The JONAH task force focused on reducing childhood poverty will meet at 5 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 2) at the First Presbyterian Church, 2112 Rudolph Rd. in Eau Claire.
John Wagner, who chairs the group, said the meeting is open to the public, and particularly urged anyone interested in joining the task force to attend.
JONAH is a faith-based Chippewa Valley group concerned with social justice issues. The local focus on childhood poverty is part of a statewide effort coordinated by WISDOM, the umbrella organization with which JONAH is affiliated.
The JONAH task force is working toward obtaining County Board support for a resolution seeking state legislative action to decrease the level of childhood poverty by 50 per cent over the next 10 years. The resolution also focuses on reducing racial disparities in childhood poverty and notes that African American children are almost five times as likely to be poor as is the case for white children.
It adds that, compared to white children, Latino children are three times more likely to be poor and Native American children are four times more likely to be poor.
“The poverty rate for our African American children is 8% above the national average for black child poverty,” the resolution adds.
Other points made by the resolution include:
• 42 per cent of Eau Claire County households “struggle to cover the costs of living and working at the most basic level”;
• 42 per cent of students in the Eau Claire Area School District qualify for lunch subsidies; and
• “significant social and financial costs of childhood poverty could be decreased by investing in early childhood support.”
The local campaign to reduce childhood poverty follows a recent statewide study which found that children in Wisconsin now have the highest rate of poverty of any state age group and that the situation is getting worse in every region of the state. The statewide study was conducted by a coalition of concerned faith and policy groups.
The task force is also looking for opportunities to increase public awareness of childhood poverty. One agenda item for the Saturday meeting will be how best to accomplish this goal.