New poll finds overwhelming support for increasing investments in services that support children’s health, nutrition and well-being

A national public opinion poll released today by the Children’s Leadership Council finds strong support for increasing funding for effective programs that improve the lives of children and youth across the age spectrum, from birth to adulthood.

An overwhelming 79 percent of Americans favor investing more in programs that support children’s education, healthcare, nutrition and well-being. A solid majority of Republicans (59 percent) join with overwhelming majorities of independents (82 percent) and Democrats (93 percent) in calling on Congress to make children’s programs and services a higher budget priority.

The Children’s Leadership Council (CLC)—a coalition of more than 50 of the nation’s leading child and youth advocacy organizations, including the Afterschool Alliance—commissioned Hart Research Associates to conduct the poll, which used telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of over 800 Americans age 18 and older. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Among the results of the nationwide poll:
 By a strong margin, Americans say that investing more in children’s health, education and well-being should be a higher priority today than reducing taxes.
 As we near national mid-term Congressional elections, 52 percent of poll respondents who are registered voters said they would be more likely to support a candidate who favored increasing funding for programs and services to address children’s needs, with only 10 percent saying they would be less likely to favor such a candidate.
 61 percent of Americans believe children would be better off if government did more for children rather than “got out of the way.”

When it comes to supporting vulnerable populations, Americans do not see it as an “either or” proposition: 63 percent say that the aging of the baby boom generation means we need to invest more in children today, not cut programs for kids, because “the best way to provide a secure retirement [for seniors] is to ensure that we have productive workers contributing to the economy in the future.”

Learn More: The full poll results, as well as shareable messages and graphics, are available online at bit.ly/CLCpoll.