New Jersey's Annual 'Kids Count' Report Shows No Signs Of Economic Improvement
By David Madden
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A newly released survey indicates more children in New Jersey are living in families that cannot make ends meet.
Advocates for Children of New Jersey issued its annual Kids Count report and the numbers are sobering. One in three children lives in a family that earns less than they need. That's a 14-percent increase over the last six years.
Agency director Cecilia Zalkind says New Jersey has not been as severe in cutting programs as other states. And now while there is talk of restoring some cuts, she'd like to see improvements in child care for the poor.
"We'd like to see some of what the state has saved on child care reinvested in families that are eligible for vouchers that are not getting them," says Zalkind.
Also reductions made to the state's earned income tax credit may be restored in 2014. Zalkind would like that to occur a lot sooner.
