Speech given on 12/16/2004 at Ramsey County Citizen's Advisory Council Legislative Breakfast:
Good morning- I am Kay Wittgenstein-Chairperson of the Low Income Committee. Thank you for joining us this morning and thank you for your diligent work on behalf of our children. The low income committee has interest in many issues including Health Care, housing, shelters, resettlement of Refugees, family stabilization, school attendance and so forth. Today our committee decided to concentrate on the changes to child care eligibility and financial cuts to out of school time/ after school activities. What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must be what the community wants for all it's children. This is a quote from John Dewey and the spirit for the coordination of the collaboration of Leap Forward for children initiative in Frogtown in St. Paul; one of several academic and enrichment programs serving youth in Ramsey County. Many studies show the significance and benefits of after school/out of school programs. They include increase in academic scores, decrease in risky and criminal behavior of youth, decrease in number of youth who are victims of crime, more youth involved in healthy activities instead of being left unattended, better school attendance For instance the outcomes from The Pathways to Progress 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, through St. Paul Community Education, included 18 more days of school attended by afterschool participants compared to non-participants. We have included materials in your packets with more information on the vital importance of these programs. The State cuts these programs received of course will cut down on the number of services available to children. But the loss is even more. Collaborations are losing funding from more sources than State government which compounds the problem. Agencies have worked hard to develop collaborations. Some of the collaborative partners no longer exist which weakens the structure of the collaboration. There is no safety net of other members financially picking up the pieces as they too have lost funding and need to curtail their services. Cuts to the Community Ed. Levy from $5.95 to $5.23 per capita decreases significantly money available to serve our youth. Scholarships for youth have been lost for some enrichment programs which changes the composition of what youth the programs are serving. We are asking you to support a return to previous funding levels for these very important programs. Affordable quality child care is a vital ingredient to successful employment It is also a vital ingredient to a successful family life and appropriate child development. Affordable quality child care provides peace of mind to the parent or parents as well as safety and enrichment to the child. With the changes in the child care subsidies, parents are scrambling to find alternatives to licensed care options. We wonder what kind of care kids are getting as parents are increasingly unable to afford licensed child care. Because parents can't afford licensed care for their children, licensed centers and family child care providers with training in health and safety and child development issues are forced to go out of business, leaving even fewer options for parents who have the ability to pay. Under current guidelines, a single parent of one who earns $11.00 an hour would not be eligible for assistance. It can cost $500-$700/month for child care for one child. At a rate of $600.00 a month, child care costs would be $7200 a year on an income of $22,880 before taxes. As a society and a community we need to assure that our youngest children are cared for in safe quality settings so their parents can maintain their jobs, work toward self-sufficiency , feel involved in society and provide a good role model to their children. As important, for a vibrant healthy society to survive we need healthy families We strongly encourage you to return the eligibility guidelines for child care assistance to 250% of state median income-the standard that was in place before the 2003 changes. All of society benefits when all of our children have access to high quality care in their early years. Why wouldn't we want the best for our children? Why wouldn't Minnesota want to be a leader in the country when it comes to the safety, education and enrichment of it's children? While I was holding the 3 year old son of a client on my lap he said to me " Kids die because adults don't like em." Lets show our kids we like them and that they are safe in Minnesota. ****************************************************************************** Ren�e Jenson Como _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [email protected] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
