Letters To The Editor Continued
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By Staff Reports
Published: December 4, 2008
Virginia Should Fund Effective Child Programs
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
Across the commonwealth, children are bringing home their report cards. Unfortunately, Virginia -- which usually does well in national comparisons -- didn't make the grade. The March of Dimes recently released its 2008 Premature Birth Report Card, which evaluated and ranked all 50 states based on their rates of premature births. Virginia received a D, with a preterm birth rate of 12.3 percent. This rate is disheartening, most of all because we know what to do to raise our grade.A number of programs in Virginia work diligently to curb preterm births: CHIP, Healthy Families, Resource Mothers, and Early Head Start. These programs serve pregnant women and their families in their homes -- providing free prenatal education and observing and assessing the family's strengths and challenges in their natural environment. Community health workers and nurses teach pregnant women about nutrition, infant care, how to access community resources, and how to change harmful behaviors such as smoking. We know these strategies work.
The Commonwealth Fund recently released a study that showed that Partners in Pregnancy, a partnership between CHIP of Virginia and Optima Family Care, significantly reduced premature births among high-risk women. Compared to a similar control group, CHIP babies had 50 percent fewer days in the neonatal intensive care units. There was a net savings in medical claims from pregnancy through a child's first birthday of $2,287 per baby with a return on investment of 1.26. Among Healthy Families prenatal mothers, 90 percent delivered babies with normal birth weights.
During these tough economic times, it is important to know where to invest. We applaud Gov. Tim Kaine's focus on early childhood services, but healthy babies must have a more prominent place in the commonwealth's financial portfolio. Virginia leaders have the opportunity to make the grade by funding these proven programs.
Lisa Specter-Dunaway, President and CEO,
CHIP of Virginia; Johanna Schuchert, Executive Director, Prevent Child Abuse, Virginia.Richmond.
Don't Spread Blame That Shoudn't Be Shared
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
In your quixotic quest for moderation, you assert that while Rep. Barney Frank, a Democrat, had his imprint on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's dramatic relaxation of credit standards that resulted in the mortgage crisis, the GOP majority in the House was equally complicit for failing to take corrective action ["Let's Be Frank"].In your rush to be even-handed, you neglect to mention that Frank, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Gregory Meeks, and Rep. William Clay -- Democrats all -- made it clear that these persecuted GSEs were making housing affordable for minorities. Thus, the clear message was that if Republicans proceeded with their efforts to rein in the GSEs, the Democrats would charge them with racism.
It is exceedingly difficult to correct a problem until it, and those responsible, have been correctly identified. Your temerity in assessing blame is obviously the result of your overarching desire to be non-partisan. Having no such compunction, I (and anyone who has thoroughly reviewed this matter) can assert unequivocally that the financial meltdown was proximately caused by the Democrats' insistence that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the mortgage lending industry as a whole colluded to make loans to individuals who were not creditworthy.
There, Mr. Editor -- that wasn't so hard to say.
George Walton. Richmond.
Pastor, There's Nothing Reverent About Calendar
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
Regarding the Nekkid calendar from Ashland: Tsk, tsk, Pastor Robert Blinn. It's too bad you missed the first day of Moral Theology class. You would have heard how immoral means never justify the ends.Let's use something from today's "hold hands and sing Kumbaya" pop theology environment: The WWJD philosophy. Do you think Jesus would have posed for the calendar? Or bought a copy for his mother?
Joe Tucci. Manakin-Sabot.
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