>8.6 million children are without health insurance
>3 million are reported abused or neglected
>2 million have a parent in prison
>3.6 million live in poverty’s grip

We know a lot about how to fix these problems, which are desperate for the attention of the presidential candidates and the media. Whatever your political persuasion, and whomever you support, we all want children to succeed. All adults have a responsibility to help provide for the health, education and safety of children.

So what can you do to make 2008 a better reality for children and families and get our future president to make it happen?

Know the Candidates: Read the candidates' positions and send them a message now
Vote: Find voting information and register
Compare the states: See each state’s rankings on children’s well being and health

The awful truth is that many of our children experience homeland insecurity on a scale unknown in the other rich democracies. Within the U.S. itself, wide gaps in child well-being exist among the states.

Keep listening closely to the candidates, because we are not likely to hear that spending on children was 20% of federal domestic spending in 1960, 15% in 2005, and is projected to be just 13% in 2017. Yikes.

These problems are closely related to poverty. Among 26 rich countries, the U.S. has the second-worst child poverty rate. While federal government has enacted policies that have helped raise the elderly out of poverty, but children are now the poorest of all groups in America. They deserve the same priority.

It’s time for a new debate on the best ways our culture and our government can help families and children overcome homeland insecurity.

The 2008 presidential candidates should present their agenda for helping America’s children and families. This is a moment when the nation has a unique opportunity to push the presidential campaigns in the direction of children. Insistence on new investments in kids can help the country regain its footing on the priorities that matter most. 

Posted by  Mick Schommer in the DC office. 

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