Voices for Utah Children issued the following press release on August 10:

Salt Lake City, UT – Today, by a vote of 247 to 161, the House passed legislation (HR 1586) that will bring important relief to the millions of children and families impacted as a result of the recession. Utah is projected to receive $57 million for Medicaid and $101 million for education. The funding comes at a time when state budgets, including Utah’s, are severely pressed and families are in crisis.

Karen Crompton, executive director of Voices for Utah Children, praised Congressman Matheson for his vote and stated: “Today’s vote will help ensure the availability of vital health, education, and child welfare services for poor and vulnerable children.”

Crompton noted that today’s victory was bittersweet since one of the offsets to pay for the legislation is a reduction to SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) and called on Congress and the Administration to pledge to restore the funding cuts made to the SNAP program. “We recognize the importance of getting additional aid to states but are disappointed in the offset that is being used to fund HR 1586.” She added, “We have been working hard to ensure the extension of the FMAP rate while also making sure that more children and families are able to access nutritious meals through the SNAP program. It is unfortunate that Congress was unable to find another politically viable offset and has essentially put us all in the position of supporting health care coverage for low-income children and families at the expense of putting food on their tables.”

Click on link below to view press release in pdf format.

Press Release: House Approves Extension of ARRA Provisions  (8-10-10)

This year’s event also celebrates our 25th anniversary. The Junior League of Salt Lake City will be honored as the 2010 Children’s Champion for their important role in our history by providing the start-up funds for Utah Children. This was quite remarkable, both in the amount of funding provided and the recognition of the importance of advocacy as a strategy to improve the lives of children.

The theme for the event is “Putting Children First.” Delivering the keynote will be the gubernatorial candidates – Governor Gary Herbert and Mayor Peter Corroon.

For more information or to download the invitation click here. Seating is limited – RSVP by September 10.

KIDS COUNT 2010 Data Book Released (7-27-10)

Utah ranked first nationally in the percentage of children in single-parent families in 2008, just as it has every year since 2000. Moreover, the share of children in the state living in these arrangements dropped during this period, from 21 percent to 18 percent. The state also tied for first in the share of children living in families where no parent had full-time, year-round employment. In 2008, just 19 percent of Utah children lacked secure parental employment, well below the U.S. rate of 27 percent. KIDS COUNT Data Center. To access information for Utah go to KIDS COUNT Data Center - Utah.

The 21st annual report is complemented by the expanded KIDS COUNT Data Center, which contains hundreds of measures of child well-being and allows users to create maps and graphs of the data at the national, state, county, and city level.

Click on links below to view articles in PDF format.

Utah No. 4 in national child well-being report (Deseret News, 7-27-10)

Utah stumbles in fighting kids' poverty (Salt Lake Tribune, 7-28-10)

Most of the names on a controversial list of alleged undocumented immigrants are of people legally receiving benefits or the parents of American-born children receiving benefits, officials said Wednesday. 

Click on link below to view article in pdf format.

Controversial list centered on kid citizens, state says  (Salt Lake Tribune, 7-22-10)

Thanks to an early provision in the federal health reform law that goes into effect this fall, Utah families with sick kids will soon be able to purchase previously unattainable private health coverage. Under the new rules, insurers can no longer deny children coverage or sell policies that exclude benefits for their pre-existing health conditions.

Click on link to view op-ed in pdf format.

Help is on the way for families with sick (or recovering) kids (Salt Lake Tribune, 7-9-10)

Today, Voices for Utah Children, called on Congress to take immediate action when they return after the 4^th of July recess in order to provide relief to the millions of children and families impacted as a result of the recession by extending provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Click on link to view Press Release in pdf format.

Voices for Utah Children Urges Immediate Action on Kid Fix Legislation (7-8-10)

This month the Census Bureau released its population estimates for 2009, including the population below age 18. Exactly half of the states (plus Washington, D.C.) have fewer children now than they had in 2000. Nationally, the number of children grew by 2.2 million over the period, but most of this growth has been concentrated in a relatively few states. There are 10 states where the number of children increased by at least 100,000 since 2000, and Utah is among them.

Click on link to view article in pdf format.

Don't underfund our children's future (Deseret News 6-25-10)

Gastronomy Inc.'s Market Street Grill festival food booth is helping raise funds for Voices for Utah Children, a nonprofit organization that works to make Utah a place where all children can thrive. 

Click on links to view article in pdf format. 

Restaurant turns eating at arts festival into a charitable act (Deseret News 6-24-10)

Art and food for kid's sake (ABC4.com 6-25-10)

A very special thanks to Gastronomy for their generosity and throughtfulness!!

Children who start behind, stay behind. Studies show that one of the most important predictors of third-grade test performance is school readiness at kindergarten entry. Indeed, research shows the achievement gap starts early, before children enter school. By the time they enter kindergarten, children from low income families are typically 12-14 months below national norms in language and pre-reading skills. 

School Readiness:  An Investment We Can't Pass Up (Salt Lake Tribune 6/20/10)