HELVEY: Rally focuses on children's rights

"If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much."

- Marian Wright Edelman

This year's election, just two short months away, has been called the most important of our time. While a great deal of attention has been focused on national politics, pressing issues exist here in Nebraska for our littlest residents.

For instance, in 2007, there were 62,791 children in Nebraska living in poverty. That's nearly enough children to fill Memorial Stadium or populate Nebraska's third largest city. Up the road in Omaha, the percentage of black children in poverty ranks No. 1 in the nation, with nearly six out of ten black children living below the poverty line.

These poverty statistics seep into other areas of childrens' well-being. For example, 45,361 Nebraska children - one out of ten children - were uninsured in 2007. According to a recent report from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, 6,829 children were in the foster care system in Nebraska as of late June 2008, representing one of the highest per capita rates of children in out-of-home placement of any state in the country.

These statistics are unacceptable and threaten the Good Life.

In order to raise the visibility of Nebraska's children in elections, Voices for Children in Nebraska, the Nebraska Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and the University of Nebraska-Omaha School of Social Work, along with a number of community partners including Nebraska Appleseed, the YWCA, the Center for People in Need, the Nebraska Head Start Association and the Child Saving Institute, invite you to join us on the steps of the State Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 10 a.m. for a Step Up for Kids Rally.

This nonpartisan event aims to educate our political leaders and the public about the needs of children and youth in our community so candidates know Nebraska voters care about children.

Speakers at the rally will include: Dr. William Austin, an associate professor of education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Sen. DiAnna Schimek, Dr. Tom Tonniges, Director of Boys Town Center for Child Health Improvement, and others. Also in attendance will be Senate candidates Mike Johanns, Scott Kleeb and Steve Larrick.

Children cannot vote for themselves. Yet many of the issues at stake this November affect children directly. Young adults, age 18-29, are expected to play a significant role in the upcoming election. Pundits are predicting that this age group will turn out at the polls in record numbers. Students have the potential to make an impact on our state and national leaders and turn around the statistics that harm the most vulnerable members of our community.

We hope you will join us in stepping up for kids at the rally on Sept. 16 and voting for kids on election day, Nov. 4.

For more information about the Step Up for Kids rally, please visit: http://everychildmatters.org/Nebraska, or contact Sarah Ann Lewis at Voices for Children in Nebraska at (402) 597-3100 or slewis@voicesforchildren.com.

Sarah Helvey is a 1999 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is currently a Staff Attorney and Director of the Child Welfare Program at Nebraska Appleseed, a non-profit, non-partisan public interest law project committed to equal justice for all Nebraskans.