But the reality for many children is much different than this ideal. For these children, adult promises to protect and support can be empty words, as each year there are nearly three million reports of child abuse and neglect and approximately 1,000 related deaths. Child maltreatment is the reason more than 500,000 children are in foster care, living a life suspended in time. And this disturbing picture is compounded by the fact that hundreds of thousands of our children do not get the quality child care or preschool education they need and deserve. The words still echo in my mind.
Children are our future.
Invest in kids. Just a few months ago, Americans applauded these slogans during the presidential campaign. While it is still too early to judge the Administration's commitment to these slogans, the just-released FY 2002 budget indicates that only modest new investments are planned to help the nation's most vulnerable population. We can do better. President Bush's FY 2002 budget does provide some new supports to stop child abuse and neglect and strengthen families.