Childcare

Red Flag Laws: 17 states have enacted a Red Flag Law. This law allows a temporary removal of firearms from a person who may present a danger to themselves or others. A judge makes the determination at a court hearing, and refusal to comply is a criminal offense. Another court hearing is usually required to extend the gun removal. This law has strong support, including from the NRA, as long as due process is involved. Senator Marco Rubio (R — read more…

Assault Weapons: Recently I saw a TV report about a U.S. District Attorney who was shot and wounded by someone whom she had sentenced. The dark scars running up her arms startled me. The shooter had used an assault weapon with bullets that exploded after entering her body. While our constitution allows the ownership of guns, there is no reason for the private or licensed sale of assault weapons and ammunition to the general public. Gun manufacturers have a responsibility read more…

On August 7, 2019, ICE officials raided several food plants in Mississippi in the largest single raid of its kind in U.S. history.  Many of the individuals detained were parent(s) and some will never be reunited with their children. What happens to children when parent(s) are no longer at home to care for them? There are many complicated possibilities for where a child will end up if his or her parent(s) are detained. The best case scenario is when a read more…

.   “Each year, an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness, of which 700,000 are unaccompanied minors, meaning they are not part of a family or accompanied by a parent or guardian. On any given night, approximately 41,000 unaccompanied youth ages 13-25 experience homelessness.” – National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) | Youth Homelessness Overview     Though we often consider our society to be quite progressive, the statistics of homeless children and teenagers is a testament read more…

Each year Promise the Children focuses on a number of important issues that range from Child Poverty and Early Education to Limiting Out-of-School Suspensions, Advocating for Stronger Gun Laws and Ending the Detention of Immigrant Children. As a member of the PTC community, we value your feedback! Our current areas of focus include Public School Funding and Teacher Salaries, Child Care and Early Education, Gun Safety and Control, and the Supervision of Detention Centers Housing Immigrant Children Separated from Parents. read more…

Today we have fewer unskilled jobs for the increase in our population, and our minimum wage is far from a living wage. Most jobs for unskilled workers are also part-time and very few offer regular hours. As a result, millions of adults, children and young people experience homelessness each year. In addition, child care vouchers, which subsidize licensed and safe child care while eligible parents are at work, can have wait lists in the thousands. Child care vouchers also require read more…

The refundable taxes paid by the Additional Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit are essential for our nation’s working parents earning low wages.  All of our parents must be able to pay for the healthy start that our children need. Huge subsidies exist for large businesses, yet many of these businesses pay salaries that are not a living wage. This is why refundable taxes are essential. The Child Tax Credit (CTC) was enacted in 1997 with bipartisan support. This read more…

The gap between minimum wages and the cost of living is covered by government subsidies. These subsidies include food stamps, school meals, housing vouchers, Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and more. Without these subsidies, our laborers and their children would face starvation, homelessness and poor health—and many children could experience abuse and neglect in unlicensed childcare settings while their parents are working. Minimum wages are paid to unskilled and some skilled laborers. Many states use the federal minimum read more…

Our government has declared war on citizen children whose parent(s) are undocumented even though they may have lived and worked here for many years. Even the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) granted to those who are victims of a natural and other disaster in their home countries is being revoked. Our government is destroying healthy, self-supporting families. Write or email your Senators and Congresswo(men) today and ask for their support. Tell them that a path to citizenship, rather than so many read more…

Yes, Promise The Children, working with many others, succeeded in protecting a portion of children’s health care by stalling the demise of our Affordable Care Act. Now, we must renew the expanded Children’s Health Care Program (CHIP) that covers about 10 million more children. Also, we have not yet protected our children’s access to safe childcare and food. The new tax bill increases deficit spending. Our Republican Congressmen and women will be asking for cuts to children’s programs to offset read more…