The Tennessee Tribune

Thursday, July 2 - 8, 2020 • www.TnTribune.com
Kids Could Go Hungry if There’s a Census Undercount
Conversation with Children’s Advocate Mayra Alvarez
School lunch programs – an essential
lifeline during the pandemic — are going
broke, and a 2020 Census undercount will
damage them even more, says children´s
advocate Mayra Alvarez.
School lunch programs, which fed nearly
half of American’s schoolchildren before
the Coronavirus, have turned into a lifeline
for families hit by unemployment and rising
food prices during the pandemic.
Many of those programs are now going
broke, and their very existence over
the next decade depends on the population
numbers being gathered by the U.S. Census
in communities that are considered
“hard to count,” says Mayra E. Alvarez,
President of The Children’s Partnership,
a nonprofit which advocates for underserved
children.
When asked about the impact of the
U.S. Census, which is conducted every ten
years and has been delayed and disrupted
(but NOT canceled) by the pandemic,
Alvarez mentions this program first, although
it’s hardly the only one that would
be affected if there is a severe undercount
of children and low income families.
In the past three months, school lunch
programs have lost at least $1 billion during
lockdowns and school closures that
eliminated the revenue from families who
were able to pay for the meals.
At the same time, costs have outstripped
federal reimbursements for the
emergency meals. Relief bills passed by
Congress have helped, but the long-term
survival of the programs depend on data
from the 2020 Census.
For populations concerned with survival,
filling out or responding to the 2020
Census may seem a distant priority.
But nothing is more important for vulnerable
families than an accurate count,
says Alvarez.
For starters, the biggest, most impactful
federal and state programs that serve
the health and well-being of children and
families depend on formulas driven by
census data.
The more people that are counted, particularly
in those communities that need a
variety of programs, the more money is allocated
to serve them.
“We can point to Medicaid and CHIP
(Children’s Health Insurance Program),
two fundamental programs for health
care, which are partly based on census
numbers,” said Alvarez.
“The programs that rely on census data
are the ones the majority of people rely
one, like Medicaid, food stamps, cash assistance”.
Medicaid, for example, is “part of a
formula that distributes money to states,
based on population and income; the states
put money in and the federal government
matches it.”
Experts estimate that the federal government
provides between $1,700 and
$2,000 for each person counted in the census.
For a minimum wage earner who’s a
single mother of two, being counted or not
counted in the census “can make a whole
world of difference,” Alvarez says.
“If there is no adequate reflection of
people like her in the census data, she may
not be able to qualify for food stamps or
enroll her children in child care because
there won’t be enough slots”, Alvarez explains.
”She may also lose out on health coverage
for her children, not find space in a
neighborhood school and have to bus her
children to another school. She might have
to go farther away to find a hospital if the
child gets sick because the hospital wasn’t
built in her community since the population
count did not reflect her presence,” she
continues.
“This could be a very dire situation if
the undercount is severe.”
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“It is so much more important to be accurate
right now because so many families
are struggling,” Alvarez says. “These programs
pretty much impact every aspect of
their lives”.
Going back to school lunches, Alvarez
says, an undercount of children and families
could mean more hunger at a time
when it’s unclear how soon will schools be
able to go back to some kind of “normality”
“If families that have kids that depend
on free and reduced lunch are undercounted,
there will not be as many resources to
make sure they are eating when they go
to school”, Alvarez says. “These are kids
that may not be able to eat at home or bring
money for lunch.”
Legal Aid Society Announces Partnership
to Expand Conservatorship Offerings
NASHVILLE, TN — Legal Aid
Society of Middle Tennessee and the
Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest nonprofit
law firm, announced recently that
it will partner with Nelson Mullins and
the Association of Corporate Counsel
Tennessee Chapter (ACC TN) to provide
assistance for parents and guardians
wishing to seek conservatorship for
young adult family members who have
acute special needs or who are medically
incapacitated.
Conservatorships are established for
people who have been deemed gravely
disabled by the court and lack the ability
to make or communicate significant
responsible decisions concerning their
health or safety for themselves. Under a
conservatorship, a judge appoints a conservator
with the authority and responsibility
to make some or all important
decisions regarding medical care, treatment
care provisions, finances, benefits,
education and living arrangements.
The legal system is designed to protect
citizens’ rights to make decisions
for themselves, including young adults
with profound disabilities or medical
conditions, who are traditionally expected
to make their own financial, educational
and medical decisions when
they turn 18.
“Conservatorships protect the young
adults who are suddenly expected to
make significant life decisions when
they turn 18 but are unable to do so,”
said Norah Rogers, pro bono administrator
for Nelson Mullins. “We are
Norah Rogers Andrae Crismon Stephanie Chambers
very careful not to take away anyone’s
legal rights. Instead, we want to help
the young adults who are incapable of
making those important decisions and
ensure the people who have their best
interests at heart are making them.”
Under Legal Aid’s new partnership,
attorneys will assist in conservatorship
cases for young adult family members
who have acute special needs or who
are medically incapacitated due to severe
autism, nonverbal autism, cerebral
palsy, traumatic brain injuries and chromosomal
conditions. Nelson Mullins’
staff will train members of the ACC TN
and their volunteer pro bono attorneys
on conservatorship proceedings. Once
trained, the attorneys will begin accepting
screened and eligible pro bono cases
from Legal Aid Society.
“We are thrilled to work with Legal
Aid Society and Nelson Mullins in
these cases,” said Stephanie Chambers,
ACC TN Public Interest and Advocacy
Committee Chair. “There are a lot of inhouse
corporate lawyers who want to
help with pro bono cases but don’t have
the opportunity. Cases of conservatorship
are extremely meaningful, and
there is also a clear, paper-driven process
similar to many corporate cases.
It’s the perfect way for our members to
extend a helping hand to those less fortunate.”
“Those struggling just to provide
food and shelter often can’t afford legal
fees — that’s why our organization exists,”
said Andrae Crismon, director of
Legal Aid Society’s Volunteer Lawyers
Program. “We’ve seen young adults
who are mentally disabled but not under
conservatorship being put into housing
facilities, given medication and even
taken advantage of financially, all without
really understanding what is happening.
Parents and guardians want
to protect their loved ones from these
situations, and it’s really special to help
them through that process. Because of
our partnership with the ACC TN and
Nelson Mullins, we’ll be able to help
even more young adults and their families.”
To learn more about this program
or other services offered by Legal Aid
Society, please contact the firm at 800-
238-1443 or visit www.las.org.
Blue Cross Healthy Place Coming to Nashville YMCA
NASHVILLE, TN — The BlueCross
BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation is
bringing a BlueCross Healthy Place to
the Northwest Family YMCA in Nashville.
The YMCA, which opened its doors
in 1971, serves as a community resource
for around 5,000 residents of the North
Nashville and Bordeaux neighborhoods
of Metro Nashville.
The BlueCross Foundation is providing
$5.3 million for the project build
and an additional $1,060,000 in a maintenance
fund, bringing the total investment
to $6,360,000. When complete,
the space’s facilities will be available to
all residents, including those without a
YMCA membership.
“We are immensely grateful for this
transformational grant, and it could
not come at a more pivotal time for our
city,” said Dan Dummermuth, YMCA
of Middle Tennessee president and
CEO. “Although we cannot celebrate
the news in person amidst the pandemic,
this is certainly a powerful reminder
that there are brighter days ahead and
that our community will emerge stronger
with an incredible new resource in
the Bordeaux-North Nashville area.”
Proposed features, based on community
needs, include:
· Water features
· Inclusive play areas for children
ages 2-5 and 5-12
· Challenge course
· Basketball/pickleball courts
· Multi-purpose field
· Walking path
· Adult fitness equipment
· Shade structures
“When our team visited the site, we
saw residents using the existing facilities,
but we realized a BlueCross Healthy
Place could expand offerings and improve
access for community members
in need,” said Roy Vaughn, executive
director of the BlueCross Foundation.
“The project was in development before
COVID-19 hit the U.S., but we know a
day is coming in Nashville when this
updated space will be more important
than ever.”
“There’s no doubt this will be the
most visible health investment in this
community in decades,” added Johari
Matthews, executive director of the
Northwest Family YMCA. “Children,
teens and seniors will be able to engage
in outdoor activity in the same space
at the same time, which is an essential
component in breaking a multi-generational
cycle of health disparities in the
area.”
Construction is tentatively scheduled
to begin later this year. BlueCross
Healthy Place projects are currently
underway in Chattanooga, Kingsport
and at Henry Horton State Park in Chapel
Hill, Tenn. Two BlueCross Healthy
Places opened last year in Memphis and
Huntland.
The BlueCross Foundation will accept
proposals for 2021 funding during
the month of August 2020.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
is a taxpaying, not-for-profit health plan
serving more than 3.5 million members
in Tennessee and around the country.
The Chattanooga-based company was
founded in 1945 and is celebrating its
75th anniversary of bringing peace of
mind to its members and local communities.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
Inc. is an independent licensee of
the BlueCross BlueShield Association.
For more information, visit the company’s
news center at bcbstnews.com.
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