Pages tagged "News Article"
Poll: Latino Voters Put Children’s Issues First
Three-fourths of Latinos likely to vote in the upcoming general election say the presidential candidates should increase their focus on children’s issues, according to an analysis of a new poll.
The poll also found 75 percent of Latino voters will consider a candidate’s position on federal budget issues affecting children when casting their November ballots.
The poll was commissioned by the bipartisan First Focus Campaign for Children and completed by Public Opinion Strategies (POS), a nationally-recognized opinion research firm that works with Republican campaigns and in corporate and public affairs. POS’ client list includes six Governors, 19 U.S. Senators, and over 60 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. POS is also the Republican half of the bipartisan team that conducts the monthly survey for NBC and the Wall Street Journal.
Taking steps against rise in poverty
The area's increase in child poverty ("Percentage of children in poverty rising dramatically in some cities," Sept. 20) 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 Connecticut's 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.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro is a champion for children on these and other issues. Others in Congress need to hear that they must protect these lifelines for working families. Their decisions will determine whether child poverty gets better or worse. And for Connecticut's kids and Connecticut's future, there is no more important choice.
Bruce Lesley
Cuts to SNAP would hurt children
Thank 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 47 cents of every SNAP dollar going to children, there’s no way their plan won’t deny food to kids.
Yes, the federal government has budget problems. But hungry kids didn’t cause them and making child hunger worse is the wrong way to solve them.
Bruce Lesley
President, First Focus Campaign for Children
Washington, D.C.
Nondefense cuts would hurt families
Why? 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 Lesley, First Focus Campaign for Children, Washington, D.C.Deborah Bryan, Action for Children N.C,Raleigh
D.C. Lawmakers Also Shortchanging Education
The 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 don’t start kindergarten behind. It means real standards backed with funding to recruit and pay for the best teachers and individualized support to meet each student’s needs.
If Congress doesn’t insist on improvements, we could be right back here in 10 years wondering why the new NCLB law doesn’t work.
Bruce Lesley, President, First Focus Campaign for Children
Protect lifelines for working families
The 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. Illinois leaders in Congress need to hear that they must protect these lifelines for working families. Their decisions will determine whether child poverty gets better or worse. And, for Rockford kids and America’s future, there is no more important choice.
Bruce Lesley, president, First Focus Campaign for Children
Sequestration budget cuts bad for New Hampshire
By Bruce Lesley
As 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...
Failure Foreseen
Boston Herald
Your 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 delivers the funding to recruit and pay for the best teachers and individualized support to meet each student’s needs. That’s what every parent would want, and it’s what every Massachusetts taxpayer must demand.
The Obama Administration must now ensure that the waiver doesn’t leave some Massachusetts kids behind. But it’s at best a short-term fix, and if Congress don’t insist on improvements, we could be right back here in ten years wondering why the new NCLB law doesn’t work.
Bruce Lesley
President
First Focus Campaign for Children
Domestic programs gird for sequester
By Seung Min Kim
For 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...
Happy Days Are Here Again!
According 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 every forced move, reading and math scores dropped so dramatically it was equal to the child missing a month of school. Further, the study shows that parents under financial stress often interact with the children differently, and tend to provide less supportive parenting, which can lead to negative behaviors.