The U.S. Senate last week launched a series of hearings into child well-being in America. Experts testified that the recession has caused child poverty to increase significantly over the past two years. By 2012, child poverty will rise to a rate of 25 percent; for single-parent families, that number is likely to reach 45 percent. Subcommittee Chairman Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced his plans “to introduce legislation to create a national commission on children, in order to regularly and closely examine the needs of American families and identify solutions.”

Learn more http://www.voices.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/state-american-child-testimony.pdf

The early years in a child's life are the foundation for later social and cognitive development. Done well, early childhood education can help level the playing field, especially for low-income children, by boosting school performance and self-sufficiency over a lifetime.

Our goal is to create an early learning system in Utah that supports families by making sure they have high-quality options for their children's early care and learning—whether their children spend their days at home, in formal childcare, or with family and friends.

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Each child brings the promise of a healthier, stronger future for Utah. To make good on that promise, Utah needs to make sure children can grow up healthy, from the prenatal period all the way through their teenage years.

Kids need to be able to see a doctor, have good nutrition, opportuni ties to run and play, and get the health care that prevents problems later in life. Communities, families, schools, and child care settings all can help ensure a healthy start.

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A Children's Health Policy Blog

The goal of Voices for Utah Children's State Fiscal Analysis Project is to examine Utah's tax and budget policies and analyze their impact on working families.

We identify focused fiscal strategies – for both revenues and spending – to help strengthen struggling families. This project translates the complex world of state fiscal policy into credible and timely information that is used by policymakers, community activists and the media.

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Children's health and well-being have been closely linked to the economic well-being of their families. Voices for Children works to support children and families by promoting policies that increase access to family support resources.

When families are economically stable and secure, children are more likely to succeed.

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While most children of immigrants are native-born U.S. citizens, many of these children live in families where one or more of their parents are noncitizens. As a result, children of immigrants, both citizen and undocumented children alike, often face challenges in accessing health care, educational opportunities, and other social services affecting child well-being as a result of their parents' status.

Any discussion of Utah's future would be incomplete without understanding the impact of children of immigrants.

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Voices for Utah Children is committed to the long-term goal of reducing the number of children entering foster care, and also to ensuring that our current system of care protects children and adequately meets the needs of families in the child welfare system.

We are working to ensure that promising prevention efforts are adequately funded and broadly replicated.

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