Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

Movement in the Movement

Feb 07, 2003

Movement in the Movement
The Children's Defense Fund Newsletter on the Movement to Leave No Child Behind ?®
January 27, 2003

"The President's proposal provides strikingly irresponsible tax cuts, borrowing money we don't have to spend where it isn't needed?…Millionaires will receive a whopping $130,000 each when the tax cuts are fully in place?…In a time of important choices, this greed is shameful in the face of children's needs. The cost of the proposed new dividend tax cut for the wealthiest could provide comprehensive health care for all 9.2 million uninsured American children and Head Start for all unserved eligible preschoolers in need of comprehensive services that prepare them for school and a productive future."
- Marian Wright Edelman

CONTENTS
Legislative Update
?· 108th Congress Convenes; Begins by Cutting Children's Programs
?· Advocates Gear Up to Build on Successes from Last Congress: You Made a Big Difference for Children!
Wednesdays in Washington and at Home?™ Update
?· Grandparents Urge Virginia Legislators to Put Children First
?· Social Work Students Gather for Wednesday at Home in Maryland
?· New York City Youths to City Council: "Don't Tune Us Out, Save Our Youth Programs!"
Upcoming Events
?· New Voices-New Choices Gathering Planned for February 11 and 12
?· CDF Announces 2003 National Conference April 8-11
Comprehensive Dodd-Miller Act to Leave No Child Behind Update
?· Total Endorsing Organizations: 1,327



LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

108th Congress Convenes; Begins by Cutting Children's Programs

The 108th Congress convened this week, and Members of Congress are preparing to debate life and death child and family safety net programs.

Congress will consider another round of tax cuts that would benefit the wealthiest and leave millions more children behind. The President proposed a $674 billion, 10-year tax cut package that would make the richest Americans richer at the expense of the poor. The cost of the tax cut proposal is enough to provide comprehensive health care for all 9.2 million uninsured children and Head Start for all the unserved eligible and disadvantaged preschool children in need of comprehensive services that prepare them for a productive future. Adding the proposed tax cut to the income tax cuts already passed, millionaires will receive a whopping $130,000 each when the cuts are fully in place.

While the Administration proposes new tax cuts, it claims we cannot afford new spending for children's services. The Senate last week passed a spending bill that cuts the following:

?· $60.9 million cut from child care, resulting in 38,000 fewer children having access to child care.
?· $29 million cut from after-school programs.
?· $13 million cut from programs that help abused and neglected children.
?· $3 million cut from children's mental health funding.
?· $42 million cut from substance treatment, further jeopardizing efforts to help move individuals off of welfare and into the workforce.

These cuts are unconscionable at a time when state budget crises are already forcing cuts in services for children and families and the President is proposing to lavish huge new tax cuts on millionaires and billionaires.

The next step is for the Senate to negotiate its version of the spending bill with the House. Then, a merged bill will be sent to the President for his signature. Now is the time to call your Senators and Representatives and tell them that the Senate cutbacks in children's services are unacceptable. To reach your Members of Congress, please call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Make your voices heard right now and throughout the year with phone calls, letters, faxes, and e-mails. For more information, visit the CDF Action Council Web site at www.cdfactioncouncil.org.

Advocates Gear Up to Build on Successes from Last Congress: You Made a Big Difference for Children!

Thanks to your work, the 107th Congress enacted a number of important provisions from the comprehensive Dodd-Miller Act to Leave No Child Behind:

?· Billions of Dollars in New Tax Assistance for Low-Income Children and Families: The Child Tax Credit was greatly improved and made partially refundable. As a result, it will lift 500,000 children out of poverty over the next 10 years. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) was improved by providing new tax assistance to low-income married couples.
?· New Help for Abused and Neglected Children and Youths: The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Act was strengthened and new funds were provided to prevent child abuse and neglect, help families in crisis, and promote adoption. A new program will provide education and training for the 20,000 youths who leave foster care each year.
?· Food Stamp Improvements for Children and Families: Food Stamp eligibility was restored for all legal immigrant children and immigrants with disabilities, regardless of when they entered the United States. Funding for emergency food programs was increased.
?· Protections and Investments for Youths: The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program was expanded to enable more children to participate in after-school activities. New early intervention and treatment services, including substance abuse treatment, enhanced mental health services, and job training, were authorized to help incarcerated youths successfully return to their community.
?· Education Reforms for Schools: New accountability provisions were established for schools that serve a large number of poor students, including requirements that states issue individual school report cards so parents know how well their schools are performing. But unless adequate funding for this bill is provided, students will not receive the help they need.

For more information on legislative successes, visit the CDF Action Council Web site at www.cdfactioncouncil.org/accomplishments.htm.

Many people confuse the President's single-issue No Child Left Behind Act with the comprehensive Dodd-Miller Act to Leave No Child Behind. A chart outlining differences follows:

Act to Leave No Child Behind No Child Left Behind Act


Reform education Yes Yes
Provide health care for America's
uninsured children Yes No
Provide Head Start for all
eligible preschoolers Yes No
Provide child care for all Yes No
eligible children
Provide after-school and
youth development programs for
children and youths Yes No
Set goal to lift all
children out of poverty Yes No
Provide tax relief for low-wage
working families Yes No
Provide nutrition and housing
assistance for millions of low-
income children Yes No
Protect children from abuse
and neglect and provide
permanent families
for all our vulnerable children
and youths Yes No
Protect children from
gun violence Yes No
Provide prevention and
intervention to reduce
juvenile delinquency Yes No
Build supportive communities
for children and their families Yes No


WEDNESDAYS IN WASHINGTON AND AT HOME?™ UPDATE

Grandparents Urge Virginia Legislators to Put Children First

More than 60 grandparent caregivers participated in a Wednesday at Home at the State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday, January 15. They met with three state senators, three delegates, and a number of aides after an advocacy training session at Hood Temple AME Zion Church. A number of participants also signed letters of support for the Dodd-Miller comprehensive Act to Leave No Child Behind, which will be sent to their Members of Congress. For information on hosting a Wednesday at Home in your community, please contact Alice Johnson Cain at acain@childrensdefense.org.

Social Work Students Gather for Wednesday at Home in Maryland

On Wednesday, January 8, about 200 graduate and undergraduate social work students at the University of Maryland began preparing for a visit to the State Capitol for a Wednesday at Home Lobby Day with the National Association of Social Workers. First, the students heard from a panel about national, state, and local urgent needs facing millions of poor children and how the Dodd-Miller comprehensive Act to Leave No Child Behind can help. Then, they made dozens of dolls with heartfelt messages from needy children, which they will deliver to legislators when they visit the State Capitol in February.

New York City Youths to City Council: "Don't Tune Us Out, Save Our Youth Programs!"

More than 300 New York City youth cranked up the volume at City Hall on Wednesday, December 11, 2002, chanting, "Don't Tune Us Out!" and insisting that the City Council protect youth after-school and preventive service programs when they make budget decisions. The youths painted a grim picture of what life would be like for them without these neighborhood safe havens. They expressed their deep appreciation for the mentors and caring adults who lead their programs and provide academic support and job training.

"Being a teenager nowadays is really stressful," said 17-year-old Geetpal Hothi of the South Asian Youth Alliance (SAYA). "I know kids who do crazy stuff like drugs and drinking after school. I just don't want to get involved with that, and my program helps me stay away from it and keeps me safe."

Most of the worst-case budget cuts did not take place. Had the proposed cuts been implemented, thousands of New York City's children, youths, and families would now be facing closed doors at their after-school and weekend youth programs. Nationwide, nearly seven million children are left home alone after school when they are most likely to engage in risky behavior like smoking, drinking, sex, or crime. Violent juvenile crime peaks between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

"Don't Tune Us Out" was the second advocacy day of Youth in the Movement to Leave No Child Behind?®. Last year, more than 400 New York City youths traveled to Washington, D.C. to "Rock the Hill," visiting their Senators and Representatives to call for increased federal funding for child care and after-school programs. For more information, please contact Taj Brown at tbrown@childrensdefense.org.

Upcoming Events

?· New Voices New Choices Gathering Planned for February 11 and 12

In these turbulent and scary times, there is no time for business a usual. It is time for courageous new voices and action for new choices as our nation and world teeter on the brink of moral and human catastrophe. Please join CDF for a gathering of key leaders from 1:00 p.m., February 11 to 1:00 p.m., February 12, 2003. This 24-hour witness of presence for children, for the poor, and for peace will include a series of teach-ins on impending revolutionary and unjust tax, budget, and policy choices at Washington Hebrew Congregation followed by a moving Interfaith Service at the Washington National Cathedral on February 11. On February 12, we will conduct Wednesday in Washington visits with Congressional and Bush Administration leaders to tell them loudly and clearly that the moral and budget bottom line must be protecting children first from harm whether we are at war or peace, amidst prosperity or economic downturn, budget surplus or deficit! For more information, please contact Erica Henri at ehenri@childrensdefense.org or (202) 662-3559.

?· CDF Announces 2003 National Conference April 8-11

Come celebrate 30 years of success and struggle to Leave No Child Behind?® during the Children's Defense Fund's 2003 National Conference. Your voice and witness of presence for children, for families, for the poor, for justice, and for peace are more crucial than ever. Don't miss this opportunity to bring home new information and strategies for making our nation live up to its responsibility to Leave No Child Behind?®. Exchange ideas and share best practices from around the country and the world. CDF's National Conference features a Capitol Hill Wednesday in Washington?™ Rally and visits to your Senators and Representatives to talk about the importance of making the right choices for children, a Presidential Candidates Forum, a special evening of original readings on childhood by leading American writers, and an array of exciting workshops and plenary sessions. For more conference details, contact Leanna Epson at lepson@childrensdefens.org or (202) 662-3590) or visit CDF's Web site at www.childrensdefense.org.

COMPREHENSIVE DODD-MILLER ACT TO LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND UPDATE

The comprehensive Dodd-Miller Act to Leave No Child Behind will be re-introduced early in 2003. It is important to urge all Members of Congress to co-sponsor this bill and to make sure they understand that this is a different bill than President Bush's No Child Left Behind education law, which was enacted last year.

New Endorsing Organizations:

Academy of Finance-Manual Arts High School, Los Angeles, CA
Amos Temple CME Church Missionary Society, Riverside, CA
Bethel Community Presbyterian Church U.S.A., San Leandro, CA
Bexar County Child Welfare Board, San Antonio, TX
Camp Wisdom United Methodist, Dallas, TX
Crenshaw Family YMCA, Los Angeles, CA
Davis Chapel CME Church, Richmond, CA
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.- Beta Eta Chapter, Montgomery, AL
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc- Dothan Alumnae Chapter, Enterprise, AL
Emmanuel Temple CME Church, Victorville, CA
Evanston Early Childhood Community Collaboration, Evanston, IL
Grandcare Program, Charlotte, NC
Hays Missionary Society, Los Angeles, CA
Hilltop United Methodist Women's Board, Sandy, UT
Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, Lexington, KY
Lamar University School of Social Work, Beaumont, TX
Miles Memorial CME Church, Augusta, GA
Modoc Child Care Resources and Referral, Alturas, CA
Montgomery County Interfaith Hospitality Network, Conroe, TX
North Florida Child Development, Inc., Wewahitchka, FL
Phillips Chapel CME Church, Santa Monica, CA
Phillips Temple CME (San Diego) Women's Missionary Society, San Diego, CA
San Juan Bautista Child Development, San Jose, CA
St. Stephen CME Church, Fairfield, CA
Voices for Virginia's Children, Richmond, VA

Total Endorsing Organizations: 1,327

Join the Movement to Leave No Child Behind?®!
Children's Defense Fund
25 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 628-8787 or (800) CDF-1200 Fax: (202) 662-1910
Website: http://campaign.childrensdefense.org/
E-mail: gencamp@childrensdefense.org