Louisiana has the second biggest population of children under the age of 18 being brought up by single parents. At 42%, it is only second to Mississippi that holds the number one position with the largest number of single mothers in percentage terms. With a low national per capita income at $43, 756, the state of Louisiana has over 12% of its children living in crowded houses and about 11% living without any medical insurance cover, another exceptionally high number.
Childcare: The Department to Children and Family Services runs the Child Care Assistance Program. This programs aims at helping the single mothers of the state in keeping their children safe and in a progressive environment and helping single mothers and families with low-incomes become self sufficient. You might be entitled to certain monetary benefits helping to support you children’s expenses until they attain 13 years of age.
Healthcare: The state of healthcare in Louisiana is one of the primary concerns of the state government. To make available quality medical services to the residents to the state, Louisiana runs the state Medicaid program. Under this program the residents within certain income brackets are entitled to low-cost affordable medical services. Alternatively, you can also opt for Louisiana Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program that insures uninsured kids under the age of 19 with quality health packages.
Food & Supplies: Being a single mother is huge challenge. Fulfilling are parental responsibilities is a challenging task in itself. On top of that being the sole bread earner on the family can put you in a tough situation. The state of Louisiana aims to at least rid single mother of worrying about the health and nutrition of their children when faced by tough times. For the same it runs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program (SNAP) that provides monthly benefits to single mothers and low-income families to buy healthy and nutritious food for them. For more information you can call them at call 1-888-LAHELPU (1-888-524-3578).
Rent Assistance: State of Louisiana runs The Tenant Based Rental Assistance program for single mothers who are without permanent housing and need assistance with paying huge rentals. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development also runs the Homeownership Assistance Programs: Louisiana that can offer single mothers help as and when they plan to purchase their own house.
Educational Grants: The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance offers various financial aids and other non monetary supports to residents of the state who wish to continue with their further education for a better social and professional life. There are also federal assistance plans like FAFSA that residents of Louisiana can apply to online.
Transportation:With uncertainty in the job market, it is very important that single mothers are able to keep with their employment to be able to support their families. This sometimes becomes very difficult without an efficient and comfortable transportation system. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development works towards building a healthy and progressive transportation system in the state allowing people complete mobility and comfortable travel.
