"Strategic investments in children are not just the right thing to do — they are the smart thing to do"

Remarks of Children's Alliance President Ellen Shemitz at release of NH CAN's 2005 Children's Agenda

January 18, 2005

Good morning. My name is Ellen Shemitz, and I am President of the Children's Alliance of NH and chair of the New Hampshire Child Advocacy Network — NH CAN.

NH CAN brings together nearly 200 child-serving organizations in the belief that we can, NH can, do better for our children. For each of the past five years, we have released a Children’s Agenda to coordinate child advocacy and to promote child and family friendly public policy.

Today we release the 2005 Children’s Agenda with a call for strategic investments in children and families. Our foundation priority urges public leaders to support educational, social and economic programs that meet child and family needs today and promote a thriving economy for the future.

We urge elected and appointed leaders from all political parties to Connect the Dots . . . to recognize the connections between healthy children, strong families, safe communities and a prosperous economy. We seek to work with the new governor and legislative leadership on a truly balanced budget: one that recognizes that kids count to New Hampshire’s future.

The 2005 Children’s Agenda includes nine recommended action steps addressing multiple aspects of child and family life.

In the area of health, we call for strategic investment in preventive health care. In his inaugural address, Governor Lynch rightly noted that preventive health care is less expensive than remedial care. He pledged to enroll every eligible child in our state in the Healthy Kids health insurance program. Our Children’s Agenda calls both for the enrollment of all eligible children in Healthy Kids and for the protection of Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility and benefit levels. Healthy Kids NH is a national success story. Replacing that success story with an untried experiment such as health services accounts is not wise. Let’s commit to preventive health care, including support for physical activity in schools and healthy food choices for all students.

In the area of education, we call for improved educational attainment through quality public schools. In his inaugural address, Governor Lynch identified education from kindergarten through college as “the most important investment we can make in our children and in our state’s economic future.” He said: “Improving public education is the best long-term strategy for strengthening our economy.” It is time to connect the dots. How do we improve public education? Look at the Agenda:

First, we define what we expect from our public education system. We create a benchmark of excellence that extends to all children in all public schools. This benchmark must include universal public kindergarten. For too long, New Hampshire has stood out as the only state in the nation to fail to support universal public kindergarten. Let us cast off that dishonorable distinction and engage in strategic investments in early childhood education, from a child’s earliest years through entry to elementary school.

Second, we approach school funding from the perspective of workforce development. If New Hampshire is to enjoy a strong economy in the future, we must improve the supply and skill level of future workers graduating from our schools. We cannot afford to see one quarter of our ninth graders drop out of school before graduation. Let’s connect the dots and set state education funding at a baseline that supports quality — with supplemental targeted aid to address differences in the costs of education. Finally, let's commit to fund the full costs of quality in our public schools before we consider tapping public dollars for private educational enterprises.

In the area of family economic security, the 2005 Children’s Agenda calls for public policies that make work pay. In his inaugural, Governor Lynch reminded us that the public sector serves “men and women who simply want a decent job.”  We call upon leadership to connect the dots, to understand that children do better when their families are strong, and that families are stronger when full-time work lifts them out of poverty. Let's commit to helping low-income parents work by increasing the reimbursement rate for child care providers and by increasing the stock of affordable housing.

Finally, in the area of child safety, we call for improved safety and security for all of our children. In his inaugural, Governor Lynch promised to “keep an eye on the bottom line and still look out for people.” Abused and neglected children are among the most vulnerable people in our state, but the people whose job it is to respond to them have too long been unappreciated and undervalued. Our Agenda calls for accreditation of our child protection system, to give public servants the tools they need to make New Hampshire's children safe. We also call for a ban on concealed firearms in all schools and safe school zones, reducing the need for high-cost emergency responses and enhancing community security.

Toddlers delight in connect-the-dot coloring pages — linking seemingly unrelated points to reveal a bigger picture, perhaps a bunny or a kitty cat. It’s time for NH’s leaders to do the same: to connect the dots between seemingly unrelated public investments in quality education, healthy children and strong families to the bigger picture — a thriving New Hampshire.

Research has shown that early intervention could save between $1.7 and $3.5 million over the course of a child’s life. A 10percent reduction in child poverty in NH could have a positive economic impact of $73 million annually. Preventing one overnight stay in a hospital could save more than the cost of all well-child visits for one child, from birth until age 18.

Let us connect the dots to reveal the true bottom line: Strategic investments in children are not just the right thing to do — they are the smart thing to do.