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Why new investments in children and youth must be a priority for political candidates

Washington, DC

HOMELANDINSECURITY

4th EDITION - 2012

Homeland Insecurity

Dear reaDer,As President Obama and the 112th Congress have struggled with rebuilding the nation’s economy, the critical new national investments America needs to make in its children have been postponed. Further compounding the problem are deep budget cuts in many states that affect tens of millions of children.

But the development of human capital is central to U.S. global competitiveness, increased productivity, school readiness, caring for an aging population, and fulfilling the moral obligation each generation has to leave the world better off for the one that follows. This is not the time to step backwards. In fact, the 2009 federal budget and the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act actually pumped billions into temporary new spending for children. But now that spending has largely ended, and proven children’s programs face deep budget cuts. Such cuts would be a big mistake.

The life chances of children are vastly improved when they are the top priority of families, communities, and governments. Most U.S. children live in secure environments and sail into young adulthood healthy, becoming productive members of society. But as the numbers in this report show, this happy ending eludes millions of children. And things may get worse, as social problems are highly correlated with child poverty which has exploded by 22.4% since 2008.

The data which follow focus on a few key issues: health, child abuse, school readiness, child care, afterschool, and poverty. These are big issues affecting millions of children and families. The disturbing trends in the data presented are understated. They lag by at least a year the sharp downturn in the economy and its impact on families.

We can all agree that while families are the best place for children, they often need a little help. The private sector is an essential ally—but it lacks the resources to meet the needs of millions of children. State and local governments are critical players, but vast disparities in child well-being among states confirm the need for a national government which promotes a level playing field for all children.

To spotlight the need for smart new national investments in our children, the Every Child Matters Education Fund is waging a public education campaign during the 2012 election to win support for proven health and social programs. Our goal is to make homeland security a reality for all children and families. Please join us in assisting the next president and the Congress in their duty to make certain every child matters.

Michael R. PetitPresident, Every Child Matters Education FundWashington D.C. April 2012

HOMELAND INSECURITY

7 MILLION American children are without health insurance,1 nearly 3 MILLION2 are reported abused and neglected, and 16 MILLION live in poverty’s grip.3

A key ingredient in creating the nation’s great wealth has long been its willingness to invest in new opportunities for all its children, helping them become productive members of society. But in recent decades, as seen in Chart 1.1, national investments in a wide range of children’s health and social programs have been declining as a percentage of domestic spending in the federal budget.

A REALITY FOR MILLIONS OF CHILDREN

Federal Spending on Children and on Major

Entitlements as a Share of Domestic Federal

Spending

1960-2020 • Chart 1.14

UNICEF Ranking of Inequality in Child

Well-being in Western Countries

Chart 1.25

1 Every Child Matters Education Fund

Homeland Insecurity

Greatest EqualityDenmark

Finland

Netherlands

Switzerland

More EqualityIceland

Ireland

Norway

Sweden

Some Equality Austria

Canada

France

Germany

Poland

Portugal

This decline in relative spending on children will compound the already high degree of inequality in material well-being, education, and health in the United States in comparison to other Western countries.

2

Less Equality Belgium

Czech Republic

Hungary

Luxembourg

Slovakia

Spain

United Kingdom

Least EqualityGreece

Italy

United States

now cannot afford and can no longer take for granted, such as health insurance and pre-kindergarten education, two areas critical for long-term success. These public programs are under assault at the federal and state level. Since 2007, 43 states have made deep cuts to health, education, and safety programs.8 At the federal level, while substantial increases in programs like Head Start and child care were made through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, this temporary funding has now dried up.9 Unless Congress acts in 2012, most children’s programs will face cuts of 9% or more in 2013 as part of the debt ceiling agreement passed in the summer of 2011.10 Some in Congress are proposing even deeper cuts to children’s programs at a time when families need them most.11

This is not what the public wants. Polling we commissioned over the last decade shows that across the nation and across the political spectrum voters support new national investments in children.12 That’s because the public knows intuitively what all research confirms: spending on kids has a great return on investment. It keeps the U.S. competitive in a global market. It allows better support for an aging population. It prevents minor problems from becoming major. And it fulfills a moral commitment every generation has to those which follow.

WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS.

Abuse and neglect, imprisonment, poverty, lack of health care—these conditions confront American children on a scale unknown in the other western democracies. These countries, competitors and allies alike, recognize that smart investments which pull all children and families forward benefit everyone. It’s time for America to make a renewed commitment to this same great goal.

Economic inequality within the United States has grown susbtantially over the last two decades. Children in middle-class families were losing ground even before the Great Recession, driven, in part, by declines in secure parent employment beginning early in the last decade.

As Chart1.3 shows, the income gap between families is rising. The gap in real family income separating the typical child in a middle-class family from the typical child in a high-income family expanded by more than 60% from 1984 to 2008.6 This $93,100 divide is now nearly the size of the gap that separated children in low- and high-income families in the mid-1980s.

Children in middle-income families are increasingly relying on public programs for services that many of their parents

Median Income for Families with Children 1985-2008, in 2008 Dollars, Chart 1.3 7


Homeland Insecurity

Seven million children at any moment are without health insurance.13 Over 28 million more have insurance through public programs such as Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.14 The Affordable Care Act is slated to provide near universal coverage to children beginning in 2014. In no other western country have children had to wait this long for such a basic protection.

Uninsured children are almost five times more likely to delay medical care and four to five times as likely to go without eyeglasses or medicines.15 Some lose their hearing because a preventable infection was not treated. Many are not immunized against easily preventable communicable diseases. Simple health problems become major ones.

While controversial in some quarters, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed in 2010 has already done a lot for children and families. Those in Congress who support repeal are obliged to state what they would do instead for these children. Specifically the ACA:16

• Prohibits insurers from denying insurance to children with serious illnesses, including pre-existing conditions such as asthma and diabetes.• Provides free preventative services, including immunizations.• Prevents insurance companies from imposing lifetime dollar limits. In the past, people with cancer or other serious illnesses in their childhood could run out of coverage later in life. • Allows young adults to be covered through their parents’ insurance until the age of 26. Three million young adults are now insured who otherwise would not be.

START WITH HEALTH INSURANCE

RX FOR HEALTHY CHILDREN

International Comparison of Health Insurance Coverage and Costs 17

Chart 2.1

Country

% of Costs Covered by

Government

United Kingdom

Japan

New Zealand

Norway

Sweden

Italy

France

Germany

Canada

United States China

82.6%

80.5%

80.2%

78.6%

78.1%

76.3%

75.9%

74.6%

69.5%

47.8%

47.3%

Overall, the United States ranks #113 in the world for percentage of health care costs covered by the government. Chart 2.2 shows that not only does the U.S. government cover less, but that overall health care spending is highly inefficient. The U.S. government spends as much per capita as other western countries do while covering far less of the overall cost. The total health care costs per capita in many western countries equals what the U.S. leaves to private insurers. Yet higher costs in the U.S. do not lead to better outcomes in either infant mortality or life expectancy.

How Proposed Medicaid Changes Will Harm Children

In 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to dramatically change Medicaid from a program that guarantees a minimal level of health coverage to millions of low income children and adults to one that gives each state a specified amount of money each year, and then caps that amount at a level far lower than the rate of of health care costs in the free market.18 This is known as a block grant. Currently, more than 28 million children receive coverage through Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance program.19 If block grants are adopted, this approach would:

• Cut $771 billion over ten years from current level of funding for the Medicaid program, resulting in massive shortfalls in every state. This will jeopardize coverage for millions of children. States will also lose $582 billion in matching funds for an overall reduction of $1.35 trillion to Medicaid.20

• Effectively end the SCHIP program by letting it expire in 2013 and by creating a $150 billion shortfall in funding, which would threaten the coverage of seven million children.21

Per Capita Costs

$3,222

$2,817

$2,655

$5,207

$3,622

$2,836

$3,851

$3,922

$3,867

$7,164

$265

Infant Mortality (Deaths per 1,000 Births)

4.62

2.78

4.78

3.52

2.74

3.38

3.29

3.54

4.92

6.06

16.06

Life Expectancy

(Years)

80

83

81

81

81

82

82

81

81

79

74


Homeland Insecurity

In 2010 at least 1,560 children died as a result of abuse or neglect at home. The true number may be double that figure or higher.22 79% of the fatalities were children under age four — mostly infants and toddlers.23

With nearly three million reports of abuse and neglect each year,24 it isn’t surprising that polls show deep public concern about the problem.25 But stopping child abuse is not a national priority even though it claims the lives of thousands, ruins the lives of millions, and costs more than $124 billion each year.26

The amount of help an abused child receives is largely an accident of geography: some states do a much better job than others. No states are in full compliance with federal child welfare standards.27

A DARK SIDE OF AMERICA...CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

Child Maltreatment Deaths 28

per 100,000 Children • Chart 3.1

Child abuse deaths in the U.S. are much higher than in other western democracies as seen in Chart 3.1.

Much is known about how to treat child abuse. But unless new investments are made to prevent child abuse in the first place, the sad story of child maltreatment will continue to repeat itself from one generation of troubled families to the next.

2 .4

1 .4

1 .00 .9

0 .8

U .S . F ran c e G e rm an y Jap an U .K .

2 .4

1 .4

1 .00 .9

0 .8

U .S . F ran c e G e rm an y Jap an U .K .

Social Services Block Grant Funding 29

1977-2016 • funding in 2012 dollars • Chart 3.2

Outside of foster care, federal funding to address child abuse and neglect has gone steadily downward in recent decades. Chart 3.2 shows the funding level for the Social Services Block Grant since 1977. A major part of this program is to prevent or remedy neglect, abuse or exploitation of children, and to preserve, rehabilitate or reunite families.30 The amount of funding in real dollars has

stayed at $1.7 billion since 2002 after having been cut over a billion dollars in the mid 1990’s.31 Factoring in inflation, SSBG will be funded in 2016 at just 14% of what it was in 1977. Unless Congress addresses this imbalance, the nation will remain unable to effectively treat and prevent child abuse and neglect.


Homeland Insecurity

Too many children, both middle- and low-income, enter kindergarten without the skills needed to succeed. Only half of eligible three- and four-year-olds are served by Head Start, the government’s early childhood development program.32 Early Head Start, for infants and toddlers under three, serves only 1 in 20 of those eligible. Millions of children are not enrolled in any pre-k program or are enrolled in ones that do not meet standards for quality.33 Research tells us that young children are eager learners and that what they learn before they enter elementary school matters a great deal. Children who begin kindergarten familiar with letters, numbers, and shapes are much more likely to grasp the foundational math and reading concepts needed to become successful learners. Children denied exposure to these basic skills begin school far behind their peers and are likely to remain behind.

Everyone benefits from high-quality pre-kindergarten education. Quality programs improve the education, employment, and earnings of students. They also reduce crime. The U.S. would see a $2 to $4 return on every dollar invested if preschool programs were extended to all children.34 Preschool investments for just four-year-olds could generate as much as $150 billion in benefits to the U.S. over a lifetime. These investments improve the economies of states and the nation by reducing special education and criminal justice costs while boosting income-tax revenues. Early learning creates smarter kids and a stronger economy, a smart investment that benefits all Americans.35

PRE-KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION

READINESS FOR SUCCESS

Chart 5.2 shows that some states have decided to actively invest in preschool education and others have decided not to. More than five times as many four-year-old children participate in a state pre-kindergarten, preschool special education, or federal Head Start program in the top five states than in the bottom five states. Almost 8 times as many four-year-olds participate in one of these programs in Oklahoma as participate in New Hampshire.

The United States falls far behind most other western countries in the percentage of three- and four-year-olds participating in center-based pre-k and primary education programs. Unlike other advanced industrial economies, the U.S. made no progress in increasing enrollment over the last decade. France, Italy, and Germany are at full enrollment among three- and four-year-olds.

Percentage of Four Year-OldsEnrolled in State Supported Pre-K, Preschool

Special Education, or Federal Head Start 37

top 5 and bottom 5 states • Chart 5.2

Percentage of Four-Year-Olds in Center-Based Preschool and Primary Education among

Selected Countries 36

Chart 5.1

State Rank

85.8%

78.4%

77.8%

68.8%

62.7%

14.7%

14.5%

12.8%

11.4%

11.4%

Oklahoma

West Virginia

Florida

Vermont

Georgia

Idaho

Hawaii

Utah

Nevada

New Hampshire

1

2

3

4

5

46

47

48

49

50

Rate


Homeland Insecurity

As many as 15 million children are on their own after school. Among them are an estimated 1 million in grades K through 5.38 On school days, the hours from 3-6 pm are peak hours for kids to smoke, drink and experiment with drugs; to become crime victims; to be in car accidents; or to commit crimes.39 The millions of children and teens who begin self-care at young ages are at increased risk of poor educational and behavioral outcomes.

Regular participation in high-quality afterschool programs has proven to lead to significant gains in standardized test scores and work habits as well as reductions in behavior problems among disadvantaged students.40

Despite these positive outcomes, existing afterschool programs do not meet the demand of elementary- and middle-school parents. Only one in seven K-12 grade children and youth participate in afterschool programs.41 As many as 15 million would participate if a quality program was available. But millions of families are unable to pay for afterschool programs and require a subsidy.

This situation has become even more challenging for families during the recent economic downturn:

• On average, parents pay more than three-quarters of the cost of afterschool through tuition and fees, which amounts to $2,400 per year per child.42

• Even in low-income families, which have been hit the hardest by the recession, parents pay more than half of the afterschool costs, more than $1,700 per year.43

BEYOND THE SCHOOL BELLAFTERSCHOOL IN AMERICA

Meanwhile, the federal government contributes only 11 percent of the cost of afterschool, despite the fact that 29 percent of the children in afterschool meet the federal government’s definition of low-income and are in need of federal assistance.

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers are the main recipients of federal afterschool funding. Although the program received funding authorized at $2.5 billion in the No Child Left Behind Act, Chart 6.1 shows that actual federal funding comes nowhere close to this amount. Factoring in inflation, support for the program declined every year from 2002 to 2007. After small increases from 2008 through 2010, funding has reverted downward. It is projected to decline further unless Congress acts to stop an automatic 9.3% budget cut to this program and others in 2013.45 While demand for the program will not change, it will become less able each year to meet the need if Congress does nothing.

21st Century Community Learning Center Funding 44

funding in 2012 dollars • Chart 6.1


Homeland Insecurity

In Washington, DC, the world’s most powerful capital, wretched poverty, and the drug use, violence and depression such poverty fosters, begins a few blocks from the White House and Congress. The capital’s 30.4% child poverty rate is higher than all but one state’s.46 Nationally, child poverty rates have exploded, up 22.4% since the 2008 economic meltdown.

Worse, recent data show not only that millions more children are entering poverty, but that many are entering deep poverty, where household income is less than 50% of the poverty level. If the poverty rate for a family of two is $15,504, then a child in deep poverty lives in a single-parent household where the income is $7,752 or less.47 It has been more than a decade since Congress has had a serious debate about poverty. The welfare reform legislation of the 1990’s was not about reducing child poverty; it was about reducing the number of families on the welfare rolls, which it did — from 12.3 million recipients in 1996 to 4.5 million in 2011. There were 1.6 million fewer recipients in 2010, the height of the recession, than in 2000, the end of a long boom.48 Millions of children in working families live below the poverty level, and their numbers are surging.

The U.S. ranks 23 out of 24 in child material well-being inequality among western countries.49 These countries have national policies which reduce child poverty much more sharply than those in the United States. The U.S. does know how to reduce poverty among large groups: over the last 45 years federal policies produced spectacular drops in elderly poverty rates. Now the elderly are the least poor.50 During the same period, child poverty remained constant despite huge gains in America’s wealth (Chart 7.1). Federal spending in 2008 was 6.5 times greater for persons over age 65 than for those under age 18 — $23,900 per elderly adult versus $3,660 per child.51

IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE SO HIGHCHILD POVERTY

Poverty is Not a Character Builder

“Poverty is associated with negative outcomes for children. It can impede children’s cognitive development and their ability to learn. It can contribute to behavioral, social and emotional problems. [it]…can lead to poor health… [the risks]…are

greatest among children who experience poverty when they are young and among children who experience persistent and deep poverty…”.53

A principal reason for low poverty rates among the elderly and high poverty rates among children is that programs for the elderly, such as Social Security and Medicare, are identical in every state. National policy is set by the Congress not states.

But big federal programs benefitting children, such as Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), are largely shaped by state policy, not federal, allowing huge disparities among the states.

Elderly and Child Poverty Rates 52 Chart 7.1


Homeland Insecurity

The Effectiveness of U.S. Government Intervention on Poverty 54

Chart 7.2

Change in Child Poverty 55 top 5 and bottom 5 states • Chart 7.3

New Hampshire, despite having the lowest child poverty rates in 2000 and 2010, has seen a 56.7% jump in child poverty. Louisiana had one of the highest child poverty rates at both ends of the decade but saw no increase. Overall, child poverty jumped 17% nationwide and increased in 45 states during the decade.

Non-ElderlySingle Parent

Two Parent

Childless

Elderly

Disabled

Poverty Rate Before

Government Intervention

36.9%

10.0%

19.5%

55.1%

71.9%

Family Type

21.9%

5.9%

16.3%

9.3%

19.1%

Percent Change in

Poverty

-41%

-41%

-16%

-83%

-73%

Poverty Rate After

Government Intervention

This chart shows the powerful effect of government policies in reducing poverty rates for the elderly and disabled. Current policies and spending levels in the U.S. are not nearly as powerful at reducing poverty among families with children. Other countries have succeeded in dropping child poverty rates by applying the same principles as the U.S. uses to reduce poverty among the elderly and disabled.

Chart 7.2 demonstrates the impact of government policy in reducing poverty among the elderly and disabled compared to families with children. While the differences in child poverty rates among the states are dramatic, as seen in Chart 7.3, child poverty has increased sharply in almost all states since 2000.

State

2010Poverty

Rank

6.4%

11.4%

13.5%

13.5%

12.6%

27.4%

25.0%

21.3%

26.4%

26.4%

New Hampshire

Connecticut

Alaska

Maryland

Hawaii

Louisiana

Arkansas

Alabama

New Mexico

Mississippi

1

2

3

4

5

46

47

48

49

50

Child Poverty2000

10.0%

12.8%

12.9%

13.0%

13.9%

27.3%

27.6%

27.7%

30.0%

32.5%

Child Poverty2010 Change

+56.7%

+12.5%

-4.3%

-3.4%

+9.9%

-0.3%

+10.6%

+30.4%

+13.6%

+23.1%

The American economy cannot function efficiently without quality child care. For millions of families such care is either unavailable or unaffordable. As a consequence, millions of children are in sub-standard care and not receiving the full benefit of an early learning opportunity, and the U.S. economy operates at a less than optimal level. Quality child care is in everyone’s best interest. In one survey, 62 percent of employers offering quality child care say their employees have higher morale, and 52 percent report increased productivity.56

Child care costs are high compared to other household expenses, ranging from about $3,900 to $14,050 for a four-year-old.57 Infant care is substantially higher. Child care costs are typically higher than what households spend on food, and care for two children exceeds average rent costs. In 36 states, attendance at a public university for a year is less than the cost of placing an infant in child care.58

Child care is not a luxury for children, parents, and employers. Children in quality programs receive educational and social benefits that endure for life, and they are in safe environments while parents work.

ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTUREQUALITY CHILD CARE


Homeland Insecurity

American families get little support in paying for child care compared to families in other rich democracies. Overall, the federal government underwrites 25% of costs, state and local governments 15%, and parents the remaining 60%. As Chart 8.2 shows, other countries cover a much larger share, and many children attend programs for free.

Child Care Development Fund Federal Expenditures 59

funding in 2012 dollars • Chart 8.1

Parent Share of Child Care Costs, by Country 60

Chart 8.2

United States

Australia

France

Norway

Italy

Finland

Germany

Sweden

Approximate Parent Share of Child Care Costs

60%

31%

27% for children 0-3;

free for children 3-6

20%

18% for children 0-3;

free for children 3-6

15%

14%

9%

Country

Federal child care expenditures through the Child Care Development Fund declined starting in 2002, when factoring in inflation. They increased in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Unless Congress acts, this funding will start to decline substantially in the decade ahead despite the high demand.

$6 ,7 0 3 ,0 3 4 ,7 0 8 .8 5

$ 8 ,3 9 2 ,1 9 2 ,6 5 9 .7 9

$ 6 ,8 8 8 ,2 4 7 ,4 9 0 .3 6

$ 8 ,3 0 3 ,2 1 4 ,4 5 6 .5 1

$6,000,000,000

$7,000,000,000

$8,000,000,000

$9,000,000,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

$6 ,7 0 3 ,0 3 4 ,7 0 8 .8 5

$ 8 ,3 9 2 ,1 9 2 ,6 5 9 .7 9

$ 6 ,8 8 8 ,2 4 7 ,4 9 0 .3 6

$ 8 ,3 0 3 ,2 1 4 ,4 5 6 .5 1

$6,000,000,000

$7,000,000,000

$8,000,000,000

$9,000,000,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Vast majorities of Americans want more investments in their children and grandchildren, not only because they desire to improve each child’s chances for success, but also because they know the nation’s global competitiveness depends on it and an aging population requires it.61 Americans believe that their government has a moral responsibility to help provide for the health, education, and safety of all children. With an Administration and Congress grappling with the proper role of government in managing the economy, including assisting major corporations because of the difficulties they’ve encountered, a national debate on the best ways government can also help families and children overcome homeland insecurity is in order.

Every citizen can help spark debate by asking lawmakers to present their plans for addressing the needs of children and families described in this report.

IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE THIS WAY.NEW INVESTMENTS IN CHILDREN AND FAMILIES MUST BE A NATIONAL PRIORITY


Homeland Insecurity

Millions of children lack access to health care, early care and education, afterschool programs, and child-abuse and neglect treatment and prevention services. This child-investment gap costs the U.S. more than $100 billion each year in lost productivity, remedial education, and crime. It also means that millions of children don’t have the opportunity to make the most of their lives.

That’s why the Every Child Matters Education Fund proposes a 10-Year, $500 Billion Invest-In-Kids Agenda that would include the following components:

10-YEAR, $500 BILLIONINVEST-IN-KIDS AGENDA

The Challenge Nearly three million reports of child abuse and neglect a year. Thousands of children are killed and severely injured. Abuse and neglect take a long-term physical and emotional toll on individual children, their families, and the communities in which they live.

The Investment Fully fund proven prevention and treatment programs, which can sharply reduce abuse and neglect while strengthening families.

The Benefits Millions of children saved from violence and neglect, which reduces their chances of experiencing poverty, being imprisoned or unemployed, and failing to attain educational success. Good for children. Good for society.

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

The Challenge Seven million children still without health insurance with many more expected to be covered beginning in 2014, unless the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

The Investment Guarantee the affordable health coverage to every child and young person that begins in 2014.

The Benefits Healthier children and lower long-term health care costs.

CHILD HEALTHThe Challenge Millions of children and youth experience emotional problems serious enough to impede learning and development.

The Investment Provide a full array of prevention and treatment services to allow parents and providers of care to recognize the warning signs and intervene early.

The Benefits Emotionally healthy children, youth and young adults.

MENTAL HEALTH


Homeland Insecurity

The Challenge Millions of infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers lack access to affordable, high-quality early care and education opportunities.

The Investment Provide all children ages zero to five with affordable, high-quality early care and education opportunities by fully funding Head Start, Early Head Start, federal child-care assistance for working families, and quality pre-K.

The Benefits Safe and stimulating care for children ages zero to five that promotes school readiness, and academic performance.

EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION BIRTH THROUGH FIVE

INVEST-IN-KIDS AGENDA CONTINUED

The Challenge Millions of children and youth in unsupervised situations at the end of each school day who would benefit from participation in quality after-school programs.

The Investment Provide all children with access to quality, enriching activities in a safe and supportive environment.

The Benefits Children who learn more and who are less likely to engage in delinquent behavior or use drugs or participate in other risky activities.

AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

The Challenge More than 16 million children and youth live below the poverty line. Millions more are in low-wage families with parents who work fulltime but simply cannot earn enough to provide for basic family needs.

The Investment Provide a combination of tax credits and deductions, minimum wage increases, family allowances, subsidized health insurance, and child care in order to guarantee that the household income of full-time, low-wage workers does not fall below the federal poverty level.

The Benefits Improved school performance, lower child abuse rates, less crime and domestic violence, safer housing, healthier lifestyles, less substance abuse and lower prison rates.

POVERTY AND WORKING FAMILIES

WE CAN DO THIS.OUR CHILDREN ARE WAITING.


Homeland Insecurity

QUESTIONS TO ASK FEDERAL CANDIDATESChildren with Medicaid are far more likely than those with privateinsurance to be turned away by medical specialists or be made to wait more than a month for an appointment, even for serious medical problems. Q. How would you improve the program to address these issues while ensuring that children currently enrolled in Medicaid receive quality care?

Overall household income has dropped for middle- and low- income families over the last decade. Q. What policies do you support that would increase family income?

Nearly 3 million children nationwide are reported abused and neglected each year. Q. What are your plans to keep all children safe from violence in their homes, schools and communities? College tuition has increased substantially in recent years. Pell Grants cover only a fraction of public university tuition. Q. What will you do to make college more affordable for lower- and middle- class families?

Q. What changes would you make to the Affordable Care Act, State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Medicaid to address the 7 million children currently uninsured?

Q. What level of overall federal spending, as a share of gross domestic product, do you support which would guarantee quality education, health care, and safety to every American child?

Q. What steps will you take to help guarantee that every child who enters kindergarten is prepared to start learning from day one?

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DOTO HELP US HELP KIDS:

Before voting, make sure to:• Ask candidates for office where they stand on children’s issues, and urge them to adopt a comprehensive Invest-In-Kids plan so that every child really does matter. Visit our website for contact information: www.everychildmatters.org. • Volunteer at events that raise the visibility of children’s issues, including the ECM-sponsored “Step Up for Kids Day” in September in your state.

• Write a letter to a newspaper and other media to reach a larger audience in your community about the importance of investing in kids.

• Stay informed!! Sign up for our regular e-mail updates to get the latest on children’s issues and the 2012 elections. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @votingforkids

• Make an on-line donation to help us make children a national priority.

VOTE!


Homeland InsecurityHomeland Insecurity

1 Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette Proctor, Jessica Smith, “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010,” U.S. Census Bureau, September 2011, p. 82.

2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children,Youth and Families, “Child Maltreatment 2010,” p. 11.


4 Julia Isaacs, Heather Hahn, Stephanie Rennane, C. Eugene Steuerle, and Tracy Vericker, “Kids’ Share 2011: Report on Federal Expenditures on Children Through 2010,” Urban Institute and Brookings, p. 18.

5 UNICEF, “The Children Left Behind,” Innocenti Report Card 9, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2010, p. 2.

6 Foundation for Child Development, “Declining Fortunes of Children in Middle-Class Families: Economic Inequality and Child Well-Being in the 21st Century,” p. 2.

7 Ibid

8 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Policy Basics: The ABCs of State Budgets”, 1/28/2010. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3067

9 Jared Solomon, “2012 Appropriations for Kids - The Second Year in a Row of Discretionary Cuts,” First Focus, 1/26/2012, p. 2.

10 Richard Kogan, “Coming Reductions in Discretionary Funding Will Be Larger For Non-Defense Programs than Defense Programs,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, p. 1.

11 Megan Curran, “Chairman Ryan’s Budget: Tax Implications for Children & Families,” First Focus, 4/18/2011, p. 1.

12 Every Child Matters Education Fund, Iowa Poll, http://www.everychildmatters.org/storage/documents/docs/ia/IA_Poll_Summary_Revised-2.pdf.


14 Ibid

15 Jennifer Sullivan, “No Shelter from the Storm: America’s Uninsured Children,” Families USA, 9/2006, p. 7-8

16 Democratic Policy and Communications Center, “How the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Helps Children,” p. 1-2.

17 The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, “U.S. Global Health Policy - An Online Gateway for the Lastest Data and Information on the U.S. Role in Global Health”, International Comparisons for % of Costs Covered by the Government (2008), Per Capita Costs (2008), Infant Mortality (2011), and Life Expectancy (2009) accessed on 3/14/12. http://www.globalhealthfacts.org/data/topic/map.aspx?ind=66

18 January Angeles, “Ryan Medicaid Block Grant Would Cause Severe Reductions in Health Care and Long-Term Care for Seniors, People with Disabilities, and Children,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, p. 1.


20 January Angeles, “Ryan Medicaid Block Grant Would Cause Severe Reductions in Health Care and Long-Term Care for Seniors, People with Disabilities, and Children,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, p. 1.

21 First Focus, “Ryan Budget Cuts CHIP and Medicaid, Risks the Health of America’s Children,” 4/7/2011




25 Every Child Matters National Poll, http://www.everychildmatters.org/storage/documents/polls/2008summary.doc

26 Xiangming Fanga, Derek Brown, Curtis Florence, James Mercya, “The Economic Burden of Child Maltreatment in the United States and Implications for Prevention,” p. 6.

27 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youthand Families, Child and Family Service Reviews, Individual Key Findings Reports,2001-2004, http://basis.caliber.com/cwig/ws/cwmd/docs/cb_web/SearchForm

28 “America’s Child Death Shame,” BBC News, 10/17/2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15288865

29 Child Welfare League of America, “Social Services Block Grant Legislative History,” http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/ssbghistory.htm. To adjust for 2012 dollars, we used the consumer price index (CPI) established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt. Projections from 2013 through 2017 are based on an annual 2.5% increase in the CPI.

30 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youthand Families, “Social Services Block Grant Fact Sheet,” http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/ssbg/about/factsheets.htm

31 Child Welfare League of America, “Social Services Block Grant Legislative History,” http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/ssbghistory.htm.

32 Fight Crime Invest in Kids, “Head Start and Early Head Start Fact Sheet,” http://www.fightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/Head-Start-Fact-Sheet.doc

CITATIONS


51 Julia Isaacs, Heather Hahn, Stephanie Rennane, C. Eugene Steuerle, and Tracy Vericker, “Kids’ Share 2011: Report on Federal Expenditures on Children Through 2010,” Urban Institute and Brookings, p. 14.


53 National Center for Children in Poverty. “Ten Important Questions About Child Poverty and Family Economic Hardship, “ http://www.nccp.org/faq.html

54 Yonantan Ben-Shalom, Robert Moffit, John Karl Scholz, “An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Anti-Poverty Programs in the United States,” National Bureau of Economic Research, p. 19

55 Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, 2001 Supplementary Survey, 2002 through 2010 American Community Survey.

56 Deborah Parkinson, “Work Family Roundtable: Child Care Services,” the Conference Board.

57 National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, “Child Care in America: 2011 State Fact Sheets”, 7/2011, p. 6.

58 National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, “Parents and the High Price of Child Care: 2011 Update”, 8/2011, p. 1.

59 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children,Youth and Families, “Child Care and Development Fund Expenditure Data.” Dollar amounts came from the Federal Share column of the total expenditurestable. To adjust for 2012 dollars, we used the consumer price index (CPI) established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt.

60 Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, “Starting Strong II: Early Childhood Education and Care”, http://www.oecd.org/document/63/0,3343,en_2649_39263231_37416703_1_1_1_1,00.html#CP

61 Every Child Matters Education Fund, National Poll, http://www.everychildmatters.org/storage/documents/polls/2008summary.doc

33 Ibid.

34 National Center for Education Statistics 1995.

35 Schweinhart, L.J., Montie, J.,Xiang, Z., Barnett, W.S., Belfield, C.R., & Nores, M.(2005). Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through Age 40. Ypsilanti,MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.

36 David Miller, Laura Warren, Eugene Owen, “Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G-8 Countries: 2011,” U.S. Department of Education and National Center for Education Statistics, p. 13.

37 National Institute for Early Education Research, “The State of Preschool 2010,” p. 12.

38 The Afterschool Alliance, “The Afterschool Hours in America,” http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/documents/factsResearch/Fact_Sheet_Afterschool_Essential.pdf

39 Fight Crime Invest in Kids, “21st Century Community Learning Centers,” http://techbotsdev.info/sites/default/files/21st%20CCLC%20Fact%20Sheet.doc

40 Deborah Lowe Vandell, Elizabeth Reisner, Kim Pierce, “Outcomes Linked to High-Quality Afterschool Programs: Longitudinal Findings from the Study of Promising Afterschool Programs,” U.C. Irvine, University of Wisconsin, Policy Studies Associates, p. 2.

41 The Afterschool Alliance, “The Afterschool Hours in America,” http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/documents/factsResearch/Fact_Sheet_Afterschool_Essential.pdf

42 The Afterschool Alliance, “Afterschool and Working Families in Wake of the Great Recession (2011),” 4/2011, p. 2.

43 Ibid.

44 The Afterschool Alliance, “21st Century Community Learning Centers Federal Afterschool Initiative,” http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/policy21stcclc.cfm. To adjust for 2012 dollars, we used the consumer price index (CPI) established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt. Projections from 2013 through 2017 are based on an annual 2.5% increase in the CPI anda 9% cut in 2013 funding as a result of the budget sequester.

45 Richard Kogan, “How the Across-the-Board Cuts in the Budget Control Act Will Work,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, p. 1.

46 Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, 2001 Supplementary Survey, 2002 through 2010 American Community Survey.

47 U.S. Census, “Poverty Thresholds for 2011 by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years,” http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/thresh11.xls. Deep poverty is defined as half the poverty level.

48 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children,Youth and Families, “TANF Caseload Data - Number of Families and Recipients,” data accessed on 3/16/2012.

49 UNICEF, “The Children Left Behind,” Innocenti Report Card 9, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2010, p. 2.


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