Federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP are creating new challenges for West Virginia children as the state already sees stagnation on measures related to child well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book released this week.
Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said West Virginia is spending less on Medicaid, public schools, childcare and early education — areas where communities had been seeing gains.
“There’s a really significant worry that we lose even that slight good momentum that we had in this report if lawmakers don’t double down in investing in these programs that we know help children and families thrive,” Allen said.
According to the report, uninsured rates for West Virginia children have continued to drop, along with the number of children living in high-poverty areas. But the state is sliding on education metrics, mirroring a nationwide trend showing more children struggling with grade-level math and reading proficiency.
Leslie Boissiere, vice president for external affairs at the Casey Foundation, said child tax credits have helped keep families from falling further into poverty. She said the end of those credits, combined with the rising cost of living, means more households with children will struggle to meet basic needs.
“In 2021, when Congress passed the expanded child tax credit, we saw a historic low rate of poverty for children. It declined to 5%,” Boissiere said. “The next year, when those child tax credits expired, it spiked again back up to 13%.”
Allen said changes in the structure of the data and a new comprehensive score can help states evaluate how they are doing compared with previous years.
“For West Virginians, it’s kind of frustrating oftentimes to see ourselves ranked low against other states,” Allen said. “The new format I think is really helpful in allowing us to measure ourselves how we’re doing over time.”
West Virginia ranked 42nd among states on child well-being in the 2026 data book, compared with 41st in 2012.
Source: Public News Service
