Jahana Hayes

Last year, we had 85 opioid-related deaths, and in most of those families there are children who are coming to school.

In my community, in the city of Waterbury, where I taught, generally, that was associated with addiction, and trauma from addiction that really reverberated out into the entire family.

I guess what I want to make sure--and, Ms. Jackson, my question is for you--being that we know that poverty is a risk for many of these young people, addiction is a risk, when we are responding to referrals for child maltreatment, how can…

In Waterbury, Connecticut, where I was a teacher, last year, we had 85 opioid-related deaths, and in most of those families there are children who are coming to school.

I spent the majority of my adult life as a teacher. In fact, before coming to Congress, I was a classroom teacher, a mandated reporter, so I know exactly what you are talking about.

Making it more difficult for states to waive the 3 month time limit for low-income individuals facing barriers to employment, as the proposed rule would do, makes it more likely that vulnerable children will go hungry or be poorly…

And that is why I am so proud of what North Carolina's doing in terms of capping things, like a 3 percent cap on fees, making sure that we have got State investment in the cost of attendance for students.

I will disagree with you on one thing. You said the odds are that you will not lift yourself out of poverty.

There is absolutely no advantage and our kids deserve healthy meals. And we are a nutrition program, not just a feeding program.

It was in the last budget there were proposed cuts. We saw in the draft of this budget $1.7 billion in proposed cuts to food security nutrition programs.

I am so happy that we are holding this hearing because this is a challenge that I have dealt with at the local level, at the State level, and now, I guess, at the Federal level.

Kids don't learn when they are hungry.

I appreciate the work that the Department has gotten done.

I want you to know that one in eight people in Connecticut are food-insecure, about 17 percent, or 100 in 17,000 children.

I know that the last thing that a teacher wants to do is ever restrain a child.

I am glad that my colleague Marcia Fudge brought in the fact that these are not regulations; these are laws.

Shouldn't you have the right to live out your best life, to live the future that you want for yourself and not this by-default position that you are placed in because you are attempting to survive?