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November 4, 2007Increase Child Care, Higher Education Assistance and Service Sector Pay to Combat Poverty |
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From Ascribe Newsfeed: The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) says that about 23 million American kids are growing up in low-income working families - families that struggle to make ends meet, parents who worry daily about how to pay the bills, put food on the table and afford needed medical care, let alone get ahead. On average, says NCCP, families need an income equal to about two times the federal poverty level ($20,650 for a family of four) to meet their most basic needs. "If these children do not succeed the growth and prosperity of our country is threatened." About 17 percent of children in America live in families with incomes below the poverty level; 25 percent of the U.S. labor force works in jobs that pay poverty-level wages, according to NCCP. Another suggestion: help low-income working parents with child care costs. "To maintain employment, working parents and especially those enrolled in higher education need affordable, stable child care arrangements for their children and yet, over the past six years, 25 states have reduced child care subsidies." The National Center for Children in Poverty is the nation's leading public policy center dedicated to promoting the economic security, health, and well-being of America's low-income families and children. AScribe Newswire distributes news from nonprofit and public sector organizations.
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