Washington — The bipartisan First Focus Campaign for Children released a letter today endorsing legislation to make high-quality pre-kindergarten (pre-K) available to more children. The Prepare All Kids Act (S. 502), introduced by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), would establish a federal-state partnership to improve access and promote quality early education.

“Pre-k can provide a solid foundation for lifelong learning, if we ensure that it’s high-quality, and that it’s widely available– Senator Casey’s bill delivers on both counts,” said First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley.

Children who attend high-quality pre-K programs show improved academic achievement throughout school and are less likely to drop out of school, become teen parents, or be convicted of a crime. But pre-K initiatives vary considerably in quality, and there are not enough high-quality pre-K providers to serve all age-eligible children. The Prepare All Kids Act addresses both problems.

The legislation includes a set of specific quality promotion policies. It requires research-based pre-K curricula that adapts to individual children’s learning styles and promotes the development of “soft skills” that help children learn how to learn, such as focus, persistence and critical thinking. The also bill sets maximum class sizes and student-teacher ratios, requires that teachers work toward and obtain bachelor’s degrees over time, and requires progress monitoring that does not depend on testing young children.

“It isn’t just about ‘checking the pre-K box’ – it’s about building on what works, so high quality is both expected and attained,” said Lesley.

To promote access, the bill creates a federal-state funding partnership, like the highly successful Children’s Health Insurance Program. To lower cost barriers, the legislation focuses on providing pre-K for children in families earning up to twice the poverty level (about $47,000 for a family of four in 2013, less for smaller families). The objective of this investment is to ensure that all four-year-olds have access to at least one year of high-quality pre-K, while maintaining funding commitments to initiatives serving children from birth through age three. The legislation will require participating states to prioritize access for children with special needs, such as children with disabilities and English language learners.

“High quality pre-K does no good if kids can’t get in the door, and by making high-quality pre-K more available to families who cannot afford it, this bill will help millions of kids get a strong start in school and life,” said Lesley.

President Barack Obama made universal access to high-quality pre-K a focus of his 2013 State of the Union address. The Casey proposal embodies the federal-state partnership outlined by the President. It also includes other critical elements of the White House proposal, like maintaining investments in Head Start and child care.

“President Obama offered a bold vision, and Senator Casey has responded with a plan to make that vision a reality,” said Lesley.

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The First Focus Campaign for Children is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization affiliated with First Focus, a bipartisan children's advocacy organization. The Campaign for Children advocates directly for legislative change in Congress to ensure children and families are a priority in federal policy and budget decisions. For more information, visit www.ffcampaignforchildren.org.

In just 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds, kids stand to lose billions in the sequester. Intended to be a deadline of arbitrary and unacceptable cuts that would force lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to a compromise in ongoing budget negotiations, the cuts are being used in a game of chicken with devastating consequences for the nation’s most precious resource – our children.

The sequester will cut $85 billion from the federal budget in fiscal year 2013 alone. And while the cuts will be shared between defense and domestic investments, not all cuts are created equal. In an article in today’s BusinessWeek, Heidi Przybyla puts a young human face on the budget cuts:

“The human toll of sequestration on women and children may be most vivid. Most entitlement programs for the elderly, mainly Social Security and Medicare, are protected because they are considered mandatory. Spending programs affecting women and children are at risk because they are classified as discretionary and are funded annually.”

This means that in just 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds, our kids will be cut by a whopping $4.2 billion. These cuts seriously threaten many aspects of a child’s life - the safe roof over her head, the education that promises an equal opportunity at success, the nutrition and healthcare she needs to grow strong, and the safe environment she needs to thrive:

The cuts will force 70,000 young children out of Head Start.
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The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (commonly referred to as WIC) will cut about 600,000 participants.
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Nearly 296,000 fewer special education students will receive services from IDEA grants.
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More than 3,000 children will no longer be protected from lead poisoning in their homes.
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About 180,000 families will lose access to affordable housing, and could end up homeless.
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What does it say about our country’s priorities that we have come within 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds away from severely harming our children? Already, one in four U.S. kids live in poverty, and the recession has left about one in ten impacted by the foreclosure crisis. Cutting our kids simply doesn’t make sense. As Ronald Brownstein explains in the National Journal:

“[T]he way policymakers achieve balance has profound generational implications too—and the sequester would continue a pattern in which the costs of fiscal adjustment are excessively imposed on the young.”

The right thing to do is hold kids harmless in the budget negotiations. Join the First Focus Campaign for Children in reminding lawmakers of this and that the clock is running out on our kids. Share the tweets above, or write your own using the hashtags #InvestInKids and #TickTock. And contact your Congressional representatives directly using this tool to say, "Don't Cut Kids!".

Because in just 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds, lawmakers may throw our kids over the cliff. Tick tock.

This ad calling on Congress to protect critical investments in our children including early childhood, education, and nutrition from upcoming budget negotiations ran in the Jan. 11, 2013 print edition of Politico.

Five issue areas that affect the well-being of children are graded in America’s Report Card 2012: Children in the U.S.: Economic Security, Early Childhood, K-12 Education, Permanency & Stability, and Health & Safety. To conclude this blog series we need to think about what we can do to raise these grades.

Clearly, America can do better. This report indicates that while policies regarding children succeed in some areas, we need improvement in others. One of our nation’s greatest successes in 2012 comes from providing over 90 percent of children in the U.S. with health coverage of some kind. This accomplishment can be credited to the success of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which extend coverage children in low-income households. Our nation’s great area for improvement: reducing the number of children living in poverty down from 22 percent. This is the highest child poverty rate America has had in twenty years; it’s time for us to learn from the United Kingdom and prioritize reducing child poverty here in America.

The first step we can take is to vote for politicians who will prioritize children. Each year, First Focus Campaign for Children recognizes “Champions for Children,” members of Congress that support policies which advance the well-being of children. After the election on November 6th, we also need to hold politicians accountable for making decisions that benefit our children. By promoting programs and policies that endorse the well-being of our children, we can ensure that policy makers will promote them too.

Yet we have to remember that this grade is not only for lawmakers. This grade is for everyone in America, We all need to do more to ensure that our children have access to a healthy, safe, and successful future. So the next step we can take starts at home. We all need to work within our local communities to prioritize our children’s needs and help achieve success. To increase their success, we can partner with other stakeholders such as educators, religious leaders, business leaders, and many other who collectively share an interest in helping children. If communities take leadership on prioritizing children and youth, huge improvements could occur and inspire others to do the same. Outside of the community, more advocates and coalitions are needed to amplify the voices of children. In addition, it is our responsibility to show children and youth how public policy affects their lives and teach them ways to express their needs to policy makers.

The message is clear: we need to do better when it comes to meeting the needs of children in the United States. We expect our kids to get good grades, now it’s our turn to hold up our end of the bargain.

In America’s Report Card 2012: Children in the U.S., report by First Focus and Save the Children to assess the state of children in the United States, America scores its highest grade with a C+ for Health & Safety. This grade was calculated based on factors involving children’s health insurance coverage, access to health care and preventative services, access to medical treatment, and environmental health. Although America performs relatively well when providing for children’s health and safety, there is still room for improvement.

The biggest win for American children comes from the success of increasing children’s health coverage. In 2011, 90.6 percent of children were covered by some form of health insurance. Since employer health coverage for children has actually decreased, this win is mainly credited to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In the United States, Medicaid covers one-third of all children and one-half of low-income children. CHIP allows children whose families do not qualify for Medicaid assistance but cannot afford health insurance to receive health coverage. Together, these programs help ensure that all children, regardless of their economic status, have access to the services they need and deserve. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) builds on the success of Medicaid and CHIP by ensuring that all children, even those with long-term or serious illnesses, are protected again insurance industry practices that deny coverage because of a preexisting condition. But while all of these programs have contributed to the success of children’s health coverage, we still need to work to cover the last 10 percent. To complete this feat, America will need to address the disparities in health coverage. Children living in poverty and children of color tend to have lower coverage rates and immigrant children face significant barriers when seeking health coverage. America must address these inequalities if we are to reach the goal of universal coverage for kids, an achievement to be proud of.

Although a large percentage of children have access to health coverage, this does not mean they get the care they need. This discrepancy can stem from transportation difficulties, lack of resources, or a shortage of available health care providers. Additionally, the number of doctors accepting Medicaid reimbursements can present obstacles to children in need of services. The largest gaps exist when it comes to children’s oral health, preventative health services, and services in specialized areas such as mental health. To illustrate one of these gaps, in 2010 about 4.3 million children ages 2-17 had unmet dental needs because their families could not afford dental care.

Luckily, steps are being taken to combat these gaps. The Affordable Care Act helps increase preventative services by requiring insurers to cover comprehensive screenings and preventative care for children as defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics “Bright Futures” standards. As more initiatives like this are undertaken, access to care will increase for all children in the U.S.

When it comes to the overall state of children’s health, there are a few issue areas that cause immediate concern. The obesity epidemic among American children is reaching alarming rates: currently, one-in-three children in the United States are overweight or obese. These children are more likely to suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma during their lifetime. These consequences could cause children in the U.S. to have shorter lifespans than their parents’ generation. In addition, the United States currently ranks 29th in infant mortality rates among industrialized nations. America needs to emphasize proper prenatal care and nutrition for women to help reduce the number of infants who die at birth or soon after because of low birth weights. We also need to increase support for programs such as Healthy Start and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Visitation Program that work to educate new mothers and families on prenatal and infant care. These programs not only help to reduce the infant mortality rate but also improve the overall health of mothers and children. Lastly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 500,000 children ages 1-5 have dangerous blood-lead levels. This could come from exposure to lead-based paint or drinking water from lead pipes. Lead exposure can damage a child’s intellectual development and physical health, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children ages 0-6 be tested for lead. By testing children, elevated levels can be detected early, before the worst effects take hold. This, along with other initiatives to reduce lead exposure, may help keep children safer and healthier.

When it comes to children’s safety, the United States has made vast improvements. Public campaigns on car safety have increased the use of seat belts and booster seats, which help our young people safe when traveling in vehicles. In addition, the rate of youth that are victims of serious crimes, such as rape, homicide, or aggravated assault, has decreased over the last twenty years. The reports of illicit drug use and rates of heavy alcohol consumption among teens have also been decreasing over the last fifteen years. These trends help show that the United States is working towards creating a healthy, safe environment for its children.

Unfortunately, there is still room for significant improvements when it comes to children in the workplace. Child labor laws fail to provide adequate protections against safety risks in the workplace, especially for child farmers. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey, an estimated 16,011 youth were injured on farms in 2009. Unfortunately the Department of Labor recently withdrew proposed safety regulations for farms. Other safety concerns come from the environment itself; in 2010, 67 percent of children lived in counties with pollutant concentrations exceeding one or more air quality standards of the Clean Air Act. To ensure the safety of our children, America needs to put effort into protecting and regulating safety concerns for children.

There are steps that America can take to improve the health and safety of America’s children. We need fully fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2019 so that low-income children can receive affordable, comprehensive, and high-quality health coverage. We can protect the Affordable Care Act’s Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirement through 2019, which requires states to maintain current eligibility and enrollment requirements for CHIP and Medicaid. We also need to fully fund the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Title V Block Grant, which provides prenatal health services in supportive, culturally-competent, family and community settings in the Healthy Start Program. To ensure the safety of children in the workplace, we can amend the Fair Labor Standards Act and update safety standards of the Department of Labor. Altogether, these policy recommendations will help make all children in American healthy and safe and pave the way for their healthy growth and development.

Early childhood is a time of growth and learning for children, with some of the most important physical, mental, emotional and social development taking place during the earliest years of a child’s life. This critical time provides us with an opportunity to invest in our children in a way that will benefit them throughout their lives. But according to America’s Report Card 2012: Children in the U.S., a report by First Focus and Save the Children that assesses the overall well-being of American children, we are not doing enough to invest in our kids during their earliest years. America’s Report Card 2012 gave a C- for Early Childhood, based on early learning programs and access to child care.

An important early learning program for young children is state-funded pre-K. This gives families an option outside of private pre-K that prepares young children to enter primary school with the knowledge base and social and academic skills to succeed. Despite the major benefits of high quality early education, we have seen states cut funding; during the 2009-2010 school year, the first cuts to spending on state-funded pre-K in ten years occurred. Unfortunately, the cuts continued during the 2010-2011 school year, worsening the trend. In addition, Arizona eliminated its state-funded pre-K program, leaving only 39 states and the District of Columbia with state-funded pre-K programs. In addition to Arizona’s elimination of their program, 26 other states made funding cuts to state pre-K. This resulted in decreased spending per pupil nationwide. The cuts were partially offset by funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), but this funding is only temporary. Funding levels affect the quality of state-funded pre-K. As of the 2010-2011 school year, 43 percent of children in state-funded pre-K programs were in programs that met less than half of ten research-based quality benchmarks. This is not the time to cut funding to these programs; we need to improve quality and access to state-funded pre-K.

In addition, Head Start and Early Head Start provide low-income families an essential early learning program. Both have had increased enrollment from 2009 to 2010, but this increase is likely thanks to $2.1 billion of ARRA funds. But when these funds run out in 2012 enrollment, already well below 50 percent of eligible children, is expected to drop even lower. In addition, to improve Head Start and Early Head Start we need to invest in teachers of early learning programs. Teachers in pre-K and Head Start often receive lower salaries than their counterparts in elementary school, which can direct some of the most qualified applicants to other professions. In addition, early learning teachers should be given adequate professional development opportunities.

Another essential aspect of promoting a successful early childhood comes from ensuring affordable, high quality child care. Unfortunately, the trend in child care assistance is not promising. Today, many children live in single-parent families or in two-parent families where both parents work. The need for child care is increasing, but the child care services that are available to families are often expensive, far beyond the means of many working families. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) was created to help low-income working families pay for child care, but only one in six qualifying families receive assistance. Additionally, many states are reducing funding or restricting the eligibility requirements for families to qualify, resulting in 23 states with waiting lists of families that qualify for and want child care assistance but do not receive it due to inadequate funds.

Though there are some troubling trends, there are also a number of promising programs to improve early childhood education and care. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) authorizes grants for states to create home visitation programs. These programs provide families with in-home education by a trained nurse about maternal and child health so that families can better prepare and care for their children. Another grant program to promote early childhood comes from the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge. This competitive program awards funds to states that demonstrate a commitment to improving access to quality early learning programs for low-income children. This program has a large potential for success, but funding and outreach need to be expanded to fully experience the benefits it can offer.

There are many steps Americans can take to improve the early lives of our children. We need to fully fund Head Start, Early Head Start and CCDBG to increase their reach and quality. Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization should encourage collaboration between early education and K-12 education. We need to improve the quality standards of child care programs and providers through licensing of facilities, training of providers, and regulation of child care assistance funds. This will help create a cohesive system for funding early learning programs. We also need to invest more in working families through utilizing dual-generation strategies, paid sick-days, and family leave insurance. By promoting and investing in programs that enhance the strength of early childhood and families, Americans can take steps to ensure that the future is brighter for all current and future generations.

On Wednesday, October 10, 2012, First Focus and Save the Children released America’s Report Card 2012: Children in the U.S., a report that grades America on how well it meets the needs of our children. Unfortunately, the report found that when it comes to children, America earns a grade of C-, which by our academic standards is barely passing. This reflects the view of a majority of American voters who believe that for the first time the lives of children will be worse off than their parents. They fear that the futures of American children today may not be as bright as previous generations’ futures. This fear helped inspire former Senator Dodd and Senator Bob Casey to call on First Focus and Save the Children to create a periodic report card that provides a holistic picture of children’s unmet needs in America and policy suggestions on how to meet these needs. To create this comprehensive picture, America’s Report Card assesses five key issue areas that affect a child’s overall well-being:

• Economic Security- based on children living in poverty or low-income homes, food insecurity, and stable housing
• Early Childhood- based on early learning programs and access to child care
• K-12 Education- based on math/reading/science levels, school resources, at-risk and disconnected youth, and educational attainment
• Permanency & Stability- based on the juvenile justice system, child welfare, and children of immigrants
• Health & Safety- based on children’s access to health insurance coverage, health care, and preventative services, public health and safety, and environmental health

Collectively, these five areas encompass almost all aspects of a child’s life and fully illustrate a child’s overall well-being. America’s Report Card mirrors other resources that track indicators of children’s well-being, such as the Annie Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book, the Foundation for Child Development’s Child Well-Being Index, and the Children’s Defense Fund’s The State of America’s Children Series. So how did America fare in the assessment of its efforts to protect child well-being?

• Economic Security: D
• Early Childhood: C-
• K-12 Education: C-
• Permanency & Stability: D
• Health & Safety: C+
• Overall Grade: C-

These grades highlight the challenges that are facing American children today. The lives of children are changing. Many children are born to unmarried parents, 22 percent of the nation’s children are living in poverty, and roughly 25 percent of youth are the children of immigrants. If America and our policies do not accommodate these changes, the effects could be devastating for children. To improve these grades, Americans need to heed this call for action and approach these changes head on. We need to give a voice to American children. Children cannot vote, therefore we need to case our ballots in November with them in mind. Children cannot join political organizations or create political action committees, so we need to support groups that speak on their behalf. We need to advocate for kids by making decisions that benefit them. First Focus Campaign for Children has put forth policy recommendations for members of Congress to use when making decisions to secure the futures of our children. By calling on Congress to keep children a priority in federal legislation and the federal budget, we can make a difference for millions of kids.

On Wednesday, October 10, 2012, First Focus and Save the Children released America’s Report Card 2012: Children in the U.S., a report that grades America on how well it meets the needs of our children. Unfortunately, the report found that when it comes to children, America earns a grade of C-, which by our academic standards is barely passing. This reflects the view of a majority of American voters who believe that for the first time the lives of children will be worse off than their parents. They fear that the futures of American children today may not be as bright as previous generations’ futures. This fear helped inspire former Senator Dodd and Senator Bob Casey to call on First Focus and Save the Children to create a periodic report card that provides a holistic picture of children’s unmet needs in America and policy suggestions on how to meet these needs. To create this comprehensive picture, America’s Report Card assesses five key issue areas that affect a child’s overall well-being:

• Economic Security- based on children living in poverty or low-income homes, food insecurity, and stable housing
• Early Childhood- based on early learning programs and access to child care
• K-12 Education- based on math/reading/science levels, school resources, at-risk and disconnected youth, and educational attainment
• Permanency & Stability- based on the juvenile justice system, child welfare, and children of immigrants
• Health & Safety- based on children’s access to health insurance coverage, health care, and preventative services, public health and safety, and environmental health

Collectively, these five areas encompass almost all aspects of a child’s life and fully illustrate a child’s overall well-being. America’s Report Card mirrors other resources that track indicators of children’s well-being, such as the Annie Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book, the Foundation for Child Development’s Child Well-Being Index, and the Children’s Defense Fund’s The State of America’s Children Series. So how did America fare in the assessment of its efforts to protect child well-being?

• Economic Security: D
• Early Childhood: C-
• K-12 Education: C-
• Permanency & Stability: D
• Health & Safety: C+
• Overall Grade: C-

These grades highlight the challenges that are facing American children today. The lives of children are changing. Many children are born to unmarried parents, 22 percent of the nation’s children are living in poverty, and roughly 25 percent of youth are the children of immigrants. If America and our policies do not accommodate these changes, the effects could be devastating for children. To improve these grades, Americans need to heed this call for action and approach these changes head on. We need to give a voice to American children. Children cannot vote, therefore we need to case our ballots in November with them in mind. Children cannot join political organizations or create political action committees, so we need to support groups that speak on their behalf. We need to advocate for kids by making decisions that benefit them. First Focus Campaign for Children has put forth policy recommendations for members of Congress to use when making decisions to secure the futures of our children. By calling on Congress to keep children a priority in federal legislation and the federal budget, we can make a difference for millions of kids.

To learn more about the specific challenges facing American Children, view America’s Report Card 2012: Children in the U.S. In addition, a series of blog posts summarizing each of the key indicators of a child’s well-being (economic security, early childhood, K-12 education, permanency & stability, and health & safety) will be released by First Focus Campaign for Children, with a focus on the specific policies and programs that will help raise America’s grade in that subject.

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Today, the national fiscal situation is arguably as daunting as it was in the 80's. And it is even more so for children. According to a recent poll by First Focus Campaign for Children, nearly 60 percent of Americans believe that children's lives are worse off now than they were 10 years ago and only 20 percent think that children are better off. Six million children under the age of six are living in poverty -- in families struggling to make ends meet with annual incomes under $24,000 for a family of four.

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Our partner organization First Focus and Save the Children released in October 2012 America's Report Card 2012: Children in the US. Commissioned by former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Sen. Casey (D-PA), America’s Report Card provides a holistic picture of unmet needs in five areas of a child’s life: economic security, early childhood education, K-12 education, permanence and stability, and health and safety. These corresponding policy recommendations provide real solutions that work for kids in these five areas.