Voices for America’s Children
Investing in Children’s Health Care
• Voices is a 60‐member network in multi‐issue advocacy organizations pressing for public policies to ensure:
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2008 Survey of Voices Members Child health
School readiness
School success
Safety in the home and community
Family economic stability
Equity and diversity in closing disparities in child outcomes.
What is the Children’s Leadership Council (CLC)
Very Active Active
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Expand health insurance coverage
65.0%
21.7%
Provide access to high quality child care
56.7%
15.0%
Expand child care subsidies to make them
more affordable
20.0%
51.7%
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Expand/ensure high quality state preschool programs
48.3%
13.3%
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Enhance public health programs
43.3%
21.7%
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Develop strength‐based services focused upon
child abuse prevention
41.7%
20.0%
CLC “Guiding Principles”
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The organizations of the Children’s Leadership Council (CLC) agree that: All children need to be kept safe from harm, have their basic human needs (shelter, food, nutrition, clothing, medical care, etc.) met, and also have their cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development ‐‐ from the pre‐natal period to adulthood ‐‐ nurtured in order to realize their full potential.
Public investments in our nation’s children are far below levels adequate to address their needs.
The result: harm to children, families, communities and our nation’s economic vitality and long‐
term strength and cohesion.
Public investments in our nation’s children should give first priority to investments in children and families facing the greatest challenges, and investments that have the greatest potential to improve the well‐being of children and their families. Working together, we are more likely to be successful winning major public investments in our nation’s children. The organizations of the Children’s Leadership Council therefore come together to strengthen our communication, coordination, and joint strategy development and implementation, in order to promote advances in federal children’s policy, particularly those related to federal investments. The CLC will strive to add value to and not duplicate the work of member organizations and existing coalitions. • On July 8, 2008, 50 people, representing state and national organizations, meet in Washington, DC to work toward one goal: “[T]o determine whether there is a critical mass of organizations willing to move forward together around a strategy to influence the next President and Congress to increase federal investments in children.”
CLC Participants
The participants in that meeting included the CEOs and top officials of the multiple issue children’s organizations, including (among others):
Voices for America’s Children
Fight Crime: Invest in Children
Children’s Defense Fund
First Focus
Every Child Matters
National Association for the Education of Young Children
The National Women’s Law Center
Pre‐K Now!
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Food Research and Action Center
Zero to Three; The Afterschool Alliance
The Forum for Youth Investment
The Center for Law and Social Policy
Service Areas Vary As Priorities For Voters
Promoting The CLC’s Agenda For Children
Strategic message findings from a nationwide survey among 1,000 registered voters conducted online November 15 – 18, 2008 for the
Children’s Leadership Council
by
HART
RESEARCH
ASSOC I AT ES
% rating each as a high priority* for federal government Early diagnosis, treatment, services
for at‐risk children
Services for older children, mentoring, job training
Physical, dental, mental health services for children
Early education services, Head Start, pre‐k programs
Assistance to families: tax credits, rent help, food stamps, nutrition
Proposal
supporters
58%
45%
39%
71%
55%
68%
55%
69%
62%
52%
*rating of 8, 9, or 10 on a ten‐point scale
What’s Next
The passage of SCHIP this week means 4 million more children have access to health care
But it’s not enough...
Upwards of one‐third of all uninsured are children....
• Comprehensive health care reform must include mechanisms:
– To cover all kids
– Provide access to consistent quality care (medical home)
– And be integrated to the extent possible with all other children‐serving systems so as to ensure that the needs of the whole child are met, as sick kids cannot learn....
What’s Next?
• Even with SCHIP, millions children continue to lack access to health care
• As the economy continues to crumble, with lost jobs comes lost health benefits
• Coverage does not mean quality care
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