Press Releases FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 3, 2007 Status of California's Kids Undermines Public Health and Economy, According to New Children Now Report Card, "The State of the State's Children" Costly Societal Outcomes Linked to Children's Current Health and Education Status OAKLAND, CA--If significant children’s policy changes are not made in health care and education, current and future generations will be far worse off than previous ones and pay costs, directly and indirectly, for many years to come. These are among the findings of a new study from Children Now, a leading nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to assuring all children thrive. The 2006-07 California Report Card: The State of the State’s Children, a research report released today, identifies critical issues affecting children’s well-being and threatening to compromise public health and the economy. The report assigns letter grades to individual issues, such as a “C-” in early care and education, a “C-” in K-12 education, and a “B-” in health insurance. One bright spot, a “B+” in after school programs, reflects the state’s ability to resolve systemic children’s issues through focused, bipartisan effort. “Our aim is to present a complete, nonpartisan analysis of the components of our children’s well-being, so as policy agendas are set we have an accurate measuring stick to assess what’s being done,” said Ted Lempert, Children Now president. “All of our children’s issues are interconnected, so it is absolutely critical that we begin to look at them together.” The report presents the most current data available on the status of California’s children, who represent 27 percent of all Californians and 13 percent of the nation’s kids: 760,000 California children, ages 0-18, don’t have health insurance. One in three of California’s 6- to 17-year-olds is obese or overweight. About 58 percent of California’s 3- and 4-year-olds do not attend preschool. About 60 percent of California’s 2nd- to 11th-graders did not meet state goals for math and reading proficiency in 2006. As many as 30 percent of the state’s children live in an economically-struggling family, able to pay for only the most basic needs. “We need to recognize that comprehensive changes to the systems themselves are needed now,” said Lempert, “such as overhauling our state’s K-12 finance system and aggressively pursuing school-based health services, to really improve things for our children and ultimately every one of us.” Lempert added, “If we ignore the warning signs, California will be forced, at a minimum, to cover higher costs of remedial health services and confront the lack of a well-educated workforce needed to compete in tomorrow’s economy.” In November 2006, Children Now released a bipartisan poll that found 86 percent of California voters were looking for “significant and comprehensive changes” to the K-12 public education system. The 2006-07 California Report Card: The State of the State’s Children is available for free online by clicking here. Children Now is a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization working to raise children's well-being to the top of the national policy agenda. The organization focuses on ensuring quality health care, a solid education and a positive media environment for all children. Children Now's strategic approach creates awareness of children's needs, develops effective policy solutions and engages those who can make change happen.