After years of inertia on the issue, the United States took the first step towards ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child by signing the document. The Convention is a comprehensive statement of international concern about the importance of improving the lives of children, the most vulnerable members of society. At the time, advocates for children were witnessing a worldwide recession, and Washington leaders were attacking programs that help children. The UN convention waits for the President to present it to the Senate approval, the next step towards ratification. The gap between America's richest and poorest has been widening for the past 20 years.
Poverty is a serious risk to children s health and the overall cost of child poverty is great.
This is because the one in five American children who live in poverty are at heightened risk of stunted growth, less education, and lower projected earnings due to lost lifetime work hours and lower hourly wages. Ending child poverty in a manner that supports children and families is a possibility in this century when people receive a living wage for the work they do. Public and private sectors must work together to help parents gain skills needed to participate in the workforce of the 21st century and must make high quality child care, transportation, and housing available and affordable. Most importantly, we must support legislation that raises the minimum wage to the level where a full-time minimum wage job truly pays enough to support a family Increasing the minimum wage is crucial if we are to ensure that every child is guaranteed their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. At the same time, we must organize to see that the UN Convention is supported by the Senate and presented to the states for ratification.