Sharing Web Resources

    The organization I chose to study is the Children's Defense Fund. (http://www.childrensdefense.org/)  The Children's Defense Fund is a non-profit child advocacy organization that aims to create a level playing field for all children.  They do have a monthly news letter that highlights the top stories or issues the organization is working on.
    The issue I found most interesting an relevant is called, "Be Careful What You Cut".  The organization warns the federal government to be careful when making decisons about fixing the deficit.  With the upcoming Presidential election, the economy and tax cuts are a current topic that has everyone interested.  The Children's Defense Fund is seeking support to prevent cuts that will effect young children and their families.  They highlight a few interesting statistics about possible cuts.

1. Early Education Cuts: Cutting Early Education investments will increase the chance of a young boy going to prison to 39%.  The website also mentions that paying for prison costs up to three times more a year that it would cost to invest in early education.
2. Health and Food Cuts: If cuts are made to Medicaid and food stamps, it will negatively impact children's health and nutrition now and in the future.  Also, according to the Children's Defense Fund website, health and nutrition issues can lead to poor school performance which can result in increases in teen pregnancy. The cost of paying for teen pregnancy is $10 billion a year.
3. Tax Credit Cuts: If the government cuts Earned Income Tax, child poverty would increase by 23% in the future (http://www.childrensdefense.org/) .  The website explains that children of poverty are more likely to drop out of high school and would therefore be less likely to be contributing members of society.  Another statistic offered by the organization states that paying for a high school drop out costs more than $125 billion over the course of a lifetime. 

As the demographics change in our country, more families and children will be able to benefit from the programs offered by our government.  A cut to these essential programs will effect all families and children, especially those who depend on government assistance programs.  In order to assure a successful future, these programs need to be saved!   

Resources
Children's Defense Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org/index-1.html