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Giving kids a campaign presence
Election season is here, and campaigns are in full swing, but candidates rarely speak about children’s issues. PPC wondered why kids’ issues don’t get more of a spotlight and sought the advice of some veterans of the electoral scene to gain insight on advancing the children’s agenda. Congressman William F. Goodling (R) served the 19th Congressional District, covering York, Adams, and Cumberland counties, from 1974 to 2000, and chaired the House Education and the Workforce Committee. David W. Sweet (D) served in the state House of Representatives from 1977 to 1988, representing Washington County. Sweet was campaign manager for Ed Rendell’s successful run for Pennsylvania governor in 2002 and headed his transition team. Together, Goodling and Sweet provided perspective on children’s issues in local, statewide, and federal races.
Both agreed that parents are the first and likeliest group of voters to raise children’s issues in campaigns. In particular, Sweet said, parents use campaign settings to address their personal interest in issues that matter to them, such as schools — where they raise everything from the quality of education and the size of their children’s classes to school bus safety.
Parents’ concerns illustrate a basic standard of practice in elections: Voters want to hear about the issues that affect them personally – issues like national security, jobs, and health care. This leaves other policy matters jockeying for attention. As Goodling said, “There’s never enough people talking about children” among the electorate. In his 26 years in office, he could not recall anyone ever bringing up children’s issues in a town meeting. He would often raise issues that impact children in these meetings because of his position on the Education and the Workforce Committee, his previous service as a school superintendent, and his desire to gain local insight on issues he was managing in Washington.
front and set expectations for the candidates to talk about kids. Goodling suggested invitations to visit programs serving children and their families, showing candidates and staff the difference that properly designed and implemented supports can make.
Sweet contended that the heat of the campaign season isn’t necessarily the time to educate the candidate — “Most candidates don’t sharply change their priorities or views” — but he agreed that electoral tactics can give children’s issues more prominence. He cited the 2002 governor’s race, when organizations held issue-specific forums. “They expected the candidates to be there,” said Sweet, a partner in the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP. “They forced the candidates to think about the issues and probably elevated them beyond where they were polling.”
Goodling and Sweet agreed that they preferred town meetings and forums, with their more informal give-andtake, over traditional debate formats, with prepared questions and set time limits.
They also agreed that reaching out to campaign staff people could be just as important as reaching candidates. Campaign staff have a responsibility to draft position statements and brief the candidates. For them, succinct information on important issues is always a help.
“The advantage is often reversed if you get the candidate,” Sweet noted. “You have a brief conversation and make a point that may or may not stick. You’re more likely to influence the issue long-term by having a serious conversation with a staff person who understands the issue and can flesh it out for the candidate.”
From his perspective as congressional representative of a diverse and sprawling district, Goodling said he encouraged voters to make frequent contact. “If you read the newspaper and this candidate said such and such, and you think there’s something the candidate should know, then as briefly as you can, share it. It may be something the candidate never thought about. The only way he’ll know it or she’ll know it is if someone makes them aware of it.”
Goodling and Sweet both emphasized the importance of building relationships that last beyond the campaign season. In a year when only half of the state Senate and House races on the ballot are challenged, and when even five out of 19 Congressional seats have no major-party challenges, Sweet and Goodling agreed that to make real impact, effective advocates should focus attention on making sure candidates keep their commitments after Election Day.
“Shape the minds and positions of people already in office,” said Sweet. “There’s an awfully high percentage of people in office who stay in office. The incumbent who hasn’t agreed with you should not be written off.”
Goodling cited his personal involvement in education and other issues, and his work with advocates in the search for answers. “I always wanted to be sure I heard correctly what people had in mind. You listen to enough people, and eventually, you have to make up your mind. It’s so much more effective if I hear it first-hand.”
As he noted, when it comes to children’s issues, “Kids don’t have the voice, and therefore, the advocate has to have the voice.”
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Stand up and say, “I’m voting for children”
Election season is upon us. The evidence is everywhere – TV ads, yard signs, bumper stickers, debates, and news stories. But, one thing seems to be missing – kids. The only exception I’ve seen is a bumper sticker I picked up at the national KIDS COUNT conference, produced by Every Child Matters. It reads “I’m voting for kids.” Imagine what would happen if we all voted for kids.
Pennsylvania political analysts G. Terry Madonna and Berwood Yost, of Franklin and Marshall College, say that turnout in this year’s election could be the highest since the 1970s. Several classic predictors of voter turnout point in that direction, they say. The rate of voters who are very interested in the campaign is up, more people say they are certain to vote, and only 8 percent of Pennsylvania voters are undecided at this point, compared to 18 percent at this time in 2000. And increased campaign spending has often pumped up voter interest and turnout. In short, voters are listening and they’re paying attention.
Of course, strong turnout these days is only about half of registered voters, but any increase over previous years can be a positive. Much of the activity around the state and nation to increase voter registration seems to be producing results, so we can hope for numbers that are even higher. A recent Harrisburg news story reported the need for temporary staff to handle voter registration forms and absentee ballots in county election offices. Naturally, the issues dominating the election this year are terrorism and homeland security, but other issues are on voters’ minds. Jobs and health care are also driving citizens to the polls. With so many issues in the mix, this is no time for children’s advocates to stay home.
More than ever, children need our voices in the political maelstrom.
Children don't get to cast their votes for the candidates that they think will serve them best. They only have us, the adults in their lives. And when more voters may be at the polls than have been there in decades, people who vote for kids must be a part of it.
By casting a vote and making it clear that kids matter, we are telling our elected officials that kids aren't a special interest; they are everyone's interest. Our circle of concern starts with the children in our own lives, but it extends to every child, because each has a stake in the future of our community, state, and nation.
Don't forget that this year's race isn't only about who gets the keys to the White House. We have a U.S. Senate election, and a number of congressional races have attracted national attention. Many seats in the state Senate and House are being challenged. Each officeholder makes decisions every day that affect the lives of our children — whether it be a vote on school funding or health care. Do your homework, find out how the candidates have produced for children if they have held office in the past, and learn how they plan to make Pennsylvania one of the best states in the nation to be a child and raise a child. Join me on November 2 and send a message that says "I'm voting for children.”
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2004: A Voters’ Guide to Children’s Issues
Early Childhood Education: Quality early childhood education programs enhance children’s school readiness and position them to succeed in the early grades.
The need
Children are learning at a rapid rate in the first five years of life, but Pennsylvania’s greatest investments come after children reach the school house door. Consider the facts:
- Two out of three children under age 5 have all available parents in the labor force.
- 109,745 children have access to subsidized child care, but low state reimbursement rates mean that parents are challenged to find care that is high quality and meets the developmental needs of their children.
- A recent study of the quality of child care settings in Pennsylvania illustrated that the majority of care provided is of minimal to adequate quality.
- Pennsylvania made its first appropriation to fund Head Start this fiscal year, but only 1,473 new children were served. Another 17,100 children remain eligible for Head Start and unserved due to limited funding.
- Only 40 of Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts, given a range of desirable basic education enhancements, chose to apply their block grant funds to prekindergarten.
Status report
Pennsylvania made a significant investment in ECE this year:
- School districts can apply their part of a $200 million Education Accountability Block Grant funding to prekindergarten, and a new $15 million allocation will expand Head Start eligibility.
- Pennsylvania businesses can earn tax credits for scholarships to prekindergarten programs aligned with local schools’ curricula.
- New funds will improve child care quality by expanding teacher scholarships, wage and retention efforts, and Keystone Stars, the state’s tiered quality improvement system.
- Additional resources were invested in the child care subsidy system, providing more children access to services and a small rate increase for some types of care.
- The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is extending loan forgiveness to child care teachers earning bachelor’s degrees.
Making policy progress
To assure school readiness benefits from its early childhood education investments, Pennsylvania should:
- Expand the availability of high-quality, universal prekindergarten for 4-year-olds, beginning in communities with high concentrations of children in poverty. A dedicated funding stream should involve all community partners – school districts, Head Start, and child care. Quality assurances should include bachelor-degreed teachers and research-based curriculum.
- Improve child care quality by expanding Keystone Stars, TEACH, loan forgiveness for child care teachers, and wage and retention efforts, and by advancing an infant/toddler quality initiative.
- Continue to appropriate additional resources to child care subsidy and rates that reflect the true cost of providing quality care, to assure that all families can gain access to subsidized child care that meets their children’s developmental needs.
The Candidate Connection: Why ECE matters in Campaign 2004
Communities benefit because early childhood education:
- Helps children enter kindergarten with better reading, language, and social skills.
- Promotes school success, with children who get better grades and are likelier to graduate from high school.
- Saves money in special education, corrections, and welfare dependency – at least 2 saved for every $1 invested.
- Reduces the likelihood that children will become delinquent as teens.
Ask the candidates
Pennsylvania’s new prekindergarten investments are only one piece of a successful early childhood education strategy. Should the state pursue further strategies to address the range of school readiness needs that children exhibit from birth?
Do you support development of highquality, universal prekindergarten for Pennsylvania’s 4-year-olds?
Do you support expanded efforts to improve child care quality and access to subsidized child care?
High-Quality Basic Education: High-quality basic education can provide every child with the tools they need to succeed, but Pennsylvania fails to assure that every child gets an equal opportunity to learn in local schools.
The need
Providing an equal and appropriate education for every child is one of the most important functions of government. But children have different educational needs, and all children don’t receive equal opportunities in Pennsylvania. Consider the facts:
- Among states, Pennsylvania ranks 14th in overall education funding, but only because of the combined weight of state and local dollars. When viewed by the equity of state funding, Pennsylvania is next to last among states, and children experience an education that costs anywhere from a low of $5,900 a year per student to a high of $14,870.
- 37 percent of fifth graders failed to achieve proficiency on 2003-04 reading achievement tests, and 38 percent failed to achieve proficiency in math.
- Pennsylvania school districts show a wide disparity in graduates planning higher education. In the top 33 districts, 90 percent of graduates are moving on educationally, but in 58 districts, fewer than 60 percent plan higher education.
Status report
Children with the greatest needs often have the fewest opportunities to succeed, but the state has failed to design an education funding formula that appropriately considers the needs of every child and the resources their local school districts have available to meet their needs. This situation yields a great disparity in opportunity from one community to the next.
A new property tax reform initiative will fund schools with resources from gaming, but while it will take steps to relieve local property tax burdens, the outcome will not increase resources for public education. The statute provides only a dollar-fordollar exchange of state revenue for local property tax reduction.
Pennsylvania’s new Education Accountability Block Grant is providing some overdue support to school districts to advance research-based strategies to improve student achievement. More than 290 districts have chosen to use the resources to fund full-day kindergarten – a great opportunity for students. But all districts faced hard choices. There simply wasn’t enough money allowing districts to add all the programs to assure that students reach the proficiency goals set by No Child Left Behind.
Making policy progress
To assure that every school district has adequate resources to help all children succeed academically, Pennsylvania should:
- Create an education funding formula that assures equity, minimizing the quality differences apparent among districts of varying wealth.
- Include funding for full-day kindergarten in the formula and promote small class sizes in the early grades, as part of a fully resourced commitment to early childhood education that helps students succeed from the start.
The Candidate Connection: Why high-quality basic education matters in Campaign 2004
High-quality public schools can help make states and localities economically competitive, and their positive impact on property values is “indisputable,” according to a 2004 study by KnowledgeWorks Foundation.
New findings show that full-day kindergartners learn more reading and math during the year than half-day students. Children from full-day kindergarten also get better report cards and are less likely to be retained a grade or need special education, score higher on reading and achievement tests, and have more time with teachers, receiving reinforcement for positive behavior.
Small classes in the early grades can promote academic achievement, encourage individualized attention, engender fewer discipline problems, and increase parental satisfaction.
Ask the candidates
Do you support a school funding formula that creates equity and adequacy, assuring every child an equal opportunity to succeed?
Do you support using formula funding to give local school districts the resources necessary to provide a full day of kindergarten?
Do you support the promotion of small class sizes and other strategies designed to improve student achievement?
Health care: Children with health coverage are less likely to use emergency room care and more likely to have a regular health care provider delivering appropriate preventive services.
The need
Health insurance provides access to appropriate health care services, but many families are unable to provide coverage for their children. Consider the facts:
- • Nationwide, eight uninsured children in 10 come from families where at least one parent works.
- • Statewide, one child in three is low-income. In rural Pennsylvania, one child in two is low-income.
- • Struggling families often put obtaining health coverage lower on the priority list than more immediate demands, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
- • Half of all parents who qualify assume their children aren’t eligible for health coverage.
Status report
Children’s health coverage is a Pennsylvania policy success story. One Pennsylvania child in three is enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, the state’s publicly financed health insurance programs. Still, the universe of children eligible changes every day, as divorce, job changes, and altered workplace policies drive children in and out of coverage and its promise of improved access to regular care. For other children, living in working families but above income guidelines, no program exists to provide health coverage.
Pennsylvania has continuously improved its enrollment processes. Parents can now apply online and get personalized help from state hotline staff and at community programs. Further efforts are being designed to continue eliminating barriers to enrollment.
Making policy progress
Pennsylvania should strive to enroll all children in coverage that meets their needs:
- Expand eligibility for CHIP and Medicaid to serve more children.
- Enhance benefits to meet the needs of all children. Children in Medicaid have comprehensive benefits, but CHIP enrollees lack some benefits that should be added, such as family-based mental health services and medically necessary orthodontia.
- Ease the burden of applying and renewing by expanding efforts to streamline the enrollment and renewal process and providing enrollment assistance.
The Candidate Connection: Why children’s health matters in Campaign 2004
Uninsured children are more likely to miss school, and even everyday activities like bike riding and rollerblading could be off limits to uninsured children whose parents fear a costly injury.
With health coverage, children are likelier to get the care they need. Uninsured children are:
- 70 percent less likely to be treated for common childhood illnesses such as ear infections and sore throats.
- Four times more likely to have an unmet medical need.
- More likely to use emergency room care.
Ask the candidates
Pennsylvania has made great strides in insuring children. But success should breed more success. Do you support improving children’s access to health care that meets their needs?
Should the state expand eligibility for children’s health coverage?
Family support: Family support programs provide voluntary guidance and support to parents as they address the everyday challenges of parenthood.
The need
Children are raised in families with parents who need help and guidance. Consider the facts:
- One child in seven is born to a mother with less than a high school education.
- One child in 11 is born to a mother under age 20.
- Statewide, one child in three is low-income. In rural Pennsylvania, one child in two is low-income.
- Nearly nine low-income children out of 10 have at least one working parent.
- One Pennsylvania child in four lives in a single-parent family. The median income of single mothers is $18,564 — below the federal poverty line.
Status report
Pennsylvania has made some strides in providing guidance and support to parents, particularly young, first-time parents, as they handle their childrearing responsibilities:
- The voluntary Nurse Family Partnership Program links first-time, at-risk mothers with trained nurse home visitors. The visitors offer a curriculum providing guidance in health behaviors, parenting skills, and children's development.
- The Parent-Child Home Program builds the literacy skills of at-risk 2- and 3-year-old children. The voluntary, home-based program targets parents whose risk factors include poverty and low literacy, helping them engage in verbal interaction and educational play with their children.
- Many Pennsylvania counties offer an array of services, including the Parent as Teacher home visiting program, through community-based family centers. Family centers help families become self sufficient and assure the healthy development of their children.
- Pennsylvania extends tax forgiveness to low- and moderate-income families through TAX BACK, which has grown through successive governor's administrations to include more families with children. All of these initiatives are excellent steps in the right direction, but funding is very limited. None are available to all who would benefit.
Making policy progress
Pennsylvania should enhance its investments in supports that encourage effective parenting and promote child well-being:
- Expand the Nurse Family Partnership Program to serve all at-risk, first time mothers.
- Expand the Parent-Child Home Program to include funding for the full target population.
- Revisit the family center initiative as a way to provide a network of support for families in each Pennsylvania community.
- Expand TAX BACK eligibility and outreach, giving more families income to provide the necessities of life for their children.
The Candidate Connection: Why family support matters in Campaign 2004
Family support can help parents fulfill their responsibilities and find answers to their questions about what's best for children:
- Nurse home visiting improves the prenatal health behaviors of at-risk mothers, prevents child abuse, helps mothers defer subsequent pregnancies, and promotes family self-sufficiency.
- The Parent-Child Home Program significantly increases parents' verbal interaction with children. The children score above national norms in reading and math tests through seventh grade.
- Tax benefits can help families significantly. The federal Earned Income Tax Credit, available to families with incomes up to about $35,000, has lifted 5 million American children out of poverty. In Pennsylvania, a family of four earning up to $31,000 a year can receive $868 in TAX BACK, and last year, 25 percent of Pennsylvania tax filers benefited.
Ask the candidates
- What steps would you take to assure that effective family support programs are made voluntarily available to all families who would benefit?
- Should the state expand eligibility for TAX BACK and conduct more outreach to inform parents about available tax benefits?
Youth in transition: Essential community supports can offer youth the opportunities to pursue learning, build job skills, and successfully transition into adulthood.
The need
The state's pool of potentially productive citizens is dwindling. Consider the facts:
- One ninth grader in five will not graduate with his or her senior class.
- Among 16- to 19-year-olds, one in 14 is not in school and not working.
- One Pennsylvania young adult in seven, ages 18 to 24, is a "disconnected youth" — jobless, out of school, and with nothing more than a high school degree.
- Among the nation's incarcerated youth, one in 26 is a Pennsylvanian.
Status report
While Pennsylvania has undertaken some efforts to build the skills of its youth, a statewide strategy is lacking:
- Project 720, the Department of Education's new high school reform initiative, is testing research-based approaches to increase academic rigor and encourage pursuit of higher education. The department is also advancing policy strategies to strengthen after-school programs. These efforts supplement PDE’s help for pregnant and parenting teens, education mentoring, and GEDs for those who failed to earn a high school diploma.
- Youth development programs, operating through Workforce Investment Boards, provide academic support and other options for 5- to 18-year-olds. State investment in youth development is only $15 million.
- Federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Centers provide out-of-school academic enhancement in schools and other community settings. However, programs are available at only 58 sites in 20 counties.
Making policy progress
Disconnected youth can still achieve, but they can't do it alone. Given a chance and the help of caring adults, many can build skills and succeed. Pennsylvania should examine the issue, its ramifications, and strategic solutions to create community supports that youth can access as paths to success.
MDRC, a nonpartisan social policy research organization, cites the need for a plan incorporating five elements to improve outcomes for at-risk youths:
- Concentrate resources geographically, with demonstrations in mid-sized cities, lowincome neighborhoods in large cities, and impoverished rural communities.
- Work with local officials to develop clear, compelling goals.
- Invest in changing youth policy and service delivery systems.
- Expand proven programs that pledge to engage hard-to-reach youth.
- Develop and test three demonstration ideas that have shown promise in existing programs — prevention strategies promoting positive youth development, alternative schools to help out-of-school youth earn academic skills and secure employment, and postsecondary strategies to increase career mobility among young workers.
The Candidate Connection: Why youth in transition matters in Campaign 2004
Virtually all youth not connected by 25 began disconnection much earlier, usually before age 19, according to research from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. In these years, four key events can precipitate long-term disconnection:
- Dropping out of school: Even in the economic boom year of 2000, only half of all dropouts were employed at any given time. Eighty-six percent of young men in prison failed to finish high school.
- Unmarried, teenage motherhood: One teen mother in three is a dropout. Even those who finish school have limited earnings.
- Entering the juvenile or criminal justice system: Incarcerated youth become cut off from regular schooling or work and are at very high risk for disconnection.
- Leaving foster care: Two to four years after leaving foster care, only half of former foster care youth were employed. Half of young women had given birth and were welfare dependent.
Strategies for youth in transition include high school reforms to engage students in school and prepare them for postsecondary education and employment. Initial research is revealing that programs offering alternative paths to success can:
- Improve the performance of students in ninth grade - a critical year in dropout prevention — and keep them on track for graduation by implementing small learning communities, advanced curricula, extra academic help, staff professional development, and parent and community involvement.
- Improve the labor market prospects of young men, especially those at high or medium risk, by offering career exploration opportunities. Structured, supervised after-school programs can have youth development benefits, including improved school performance, college readiness, and less risk-taking behavior.
Ask the candidates
Pennsylvania has not developed comprehensive strategies to offer supports for youth in transition. What steps will you take to assure that the state develops a comprehensive plan to help all youth successfully transition to adulthood?
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This Page Last Modified
October 14, 2004
