Children in Poverty (2002)

In the United States, a child is neglected or abused every 11 seconds; a child is born into poverty every 44 seconds; a child is born without health insurance every minute; and a child or youth is killed by guns every 2 hours, 40 minutes. $34 Billion would lift every child out of poverty. As the wealthiest nation in the world, this challenge is not a money issue, but a priorities issue.

We need to introduce the concept of morality when developing new priorities as the gap between rich and poor continues to widen.

Women’s League for Conservative Judaism strongly urges Sisterhoods to educate their members and communities about children in poverty and to:

1. Support the Movement of the Children’s Defense Fund to Leave No Child Behind.
2. Encourage the President and Congress to support full funding of Head Start, Adoptions and Safe Families Act (ASFA), quality child care and preschool programs and the school lunch program.
3. Advocate for health insurance for every child
4. Encourage programs that aim to have every child read by fourth grade (i.e. Read Write Now of the US Department of Education).
5. Establish safe, quality after-school and summer programs so children can learn, work and stay out of trouble.