Regional Effort Urges Public to Demand Candidates Address Children’s Issues
(Philadelphia, PA) October 09, 2012 – With Election Day nearing and the nation concentrating mainly on the presidential election, Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) wants to ensure children’s issues critical to our country’s future are included in the discussion.
Launched over the summer, PCCY’s ‘Make Kids Matter’ campaign aims to keep the attention of candidates running for political office in Southeastern Pennsylvania
focused on children and their needs, including education, poverty, health
care, nutrition and child care.
“More than one in five kids in this country – and nearly one in five in this state – lives in poverty,” says Kathy Fisher, PCCY’s Family Economic Security Director. “We need candidates and leaders who can talk about how they are going to direct resources and create public policy that helps our kids to grow and be prepared for the future.”
PCCY has created a ‘toolkit’ (www.childrenfirstpa.org/makekidsmatter) of MKM flyers, palm cards and posters urging the public to connect with the campaign and ask candidates where they stand on children’s issues, and to vote for those who will make kids “a priority.” A petition is included to be signed online, circulated and returned to PCCY. The petition will be delivered to all regional candidates running for office. Nearly 10,000 pieces of MKM materials have been distributed in toolkits to over 100 child care agencies, preschool centers, YMCAs and community organizations in the five-county region.
“We all must insist on ending the shameful sound of silence on these critical issues and raise them to the forefront in the minds of those who represent all of us – including children,” Fisher says.
Since August, PCCY has been exploring topics of concern and posting related information on its website to draw attention to the status of America’s children. According to a Voices for America’s Children report, despite representing 25 percent of the country’s population and 100 percent of its future, children received less than two percent of the attention in the first 20 presidential primary candidate debates.
American Community Survey (ACS) figures released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau note that 12 of the state’s 19 Congressional Districts have child poverty rates close to or above 20 percent. The districts of Congressmen Bob Brady (1st) and Chaka Fattah (2nd) have the highest rates at 47 percent and 36 percent respectively, followed by Doyle (14th) 31 percent, Thompson (5th) 22 percent, Barletta (11th) 24 percent, Critz (12th) 23 percent and Kelly (3rd) 20 percent.
“Platitudes of ‘children are our future’ abound, but there is virtually no discussion, specific plans and proposals from candidates on how to improve life for children who are struggling today,” Fisher says. “Our region’s economy won’t have the potential to grow and thrive as it should – especially in Philadelphia where child poverty is almost 40 percent – if we don’t invest in children.”