Free Downloadable Book Discusses Why Millions of American Children at Risk

From Every Child Matters:
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the U.S. does not do well by millions of its children. In comparison to the other rich democracies, we have the poorest standing on:

• infant mortality
• teen birth rates
• health insurance coverage
• child abuse deaths
• child poverty

“Our children deserve better than this,” says Michael R. Petit, president of Every Child Matters and author of Homeland Insecurity … American Children at Risk, a newly published book that can be downloaded free at www.everychildmatters.org.

Drawing from mostly official federal data, Homeland Insecurity argues that the extreme conservative ideology that has dominated official Washington for two decades has failed to address the needs of millions of children. The book dispels the two principal myths upon which conservative ideology is based—that government itself is the enemy, and that taxes are evil. It compares state data on children and shows that the states which most strongly embrace anti-tax/anti-government ideology produce the worst outcomes for children. "The states with the best outcomes generally tax themselves at a higher level," said Petit, "and therefore are able to make greater investments in children."

Homeland Insecurity is just over 100 pages, but it’s jam-packed with straightforward charts and data, and ample photographs and anecdotes. Divided into seven chapters, it presents the latest data on health care, child abuse, imprisonment and child poverty. Petit says he wrote the book to help spark debate in the ’07-’08 presidential campaign about making major new investments in children, youth, and families.

Renowned pediatrician and author T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. writes on the book's jacket, “We do have solutions for the children’s problems the statistics in this book expose, but we need the national will to put them in action.” Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell writes, “Whatever their persuasion, most people who read Homeland Insecurity will find it makes compelling arguments for why new investments in children must be treated as a political priority. This is a must read for anyone seeking elective office—and everyone who cares about children.”

Homeland Insecurity is available free as a PDF downloadable document by visiting www.everychildmatters.org. The site also provides information on how citizens can help make children, youth and families a political priority.