News
Cuts to SNAP would hurt children
Cedar Rapids GazetteThank you for focusing on local responses to child hunger (Gazette editorial, “Some kids go hungry here, too,” Sept. 12). But, if some Washington politicians have their way, the problem may still get worse.The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides food for more than 20 million kids. And it works — the childhood hunger rate would be much higher without SNAP. Making food more affordable also reduces child poverty, because fewer parents must make the heartbreaking choice between paying the rent and putting food on the table.Some in Congress have proposed deep cuts to SNAP. With...
Nondefense cuts would hurt families
Fayetteville ObserverWhy? Because sequestration makes deep cuts to investments that matter for kids and families. Nearly 66,000 North Carolina families would lose health services through the Maternal & Child Health Block Grant, and 22,000 would lose quality nutrition through WIC. About 65,000 North Carolina children would lose educational help, including 14,000 with disabilities.These and many other cuts will cause broader economic harm. Teachers, nurses, food bank staff, and other family-supporting jobs will vanish, as the investments that fund them dry up.For the sake of North Carolina kids and North Carolina's economy, any sequestration solution must protect nondefense investments, too.Bruce...
D.C. Lawmakers Also Shortchanging Education
Fort Wayne Journal GazetteThe Journal Gazette noted (“Lawmakers’ education,” Aug. 27) that underfunding education is out of step with voters’ priorities. But Washington’s just as tone-deaf as Indianapolis.The federal No Child Left Behind law isn’t working, largely because Congress failed to match high standards with the resources required to meet them. Legislation in the House to update NCLB repeats that mistake. It shortchanges early education. It perpetuates the funding gap among school districts and the performance gap among students. It undermines teacher qualification standards and smaller classes and weakens school accountability.Real reform means investing in early education, so kids...
Sequestration budget cuts bad for New Hampshire
The Portsmouth HeraldBy Bruce LesleyAs staff writer Aaron Sanborn reported ("Ayotte: Cuts reach 'too far,'" Aug. 23, Portsmouth Herald), federal budget sequestration has dangerously real consequences for New Hampshire. But only half of sequestration's impact is on defense.Non-defense cuts will also hit hard, costing more than 2,700 New Hampshire jobs. Why? Because sequestration makes deep cuts to investments that matter for New Hampshire kids and families...Read more
Protect lifelines for working families
Rockford Register-StarThe area’s steady increase in child poverty (“Belvidere School District’s poverty rate climbs for fourth straight year,” Aug. 26) is alarming. But it doesn’t have to be that way.The federal Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit lift nearly 5 million children out of poverty every year. Both bipartisan credits reward hard work. And both put money back into Illinois’ economy, helping parents buy food, clothes, and other basics from local merchants.Yet both will expire in their current forms at the end of this year, and with elections just a few months away, politicians are focused elsewhere....
Failure Foreseen
Boston HeraldYour story noted that NCLB isn't working ('Government grants 7 more waivers from No Child law,' July 20). If we're not careful, the next federal education law won't work either.The House's NCLB update shortchanges early education. It undermines commitments to close the funding gap between rich and poor school districts, and the performance gap between students in those schools. It eliminates teacher qualification standards and restricts class size reduction efforts. It weakens school accountability.A strong education plan invests in early education, so kids aren’t already behind on their first day of kindergarten. It insists on attainable standards and...
Domestic programs gird for sequester
PoliticoBy Seung Min KimFor all the hysteria in Washington over sequestration, you’d be forgiven for believing it only affects defense.The well-financed, sophisticated lobbying arm of the military industry has mobilized to warn against the looming budget ax. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has become the loudest and most effective opponent of the cuts. And congressional Republicans fiercely protective of the Pentagon have aggressively drawn attention to the need to stave off the more than $500 billion in cuts that begin next year...Read more
Happy Days Are Here Again!
Mortgage Servicing NewsAccording to First Focus, a nonprofit bipartisan children’s advocacy organization, 8 million children will be affected by foreclosure in owner occupied properties and repossessed rentals. This would include 2.3 million who have already experienced foreclosure, three million more who are at serious risk of losing their homes in the near future, and finally 3 million who have been or will be evicted from foreclosed rental properties.Events such as foreclosure have a very profound effect on children in many ways. Families that receive foreclosure notices are more likely to move causing midyear school disruptions.The study showed that for...
Rep. Neal Bill Prevents Tax Hike on Kids
Washington — The First Focus Campaign for Children today endorsed a bill by Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) to extend key provisions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) through 2013. If passed, the bill would continue federal tax credits for 13 million working families, affecting 26 million children.“This legislation is critically important for kids. The Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit in 2010 prevented 5 million kids from falling into poverty,” said First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley.Neal’s legislation would extend recent improvements to these family tax credits that will...
Roybal-Allard Bill Would Reunite Families Shattered by Immigration Enforcement
Washington – Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) introduced today the Help Separated Families Act (H.R. 6128), legislation to improve the likelihood that children taken into state custody following immigration enforcement actions against their parents can ultimately reunify with their parents."Families belong together, and parents of every immigration status should have a say in what happens to their kids," said First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley. "The Help Separated Families Act reflects those basic family values."Reunification efforts are often frustrated by disconnects between the immigration system and state child welfare systems. It is considered a child welfare best practice to...