WASHINGTON, DC – In the wake of President Obama’s fiscal year 2010 budget, First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization, lauded his proposal for its large-scale investments in our nation’s children. In total, children’s programs saw a $16.7 billion boost over last year’s levels, an increase of 6.7 percent.

Overall, the budget increases discretionary resources to programs that impact children by $2 billion, a 2.7 percent increase over 2009 levels. However, the overall level of discretionary spending on children is still below fiscal year 2005 levels.

The total increases include:
• $6.3 billion increase to health programs that help kids (10.2% increase over 2009)
• $1.2 billion increases to education programs (2.3% increase over 2009)
• $500 million to child welfare programs (5.8% increase over 2009)

First Focus President Bruce Lesley released the following statement:

“Today, President Obama released a budget providing increased investments in our nation’s future. His budget calls for an additional $17 billion for programs that improve the lives of our children. From children’s health to child welfare programs, President Obama has proposed a budget that puts us on a path toward once again making our nation’s future a federal priority.

“Under the President’s budget proposal, some education programs, such as school improvement grants and teacher incentives have been increased significantly. These critical programs ensure our students are prepared to meet the challenges of the real world. Child welfare training is also given a substantial increase under the President Obama’s budget. The $20 million boost given to this program is critical for training more social workers properly, reducing caseloads, and allowing each child to get the attention they need and deserve. Programs such as Youth Build, a critical job training program for at-risk youth, also saw an important proposed increase.

“We are very pleased to see increases in funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. President Obama made this program an early priority of his Administration, signing it into law after less than 30 days into his Presidency.

“Moreover, the president has acknowledged the toll the foreclosure crisis has had on our nation’s families, by increasing homeless assistance grants by $117 million. These key funds support emergency shelters, supportive housing, as well as improvements to Section 8 housing, so that families have a safe place to go if they are met with unfortunate circumstances. We are also pleased to see President Obama propose several new initiatives in his budget, some of which will improve the lives of children and families. This includes funding for home visitation programs, which are proven to be successful in helping raise healthy, productive children as well as a high school graduation initiative, which aims to stem the dropout crisis.

“However, we were disappointed to see that the overall level of discretionary spending on children is still below 2005 levels. For example, the budget request eliminates the Even Start Program, a critical literacy project that integrates early childhood education, adult literacy, and parenting education to assist low income families. This program fights illiteracy by providing families the information they need to be better parents and raise better students. We believe strongly that this program is meritorious, and look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to make improvements in an effort to restore the proposed cuts to this important initiative. We urge the President and Congress to make children a greater priority when allocating these critical discretionary resources.

“Indeed, a president’s budget is reflective of his priorities. We are pleased to see the share of spending on children overall would increase, but the percentage of the non-defense spending going to children is still down from what it was five years ago. And while we are thrilled to see increased investments in children, we need to repair the many years of damage done to these critical programs.”

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For more information, on children in the federal budget, please visit www.childrensbudget.org/.