Greetings,

New Jersey's jobless rate is now near 10 percent - a fact that has drawn dueling comments from the major candidates for governor.

We're glad candidates are paying attention to the rise in unemployment. We would like to hear what they would do as governor to alleviate the impact on families and children when parents are unemployed.

Please take a moment to ask candidates, What About the Kids?

The increase in New Jersey's unemployment rate to 9.8 percent means more families are likely to fall into poverty.

Children who live in poverty are more likely to have low academic achievement, to drop out of school and to have health, behavioral and emotional problems, research shows. The negative effects are particularly pronounced for young children and those whose families are in poverty a long time.

New Jersey has programs to help children overcome poverty's effects. The state's nationally acclaimed preschool program helps low-income children substantially improve their school performance, state test scores and independent research show.

Please email candidates asking how they would help children whose parents have become unemployed.

And if you haven't seen ACNJ's new video channel on YouTube, check it out!

We have posted videos from our gubernatorial candidates forum of Chris Daggett, Jon Corzine and a representative for candidate Chris Christie. Videos are also up from our recent luncheon series featuring author Sophia Pappas, whose book chronicles her experiences teaching preschool in Newark, and Sara Mead, a nationally known expert on early education.

Thanks for helping to raise the profile of children in this election!