It’s An Uphill Battle as the Status of PA Kids Slides, Again…
Children in Pennsylvania took another step backwards last year. For the second year in a row, their standing in terms of well-being dropped to 18th in the nation.
Tops this year? Minnesota. New Jersey was 2nd in the education category, New York went up one spot to 7th, thanks mostly to health improvements for youth. In 2014, PA was 16th and 17th last year, a position now occupied by Maine.
All this news about kids comes from the Annie E. Casey Foundation newly released 2016 Kids Count Data Book which examines state health, education, poverty, and family and community connections and assigns a rank for each state as an indicator of the well-being of its children.
Like New York, Pennsylvania boasted modest health improvements but not enough to balance out the drop from 7th to 10th in education (fewer kids in pre-k). We also slide from 19th to 22nd in economic well-being (children living in poverty since 2008 is up from 17 percent to 19 percent; more teens out of school and unemployed).
The bottom line: Children in Pennsylvania are worse off today than they were in the deepest depths of the recession.
Besides a state credit rating in shambles, school districts in crisis, local taxes on the rise to compensate for state budget bungling, there are startling long-term consequences for the years of political dysfunction in Harrisburg. Call it annual compounded disinterest; our legislators just aren’t doing enough for our children and the long run impact of their declining well being will be staggering.
HERE’S WHERE YOU COME IN
Against this depressing reversal of fortune for our children, the latest budget news from Harrisburg suggests that our ranking and kids will drop further behind next year.
The failure to find consensus on the needed state revenues to support even the most basic needs of our children is at the root of the Governor’s announcement that he’s willing to accept a budget with significantly less funds for public schools than he proposed.
The Governor’s silence on his pre-k proposals prompted the statewide pre-K campaign to issue a statement headlined, “Governor Wolf’s commitment to pre-K down the chute.”
Our lawmakers in Harrisburg seem singularly focused on passing a nearly on-time state budget. Unfortunately in doing so they are pulling away the ladders that help children and families climb out of poverty.
Take Action Now: You can help us change that by clicking here and sending a letter to your lawmakers in Harrisburg.
If our kids are our top priority, why are they worse off than last year? Tell your state legislators that they need to prioritize Pre-K in the budget. READ MORE
Did you know child dental problems costs us 51 MILLION hours of missed school? Read the article here and learn more about what PCCY is doing to help. READ MORE
“There are days where it’s so bad we have to put multiple classes in the gym and send somebody down to cover it, because there are not enough bodies” said Downingtown Middle School principal Nick Indeglio, on the extent of PA’s substitute teacher shortage. READ MORE
“The way forward is to stay focused on the payment rate and quality,” – Sharon Easterling, on how abysmally low salaries for preschool teachers means less saving later in education, child protection, welfare and the criminal justice system. READ MORE