This article originally appeared in the November-December 2001 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Children's Advocates Roundtable

Child care is an integral part of California's economy

A new report from the National Economic Development and Law Center (NEDLC), Child Care and Its Impact on California's Economy, shows that the child care industry generates billions of dollars in revenues, creates tens of thousands of jobs, and generates productivity gains that represent billions of dollars for California families, businesses, and government. The report found:

• The licensed child care industry generates between $4.7 billion and $5.4 billion in gross revenues-about the size of the livestock or vegetable crop industries.
  
  
• Child care employs more than 123,000 people in California.
  
  
• Child care enables working parents to earn at least $13 billion a year. When parents spend that money, they create more demand, which stimulates the economy. Productivity gains directly and indirectly due to child care contribute $65 billion to the gross state product.

The report points out that the importance of child care will keep growing: "The population of Californians aged zero to four is expected to increase by more than 325,000 over the next ten years. The number of working parents is also expected to grow: by the year 2010 it is likely that 85 percent of the labor force will consist of parents."

California's supply of licensed child care, however, meets only about one-fifth of the need.

The report also includes recommendations:

• Economic development planning at the state, county, and local level must include child care.
  
  
• Current licensed child care capacity must be preserved, maintained, and expanded to protect both the industry's economic impact and its support of other sectors.

You can download the executive summary and policy recommendations of this report from Insight Center for Community Economic Development. You can order the full report from the web site, or call 510-251-2600.

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After school in California: new data

Many people know that children who attend quality after-school programs do better in school and are less likely to become either the victims or the perpretrators of crime. Now the California branch of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids has published a new report specifically showing the effectiveness of after-school programs in California-and also showing how many children are still left "home alone" because of limited after-school-program funding.

California's After-School Choice: Juvenile Crime or Safe Learning Time? cites many studies of California programs including these:

• A UC Irvine study of the state's After School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods Program showed that suspensions dropped in schools with the program. In those schools, for students who had been absent more than 26 days the year before, attendence improved by more than three weeks.
  
  
• After one year of after-school programs in 12 "high-risk" communities, the number of students who received failing grades on their report cards fell by one-third.
  
  
• Participants in L.A. BEST after-school program were reclassified from "limited English proficient" to "fluent" faster than other students.

Despite these and other studies showing the benefits of before- and after-school programs, the report found that only one in seven elementary and middle schools-only one in four in the targeted low-income areas-get state after-school-program funding. Of all the five- to 14-year-old children in low-income families, only about one-third are currently served by state- or federally funded after-school programs.

You can download the full report from www.fightcrime.org or order by calling 510-836-2050.

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Children Now: Online Advocacy

A new online Children Now Action Center allows you to receive policy alerts, share them with friends, and send customized letters on the issues, via e-mail or fax, to legislators in your district. The Action Center also helps members easily identify their state and federal legislators and their committee assignments. To join the Children Now Action Center, visit http://ga1.org/childrennow/join

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How much does it cost to raise a family in California?

A new report by the California Budget Project (CBP) shows that on average in California it takes more than $50,000 a year for a family with two working parents to make ends meet.

According to the official federal definition, a family of four is not "poor" if its income is over $17,650 a year. But the Budget Project says that definition is "obsolete." To get a more realistic figure, the CBP "started from the ground up, building a basic family budget based on the cost of housing, food, child care, and other essentials," such as taxes, transportation, and health care.

Since living expenses are so different in different parts of California, the CBP shows expenses for different types of families in different parts of the state.

A family with two working parents, on average, would need an income of $52,034, ranging from $42,588 in the lowest-cost rural counties to $61,593 in the high-cost Bay Area. That means each parent would have to earn from $10.24 an hour to $14.81an hour, depending on where they live.

A two-parent family with one staying at home on average would have to bring in $36,245-from $29,806 in lowest-cost areas to $42,304 in highest-cost areas. The single earner would have to make anywhere from $14.33 to $20.34 an hour.

A single working parent would need the highest hourly pay of all-from $16.30 to $25.99, depending on the area. That translates to between $33,897 and $54,069 a year.

The state minimum wage is less than 1/3 to about 1/2 the hourly rates needed to raise a family, according to the Budget Project.

The average hourly pay for a person who has left welfare for work, the Budget Project points out, is $7 an hour.

The report, Making Ends Meet: How Much Does it Cost to Raise a Family in California? provides a detailed breakdown of expenses in each region of the state.

You can download a copy of the report at www.cbp.org or order a print version by calling 916-444-0500.

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Talking with children about terrorism and prejudice

It's now been two months since the devastating attacks on September 11, but it often takes time for children-and all of us-to recognize and express all our reactions to the event. In the days after the attacks, many organizations provided lists of tips for talking with children about the events. Many of their points are still helpful. Here's a brief list, together with Internet resources for learning more:

• Reassure children that they are safe and that you are doing everything you can to protect them. Use physical contact-hugs, sitting together, holding hands-to comfort frightened children.
  
  
• Be available-help children express their feelings and ask questions.
  
  
• If children don't bring up the issues of terrorism or the threat of war, you can use current events to bring the subjects up-but if they say they don't want to talk about it, respect their feelings.
  
  
• Encourage children to express feelings through talking, drawing, writing, and playing.
  
  
• Validate their feelings-you might say something like, "A lot of people feel that way." Don't simply dismiss fears, but explore the issues and let children know that a lot of people are working to protect them.
  
  
• Give simple, factual answers to children's questions with information that's appropriate for their ages-don't overwhelm them with too much.
  
  
• Emphasize the dangers of prejudice and stereotyping. Point out that it's wrong to judge a whole group by the actions of a few, and that verbal or physical attacks on Arab or Muslim friends and neighbors only spread hate. Model tolerance and compassion in your own words and behavior.
  
  
• Be honest about your own feelings, but express your opinions in a way that leaves room for disagreement, so you model tolerance and allow children to express their views.
  
  
• Use the terrorist attacks as an example of the terrible consequences of violence. Teach nonviolent ways for resolving disputes.
  
  
• Help create ways for different groups in the community to come together and learn more about each other.
  
  
• Find ways that children can help other kids, such as collecting money for UNICEF.

Sources: PTA, National Association of School Psychologists, Brazelton Touchpoints Center, Children's Defense Fund, womancentral.msn.com, Southern Poverty Law Center, Early Childhood Equity Alliance

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Internet resources for talking with children about terrorism and prejudice

• The Parent Teacher Association, resources in English and Spanish, www.pta.org
  
  
• Sesame Street, specific examples of things to say when your child expresses fear, English and Spanish, www.sesameworkshop.org/parents/advice/article/
  0,4125,49560,00.html#1
  
  
• The National Education Association, advice for schools, English only, www.nea.org/crisis
  
  
• Southern Poverty Law Center, English only, www.tolerance.org
  
  
• U.S. Department of Education, tips and links, English only, www.ed.gov/ints/september11/index.html (this page has moved or is no longer available)

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e-mail aac@4children.org
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King Jr. Way
Oakland, CA 94612
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