Britain Could Do With Some Democratic Leadership

While our own Government simply scraps its child poverty targets, Right Democrat reports:

During the campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama excited anti-hunger activists by committing to end child hunger by 2015. Understandably, the plan for how to accomplish that goal has not been fully sketched out.

In a new paper released by the Democratic Leadership Council, "Fulfilling the President's Call," senior fellow Tom Freedman and Share our Strength Founder Bill Shore write that a relatively small outlay of federal funds could incentivize states to set aside the necessary resources to take on the mission of ending child hunger in their state in a short time.

There is no substitute for a strong role for the federal government in ending childhood hunger. But there is also an indispensible complementary role at the state level. Critical programs ranging from food stamps to child nutrition must be adequately funded at the federal level but also executed more effectively by the states.

This proposal urges the Administration to embrace a stronger partnership with states to ensure they have the strategic resources they need to close the gap between children who are eligible for assistance and those who actually receive it.

There are enormous resources available, but they are too underutilized to help hungry children. A smart focus on leveraging those existing resources, and on using state, private sector, and nonprofit local partners to help lead and implement a local plan, makes the most sense.

Read the full report here (PDF).