Innovation Ecosystem
The rites of spring
The release of the latest data from RI Kids Count Factbook provides a compelling economic story
Photo by Richard Asinof/File photo
Paige Parks, left, executive director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, and Michaela Carroll, Health Policy Associate, shared their views of the legislative priorities to protect children and families in Rhode Island.
By Richard Asinof
Posted 5/4/26
The recent economic analysis conducted by RIPEC seems to leave out the welfare of women and children in Rhode Island, facts made clear by the release of the 2026 RI Kids Count Factbook.
What is the relationship between personal bankruptcies and increasing health care costs? Is more regulation needed concerning Brown Health’s role as one of the state’s largest debt collectors? When will an enterprising reporter spend time at a skilled nursing facility as a veritable patient? Are there revenue sources that can be redirected to cover health care needs?
The continued fracturing of news delivery in our nation makes it difficult for everyday residents to find a reliable source of information. The rise in gas prices has many consumers changing their plans for summer vacations. How we define community and neighborhood becomes a critical pathway to constructing an honest narrative about our current lives. Finding the time to read or view alternative news sources is difficult.
PROVIDENCE — I read this weekend’s edition of WPRI’s Ted Nesi’s “Nesi Notes,” which began with a long description of the new report issued by the business group, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, targeting the 2027 budget deliberations by the General Assembly.
“The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council thinks Smith Hill isn’t nearly alarmed enough about the state’s economic trajectory, and is out with a new report compiling statistic after statistic in an attempt to wake up the political class,” Nesi wrote.
“We are losing ground in nearly every measure,” said Mike DiBiase, CEO of the business-backed think tank and a veteran of state policy debates.
DiBiase once was the prime mover behind “UHIP,” a disastrous initiative under the Raimondo administration that was renamed, ironically, “RI Bridges.” The initiative led to the near bankruptcy of numerous nursing homes, forcing them to borrow money from the state. (See link below to ConvergenceRI story, “When it comes to UHIP, money talks, and the needy walk.”)
What seemed to be missing from the RIPEC anslysis, if not glanced over, was the critical role that health care for women and children in Rhode Island plays in building our future economy as an economic imperative.
Surprisingly, there was no mention by Nesi of this year’s Rhode Island KIDS COUNT’s Factbook, which is being released on Monday, May 4, at the organization’s annual breakfast celebration. Will DiBiase be attending? Will Nesi be attending?
Here are the some cogent facts from the RI Kids Count Executive Summary:
• In 2024, 16.3 percent of Rhode Island children lived in poverty, an increase from 13.3 percent in 2023 and higher than the national rate. Child poverty in Rhode Island remains concentrated, with 69 percent of children living in poverty residing in just five cities. This year, Newport has been added to the list of core cities, joining Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket.
“Newport’s inclusion in the core cities reflects a shift in where child poverty is concentrated, as its child poverty rate has been similar to — or higher than — Pawtucket’s in recent years.
“In fact, from 2020-2024, Newport had the second highest rate of childhood poverty in Rhode Island with 32 percent of children living in poverty.
“Only Central Falls (at 33 percent) had a higher child poverty rate. While estimates for Newport (and Central Falls) have a larger margin of error due to their smaller populations, the data points to important changes in the distribution of economic hardship across the state.”
The crucial role of immigrants
What appears to be missing from the economic analysis conducted by RIPEC are the continuing crucial roles being played by new immigrants to the economic engine in Rhode Island, particularly in health care.
As the executive summary from the 2026 Factbook makes explicit, the future economic engine of Rhode Island will rise and fall with how its immigrant population enters the workplace:
• Since the establishment of modern-day Rhode Island, immigrants have been integral to the state's economic success. Rhode Island was the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution and ever since has been home to diverse immigrant populations.
• About one in eight residents is foreign-born, and most speak English and are naturalized citizens.
• As of 2023, nearly one-third (30 percent) of children in Rhode Island and more than half (58 percent) of Hispanic children lived in an immigrant family.
• In Rhode Island, from 2012 to 2025, the number of public-school students
identified as being immigrants, has more than tripled (1,893 to 6,105).
identified as being immigrants, has more than tripled (1,893 to 6,105).
• Immigration enforcement action and anti-immigrant rhetoric is affecting children’s access to health care. Families and children are delaying or avoiding seeking health care due to the presence of immigration enforcement officers at health clinics, centers, and hospitals.
• Immigration enforcement has a negative effect on student attendance, school enrollment rates, mental health, and student achievement, particularly for Students
of Color. In Rhode Island, the increased presence of immigration enforcement has been associated with lower attendance rates among multilingual students.”
When, where immigrants collide with baby boomers
Also apparently missing from the RIPEC study narrative is the crucial role that new immigrants play in providing care to the aging baby boomers in Rhode Island. Translated, as the state’s population ages, there is an increasing need for health care services for that aging population.
The RIPEC analysis, as reported by Nesi, claimed that “Nearly half of all Rhode Island workers are employed by the four lowest-productivity industries in the U.S. economy: retail, other services, education/health care/social assistance, and accommodation/food services.”
This factoid, Nesi’s column continued, “may help explain why Rhode Island’s ranking on labor-force productivity has fallen over the last decade from 21st to 36th among all states, according to the report.”
As any Rhode Island resident over 70 years of age can testify, if asked, the workforce at skilled nursing facilities is predominantly made up from recent immigrants to Rhode Island. These jobs provide an opportunity for immigrants to enter the workforce and to increase their skill level — and then move up the economic ladder.
To discount this as one of the lower productivity industries reflects a critical bias of many of the elite policy makers, who seem immune to many of the realities of the harsh decisions that confront those who have to make decisions about what they can afford.
The facts of economic survival
The RI KIDS COUNT 2026 Factbook makes crystal clear that the lack of affordable housing and the resultant increase in homelessness reflect chronic ailments afflicting Rhode Island.
As the Executive Summary emphasized, “Housing affordability continues to be a significant challenge, with rents up 20 percent
since 2015, even when adjusting for 2025 dollars, (making) home ownership out of reach for many families.” (On a positive note, the Executive Summary cites the fact that Rhode Island’s FY 2025 budget included approval for a $120 million bond. The bond was the largest housing bond in the state’s history. Rhode Island voters overwhelmingly approved the bond.)
Symptoms of economic distress
Homelessness increased for children, youth, according the data from this year’s Factbook.
• Child and youth homelessness has increased, with 1,994 students identified as homeless during the 2024–2025 school year.
• The number of students identified as homeless in Rhode Island has increased by 36 percent (533 students) from the 2021-2022 school year.
In addition, the data revealed that safety net supports have weakened in key areas:
•. Rhode Island spends a relatively small share of TANF funds on direct cash assistance. In 2023, Rhode Island spent 9 percent of TANF funds on cash assistance, below the national average.
• The number of children receiving SNAP benefits has declined by 31 percent over the past decade. Recent federal policy changes are expected to further impact family stability in the future. Changes to SNAP will reduce benefits for some families and increase administrative requirements.
The health care industry on the brink
The health care delivery system remains the largest private employer in Rhode Island.
Further, the continuing consolidation of Brown University Health has made it apparently the largest debt collector in Rhode Island. A more useful future analysis by RIPEC might involve the linkage between personal bankruptcies and health-care related debt.
Another fascinating change underway is the effort to increase the co-payments required by Brown Health facilities, above and beyond what were the standard co-payments that had been required by insurance coverage. A recommended CT scan by my urologist, it seems, now requires a $142.38 payment in advance, instead of the normal $35 fee as part of my Medicare Advantage health plan. A call has been place to my insurance company, asking for clarification.
A sense of joy
The celebration of the release of the RI Kids Count Factbook is one of the true rites of spring in the Ocean State.
Two years ago, in an interview with RI Kids Count Executive Director Paige Parks, ConvergenceRI asked her, “What gives you hope?”
Her response captured the underlying message: "That’s a great question. What gives me hope is just seeing the joy of children. Even though we as adults are living in this really complex world, and it’s gets very stressful, looking at little kids being happy and joyful – that gives me a lot of hope.
"This morning, actually, I was late for my first meeting, because I was behind a school bus. And, I was thinking, You know what? I will go the entire way behind the bus, and instead of rushing and worrying about what time it is or how late I am, I’m going to enjoy this moment, watching elementary school kids get on the bus.
"And, Lord bless, at every stop, the kids were so excited to see the bus, jumping on, looking at each other’s shoes – the very simple joy that kids have, it made me smile. It made me smile the whole way into work.
"It made me smile. Look at those kids. They are so excited; this is exactly what I needed to see this morning. Just really taking the time to stop and find those moments, to be in those moments with kids."
