Coffin Corner

THE NATION'S PRIORITIES AND CHILDREN:
HOW WELL DO THEY GO TOGETHER?

Friday, October 28, 2011 • Noon-1:30 p.m. ET

Panelists:

• Olivia Golden, Institute fellow, Urban Institute; former assistant secretary for children and families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Charles Kolb, president, Committee for Economic Development; former deputy assistant to President George H. W. Bush for domestic policy
• Jim Kolbe, senior transatlantic fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States; former member, U.S. House of Representatives
• Robert Reischauer, president, Urban Institute; former director, Congressional Budget Office
• Raymond Scheppach, professor of practice, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia; former executive director, National Governors Association
• Margaret Simms, Institute fellow, Urban Institute; director, Low-Income Working Families project
• Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent, PBS NewsHour (moderator)

Government's gears are being ground smooth by nonstop wrangling over broad and deep economic maladies, partisanship that grows as election 2012 nears, and fractured visions for America's future.

In a month, Congress's Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, known informally as the Super Committee, will issue its recommendation on how to deflate the deficit by at least $1.5 trillion over the next ten years. In a year, Americans will go to the polls to select many federal, state, and local leaders. And in between these events, state capitals will tangle anew over shrinking revenues, burgeoning constituent needs, and balanced-budget dictates.  

Where, in all of this, are America's 74 million children? What challenges and opportunities are posed by budget battles when we think about the dramatic changes in children's lives in recent decades -- almost 22 percent living in poverty, the trend toward "majority minority" among children, the regional shifts from northern states losing children to southern states gaining them? What will it take to come to national and state budget decisions that invest at the level needed for the youngest generation to succeed, especially in light of states' senior role in funding children's programs and services?  

The search for answers will begin with new commentaries by Urban Institute scholars from diverse disciplines. Each reflection is grounded in an understanding that over the last two decades economic and demographic trends have substantially changed -- or upended -- the lives of children. Join us for an adult conversation about America's children, budgets, and priorities.

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