— The recent announcement of the results of the 2011 United Way Community Needs Assessment for Cambria and Somerset counties was both enlightening and shocking. One number that stands out above the rest is 47: That’s the percentage of newborns delivered by mothers eligible for medical assistance.

In other words, about half of the 2,100 children born last year in Cambria and Somerset counties were born into poverty. This reflects a trend that has been getting worse – over the past decade, the percentage has risen steadily from 37 percent to the current 47 percent.

There is no comfort in knowing this scenario is taking place across the entire United States.

The bottom line is children being born today will pay an awful price during their lifetimes. They will be less healthy, less educated, with more social and mental health problems, more likely to be involved in risky behaviors, more likely to drop out of school and have a greater chance of being incarcerated. 

For those not in this plight, they will bear the increasing burden of living in an overly stressed society and paying the costs associated with this despair.

This problem we are facing reminds us of an old high school science experiment that places a frog in water. Heat is added slowly over a long period of time. The frog acclimates to the rising temperature until it is too late and the frog dies.

In our real-life situation of new births into poverty, the heat is increasing. We are dangerously close to acting too late.

The respondents to the Community Needs Assessment (found on our website at www.uwlaurel.org) seemed to be telling us something similar – we have a serious problem. They indicated that “helping children and youth succeed” should be our most important priority and that we should be increasing our advocacy efforts and financial support of programs to improve the situation.

In addition, the community overwhelmingly told us that “disengaged parents” was another significant issue facing our region. With these factors combined, you can understand that we will be losing the next generation to poverty.

Now is the time to acknowledge that the water is boiling and that we must act immediately. No single organization can shape the solutions for our community. No single segment, strategy or individual can change the landscape. 

No one entity holds the answers. The work of improving our communities today demands a different leadership approach – one that effectively allows us to find answers together.

We are thankful for our local county agencies that support our families and youth and our many nonprofits that work in the early childhood development field – their work is difficult but done exceptionally well.

Based on the current numbers, there is not enough funding or services to meet the need. Approximately 1,000 children are born into poverty in our two counties, with programs reaching only half of them. More needs to be done.

Programs such as Early Head Start, Head Start, Parents as Teachers, Nurse-Family Partnership, Parents and Child Together, Partners for a Healthy Baby, and Incredible Years are currently being offered in our counties and making a positive impact, but more still needs to be done. 

The United Way is focused on several of these evidence-based programs that can help close the gap in services provided to those in families and children in need. These programs will improve “at-risk” families, improve pregnancy outcomes, improve child health and development, improve educational achievement, and improve parents’ self-sufficiency. These programs will also lead to a reduction in child abuse and neglect, a reduction in childhood mortality from preventable causes, a reduction in welfare use, a reduction in crime and arrests, and many other proven outcomes.

Where will we be in another five or 10 years if no further action is taken?

We are afraid to answer that, but we do know it’s time to turn down the heat.



Bill McKinney is president and chief executive officer of United Way of the Laurel Highlands with headquarters in Johnstown.

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