Big Bird notwithstanding, children were missing from the presidential debates (and the vice presidential debate as well). While more than 16 million children across the country – nearly one out of five in Pennsylvania – are growing up facing the tremendous challenges of poverty, many of those who seek our votes overlook them.

Given the proven connection between child poverty and poor health, education and child well-being, each candidate should explain what his administration will do to confront this problem. We cannot move ahead while leaving one fifth of our children behind.

Obviously, taxes, spending, the economy and jobs, all matter for both families and our country’s fiscal future. Economic recovery will take time but we need to pay attention to what is happening to children now. Each passing day infants’ and toddlers’ brains are developing at rapid rates; school-age children are building skills for the next year’s academic success; teenagers are either being prepared or being abandoned as they approach adulthood.

We all have a role to play. Our government has a responsibility in designing and funding policies and programs that help children – particularly disadvantaged children – grow up healthy, educated and ready to compete in the global economy. Our candidates’ silence on how our country can and should invest in children is callously loud.

Most Americans, no matter their political leanings, would agree that tax dollars should be spent wisely. Clearly the costs of some supports all children need, such as quality healthcare, child care, preschool, and education – plus the skyrocketing costs of higher education – are simply too high for many families to shoulder alone. Most will acknowledge, even if begrudgingly, that using our collective tax dollars to pay these costs makes sense given the value provided to society.

A wealth of research demonstrates what works. From high-quality early learning programs to small class size, preventive health care to engaging afterschool activities that keep kids out of trouble, there’s no shortage of proof on what can be done to improve child outcomes. There’s a shortage of political will.

Take one example: quality early childhood programs prepare children for school success, as well as support parents’ employment stability. Yet, nationwide only one in five eligible children receives Head Start – one of the most effective ways to move children and families out of poverty – for lack of funding. And unless Congress passes an alternative before January, federal funding for early childhood education programs like Head Start will be cut, along with a host of others.

Will states step in to fill this hole? Not likely. In the past five years, Pennsylvania has cut state funding for early child care assistance for low-income families (subsidy) 19 percent. Will the private market respond? Only to those who can afford to pay $20,000 annually for two children under five.

Candidates running for office at all levels of government should be asked what they will do to decrease child poverty. After all, investments that help children grow up healthy and prepared for the global economy will pay generous dividends for us all. Surely Big Bird would approve.

Kathy Fisher, Family Economic Security Director

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DelCo Times – November 1, 2012 – اقرأ المقال على الإنترنت

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