John Marty's Agenda for Minnesota's Future: Children and Families

Vision

All politicians say they support children and strong families. However, the proof of their commitment comes in the budget process when critical programs are underfunded because, they say, "we cannot afford them." John Marty knows that even in these times of tight government budgets there are certain investments we can't afford not to make -- investments that save far more in taxes then they cost. Of course, government programs are only part of the solution. We must strengthen our communities, families, churches and civic groups as well. As a state we must begin making wise investments in the health and well-being of our children and families now in order to ensure a bright future for all Minnesotans.

No matter how worn the saying, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure. Most first grade teachers are able to identify which students are likely to get into trouble and yet many of even these children still slip through the cracks. Resources are too scarce, programs are too crowded and time is too limited. It is appalling that as a state we are already giving up on six-year-olds. It is not cheap to meet their needs but it is far more expensive to ignore them. John Marty is the only candidate who has proposed to fully fund key cost-saving programs for children and families, and he is the only candidate who has proposed a fair way to raise the necessary revenue through additional taxes on the wealthiest four percent of Minnesotans.

Record

• 97% cumulative Childrens Defense Fund voting record.
• Author of Youth Works, a program giving teenagers job training or college funds in return for youth community service.
• The only member of the legislature who has authored legislation adequately funding all the following cost-saving programs: the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program, Head Start, Crisis Nurseries and the sliding fee child care program.

John Marty's Agenda for Children and Families

The cornerstone of John Marty's children and families agenda will be his Children and Families Budget which he introduced as Senator in 1993.

Politicians are sometimes too eager to jump on the most current bandwagon -- from housing, to juvenile crime, to early childhood education. While these are all important individually, they do not work independently of each other. We cannot address education without addressing the problems of abusive families, and we cannot address domestic and child abuse without addressing problems with self esteem, mental health and drug and alcohol addiction, and the lack of decent jobs and educational opportunities. Government spending has skyrocketed because the state has failed to prevent the growth in social problems.

John's Children and Families Budget represents a comprehensive approach to strengthening families and raising healthy children. It proposes to address the problems of families and children in five key areas: education, health care and nutrition, crisis services, housing, and jobs and economic opportunity. These investments will make Minnesota a healthier state, help build a stronger economy and, ultimately save tax money.

Some of these initiatives such as health care and alcohol and drug treatment, will have an almost immediate payback; others such as Head Start and parenting education may take longer. But what we save in human and economic costs will far exceed the initial investment.

Education

• Fully fund Head Start. It is far cheaper to fund the Head Start program than to pay many times that amount down the road for prison cells. Politicians of all political stripes agree Head Start saves money. Its parental involvement, health, nutritional and educational resources are invaluable in meeting the needs of low income children and families. Even Arne Carlson accepts this point. Yet in Minnesota only about one-third of all children eligible for Head Start can be enrolled.
• Provide home visitation programs to stop the cycle of abuse. Most adults who perpetrate violent crime were abused as children. Programs such as the Early Childhood and Family Education home visitation program reach at-risk families and stop the cycle of abuse by providing early childhood parent education and self-help programs, crisis nurseries, and family support and preservation services.
• Fund truancy prevention programs throughout the state. There is a strong correlation between early truancy problems and later criminal activity. Promoting truancy prevention programs throughout the state would help students complete high school and stay out of trouble. Crisis Services
• Fully fund crisis nursery and respite care programs. These programs help prevent child abuse by providing temporary child care and safe housing for children whose parents are emotionally and temporarily unable to care for them.
• Provide basic services for battered women and their children in every county in Minnesota. Basic services include a 24 hour crisis line, safe housing and other support counseling services. In many parts of Minnesota, victims of domestic abuse have limited or no access to these services. It is unacceptable for abuse victims to be forced to return to their abusers because no other housing or economic alternatives exist.

Health Care and Nutrition

• Fully fund the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program. WIC provides nutritional assessments and nutritious foods for low-income pregnant and nursing women and young children. Across the political spectrum everyone agrees that WIC saves far more money than it costs -- three dollars are saved in health care and special education costs for every dollar spent.
• Address the mental health and chemical dependency problems of young people. A startlingly high number of juvenile offenders have mental health or chemical dependency problems. By treating these problems for all juveniles in trouble with the law we can dramatically reduce crime. A pilot program in California demonstrated a more than 50% reduction in repeat offenses for serious juvenile offenders whose mental health and chemical dependency problems were treated.
• Provide health care for all children and pregnant women in Minnesota. The new MinnesotaCare health plan is not available or affordable for tens of thousands of Minnesota children. Universal health coverage is mandatory. Meanwhile, we must ensure that all pregnant women and children receive adequate health care, including timely immunizations that lessen the suffering and expense of preventable diseases.

Housing

• Provide housing allowances for AFDC families. A stable and safe home is one of the best ways to strengthen families and provide a secure environment for children. Many low-income families end up bouncing from apartment to apartment because they cannot afford the rent. Children suffer from adjusting to several different school moves in a year, diminishing their opportunity to do well in school.
• Provide temporary rental and mortgage assistance to help families stay in their homes. Often a small amount of financial assistance can keep a family in their home and save the much greater cost of taking care of a homeless family later. Increased funding for the Emergency Mortgage and Rental Assistance program would provide counseling services, grants and loans for a period up to six months to help families stay in their homes or apartments when they have a temporary disruption of income (such as a layoff, medical problem or divorce).

Jobs & Economic Opportunity

• Reinstate the MEED program and fully fund the STRIDE program. These programs have been successful in putting thousands of people to work. The STRIDE program helps welfare recipients find employment and achieve self-sufficiency, while the MEED program encourages creation of job training programs and permanent jobs for unemployed people with no other job prospects.
• Fully fund the sliding fee child care program. Affordable child care is one of the biggest hurdles for a single parent on welfare returning to work. Over 5,000 Minnesota families are in need of child care subsidies in order to move off of welfare into jobs, school or job training, and up to a two-year wait for childcare is common. If these obstacles are removed, Minnesota will reduce welfare costs and the "home alone" problem, where thousands of young children are unsupervised for long periods of time while their parents are at work.

Prepared by Minnesotans for Marty, 2161 University Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55114 Telephone/Fax: (612)644-5775/644-4131

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