Meeting to address child poverty here

[AlphaCentauri]

Families in poverty face many challenges - paying for childcare, finding affordable housing and navigating public transportation, among them.

This month, the state's Child Poverty Task Force has been hearing from Delaware families who live in poverty about the issues that matter most to them. Working mothers have shared their concerns about raising children on minimum wage; adults in the workforce have expressed their realization about the need for a good education.

"It really has been an eye-opening experience," said State Rep. Terry Schooley, D-23 Newark, who chairs the task force. "I know the numbers, but to actually hear the stories has been amazing."

The numbers alone may be surprising. According to the state, 13 percent of children in Delaware, nearly 27,000 of them, live in poverty - and that rate continues to increase.

In an effort to change this fact, the task force, created in December 2007, has the goal of finding ways to reduce the number of children living in poverty here by 50 percent over the next 10 years.

The task force started its work by meeting with poverty experts from around the country. Then, the group scheduled a series of seven public meetings to get "a much better picture of what was going on," said Schooley.


The Newark area meeting will take place next Monday, April 28, at the Greater Newark Boys and Girls Club in Bear, from 5 to 8 p.m. Dinner and childcare will be provided. All residents are invited to hear more about the issue and share their thoughts.

http://www.newarkpostonline.com/articles/2008/04/24/news/news04.txt