Mayors’ Action Challenge for Children and Families to be Unveiled at Congress of Cities
by Michael Karpman
 Twenty-six prominent mayors have launched a new initiative to promote city leadership and action on behalf of young people and their families. The new Mayors’ Action Challenge for Children and Families calls on mayors from across the nation to set at least one bold, measurable, locally defined goal in each of the following areas to ensure that every child has:
• Opportunities to learn and grow; • A safe neighborhood to call home; • A healthy lifestyle and environment; and • A financially fit family in which to thrive.
Based on the premise that strong cities are built on a foundation of strong families, the challenge will highlight the importance of municipal leadership and innovation and help mayors find their collective voice on these issues. The challenge will be unveiled on Saturday, November 15, during a morning general session at NLC’s Congress of Cities in Orlando, Fla. Mayors can visit www.mayorsforkids.org to learn more and sign on to the challenge.
“Cities throughout the country face a daunting set of concerns that require our urgent attention — from helping struggling families regain their financial footing to confronting high rates of school failure and youth violence,” said Charleston, S.C., Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., who is 2008 chair of NLC’s Council on Youth, Education and Families as well as a panelist for the upcoming conference session. “This challenge urges mayors to build on their progress by setting specific local targets in four areas that comprise the essential building blocks that every child needs to live a full, healthy and productive life.”
Bold, Measurable, Local Targets
Dozens of mayors have already signed on to the Challenge’s Statement of Principles, which describes potential areas for action and provides examples of local targets to consider. Several mayors have moved to establish their specific targets in each of the Challenge’s four key areas. For instance, in St. Petersburg, Fla., Mayor Rick Baker seeks to have a playground within walking distance of 80 percent of the city's children by 2010. In St. Paul, Minn., Mayor Christopher B. Coleman is dedicated to ensuring that all young people have access to quality learning opportunities beyond the classroom through his Second Shift Initiative.
“By investing in the issues that affect our urban centers — access to early childhood education, afterschool programs, fiscal and physical health, a multi-modal transportation system and safe streets — we will attract the investments back to our neighborhoods that grow jobs, benefit families and create a strong and diverse middle class that has historically defined America’s success,” said Mayor Coleman.
Other mayors had committed to specific targets prior to signing on to the challenge. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter seeks to cut his city’s dropout rate in half and double college degree attainment. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak is working with other community leaders to implement a Blueprint for Action to Prevent Youth Violence that targets not only youth homicides and violent incidents, but also the factors associated with violence, such as high truancy and dropout rates and gun possession among youth. In Denver, Mayor John Hickenlooper has supported an initiative to make college affordable for every qualified public school student.
“The future economic vitality of our cities and our nation depends on the investments we make in our young people,” said Savannah, Ga., Mayor Otis Johnson. “We know that a failure to invest in children and families guarantees that we will pay much greater costs down the road.”
The challenge encourages mayors to set goals and targets that make sense for their communities and are tailored to unique local circumstances and needs. In recent years, mayors and other municipal leaders have undertaken a broad range of innovative new measures to help children and families thrive, such as universal access to pre-kindergarten and afterschool programs, partnerships to connect low-income families with free or low-cost checking and savings accounts, community wellness initiatives to reduce childhood obesity, and truancy and curfew centers that link young people with the services they need to stay in school.
“Our most precious community asset is our children,” said Grand Rapids, Mich., Mayor George Heartwell. “If we want to be the vibrant, prosperous, equitable cities that we imagine ourselves becoming, it is our children who will make us so. I am honored to join my colleagues from across the nation to set forth bold, new goals to collectively support our children now for a brighter future.”
Call for Federal Partnership and Support
A letter signed by each of the Challenge’s Founders acknowledges that “economic turmoil and the inadequacy of federal and state responses to the needs of struggling families and children at risk have exacerbated the problems we confront in our communities” and calls on the new Administration and Congress to join mayors in charting a new course that prioritizes investments in children and families. The Challenge Statement of Principles identifies several specific federal actions that can bolster local efforts:
• Fully funding the 21st Century Community Learning Center and Pell Grant programs; • Providing flexible funding to support implementation of comprehensive local youth violence prevention plans; • Ensuring universal access to health care, including preventive services that promote health and wellness; and • Expanding and modernizing the Earned Income Tax Credit and supporting local outreach campaigns.
“As mayors have tested different approaches to problems that once seemed intractable, we’ve gained a better understanding of which policies and practices are effective,” said Mayor Rybak. “We’re committed to setting bold objectives and taking action on behalf of the children and families in our communities. We urge public officials at all levels of government to join us as partners in this challenge.”
Details: The Mayors’ Action Challenge for Children and Families is supported by NLC through its Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.
To learn more about and sign on to the Mayors’ Action Challenge for Children and Families, visit www.mayorsforkids.org. To ask questions, contact Michael Karpman at (202) 626-3072 or karpman@nlc.org.
Founders of the Mayors’ Action Challenge for Children and Families (please box on jump)
• Joseph P. Riley Jr., Charleston, S.C.
• Jerry E. Abramson, Louisville, Ky.
• Rick Baker, St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Michael Bloomberg, New York City
• Cory A. Booker, Newark, N.J.
• David N. Cicilline, Providence, R.I.
• Christopher B. Coleman, St. Paul, Minn.
• Richard M. Daley, Chicago
• Karl Dean, Nashville, Tenn.
• Manuel Diaz, Miami
• Sheila Dixon, Baltimore
• Buddy Dyer, Orlando, Fla.
• Adrian Fenty, District of Columbia
• Shirley Franklin, Atlanta
• George K. Heartwell, Grand Rapids, Mich.
• John Hickenlooper, Denver
• Melvin “Kip” Holden, East Baton Rouge Parish, La.
• Otis S. Johnson, Savannah, Ga.
• Thomas M. Menino, Boston
• Gavin Newsom, San Francisco
• Greg Nickels, Seattle
• Michael Nutter, Philadelphia
• R.T. Rybak, Minneapolis
• Francis G. Slay, St. Louis, Mo.
• Kathy Taylor, Tulsa, Okla.
• Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Los Angeles
|