It’s not poverty, lack of health care, poor education or disease that is the biggest threat to Utah children — but something unusual that may affect all of those issues, advocates for children warn.
It’s problems with the 2020 census that may undercount kids — especially minority children whose parents may be reluctant to respond because of new questions about their U.S. citizenship. That would lead to less federal money, distributed according to population numbers, making it back to the state for key programs.
“With potentially 9 percent of Utah’s kids at risk of being undercounted in the upcoming 2020 census, federally funded supports that have driven youth success are in jeopardy,” says Terry Haven, deputy director of Voices for Utah Children.