Policy Resolution HHS-25-16

CHILD HEALTH EQUITY TASK FORCES

2025 Ratified Policy Resolutions

Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define health equity as, “the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health;”

WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2022, 51.4 percent of Black children lived away from their fathers compared to 16.7 percent of White children;

WHEREAS, children who live away from their fathers receive less financial support from their fathers according to an article in the Journal of Family Issues;

WHEREAS, children with lower income haver higher rates of infections, mental health disorders, injury, asthma, anemia, substance use disorders, and mortality according to an article done in coordination between the U.S. Census Bureau, Carnegie Mellon University, and Stanford University;

WHEREAS, children who live away from their fathers receive less social support from their fathers according to an article in the Maternal and Child Health Journal; and

WHEREAS, children with lower social support have lower rates of educational attainment and income and higher rates of anxiety disorder and incarceration according to the National Institutes of Health;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) supports and encourages all legislators to ensure all children have a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest levels of health;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL recognizes that financial support from parents, and particularly fathers is essential for children to have a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest levels of health, and financial struggles among low-income families can produce challenges to financial support; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL recognizes that social support from stable and capable parents is essential for children to have a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest levels of health and numerous other outcomes for the child;

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NBCSL calls on states to enact legislation that creates child health equity task forces to help ensure that more children receive financial and social support from both parents, and not provide a disproportionate responsibility on mothers.

Resolution ID: HHS-25-16
Sponsored by: Rep. Laura Hall (AL)
Policy Committee: Health and Human Services (HHS)