8.6 MILLION American children are without health insurance,
more than 3 MILLION are reported abused and neglected,
nearly 2 MILLION have parents in prison,
and 13.6 MILLION live in poverty’s grip.
There are 670,801 children under 18 in Iowa. Many face strong challenges.
• 95,696 children in Iowa live in poverty (2006)
• 44,000 children in Iowa are without health insurance at any time during the
year (2006)
• 6,285 two-year-olds are not immunized (2006)
• 45,091 children in Iowa are not enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs (2006)
• Over 158,000 children in Iowa are left alone every day after school
• 24,536 children in Iowa are reported abused (2005)
These chilling stats are from Every Child Matters who ask caucus goers to consider where their candidates stand, particularly since "President Bush vetoed the bi-partisan State Children's Health Initiative Program (SCHIP) bill for the second time last week. Unlike most of the developed countries in the world, our children are suffering when a lack of early childhood immunizations and delays in regular medical attention for treatable issues cause major medical problems.
Ironically, many of those members of Congress who voted to sustain an earlier SCHIP veto represent states or districts with some of the worst child health indicators. See selected health indicators in Iowa.
Our children deserve better. Our Presidential candidates must take the crisis in children's health care seriously.
For more information, get free copies of our report, Homeland Insecurity: Why Children Must Be A Priority in the 2008 Election. It makes a great gift for the informed voter and elected official."
If you are willing to caucus for kids, go here for a caucus kit.
No comments:
Post a Comment