Read
Michigan, along with the majority of states across the country, is prioritizing instruction based on the science of reading: a method that is rooted in phonics instruction before building vocabulary and syntax skills. Michigan has committed $87 million towards creating a curriculum aligned with the science of reading, as well as $34 million to train elementary school teachers. Stockbridge Community Schools in Michigan is one of the first school districts to model a science of reading curriculum, which has helped third-grade students increase their English proficiency by 12%. In its second year, the school has daily small-group and one-on-one literacy interventions, totaling at least 90 minutes of reading and 20 minutes of writing instruction per day. They have also employed a similar teaching method in math through daily interventions. One kindergarten teacher shared about the impact of the program: “So, when we started the [new curricula].… It’s just changed our whole way of looking at a child and how they learn best.”
