California

"It is no surprise that this disparity in senior and childhood poverty exists. We have made a national commitment to provide income and health security for seniors through Social Security and Medicare. For children, on the other hand, we have only a combined federal-state commitment to health insurance, but children have no social compact to protect them against the whims of the economy that lead to severe declines in their family incomes. And the one sure way of alleviating the effects of poverty funding education is left primarily to states and localities, and is continually under threat. In essence, we've built a social safety net for seniors, but left a gaping hole for our kids to fall through."

"Children born into poverty are twice as likely to be in special education, 30 percent more likely to never go to college and 70 percent more likely to be arrested for committing a violent crime. Many of those children will also be more likely to become a teen parent, drop out of school and never hold a job.

"Through the generosity of Times readers and a match by the McCormickFoundation, nearly $450,000 was granted to local literacy programs thisyear as a result of the Los Angeles Times Holiday Campaign. The campaign,part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a McCormick Foundation Fund,raises contributions to support established literacy programs run bynonprofit organizations that serve low-income families whose children arereading below grade levels, who are at risk of illiteracy or who havelimited English proficiency."

"Federal education officials are poised to reject California's self-styled bid to avoid the strict requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, which could lead to radical reforms at hundreds of low-income schools."

"Gov. Jerry Brown is pushing hard to overhaul California's convoluted school funding system. His plan has two major objectives: Give K-12 districts greater control over how they spend money, and send more dollars to impoverished students and English learners."

"Smart Riverside, a nonprofit group that provides computers and training to low-income families, was to deliver the computer processor towers to the parents' homes later in the day, said Kathy Pitchford, staff development specialist with the Riverside Unified School District."