Child advocates praise investments for children in president’s budget

New investments in early education vital for American children, workforce, advocates say

WASHINGTON – Voices for America’s Children, the nation’s largest multi-issue child advocacy network, today praised new investments in early education in President Obama’s FY2012 budget.

Voices applauded the $350 million for the Early Learning Challenge Fund, $866 million increase for Head Start and Early Head Start and $1.3 billion increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Voices cheered the restoration of the benefit cuts made to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as food stamps) by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, as well as $35 million to address food access in places that where accessing healthy foods and vegetables is a hardship.

“The future of our communities is directly connected to the opportunities that we provide to our children,” said Bill Bentley, president and CEO of Voices for America’s Children. “The investments President Obama’s budget makes in them are investments in our future workers, caretakers and innovators.”

The $3.7 trillion budget proposes a 5-year freeze on non-security domestic spending, which is where most services for children and families are funded. Voices objected to cuts in the Pell Grant program and Community Service Block Grants, but the group was pleased that the president’s budget does not make the deep, harsh cuts in FY2011 spending proposed in the continuing resolution soon to be taken up by the House.

Child advocates cited several provisions of the continuing resolution that were harmful for children and families, including a $39 million cut from child care could mean 150,000 families losing child care assistance. A proposed $1 billion cut in Head Start would be the biggest cut in the program’s history and would mean that 218,000 children could lose Head Start services and 50,000 Head Start staff would lose their jobs.

“These cuts will hurt children and their families now,” said Bentley. “Making deep, short-sighted cuts to spending for services for children now will short circuit our children’s progress in the future.”

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As the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations, Voices for America’s Children (Voices) has been on the forefront of every major child policy victory for the past quarter-century. With 60 members nationwide, Voices speaks up for kids, and mobilizes and advocates for public policies to improve the lives of all children, especially those most vulnerable, throughout the United States. Visit us at www.voices.org.

Voices is a founding member of the Children’s Leadership Council, a coalition of more than 50 leading national policy and advocacy organizations. www.childrensleadershipcouncil.com.