By MATT HOPF
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
The recession and the dire financial situation of the state of Illinois continues to take a toll on children, who are caught in a "budget crossfire" at both the state and federal levels, according to an Illinois children's advocacy group .
Voices for Illinois Children released its annual Illinois Kids Count report at various locations around the state Thursday morning, including Chaddock School in Quincy.
Debbie Reed, president and CEO of Chaddock, said the information provides clarity to where community leaders and organizations need to work together and focus energies for the long-term success of kids.
"I think here in Adams County we suffer from the same challenges that kids all over the state do," she said.
The Illinois Kids Count 2012 report, "Investing in Opportunities for Children Now," assesses gains and setbacks in various spheres of opportunity for children, including education, health and development, and economic security. Major findings in the report include:
º Early childhood education: Over the past decade, the state substantially increased its investments in pre-K programs to enhance school-readiness skills for young children. Between Fiscal Year 2009 and FY 2011, however, the combination of budget cuts and delayed payments to service providers resulted in 11,400 fewer children participating in these programs. Additional budget cuts were enacted in FY 2012, which could mean the elimination of pre-K services for another 6,700 children.
º Opportunities for at-risk youth: In 2011, high school graduation rates in Illinois were 89 percent for whites, 77 percent for Latinos, and 74 percent for African-Americans. Sustained participation in high-quality after-school programs can contribute to improved academic performance and job-readiness, as well as better social-emotional and health outcomes for youth. Yet, state funding for Teen REACH after-school programs, which offer prevention-focused services for at-risk youth, has been cut by more than half since FY 2008.
º Mental health services: A 2009 survey indicated that 15 percent of Illinois high school students had seriously considered suicide in the previous 12 months, and 9 percent had attempted suicide one or more times. Since FY 2009, however, state funding for school-based and community-based mental health services for children and adolescents has been cut by 20 percent.
º Child care services: Most families in the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program are single-mother households, who have very high poverty rates. Last year, the income eligibility limit for the program, which enables low-income parents to maintain employment, was reduced from 200 percent to 185 percent of poverty level. This new restriction could result in the loss of services for more than 9,000 children, potentially putting their parents' jobs in jeopardy.
º Child poverty: During the recession, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have been effective in the alleviation of rising child poverty. In 2010, an estimated 120,000 Illinois children were moved above poverty level by the EITC and 63,000 by SNAP. Yet, there are efforts in Congress to replace SNAP with a block grant to the states, with funding cut by almost 20 percent.
º Access to health care: Illinois has substantially expanded health insurance coverage for children through Medicaid and related programs. In 2010, less than 5 percent of children lacked health insurance coverage -- one of the lowest uninsured rates in the nation. Some members of Congress have proposed capping federal Medicaid funding and converting it into a block grant, which would ultimately undermine the program's critical role in providing comprehensive health care services for low-income children.
Kathy Ryg, president of Voices for Illinois Children, said most political candidates are talking about the economy and budget deficits but none are addressing the potential impact of those measures on children.
"It's clear that we must make the issue of public investments in children a high priority on the candidates' agendas," she said in a release. "Even as the state faces budget shortfalls, we shouldn't create deficits in children's life-chances."
Reed said one of the biggest concerns for Chaddock is the 25 percent increase in child abuse and neglect in the last four years, to 18.5 cases per 1,000 children. The state has seen an increase of 9 percent during the same time frame.
"Our foster care program is the largest it has ever been, and those are all children that have been removed from their homes because of abuse and neglect," Reed said. "So I think we need to certainly make sure those kids are getting the support, but also what can we do for the parents in our community to provide support for them so that our kids aren't being abused and neglected."
John Hirner, executive director of Cornerstone Foundation for Families, said the agency expects to lose funding for its biggest youth counseling program, which last year served more than 500 children and family members.
"(The state) told us early in the fall that they were going to terminate funding for it in October, and two weeks before the end of the month they changed their mind," he said.
The program is expected to be funded through the end of June, but its future is uncertain beyond that. Cornerstone received $63,200 from the state for the counseling program this year, a number that has declined in each of the past three years. The agency also receives a 25 percent required match from the United Way of Adams County.
"If they really do terminate this program, it's going to be a huge loss," Hirner said.
Julie Schuckman, director of the Early Childhood and Family Center, said the facility has not received its $985,957 operating grant from the state, which the Quincy School Board agreed to accept last July.
"We have some real concerns about next year and the possibility of not having a pre-k program at all, and that would be over 300 students not getting services with over 200 of those considered in the (low-income range)," Schuckman said.
She said children who are enrolled in early childhood education programs show better reading scores.
"The investment in early intervention and early childhood provides savings to the community of future social services and justice services for a lifetime of people," Schuckman said. "The economic return for every dollar invested there is a minimum of a $6 return to the community over a lifetime."
-- mhopf@whig.com/221-3391
Keri Bergman, right, prepares to lead her pre-kindergarten class to the bus pick-up area after school Wednesday at the Early Childhood and Family Center.
