First Focus Campaign for Children commissioned from Lake Research Partners an 2012 Election Day Eve poll showing strong bipartisan support for investments in our children, especially among Latino voters. This memo analyzes the crosstabs of Latino voters in comparison to all voters to show stronger levels of support in areas like child health, family tax credits, and the DREAM Act.

Washington — Un análisis de la encuesta nacional realizada en la víspera de las elecciones, dada a conocer el día de hoy por First Focus Campaign for Children, muestra un apoyo abrumador de los votantes latinos a una amplia gama de inversiones federales para los niños de Estados Unidos, en niveles superiores a los votantes de los demás grupos demográficos y afiliaciones políticas. Más de 9 de cada 10 votantes latinos apoyan un aumento de las inversiones en salud infantil, y más de 8 de cada 10 apoyan aumentar las inversiones en créditos fiscales a la familia, en los hijos de los inmigrantes, la reducción de la pobreza infantil y la atención del gobierno federal a los niños.

“Los votantes latinos están diciendo con voz alta y clara que quieren que el Congreso y la Casa Blanca inviertan en nuestros niños”, dijo el presidente de First Focus Campaign for Children Bruce Lesley.

La encuesta telefónica fue realizada por Lake Research Partners usando entrevistadores profesionales, del 4 de noviembre al 6 de noviembre de 2012. Lake Research Partners llegó a un total de 1,200 posibles votantes registrados en todo el país, 10 por ciento de los cuales eran latinos. La muestra consistió en 1,000 entrevistas entre todos los votantes que se contactaron por medio de teléfonos fijos y 200 entrevistas entre todos los votantes localizados por teléfonos celulares. Los números telefónicos para la base de la muestra se obtuvieron mediante una muestra de marcación digital al azar, y los de teléfonos celulares se obtuvieron de una lista de muestra. La encuesta fue estratificada geográficamente con base en la proporción de votantes probables en cada región. Los datos fueron ponderados para reflejar la votación presidencial agregada, como se informó en las encuestas de salida de 2012, así como por género, identificación partidista, estado civil, raza y región del censo. El margen de error, en el intervalo de confianza del 95 por ciento, es de +/- 2.8 puntos porcentuales. Este margen de error es mayor entre los votantes latinos.

Los votantes latinos apoyaron una amplia gama de iniciativas federales para mejorar el bienestar de los niños en niveles superiores a todos los demás votantes, incluyendo:

• Un margen del 92 al 5 por ciento de los votantes latinos dice que proteger la salud de los niños a través de la extensión del Programa del Seguro Médico para Niños es importante para ellos, comparado con el 83 por ciento de todos los votantes.

• Un margen del 84 al 12 por ciento de los votantes latinos está a favor de la promulgación de la Ley DREAM, la cual ofrece a los estudiantes que entraron a los Estados Unidos como niños inmigrantes indocumentados la oportunidad de obtener la residencia legal permanente y un camino hacia la ciudadanía estadounidense, en comparación con el 68 por ciento de todos los votantes.

• Un margen del 89 al 6 por ciento de los votantes latinos favorece los elementos protectores de los créditos fiscales a la familia, el crédito fiscal por hijos y el crédito fiscal sobre los ingresos obtenidos, el cual expira este año, a menos que el Congreso actúe, en comparación con el 81 por ciento de todos los votantes.

• Un margen del 84 al 14 por ciento de los votantes latinos quiere que el Congreso y la Casa Blanca ofrezcan planes concretos para reducir la pobreza infantil a la mitad en 10 años, en comparación con el 82 por ciento de todos los votantes.

• Un margen del 85 al 9 por ciento de los votantes latinos apoya la creación de una “Comisión para los Niños” bipartidista, que recomiende soluciones a los problemas que enfrentan los niños, en comparación con el 78 por ciento de todos los votantes.

• Un margen del 78 al 12 por ciento de los votantes latinos quiere que el presidente establezca un Presupuesto para la Infancia, que proporcione una rendición de cuentas oficial de las inversiones federales en los niños, en comparación con el 66 por ciento de todos los votantes.

“Los latinos están enviando una señal a los políticos: están fuera de contacto si no dirigen la carga hacia los problemas de la infancia”, dijo Lesley.

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First Focus Campaign for Children es una organización 501(c)(4), sin fines de lucro afiliada con First Focus, una organización bipartidista que promueve la defensa de los niños. Campaign for Children aboga directamente por el cambio legislativo en el Congreso para asegurar que los niños y las familias sean una prioridad en la política federal y las decisiones presupuestarias. Para obtener más información, visite www.ffcampaignforchildren.org.

Washington — An analysis of nationwide election eve poll released today by the First Focus Campaign for Children shows overwhelming support from Latino voters for a wide range of federal investments in America’s children at levels higher than voters of all demographics and political affiliations. More than 9-in-10 Latino voters support increasing investments in child health, and more than 8-in-10 Latino voters support increasing investments in family tax credits, children of immigrants, child poverty reduction, and the federal government’s focus on children.

“Latino voters are saying with one loud, clear voice that they want Congress and the White House to invest in our kids,” said First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley.

The phone survey was conducted by Lake Research Partners using professional interviewers November 4th through November 6th, 2012. Lake Research Partners reached a total of 1,200 likely, registered voters nationwide, 10 percent of whom were Latino. The sample consisted of 1,000 interviews among all voters who were reached on landline phones and 200 interviews among all voters reached on cell phones. Telephone numbers for the base sample was drawn from a random digit dialing sample and the cell phone sample was drawn from a listed sample. The sample was stratified geographically based on the proportion of likely voters in each region. Data were weighted to reflect the aggregated Presidential vote as reported in the 2012 exit polls, as well as by gender, party identification, marital status, race, and census region. The margin of error at the 95 percent confidence interval is +/- 2.8 percentage points. This margin of error is higher among Latino voters.

Latino voters backed a wide range of federal initiatives to improve the well-being of children at higher levels of support than all voters including:

• A 92 percent to 5 percent margin of Latino voters say protecting children’s health through the extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program is important to them, compared to 83 percent of all voters.
• An 89 percent to 6 percent margin of Latino voters favor protecting elements of family tax credits, the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit that will expire this year unless Congress acts, compared to 81 percent of all voters.
• An 84 percent to 12 percent margin of Latino voters favor enacting the DREAM Act to offer qualifying students who entered the United States as undocumented immigrant children an opportunity to earn lawful permanent residency and a path to U.S. citizenship, compared to 68 percent of all voters.
• An 84 percent to 14 percent margin of Latino voters want Congress and the White House to deliver concrete plans to reduce child poverty in half within 10 years, compared to 82 percent of all voters.
• A 85 to 9 percent margin of Latino voters support creating a bipartisan “Children’s Commission” to recommend solutions to the problems facing children, compared to 78 percent of all voters.
• A 78 percent to 12 percent margin of Latino voters want the president to create a Children’s Budget to provide an official accounting of federal investments in children, compared to 66 percent of all voters.

“Latinos are sending a signal to politicians – you’re out of touch if you’re not leading the charge on children’s issues,” said Lesley.

# # #

Washington — A nationwide election eve poll released today by the First Focus Campaign for Children shows broad, bipartisan support for a wide range of federal investments in America’s children. The poll, conducted by Lake Research Partners, found that strong majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents favored key federal initiatives for kids.

“The American people might have voted for divided government, but they’re unified on one thing – they want Congress and the White House to invest in kids,” said First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley.

Voters backed a wide range of federal initiatives to improve the well-being of children, including:

• Concrete plans to reduce child poverty — 82 percent of voters (89 percent of Democrats, 81 percent of independents, and 76 percent of Republicans) want Congress and the White House to deliver a plan to cut child poverty in half within 10 years, while just 13 percent disagreed.
• Protecting family tax credits — 81 percent (90 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of independents, and 74 percent of Republicans) favor protecting elements of the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit that will expire this year unless Congress acts, while 12 percent oppose.
• Protecting Children’s Health — 83 percent (93 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents, and 75 percent of Republicans) say extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program is important to them, while 13 percent said this has little or no importance.
• Creating a Children’s Budget — 66 percent (76 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of independents, and 56 percent of Republicans) want the president to provide an official accounting of federal investments in children, while 22 percent oppose.
• Enacting the DREAM Act — 68 percent (88 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of independents, and 50 percent of Republicans) favor legislation offering qualifying students who entered the United States as undocumented immigrant children an opportunity to earn lawful permanent residency and a path to U.S. citizenship, while 26 percent opposed.
• Creating a Bipartisan Children’s Commission — 78 percent (89 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of independents, and 68 percent of Republicans) support creating a bipartisan “Children’s Commission” to recommend solutions to the problems facing children, while 15 percent oppose.

“If you’re a Republican or a Democrat in Congress, you’re getting a clear signal here – you’re out of touch with voters if you’re not leading the charge on children’s issues,” said Lesley.

The survey was conducted by phone using professional interviewers November 4th through November 6th, 2012. Lake Research Partners reached a total of 1,200 likely, registered voters nationwide. The sample consisted of 1,000 interviews among voters who were reached on landline phones and 200 interviews among voters reached on cell phones. Telephone numbers for the base sample was drawn from a random digit dialing sample and the cell phone sample was drawn from a listed sample. The sample was stratified geographically based on the proportion of likely voters in each region. Data were weighted to reflect the aggregated Presidential vote as reported in the 2012 exit polls, as well as by gender, party identification, marital status, race, and census region. The margin of error at the 95% confidence interval is +/- 2.8 percentage points.

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This blog post also appears on Huffington Post.

When it comes to public policy issues of importance to our nation's children, female policymakers and women are more often supportive and active on children's issues than men, even as we all continue to work hard to enlighten more men so that children's needs will become a "national priority" that leaders of both genders and both political parties will more readily champion.

That fact stood out when the First Focus Campaign for Children released its Champions and Defenders for Children awards for the 112th Congress this week. Since children cannot vote and do not have Political Action Committees (PACs) to funnel money to the candidates of their choice, these awards recognize those Members of Congress that vote, sponsor legislation, and speak out in support of children -- sometimes in the face of their political party's leadership.

Yet again, women disproportionately are the leading advocates for children. In the Senate, 47 percent of the women and 27 percent of the men qualify as Champions or Defenders of Children. The disparity is even greater in the House of Representatives where 38 percent of the women and only 11 percent of the men will receive such recognition. In total, women legislators are almost three times more likely to be a Champion or Defender for Children than men (40-14 percent).

The gender gap for children's issues is also strong among voters, according to a recent poll by Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of First Focus Campaign for Children. As an example, moms oppose cutting the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in the federal budget by an overwhelming 82-13 percent (by more than six to one). Although dads also strongly oppose cutting CHIP (67-23 percent), the margin is 25 points greater among women.

This gap is most apparent when it comes to issues relating to Head Start and child care. By 66-34 percent, moms oppose cutting Head Start. In addition, they oppose cutting federal funding to make child care more affordable to working parents by 61-36 percent. Meanwhile, dads are evenly divided or even slightly supportive of cutting Head Start (48-51 percent) and child care (48-50 percent) to reduce the federal budget deficit. In other words, support for Head Start is 35 points higher and support for child care is 27 points greater among women than men.

The road we must still travel to get more men to better understand the importance of investing in early childhood education and the struggles that many families face in caring for their children while working is exemplified by last year's debate on Head Start among the male-dominated county commissioners in Frederick County, Maryland. They voted to slash Head Start funding by more than 50 percent, and two male commissioners justified their vote by arguing that mothers should "stay married and stay home with their children."

As a result of slashing all the county-level Head Start funding, low-income children in Frederick County families -- like many localities around the country -- now only receive Head Start services to children and low-income families with federal funding. However, now that, along with funding for children's health, education, child welfare, child nutrition, and the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit for working families, is being threatened by efforts to reduce the expand tax cuts to wealthy Americans or corporations or to cut the federal budget deficit.

These types of trends are of deep concern to most women. As a result, by a three-to-one margin (58-19 percent), women believe the lives of American children have got worse rather than better over the last 10 years. And, 57 percent of women are not confident that life for our children's generation will be better off. They recognize that American children are no longer the healthiest, the most educated, and best-prepared kids in the world. They feel that what once was the American Dream -- the knowledge that our kids would have opportunities we could never even imagine -- is today the "American Challenge" to make that the reality once again.

Therefore, although 62 percent of women are very concerned about the federal budget deficit, they believe we should make children a greater priority in the federal budget process. As an example, even when confronted with a tough choice of prioritizing the needs of children or the needs of the military, moms choose children by 43-21 percent. For young women ages 18-34, the choice is not even close as the needs of children are the priority by more than a 3-to-1 margin (54-16 percent). In contrast, Dads choose the needs of the military over children by 44-36 percent.

Fortunately for kids, since they cannot vote on their own behalf, many women are closely following what the candidates say about children in this election. In fact, 82 percent of women (and 85 percent of moms) say a candidate's position on federal budget issues affecting children will impact their decision on whether to vote for that candidate or not. From what they have heard thus far, women currently give President Obama an edge over Governor Romney (43-32 percent) as to which candidate would better handle the issues of importance to children. However, it is important to note that 25 percent of women remain undecided on the issue and 61 percent believe that both candidates have not given children's issues enough attention.

In addition to monitoring the issues of importance to children and families, those of us concerned about children should continue to push the candidates to give us more detail about what their plans are for ensuring the next generation of children is not left worse off.

Children cannot be left invisible in this campaign, as the stakes for their future and that of our nation are simply too high.

Although children represent one-quarter of our nation's population, there were only a few mentions of children at the first presidential debate. One way to change that is to ask the debate moderators to actually ask questions about the problems facing real families with children in this country. Here is how (and men, that means you too):

Vice presidential debate:
Thursday, October 11, Centre College, Danville, KY
Moderator: Martha Raddatz, Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent, ABC News
Twitter: @martharaddatz

Second presidential debate (town meeting format):
Tuesday, October 16, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Moderator: Candy Crowley, Chief Political Correspondent, CNN and Anchor, CNN's State of the Union
Twitter: @crowleyCNN

Third presidential debate:
Monday, October22, Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL
Moderator: Bob Schieffer, Chief Washington Correspondent, CBS News and Moderator, Face the Nation
Twitter: @BobSchieffer

Washington – Today, the First Focus Campaign for Children, a national, bipartisan children’s advocacy group, recognized 100 Members of Congress for leadership on issues important to children during the 112^th Congress (2011-2012).

“Lots of politicians talk about kids’ issues, but few back it up,” said Bruce Lesley, president of the Campaign for Children. “Champions and Defenders delivered for kids.”

The advocacy organization recognized as “Champions for Children” 50 Members of Congress whose extraordinary efforts to protect and improve the future of America’s next generation. An additional 50 Members were recognized as “Defenders of Children” for their support of policies that advance the well-being of children.

In selecting Champions and Defenders, the First Focus Campaign for Children noted leaders who introduced, co-sponsored, and voted for legislation to meet children’s needs. In addition, the organization considered Members who demonstrated extraordinary initiative by spearheading activities such as sponsoring hearings or garnering the support of their colleagues to improve the health and well-being of children. The 2012 Champions and Defenders are:

2012 Champions for Children

Senate

Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT)
Sen. Snowe, Olympia (R-ME)

House

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)
Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN)
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Rep. George Miller (D-CA)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. Polis, Jared (D-CO)
Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA)
Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Jan (D-IL)
Rep. Robert Scott (D-VA)
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

2012 Defenders of Children

Defenders of Children supported efforts to advance policies to improve the well-being of America's children.

Senate

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA)
Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV)
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

House

Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA)
Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH)
Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)
Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)
Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL)
Rep. Donna Christensen (D-VI)
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO)
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Rep. Crowley, Joseph (D-NY)
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA)
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
Rep. Al Green (D-TX)
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)
Rep. John Larson (D-CT)
Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI)
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA)
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)

First Focus Campaign for Children recognized the 2012 Champions for Children and Defenders of Children on Tuesday, October, 2012 in Roll Call Newspaper.

Last night, California Governor Jerry Brown signed two landmark legislation to help detained and deported immigrant parents:

The Reuniting Immigrant Families Act (SB1064, sponsored by Senator Kevin deLeon) prioritizes keeping children with their families and out of the public child welfare system when possible. SB1064 authorize more time for child welfare agencies to find and reunite detained and deported parents with their children or find placement with a relatives, regardless of their immigration status. It requires the California Department of Social Services to provide guidance on filing special immigrant relief options and for working with foreign consulates regarding the custody of children of deported parents.

The Calls for Kids Act (AB2015, sponsored by Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell) requires law enforcement officers to ask whether an arrestee is a custodial parent at the time of arrest or booking and to notify custodial parent of their right to make two additional phone calls to arrange for the care of their children (in their native language).

This is an enormous victory — fought hard by a partnership of advocates from child welfare, immigration, and social justice. With the passage of this law, California will be the first state to address the problems facing about 5,100 children of deported immigrants now in the child welfare system as reported by a study by Applied Research Center. Much media was generated from this bill including an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, an editorial from the Los Angeles Times, articles written in Colorlines, the Associated Press, Fox News Latino, NPR, and Univision. Both Santa Clara and San Francisco board of supervisors supported the bill. Working with the First Focus Campaign for Children, children’s advocates from the National Association of Social Workers — California Chapter, Children’s Defense Fund, Public Counsel, and many others joined forces with leading immigration organizations including CHIRLA, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, MALDEF, California Immigrant Policy Center, Friends Committee, and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.

But our work is not done. Hundreds of bills become law every year — but a bill is only as good as its implementation. The next step is for all of us — advocates, policymakers, the media — to ensure that all components of this bill is fully implemented in a timely and appropriate manner.

Washington – De acuerdo con una nueva encuesta, tres cuartas partes de los latinos que pueden votar en las próximas elecciones generales dicen que los candidatos presidenciales deberían concentrarse más en cuestiones de la infancia. La encuesta también mostró que el 75 por ciento de los votantes latinos considerará la posición de los candidatos sobre asuntos presupuestarios federales que afectan a los niños al emitir su voto en noviembre.

“Los votantes latinos envían al presidente Obama y al gobernador Romney dos señales claras, una: que se centren más en los niños, y dos: su posición en temas de la infancia será importante en noviembre”, dijo el presidente de First Focus Campaign for Children, Bruce Lesley.

La encuesta fue encargada por First Focus Campaign for Children de enfoque bipartidista y completado por Public Opinion Strategies (POS), una firma de investigación de opinión reconocida a nivel nacional que trabaja en campañas Republicanas y asuntos corporativos y públicos. La lista de clientes POS contiene seis gobernadores, 19 senadores y más de 60 miembros de la Cámara de Representantes de los EE.UU. POS es también el medio republicano del equipo bipartidista que realiza la encuesta mensual para la NBC y el Wall Street Journal.

POS encuestó por teléfono a 800 posibles votantes registrados (655 por teléfonos fijos y 145 por celulares), entre el 10 y el 13 de septiembre de 2012. De los encuestados, un 8 por ciento se identifica como latino o hispanoamericano. La encuesta tiene un margen de error de ± 3.46 por ciento. El margen de error es mayor en la subsección de los encuestados latinos.

A continuación, otros puntos destacados de la encuesta:

• Los votantes latinos creen que el presidente Obama es mejor en temas sobre la niñez. 43 por ciento cree que el presidente Obama, de ser elegido, manejaría mejor los problemas que enfrentan los niños en Estados Unidos. 13 por ciento cree que el gobernador Romney sería mejor. Un gran porcentaje de los votantes latinos permanecen en espera con respecto a las cuestiones de la infancia, ya que casi la mitad está indecisa entre los dos.

• Los votantes latinos, de manera constante, otorgan alta prioridad a los niños. Creen que los niños deben ser, para el gobierno federal, una prioridad mayor que los ancianos, por un margen de 59-13 por ciento. Y creen que los niños deben ser una prioridad mayor que los militares, por un margen de 66-13 por ciento. Estos márgenes son mucho más altos que en el total de los votantes.

• Los votantes latinos impulsan las inversiones federales en la niñez a una tasa más alta que el conjunto de todos los posibles votantes. Ellos apoyan por un margen de 70-25 por ciento aumento de las inversiones en los niños de Estados Unidos después de enterarse de que el gobierno federal solo gasta $374 mil millones en los niños, en comparación con el 58 por ciento de todos los votantes.

• Los votantes latinos creen que las vidas de los niños han empeorado en los últimos 10 años por un margen de 54-19 por ciento.

• Los votantes latinos no confían en que la generación de nuestros hijos será mejor por un margen de 58-35 por ciento.

• Los votantes latinos se oponen al recorte en las actuales inversiones federales relativas a la infancia. Se oponen por un margen de 93-7 por ciento a cualquier recorte en educación para ayudar a equilibrar el presupuesto, en comparación con el 75 por ciento de todos los votantes. A recortes similares a los del Programa de Seguro Médico para Niños o CHIP, se oponen por un margen de 79-9 por ciento. A los recortes en la ayuda financiera y los préstamos estudiantiles, se oponen por un margen de 79-21 por ciento.

“Los políticos podrán estar divididos, pero los votantes latinos están de acuerdo en una prioridad simple: no recortes a la infancia”, dijo Lesley.

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First Focus Campaign for Children es una organización 501(c)(4), sin fines de lucro afiliada con First Focus, una organización bipartidista que promueve la defensa de los niños. Campaign for Children aboga directamente por el cambio legislativo en el Congreso para asegurar que los niños y las familias sean una prioridad en la política federal y las decisiones presupuestarias. Para obtener más información, visite www.ffcampaignforchildren.org.

This memo provides an overview of responses from Latino voters in a new poll released by the First Focus Campaign for Children. Like other voters, Latino voters want candidates to focus more on children, and oppose efforts to cut key investments in America's kids.