Posted on 02/09/2007 11:14:39 AM PST by Lorianne
Living in a “red” state appears to be more hazardous to the health of millions of American children, according to startling data contained in a major new book, “Homeland Insecurity… American Children at Risk” available free to parents, policymakers and other concerned Americans. The factors weighed in the “Homeland Insecurity” ranking includes such diverse indicators as inadequate pre-natal care, lack of health care insurance coverage, early death, child abuse, hunger and teen incarceration.
Based on a diverse range of 11 child-related statistical measures, nine of the 10 top states with the best outcomes for children today are “blue” states (Wisconsin, Iowa, New Jersey, Washington, Minnesota, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and #1-ranked New Hampshire, with Iowa being the sole “red” state in the group) and all 10 of the bottom states with the worst outcomes for children are “red” states (Wyoming, Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and, in last place, Mississippi).
The political dividing lines used in the book are “red” states (those that voted Republican in the 2004 presidential election) versus “blue” states (those that voted Democratic). “Homeland Insecurity … American Children at Risk” outlines a $500 billion “Invest in Kids” agenda to reverse the harmful impact of conservative ideology on children caused by the failure to invest in documented children’s needs and by federal and state cuts in taxes and children’s programs beginning in the early 1980s and accelerating since 2001.
Michael R. Petit, author of “Homeland Insecurity… American Children at Risk,” and founder of Every Child Matters, said: “The bottom line here is that where a child lives can be a major factor in that youth’s ability to survive and thrive in America. The reason why this is the case is no mystery: ‘Blue’ states tend to tax themselves at significantly higher levels, which makes it possible to reach more children and families with beneficial health, social and education programs. ‘Red’ states overwhelmingly are home to decades-long adherence to anti-government and anti-tax ideology that often runs directly contrary to the needs of healthy children and stable families.”
Joel J. Alpert, MD, professor and chairman emeritus, Boston University School of Medicine, and past president, American Academy of Pediatrics, said: “It is unconscionable for policymakers and parents to allow two very different Americas to exist today for our children. Currently, millions of American children are without health insurance, millions are reported abused and neglected, millions are left unsupervised everyday after school, and millions have parents in a prison system that is crushing families. Many programs such as the State Child Heath Insurance Program and Head Start serve only a fraction of eligible children. We can and must erase the differences that exist today for children in ‘red’ and ‘blue’ states.
How serious is it for many children today in “red” states? The “red”/”blue” state dividing line is clear on issue after issue cited in “Homeland Insecurity”:
A child in the bottom 10 states is twice as likely to die by the age of 14 as are children in the top 10. All 10 of the bottom states of this measure are “red” states. All of the top 10 states are “blue” states. Children in the bottom 10 states are 1.8 times as likely to be uninsured as children in the top 10. Nine of the 10 states in the bottom of this measure are “red” states. Eight of the top 10 states are “blue” states. Children in the bottom 10 states are seven times more likely to die from abuse and neglect as are children in the top states. Nine of the 10 bottom states of this measure are “red” states. Eight of the top 10 states are “blue” states. A child in a bottom-10 state is more than twice as likely to be living in poverty as a child in a top-10 states. All of the 10 states in the bottom are “red” states. Six of the top 10 states are “blue” states. Women in the bottom 10 states are more than twice as likely to receive inadequate prenatal care as women in the top 10 states. Eight of 10 states in the bottom of this measure are “red” states. Seven of the top 10 states are “blue” states. Juveniles in the bottom 10 states are almost two and a half times as likely to be incarcerated as juveniles in the top 10. Eight of the 10 bottom states of this measure are “red” states. Seven of the top 10 are “blue” states. Children in the bottom 10 states are 74 percent more likely to die before their first birthday as are children in the top 10. Eight of the 10 states in the bottom of this measure are “red” states. Seven of the top 10 states are “blue” states. In order to illustrate the huge gap between “red” and “blue” states, the new book points to the serious circumstances facing more than a million children today in one of the crucibles of “compassionate conservatism”: Texas. The Lone Star state has the highest percentage of uninsured children in the nation (24.6 percent v. 15.7 percent nationally), the fourth worst rate of immunizing two year-olds (75 percent v. 84 percent nationwide) and a teen birth rate that is 50 percent higher than the national average. There are more uninsured children in Texas (1.24 million) than there are in 26 other states combined, including such large-population states as Oregon, Minnesota, Louisiana, Colorado and Wisconsin. Texas also ranks #1 in both child abuse deaths and the percentage of households experiencing “food insecurity” (16.4 percent versus 11.4 percent nationwide).
Sarah M. Greene, president and CEO, National Head Start Association, said: “I am pleased to see that the author correctly recognizes the danger posed to American children and, in fact, our nation in general by dwindling support for head start programs that target America’s most at-risk children in order to get them ready to learn in school. We wholeheartedly endorse the portion of the ‘Homeland insecurity’ that calls for full-scale national/state-level support for early childhood education … including full funding of Head Start.”
Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH, executive director, National Association of Social Workers, Washington, D.C., said: “The statistics that Mike Petit cites in ‘Homeland Insecurity’ are borne out in our work every day as social workers. Social workers are the women and men who are charged with working with children and their families in direct care and through national and state legislative advocacy. Social workers make an investment in our nation’s children. We call on the government to make that same investment. Social workers are partners with educators and medical personnel to make positive changes in children’s lives and we implore lawmakers to make their well-being the centerpiece of the 2008 elections and beyond.”
“Homeland Insecurity” outlines a 10-year, $500 billion “Invest in Kids” agenda to improve the life chances of all U.S. children, regardless of where they live. This important new book is available on the Web at http://www.everychildmatters.org. Among the investments proposed:
Child Health. Create a universal children's health insurance program similar to Medicare for the elderly - Over 8,000,000 children do not have health insurance and millions more are at risk of losing their coverage. Combining and expanding Medicaid, S-CHIP, and employment-based insurance is achievable. The Every Child Matters Education Fund opposes any attempt by the Administration and Congress to cut or block grant the Medicaid entitlement. Child Abuse. Intensify federal efforts to reduce child abuse and neglect - Nearly three million reports of child abuse and neglect are made annually. Proven programs exist to prevent and treat child abuse, a widespread problem that contributes to many other social ills. The Every Child Matters Education Fund opposes any attempt by the Administration and Congress to block-grant the Title IV-E foster care program. After-School Programs. Promote after-school programs that provide learning activities and connect kids with caring adults - After-school programs have been shown to help prevent crime, drug use, and teen pregnancy. Millions of unsupervised children and teens would benefit. The 21 Century Community Learning Centers program has not seen an increase in federal funding in three years, resulting in fewer and fewer children being served. The Every Child Matters Education Fund supports a substantial increase in funding for after-school programs. Pre-School Education. Ensure that every child, regardless of income or background, has access to high quality pre-school education - Millions of eligible three and four year-olds are not enrolled in quality pre-kindergarten programs that can help prepare them for school. The Every Child Matters Education Fund opposes any effort by the Administration in Congress to block grant or cut funding for Head Start and supports universal access to pre-school education for 3 and 4 year olds. Working Families and Taxes. Extend the child tax credit to the working poor - Currently, families that make between $10,500 and $26,500 per year, even though they pay federal payroll taxes, do not receive the $1,000 per child credit that families with higher incomes receive. Extending tax cuts to these families will help lift them from poverty and simply show fairness as trillion of dollars in tax cuts have gone to more fortunate individuals.
My understanding is that the only part of the country that hasn't seen meth (yet) is the Northeast and that likely to be because we see most trends last because were farthest away from California.
WHAT is "weapons research"?
But this guy doesn't have an agenda. Surely not.
In other words, the author is calling upon the powers that be to force servitude upon those reckless red-staters who are neglecting and abusing their children.
This book is dangerous in that it represents an early and beginning effort to demonizing a fellow countrymen based upon ideology. The book also appears to recommend punitive action on those who do not share the "blue state" philosophy.
This book is the new "Animal Farm" book.
They have all these egghead "nukular" physicists working on new and creative ordnance. They do some pretty far-out stuff at those places.
Polypragmonocracy on the march.
I'm sure they picked Texas as the poster child for evil because the large number of illegals massively distorts the stats.
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Yes, and all of the Southwest states, especially California, has the same disasterous demographics.
The real difference here is that the top states are extremely white, and the bottom ones are very "minority".
There is a huge difference in black vs white infant mortality for instance, and this cuts across regional lines. This is a cultural problem as well, and not directly related to poverty, as Hispanic populations in the US do very well on infant mortality (matching whites) in spite of being just as poor as blacks.
Any state with a high black population will look bad in a study like this.
Yeah, all the states that are on the frontlines of the illegal immigration hordes.
And that's the whole reason why these stats are pretty pointless. The spread of meth is basically something that's sweeping from one side of the country to another. There's a lot more factors to why states are ranked a particular way for a certain category than party affiliation.
LOL...Must outlaw carbon-based life forms if we're to save the planet.
39% of the eventual adult population who have the equivalent of a sixth grade education (if that) is not good news, long-term, for this so-called "Blue" state!
No wonder Hillary wants to control everybody. At this rate, she can and she will.
How true that is!
And I would say that overwhelmingly children that fall into those categories are living in large urban areas almost exclusively under BLUE control!
All that may be true, but Red-State children are less likely to be shot-up in school, or killed by drug gangs, or hooked on heroin, or OBESE, or blown up by terrorists ...
...or killed before leaving the womb
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1774147/posts
Another article about this book was posted a couple weeks ago. I am not being a dupe thread Nazi but I did want to point out a discrepancy in the articles. The link above has my home state, Nebraska, listed as a blue state that was in the "top 10" in the article. I disputed that in a post because Nebraska is about as far from a blue state as you can get. Nebraska has not voted for a Dem for president since FDR. It looks like this article may have a more accurate top 10 listing.
non-sequitor alert
I just downloaded it,
It's all one big LIE
They state that 24.6% of Texas children are ininsured.
What about C.H.I.P.S.?
Providing you don't get caught in the crossfire.
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