Most of the benefits of universal “education savings account” programs flow to affluent families, according to new research from Brookings. These programs give all families, regardless of income, taxpayer-financed savings accounts that could be used to pay for private, online or home school. Brookings’ team elaborates:
Truly universal private school choice programs are directing the most resources to wealthy communities. The reasons for that pattern are still coming into focus. Chances are that a few different factors are at work, including: 1) a relative dearth of private schools in lower-income rural areas; and 2) private schools raising their tuition rates when private school choice funds become available (thereby excluding lower-income families who might struggle to bridge the gap between the value of the ESA or voucher and the full cost of tuition).
Even state programs that prevent highest-income earners from participating still tend to benefit wealthier communities, the research found.
Medicaid cuts will hurt child care workforce
Child care workers nurture and support children during their earliest years of development and help parents stay in the workforce. To do their jobs well, 28% of child care workers in America, including 41% in Louisiana, rely on Medicaid to stay healthy. A new brief from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families explains how Medicaid cuts included in the federal tax and budget megabill will magnify existing challenges for these critical workers:
Added red tape and administrative barriers for people eligible for Medicaid expansion, redefined immigrant eligibility across public benefits such as Head Start, and overall spending cuts to essential programs like SNAP and Medicaid undermine the stability necessary for young children, families, and child care workers to thrive. The child care system is already in crisis with high burnout and turnover rates amongst early childhood educators and closures of centers across the country. These federal changes will make a bad situation worse.
Holding immigrant detainees at Angola
Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration has partnered with the Trump administration to hold immigrant detainees at Louisiana’s maximum-security prison in Angola. Immigrants are being held in a controversial wing of the facility that once held prisoners in solitary confinement and was ultimately closed in 2018 due to safety concerns. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Meghan Friedmann explains how Louisiana has become a key cog in America’s sprawling deportation machinery:
From “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida swamps to the “Cornhusker Clink” in Nebraska, they have advertised the facilities as tools to remove who they say are the “worst of the worst.” Shortly after opening the Louisiana Lockup, formally called Camp 57, the Department of Homeland Security released a list of 51 immigrants it said had committed heinous crimes and were being held there. Those crimes included rape, homicide and sexual abuse of children, according to the list.
Immigrant advocates worry that detainees without criminal records will ultimately end up at Angola:
“We saw it happen in Florida,” said Homero López, referring to Alligator Alcatraz. Trump officials described that detention center as a harsh place appropriate for holding the “worst of the worst.” But the Miami Herald reported that over 250 detainees had no criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States. They only had immigration violations, the report found. López directs Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy in New Orleans and is a former immigration judge who got fired after Trump took office this year.
Child tax credit push in red states fizzles out
Earlier this year, Ohio and Indiana were poised to become the first Republican-led states to create a refundable child tax credit for residents. But as Stateline’s Kevin Hardy explains, those efforts ran aground in the Buckeye State:
Early this year, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a refundable tax credit worth up to $1,000 per child up to age 6, to be paid for by an increase in tobacco taxes. When introducing the idea, DeWine said the concept was bipartisan, “not a liberal or a conservative proposal.” But the state House stripped the proposal from the budget. In June, advocates pushed a conference committee to reinstate the measure, but there was little appetite in the GOP-dominated chambers.
And in the Hoosier State:
In Indiana, a plan to give a $500 refundable tax credit to families with an infant sailed through the state Senate. … But the measure did not advance beyond a state House committee. In a recent statement to Stateline, Walker said he would not reintroduce the proposal next year because 2026 is not a budget cycle year for the legislature.
Refundable child tax credits, which put money back into the pockets of families with children, have a proven track record of lifting people out of poverty and putting kids on the path to a brighter future.
Number of the Day
61% – Percentage point decrease in the number of Louisianans enrolled in health insurance through the federal Marketplace if enhanced premium tax credits, which help keep coverage affordable, are allowed to lapse at the end of this year. This is the highest percentage point decrease in the nation. (Source: Urban Institute)