Voices for America's Children News

Health care costs for a family of four covered by workplace health insurance will exceed $20,000 for the first time ever in 2012, according to a new study released by Millman, a firm that consults with companies on employee benefits. At $20,728, this figure amounts to a $1,335 increase from last year.

Millman’s report found that a family of four will pay $5,114 in premiums for a preferred provider organization plan, a common type of health insurance, along with $3,470 in out-of-pocket costs like co-payments for doctor visits and prescription drugs. The remainder of the expenses will be paid by employers, though money spent on health care and other fringe benefits is money not spent on higher wages.

These findings are troubling for children and their families. It is compounded by the fact that nearly 50 million Americans had no health insurance as of the 2010 census. All this while more families are going without medical care they need for their children because of cost, employees are being asked to pay a greater share of the burden for their family’s health care costs, and more employers are dropping health coverage altogether in light of the increased costs.

In light of these findings, it is even more important for the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the health reform law. Health reform provides families with many cost-limiting provisions that are only beginning to take effect, and the health reform law ensures that nearly every American is enrolled in health coverage later this decade.

Last week we gave you updates on education policy in Michigan and South Carolina. This week our member organizations in Colorado and New Jersey report on slow but steady progress on winning support for greater investments in early education, starting with Colorado:

“This year, Colorado’s state legislators spent time discussing the role of early childhood learning and education, particularly as it relates to state funding. While no legislation was passed relating directly to funding early learning and development before kindergarten there were ongoing debates around when supports for early learning should begin. Conversations, often facilitated by the Colorado Children’s Campaign, aimed to target supports for Colorado’s youngest and most vulnerable populations.

We were able to pass legislation targeted to strengthening Colorado student’s proficiency in reading at the end of third grade and had champions in both parties repeatedly supporting early learning and education as well as early identification of reading issues. Through this bill, Colorado increased its overall investment in full-day kindergarten. Additionally, the School Finance Partnership — a bipartisan group comprised of education leaders, education reform advocates, elected officials, and business leaders tasked with examining the School Finance Act and considering options and alternatives, and presenting recommendations for an innovative overhaul to the state’s system of funding public schools — gave strong support to investing in half-day preschool for at-risk 3-year-olds, half-day preschool for all 4-year-olds, and full-day preschool for at-risk 4-year-olds.”

Our New Jersey member organization has been hard at work as well:
“Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) is busy working to strengthen our state’s early learning continuum. After briefing Rep. Rush Holt’s staff and Rep. Donald Payne about the importance of a federal investment in preschool expansion, ACNJ’s recent efforts have focused on ensuring adequate state funding to reduce the child care waiting list, which has experienced a 21% reduction in funding since FY 2010 and a 250% increase in the number of children waiting for care; expanding preschool for all low-income 3- and 4- year olds; and restoring $3 million for the school breakfast program.”

Last week the House went through with its reckless plan to slash children’s programs. In a vote of 218-199, it passed a budget that would dismantle much of the safety net, dealing massive blows to food stamps, Medicaid and other programs that low-income families depend on.

We detail the cut and the reasoning behind them in the latest Speaking Out! newsletter:

“We’ve detailed the severe cuts repeatedly in this newsletter, but now that the bill has passed it’s important to really think about what the House has endorsed. It has called for an unprecedented dismantling of the safety net, largely to protect defense spending and tax cuts for millionaires.

The House passed $36 billion in cuts to food stamps, meaning 2 million Americans would lose food assistance. We’re particularly concerned about these cuts because children are half of all food stamp recipients. That means around 22 million children would see reduced or eliminated benefits. And since getting food stamps also enrolls kids in things like free and reduced-price lunch, some 280,000 children stand to lose that, too.”

Sign up to get Speaking Out! in our mailbox here.

Our partners over at MomsRising.org have released their annual Mother’s Day video. As in past years, it’s hilarious and it can be customized just for your mom. Check it out!

We’re very proud of the growth of MomsRising.org, a site that should be a bookmark for any networked, socially conscious mother (or anyone else who cares about health care, kids, the environment, and fair pay). You can learn more about the organization in their recent post, where Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner tracks the rise of the “networked mom”:

One example of these rapidly growing networks is the fast growth of MomsRising due to networked friends telling friends: We started with just a handful of members in 2006, and we’ve grown to over a million members today. MomsRising’s highly trafficked blog and social media networks have also grown at a fast pace. We’re delighted to share that MomsRising now has over 700 bloggers, including Congresspeople, Cabinet Secretaries, moms with amazing personal stories, policy experts, and more. There’s an amazing variety of well-written perspectives, resources, and action links in ONE place: The MomsRising blog.

The House yesterday approved a plan to replace its scheduled federal budget cuts with even more severe cuts, many of them affecting children’s programs. By a vote of 218-199, the House approved a “reconciliation” bill that would spare at the expense of services for children and low-income families (learn more in our newsletter, Speaking Out!). While the Senate and President Obama have made clear that this budget is going nowhere, it’s still disturbing to see a majority in a chamber of Congress supporting nasty program cuts for kids.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi cited the opposition of Voices and some of its allies in a speech delivered against the House budget: “Because this legislation will have devastating impact, it’s opposed by numerous organizations: from Easter Seals, the National Women’s Law Center, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Voices for America’s Children.”

We thank Pelosi for the mention, and also for her support of children in federal budget matters. In the same remarks, Pelosi said, “When people ask me what are the three most important issues facing the Congress, I always say the same thing: ‘our children, our children, our children.’ ”

The budget also came under attack from some conservatives, with one Republican calling the legislation “election-year grandstanding.” Knowing that this budget will be spiked by both Obama and the Senate, members of the House seem to want to make a statement instead of serious policy.

The House passed $36 billion in cuts to food stamps, meaning 2 million Americans would lose food assistance. We’re particularly concerned about these cuts because children are half of all food stamp recipients. That means around 22 million children would see reduced or eliminated benefits. And since getting food stamps also enrolls kids in things like free and reduced-price lunch, some 280,000 children stand to lose that, too.

Another $1.7 billion in support for daycare, adoption, protective services and other programs would be eliminated through the repeal of the Social Services Block Grant. It would also effectively exclude immigrants from collecting the Child Tax Credit, which helps working families with the costs of raising children. Subsidies from the health reform law that would help low-income families afford coverage would also lose out.

A lot of the child advocates in the Voices network consider expanding support for early education a top priority. Amanda Ostrander, coordinator of grants & policy for The Children’s Campaign, our member organization in Florida, today reports on how that state is doing with this brief update:

According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) in its State of Preschool 2011:  State Preschool Yearbook, Florida ranks first in access, but is last when combining per child spending levels and measures of quality.

The NIEER report gives credit to Florida for comprehensive early learning standards.  Florida fails to provide quality teachers, sufficient in-service education and training, or staff to child ratios oriented around quality.

The state’s Pre-K program was passed over last year for the $500 million Race-to-the-Top. Florida’s new head of the  Office of Early Learning, Mel Jurado, has expressed a commitment to develop a research-based, stakeholder-driven initiative.

Yesterday we brought you a perspective from child advocates in Michigan. Today we have another voice on early care and education from David Laird, director of policy and government affairs at Voices member organization The Children’s Trust of South Carolina.

The case for early education has been made in South Carolina with some legislative champions established. At the top of the list is the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children.  In their 2012 annual report, the committee calls for greater “prevention and early-intervention services.” For a state not usually on the forefront of preventive measures, this is big news.

The bad news, however, is that not every child — or even those most at risk — has the same opportunity to benefit from high-quality early education. We know that the areas in the state with the most need are receiving limited support. With the Department of Education concentrating services only on K-12, a gap remains in the state for early education leadership.

This is where the Children’s Trust of South Carolina seeks to serve as the state’s partner. Our efforts, as part of the Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting program are creating a fresh opportunity for families and communities across the state. Through this, we are seeing greater collaboration and a renewed focus on our children.

Even through this, much more is called for from individuals, communities and the General Assembly to ensure an equal opportunity for all children. The Children’s Trust is eager to make this happen.

Today we’re sharing a guest blog post from Mina Hong, senior policy associate of our member organization Voices for Michigan’s Children, who recently hosted a town hall meeting with Rep. Tim Walberg on the importance of early care and education:

Since its inception, Michigan’s Children has focused on children’s well-being from cradle-to-career, a concept that aligns with Governor Snyder’s P-20 education continuum.  Now Michigan must put its money where its mouth is.  While the state has made efforts to support four-year-old preschool, it has failed to provide consistent support for Michigan’s youngest learners – those three years of age and younger.

Policymakers have gained a better understanding of the critical importance of the first 1000 days of life, as evidenced by a recent meeting with Rep. Tim Walberg, a staunch small government Republican who nonetheless sees value in home visiting programs like Parents as Teachers.  Beyond healthy development, nurturing in the first three years of life are critical to preventing large racial, ethnic, and economic-related disparities that begin to emerge as young as nine months of age and continue to grow throughout life.  Michigan’s Children’s key priorities for the fiscal year 2013 budget are to improve educational outcomes and close equity gaps.  Creating a sustainable funding stream for children from birth through age three would provide the foundation for that improvement.  High quality supports for infants, toddlers and their families can help reduce and prevent equity gaps.

Learn more about Michigan’s Children’s early childhood priorities.

The interest rate for some federally subsidized student loans could double this summer unless Congress acts. Unfortunately, the House’s solution has been to raid funds from the health reform legislation.

Obviously we want to prevent a spike in the cost of college for students and families, but not at the expense of health services. Both programs help ensure the security of many of the same working-class American families; pitting them against each other is lunacy.

Without congressional action by July 1st, low-and-moderate income students across the U.S. will be at risk for their loans to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.  If this increase occurs, the average student will see their education costs go up by about  $1,000 per year of school, according to a report released last week by the Young Invincibles, Center for American Progress, Campus Progress, and U.S. PIRG.

The House would raid health reform’s Prevention and Public Health Fund to prevent the student loan increase. According to the latest breakdown on the HHS website, this fund is currently supporting child immunizations, breastfeeding promotion, nutrition and anti-obesity activities, tobacco prevention, racial and ethnic approaches to community health, and programs to help communities fight chronic diseases.

These health programs are essential for those most vulnerable, while providing a cost savings to taxpayers over the long-term.  Voices strongly encourages Congress to pass a student loan bill that doesn’t risk the health of our nation’s children and families.

Congress in 2009 created bonuses for state health services that encouraged more people to enroll. We were happy at the time because cutting red tape and streamlining enrollment would mean more children could see the doctor, taking advantage of either Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Now the House Energy and Commerce Committee has voted to yank away the bonuses states are earning for trying to enroll more kids. This is a shame, because these improvements really did help more kids get care. As our friends at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities blogged, “In the first eight months of using this new procedure, known as Express Lane Eligibility, South Carolina eliminated extra paperwork for the families of over 84,000 children. Reforms like these also can lower state administrative costs. South Carolina estimates that Express Lane Eligibility will save about 50,000 hours of worker time and $1 million per year.”

This action is just one of many dangerous cuts being considered as the House attempts to pass a budget. Read more from us on how the House budget would affect kids here.

Congress has begun renewing the big Farm Bill legislation. Why does this matter to kids? Because that’s where the food stamps program, now known as SNAP, gets its support.

So the Farm Bill debate is also a hunger and child nutrition debate. That’s why it’s so important now to dispel myths about the food stamps program. Among the myths out there now is that food stamps can be overly generous, but as an article in the Austin Statesman points out, the average participant gets just $134 a month.

The article explains many of the distortions we hear about the program. For example, while policymakers who demand SNAP cuts point to the growing cost of the program, it is only growing alongside unemployment — in other words, it’s doing its job of providing a safety net to more families in tough times.

“SNAP has grown significantly in recent years. But it is only shocking that SNAP participation grew by 70 percent from 2006 to 2011 if you fail to mention that the ranks of the unemployed grew by 94 percent over the same period.”

Before the Affordable Care Act became law, graduating college many times meant leaving behind not only the classroom but also dependable health coverage.  Family health insurance plans often stopped covering dependent children once they left school.

As a result of the ACA, most young adults can now remain on their parents’ plan until age 26.  Now we just need to let them know their health insurance options post-commencement.

Today, the Young Invincibles re-launched an updated version of its Health Care Toolkit in anticipation of all the 2012 graduates who will have questions about health coverage.  The toolkit is an easy-to-use resource for young adults and their families about how they can find insurance coverage, and what they need to know about the revised health care law.

It is important for young adults and their families to have the resources they need to evaluate the best health insurance options.  The Health Care Toolkit is a great resource for ensuring more young adults are aware of their options and enrolled in health coverage after graduation.

Recently we warned that the federal budget that just passed the U.S. House of Representatives would be devastating to low-income families. The Senate this week also advanced some cuts, and while they’re not as bad as the House, children who depend on food stamps could be much worse off.

The Senate agriculture committee passed a planned budget that would take away $4.49 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Half of the beneficiaries of SNAP, also known as food stamps, are children. Learn more in our release, where we speak out against these child-targeted cuts!

Speaking before college students at the University of North Carolina, President Obama recently called on Congress to stop interest rates doubling for student loans this summer. This was one stop on a tour of universities where Obama will demand a stop to the student interest rate hike coming this July.

The administration estimates that more than 7 million college students seeking new loans could be hit with an extra $1,000 in debt. They’ve released an infographic as part of their #dontdoublemyrate campaign. In an election year, the president obviously sees this is as an opportunity to stir excitement in the constituency that helped send him to White House, but he makes a good point: as the economy increasingly demands higher skills and knowledge, college should no longer be considered a luxury.

The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, our member organization in the state, has been demanding that candidates in their gubernatorial election answer questions about what they’ll do for kids. We find that candidates often talk about “creating a better future for our children,” but are fuzzy when pressed on the details. A local media outlet recently agreed with WCCF and joined them in calling for more attention to children in the election.

We are reminded of the 2012 presidential primaries, in which children were invoked often, but seriously discussed rarely. Our report on the presidential debates so far shows that only 2 percent of discussion revolved around substantive discussion of issues facing kids. That means issues like child health, child nutrition, K-12 education and more have been almost completely ignored. Read the report here!

Our Washington state organization this week asks, “What’s at stake for kids in the Farm Bill?” The answer is that food stamps is paid for by this legislation, and around half of all food stamp recipients are children.

“Like most states, we have seen an increase in the number of people struggling to put food on the table. The Great Recession’s grip has many families choosing between food and other basic needs like rent, heat or medications. Yet SNAP is facing severe funding cuts and dangerous policy changes in Congress,” writes the Children’s Alliance.

Learn more!

Our friends at SparkAction are seeking “crowdsourced” solutions to problems facing youth in your neighborhood. The program is meant to help the 1 in 6 young adults in this country who are neither in school nor employed. If you have an idea to help, you can even win prizes.

From SparkAction’s website: Make a short video or write a sahort description of your idea and upload it to the site. Then, use the buttons to tweet and share it with your social networks. When voting opens on May 15, make sure you’ve got your friend, tweeps and followers ready to vote for your idea. You’ll get votes too, which you can use on the ideas you think are the best, the most innovative—and the most likely to work.

Learn more on SparkAction’s website!

Voices member organization The Children’s Advocacy Institute just released a new study grading state governments on how well they disclose information about child deaths from abuse and neglect.

“The federal government has determined that the good that can be gained from disclosing information about child abuse or neglect deaths or near deaths will exceed any potential harm or embarrassment that some individuals might experience as a result,” the Institute writes.

How we disclose these deaths is very important, because every one is a tragedy, and the public needs to know how to best protect children. California got C in the study’s ranking for making the information somewhat harder to find than it should have. Check out the report and see how your state ranks.

You may remember us coming out against the draconian budget plan that passed recently in the House. Well, in an attempt to meet the cuts outlined in that budget resolution, House committees are starting to plan for massive cuts to health services and food assistance for kids. Millions of cuts are slated for services that needy kids and families rely on.

The House is proposing $36 billion in cuts to food stamps, meaning 2 million Americans could lose  food assistance. We’re particularly concerned about these cuts because children are half of all food stamp recipients. And since getting food stamps also enrolls kids in things like free and reduced-price lunch, some 280,000 children stand to lose that, too.

These cuts are beyond cruel; some Catholic bishops have gone so far as to say they are immoral. Learn more in our press release.

Yesterday was tax day — we certainly hope you got your paperwork in! This year’s tax season has coincided with a national debate on the role of government, including tax cuts and spending. From the presidential contest to state politics, policymakers everywhere are looking to transform the tax code.

In Arizona, lawmakers are proposing big tax cuts even though state finances are tight. Yet the state recently eliminated KidsCare, its version of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, leaving 47,000 low-income children without coverage. Children simply lack the lobbying power of other interests in state legislatures, so when lawmakers want a popularity boost from tax cuts or are looking for places to trim, often vulnerable children bear the brunt.

Our member organization in the state is quoted in a piece today by the Arizona Republic:

This disconnect between tax cuts and spending decisions is irrational, said Dana Naimark, president and CEO of the Children’s Action Alliance. Tax policy and spending priorities are “two sides of the same coin,” she said.

For example, if the two were considered side by side, lawmakers could have contemplated using the $9.8million already earmarked for tax cuts to completely restore KidsCare, a health-insurance program for children from low-income families, she said.

On a lighter note, our member organization in Utah created a great video for tax day. Follow Sam the Eagle to learn more about how tax dollars fund services that protect kids.