Voter Survey: McCain, Obama Need to Start Focusing on Child Issues

Americans Not Content to See U.S. at the Bottom of the International Child-Well Being Rankings. 

"Homeland Insecurity" Report Shows Wide Gaps Among Key States -- Including AL, AR, IA, LA, MA, MN, MS, NV, NH, NJ, NM, ND, SC, VT & WA -- When Contrasted With Status of Children in Other Nations.

>>Get the report & poll and listen to the press conference

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 17, 2008 -- Strong majorities of swing voters, Barack Obama supporters and John McCain backers are concerned about the plight of millions of U.S. children -- including 13 million in poverty, eight million without insurance, and three million reported abused or neglected -- and want the 2008 presidential candidates to address child-related issues, according to a major new national opinion survey conducted for the nonprofit and nonpartisan Every Child Matters Education Fund (ECMEF).  ECMEF also today released the 2nd edition of "Homeland Insecurity...Why Children Must Be a Priority in the 2008 Presidential Campaign" showing the United States at or near the bottom of most key child well-being indicators when compared to other leading industrialized nations. The ECMEF report also shows extremely wide variations in child well-being among the 50 states.

The ECMEF survey of 800 registered voters found that 82 percent -- including 95 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of Republicans and 86 percent of Independents -- are concerned about "a recent report from the international group UNICEF (that) ranked children in the U.S. as nearly the worst off in the industrial world".  Voters agreed that "we need bold leadership to address poverty, child abuse, health, and education so that opportunities are available for all of America's children..."But both McCain and Obama have a long way to go in satisfying voters with specific information about how their agendas will benefit children and families, according to the new survey. A quarter of registered voters could not give any response when asked about Obama's and McCain's strengths on children's issues.  Over a third (34 percent) of all voters, and 46 percent of swing voters, were unable to identify things Obama has promised to do for children and families if elected President.  Nearly half (48 percent) of all voters, and 57 percent of swing voters, could not answer the same question about McCain.

The stakes for America's children in the 2008 elections are huge. The new edition of ECMEF's "Homeland Insecurity" report shows that certain states -- including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, New Mexico and Nevada -- are consistently at or near the very bottom of the list of states on key child well-being indicators, while other states -- including Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota and Washington state -- fare better, but still fall far short of the top G8 nations in the health and safety of children.  As "Homeland Insecurity" notes:  "...within the U.S. itself, wide gaps in child well-being exist: compared to the states with the best outcomes, children in the bottom states are three times as likely to live in poverty, five times as likely to be without health insurance, eight times as likely to be incarcerated, and three times as likely to die before their fourteenth birthday...The U.S. ranks last among the rich democracies on the two most important health measures -- infant mortality and longevity -- even though we spend much more on medical care."

Michael R. Petit, author of "Homeland Insecurity" and founder of Every Child Matters, said: "Whatever their political persuasion, our new poll shows that the vast majority of Americans wants more investments in their children and grandchildren. Not only because they desire to improve each child's life chances for success, but also because the nation's global competitiveness depends on it and an aging population requires it. The great majority of Americans believe that their government has a moral responsibility to help provide for the health, education, and safety of children. It's time for a renewed national debate on the best ways our society and our government can help families and children overcome homeland insecurity."

Dr. Steve Berman, professor of pediatrics, University of Colorado at Denver, and past president, American Academy of Pediatrics, said:  "I see these children in my clinic every day...children who are not immunized; children with chronic diseases who go without needed medication; children who wake up every night gasping for breath because they cannot afford to pay for the surgery to remove their oversized tonsils.  The reality is that many more children in the United States die before the age of 5 because we don't have the best health care in the world.  According to one report, our mortality rate for children younger than 5 is higher than all western European countries, most developed Asian countries, Canada, Australia and Israel.  And our infant mortality rate, despite all the high technology advances in neonatal intensive care, is the highest of all the biggest developed countries."

Michael McGrady, interim executive director, National Head Start Association, said: "Head Start children and families -- who, by definition, are all low income -- need this program to help them to escape poverty.  Regrettably, Head Start funding relative to the number of poor children under age 5 decreased by 22 percent between  2002 and 2008.  Today, Head Start programs are able to serve less than 40 percent of eligible children. Early Head Start programs (those serving children from birth to age three) now serve less than 2 percent of eligible children.   Head Start and Early Head Start are two clear examples highlighted in 'Homeland Insecurity' of the failure to make the necessary investments in American kids.  Though we have seen some encouraging signs in recent months in Congress, we need a new resolve in Washington to restore Head Start and other policies designed to break the shackles of poverty binding all too many American children today."

ADDITIONAL "HOMELAND INSECURITY" HIGHLIGHTS

When G8 data is compared against the top 5 and bottom 5 U.S. states on key child well-being indicators, the same states show up in the bottom 5: Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina and Arkansas.  The reverse is true of the "best" states:  New Hampshire, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Washington, Vermont and North Dakota. (However, as noted above, the use of the term "best" here only is true relative to the "worst" states; even the top states still do poorly compared to other G8 nations.) See a separate chart of the top/bottom state data.

"39 percent of America's 73 million children lived in low income families, 18 percent lived below the official poverty line. White children accounted for 39 percent of low-income children...61 percent of black children lived in low-income families...61 percent of Hispanic children lived in low-income families. The U.S. has the second-worst child poverty rate (after Mexico) among 26 rich countries."

"Millions of children lack access to health care, early care and education, afterschool programs, and child-abuse and neglect prevention services. This child-investment gap costs the U.S. billions of dollars 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."

ADDITIONAL OPINION SURVEY FINDINGS

Voters are pessimistic about the future of the nation's children. When asked whether today's children in the United States will grow up better off or worse off than people are now, 45 percent believe they will be worse off while only 28 percent say they will be better off, a six point drop from a survey the Every Child Matters Education Fund released in 2003. A solid majority of Democrats (56 percent worse off, 20 percent better off) and near majority of swing voters (48 percent worse off, 22 percent better off) say that children will grow up worse off than people today, while Republican are more optimistic (44 percent better off, 25 percent worse off).

When given choices about how to construct the federal budget, increasing spending to provide health care to uninsured children soars to the top of the list for both supporters of Obama and McCain. Overall, 79 percent of voters say they would provide greater resources for health care for uninsured children. Large majorities of Obama's (93 percent) and McCain's voters (60 percent) would support greater funding as would 77 percent of swing voters, the only item where a majority of both sides agree needs more funding.

When presented with the many big budget options the next president will face, voters find making greater investments in the health, education, and safety for all children a higher priority than tax cuts or balancing the federal budget. Majorities of all voters (57 percent) and swing voters (61 percent) find investments in children a higher priority than tax cuts. When compared to balancing the budget, 49 percent of all voters and 53 percent of swing voters find investments in children a higher priority. Another fifth (21 percent) volunteer that both should be a priority. 

Two thirds of all voters -- including 84 percent of Democrats, 42 percent of Republicans and 66 percent of Independents -- agree with the following statement:  "Some states in this county have much higher rates of child abuse, uninsured children, and child deaths. I would be willing to pay more in federal taxes to help level the playing field for all American children."

This election remains highly volatile, with 14 percent of voters undecided and 40 percent of the electorate saying that there is at least a little chance they would vote for either candidates, compared to just 28 percent who said that they were still open to persuasion at this point in a 2004 survey.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

To determine public opinion on the presidential election and issues facing children and families, the Every Child Matters Education Fund commissioned a nationwide telephone survey of 800 registered voters, representing a cross-section of the voting public, who said they are likely to vote in the 2008 general election. Respondents were selected at random using a cluster sample provided by Survey Sampling International. Every Child Matters Research Director and Third Eye Strategies Principal Stephen Clermont oversaw the data collection. Respondents were called between 6:00-9:00 p.m. in their time zone from July 7th to July 10th, 2008, and each phone number used was called at least 4 times at various times in order to get a completed interview before the interviewers moved on to a different number. The survey has an overall margin of error of ± 3.5 percent.