| STALLED PROGRESS FOR KIDS IN SOUTHEASTERN PA
When your car stalls over and over again, you take it to the mechanic, find out what’s wrong, get it fixed, and pay the bill so you’re back on the road.
Like an expert mechanic, Children First ran the diagnostics and found that parents of 284,000 children in the Greater Philadelphia region are in families that are barely getting by. That’s enough children to fill the Citizens Ball Park six times over and still have thousands of children waiting outside.
In fact, our regional economic engine is sluggish because nearly 40% of all families have less spending power now than they did ten years ago. Instead of accelerating the progress of children, they are losing ground.
The indicators of trouble are bright red.
- More than half of young children are locked out of high-quality early learning programs because of the shortage of funds.
- 52,000 children who were insured by Medicaid lost that health care coverage since the end of the pandemic.
- The state owes school districts across the region $1.5 billion depressing education opportunity for students.
- Four out of ten teens report being sad, depressed or anxious everyday.
- Less than 10% of students can attend technical high schools that prepare them for a good job upon graduation.
Like a car without gas, the fix is to pay at the pump with urgently needed state investment in children AND the adoption of family friendly policies that reward working parents including tax credits that boost their income and a guarantee of paid family and medical leave to care for a newborn or sick family member. Put simply, when progress for PA children and teens stalls over and over again, state and local leaders must act so kids are back on the road to success.
Findings from five reports that examine each county show problems greater than a fender bender – the whole dashboard is lit up with warning lights, see for yourself here:
As the U.S. Congress and lawmakers in Harrisburg debate their budget priorities, ask them to put children in the front of the line to get what they need and deserve. Send a copy of your county’s report to your county officials and elected representatives in Harrisburg and Washington.
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