The Effects of the Pandemic Continue to Hit Black and Hispanic Families Hardest

Florida Democrats’ plans to provide relief for hardworking households have not fared well on the other side of the aisle.

It was beginning to look like the best of times for the Sunshine State. Before the onset of COVID-19, Florida was seeing several indicators of child well-being, with students doing better in reading and math, fewer overweight and obese teens, and more families in which the head of household had their high school diploma, according to a new Florida Policy Institute (FPI) report from data collected in January and February 2022.

Then came the worst of times. More than two years after the pandemic struck, infecting nearly 6 million people, and taking more than 70,000 lives to date, the economic, educational, and social impacts of COVID-19 are still being felt.

The Disproportionate Impact

Some of the effects of the pandemic have disproportionally affected low-income families and people of color. The following survey data collected from adult respondents who live in households with children show that:

• When examined by race and ethnicity, 28% of Black adults, 27% of Hispanic adults, and 13% of non-Hispanic white households reported a loss of income.
• 38% of Black families, 26% of Hispanic families, and 17% of non-Hispanic white families reported little or no confidence in their ability to pay their next rent or mortgage payment.
• 12% reported having no health insurance.
• 14% reported that “sometimes or often” there was not enough to eat in the preceding week.

There Are Solutions

To help hardworking Florida families get back on their feet and raise children out of poverty, the FPI recommends making the American Rescue Plan Act’s expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) permanent, expanding access to child care and universal pre-K, and expanding Medicaid to adults with low income, among other measures to mitigate families’ needs.

President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act would extend the monthly CTC with increased payments up to $3,600 per year per child under 6, and $3,000 per year per child ages 6-17 through the end of 2022. However, the bill has not fared well with those on the other side of the aisle.

“No Republicans are supporting the CTC,” Lois Frankel, the Democratic representative for Florida’s District 21, told Floricua, adding, “It’s time for the Senate to pass the Build Back Better Act so we can continue providing these monthly tax credits and give families the help they need in the new year.”

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Expanding child care and universal pre-K is on the agenda for Florida Sen. Annette Taddeo and Reps. Kamia Brown and Angie Nixon. The three Democrats have proposed two bills (SB 1922 and HB 1417) that will expand the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program (VPK) from 3 hours a day to a full day in public and private schools.

“I’m proposing that we expand the prekindergarten to a full day. After all, who works 3 hours a day? This would go a long way towards helping ensure that no child falls behind and parents can get back to work,” Taddeo said in a statement. However, both bills died in March of 2022.

A Shameful Situation

For years Democrats have been trying to expand Medicaid using money provided by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This would provide health coverage for an additional 800,000 to 1 million low-income, uninsured Floridians. But state Republicans have consistently refused to accept federal money to expand the program.

“We’ve had a Republican Legislature in power for twenty years in the state of Florida,” Janelle Perez told Floricua. The South Florida advocate, policy maker, and small business owner who is running for state Senate said, “It’s embarrassing when it comes to health care that in the state of Florida, we haven’t expanded Medicaid in over twenty years. And there is no reason for it.”

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Democratic US Rep. Charlie Crist, who is running against Gov. DeSantis in November, agrees.

“Under DeSantis’ Florida, the Republican-led Legislature continues to turn their backs while millions of Floridians go uninsured. It’s unconscionable,” Crist told Floricua, promising that, if elected governor, he will veto any state budget that does not include Medicaid expansion.