CHILDREN IN CRISIS

America's children need help. They are coming to school hungry and sick, and that means they are not prepared to learn.

Rising rates of poverty and single-parent households, increasing social isolation and poor health and nutrition affect a significant number of young people. These factors place as many as 50 percent of all children at risk of school failure, according to the National Commission on Children.

The percentage of children living in poverty has risen from 17 percent in 1975 to nearly 21 percent today.

Poor children are in double jeopardy when it comes to their health. They are more likely to suffer the effects of inadequate prenatal care, inadequate nutrition and unhealthy living conditions¾and they are less likely to have access to medical care.

Nearly 30 percent of ninth graders fail to graduate with their class four years later, the commission said in its 1992 report, "Final Report: Beyond Rhetoric."

It is wrong to abandon these children, leaving them without the skills to succeed. Not only is it unfair to the children, it jeopardizes the future of our country.

We face a looming shortage of workers due to lower birthrates following the baby boom and greater longevity among the elderly. A declining proportion of workers will need to support a growing number of retirees well into the 21st century.

In addition, international competition compounds the demand for productive workers. The growing economic strength of other countries, which is replacing the United States in one economic sector after another, is based on well-educated workforces.

The Commission on Workforce Quality and Labor Market Efficiency has noted that the United States is falling behind other countries in the preparedness of children to enter the workforce. The commission reported that recent studies of 13-year-old students in our country, Korea, Spain, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Canada show U.S. students rank last in average mathematics proficiency and nearly last in average science proficiency.

These other countries do not constrain their chances of economic success by neglecting children. We need to help the 40 percent of our children who are at risk of education failure for their well-being, but also to protect our country's well-being.

In the past 10 years, the federal government has slashed programs for children, especially poor children, while also cutting aid to states and localities. Left in the wake is a generation mired in poverty and deprived of adequate health, education and social services.

This is a national crisis¾a crisis caused by neglect and indifference¾with dire implications for America's future. We are depriving many children of the resources they need to thrive. This course of action is wrong, shortsighted and unwise. We have to help today's children at risk become tomorrow's productive citizens.

At the 1990 AFT convention, the Task Force on Children in Crisis was created to investigate this crisis and devise solutions.

The task force created a legislative package to address the needs of children in crisis.

RESOLVED, the AFT will work to implement the legislative goals of the Task Force on Children in Crisis, including obtaining:

• $l billion increase in Chapter 1 Compensatory Funding, in order to serve an additional 1 million disadvantaged students.

• $1 billion increase in other Chapter I programs that would be earmarked for full-day early childhood education for four-year-olds.

• $800 million increase for the Education for All Handicapped Children Act to improve the education of children with disabilities.

• The ability to use funds including but not limited to Medicaid to pay for elementary school guidance counselors and clinicians to both help children with temporary problems and to prevent inappropriate placement of children in special education programs.

• $1.75 billion increase in Head Start, to increase enrollment in preschool programs by at least 50 percent and expand the number of eligible children.

• $2.5 billion increase for health clinics at or near schools to provide primary and preventive care for 15 million children.

• $500 million (first-year cost) for a five-year public works program to rebuild school buildings that are too small or dilapidated.

• $100 million for other special-needs programs, such as Education of Homeless Children and Youth and Emergency Immigration Education, including bilingual education and English as a Second Language.

• $2.5 billion increase for child care, prenatal care and preventive health care programs. $100 million increase to expand training programs for elementary and secondary school math and science teachers.