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Statement by Shay Bilchik on Child Poverty
7/12/2002
Children living in America today are almost twice as likely to live in poverty as Americans in any other age group. Even though the child poverty rate has declined in recent years, the harsh reality is that an alarming 11 million children still live in poverty in the United States. It's time to rededicate ourselves to eliminating child poverty for all children in our country.
Children account for 26% of our population and represent 37% of all those who are poor. The number of children living in poverty includes four million under the age of 6 and more than two million below age 3-a time in a child's life that is critical for their emotional and intellectual development. The fact is, parents and caregivers must have the economic resources to meet their children's most basic needs. Families without adequate income are hard-pressed to meet their children's nutritional, health, educational, and housing needs.
Millions of children in this country are at risk because their families don't have adequate resources to meet their needs. We know that poverty leads to academic failure, high teen pregnancy rates, poor health outcomes, child maltreatment, and involvement with the juvenile justice system.
As a nation, as a caring community, and as leaders, we all need to step up to the plate and accept responsibility for the well-being of children. Our congressional leaders have an opportunity to address the issue of child poverty in the coming months when they debate the structure of three vital programs: Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the Child Care Development Fund, and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG).
The current TANF debate is focused on how we can require parents on cash assistance to work more hours. Too little of the discussion has focused on the quality of work to ensure that parents can lift their families out of poverty.
At the same time, the debate on child care links increases in funding to changes in TANF. This debate should be focused on the need to address the current shortage of child care, and the need to improve the quality of that care.
The Child Welfare League of America is committed to "Making Children a National Priority." We have a vision for America where every child is healthy and safe; where all children develop to their potential; where all children are nurtured, each receiving what they need, as they require; where every child grows into an adult who is able to make positive contributions to their family, community, and nation.
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