Have you thought about the nightmare for homeless schoolkids zapped by the economic meltdown? Joe Sestak has

"We must do everything we can to ensure that we do not break the American Dream for hundreds of thousands of homeless youth who are the unfortunate victims of the economic crisis. One of the most unfortunate consequences of our current economic downturn and foreclosure crisis has forced more of our people out of their homes, particularly an alarming increase in children. If we as a nation allow hundreds of thousands of children to slip through the cracks, they will continue to suffer from homelessness through no fault of their own."

-- Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak, in a Senate
campaign position "e-paper" sent out yesterday

by Ken

Back on Martin Luther King Day, I mentioned in a post the steady stream of e-mails I receive from PA Rep. Joe Sestak's Democratic primary campaign against incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter, the now-and-then Democrat. I tried to point out two things: (1) that the campaign has for months now been putting out a voluminous quantity of substantive "e-papers" on a wide range of subjects generally unrelated to the hot-button issues that seem to be all we ever hear about, and (2) despite our ritual claim to want more substance in political campaigns, we hardly ever pay any attention to campaigns that try to do it.

I made clear that I consider myself as guilty, or almost as guilty (at least I raised the question) as anybody. I barely glance at these e-mails, even though they seem to be solidly based, addressing real-world issues with attempts at real-world solutions. When I noticed yesterday that my e-mailbox had a new e-mail from the campaign -- on a Saturday! -- I determined that this time I would read the damned thing. In case maybe you would like to read it too, here it is:

Joe Sestak Joins Effort to Help Homeless Youth

Numbers of homeless youth in public schools is nearing one million as a result of current economic crisis

MEDIA, PA - In response to staggering new statistics reflecting the growing population of homeless youth in school districts across the country, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Congressman Joe Sestak announced plans to join his Education and Labor Committee colleague, Congresswoman Judy Biggert of Illinois, in introducing legislation to ensure access to education for youth effected by homelessness.

The number of homeless children in our nation's public schools is growing at an alarming rate. In 2007-08, the number was 794,617, an increase of 17 percent from the previous school year. All evidence shows that this number is continuing to increase. The legislation would act as a companion to S. 2800, a bill introduced in the Senate by Patty Murray of Washington and Al Franken of Minnesota, that expands upon and strengthens the provisions of the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth program (EHCY).

"We must do everything we can to ensure that we do not break the American Dream for hundreds of thousands of homeless youth who are the unfortunate victims of the economic crisis," Joe said. "One of the most unfortunate consequences of our current economic downturn and foreclosure crisis has forced more of our people out of their homes, particularly an alarming increase in children. If we as a nation allow hundreds of thousands of children to slip through the cracks, they will continue to suffer from homelessness through no fault of their own."

Homelessness subjects children to instability and trauma that makes it difficult to achieve academically in the best of circumstances. The chances of academic success are further decreased if the student is forced to move schools as a result of homelessness. Research has shown that homeless children and youth are more likely to suffer from health and/or mental health problems, developmental issues and subpar academic performance.

The bill aims to make the public school system a source of stability for children experiencing homelessness by addressing shortcomings in our current federal laws, which make educational success difficult for homeless youth due to issues of legal guardianship, residency, record keeping and lack of transportation. By ensuring that homeless children have access to the academic resources they will need to avoid poverty and homelessness as adults, the legislation aims to stem the tide of generational homelessness.

Specifically, the bill:

* Strengthens the academic support programs for homeless students within schools by providing additional funding for professional liaisons for homeless youth within school districts and expanding access to summer school programs and early childhood education.
* Additionally, the bill takes steps to keep homeless students in their original schools by increasing the authorized funding level to help assist with the costs of transportation and provide resources to speed up the enrollment of homeless students who may not have access to the necessary paperwork.
* Importantly, the legislation focuses on outreach and identification for homeless students by requiring wider dissemination of information relating to homelessness and the services available to homeless students and families.

"A recent report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors stated that family homelessness in Philadelphia rose 4 percent in 2009, a figure which likely underestimates the true effects of the current economic crisis," Joe said. "Failing to address this reality risks the future success of our nation by depriving more children of the educational opportunity they need to succeed."

I don't know about you, but I haven't given a lot of thought to the problem of homeless schoolchildren as exacerbated by the economic meltdown. It appears that Joe Sestak has. Of course he's a member of the House of Representatives, so this is just the sort of thing he ought to be concerning himself with. I don't know that this means he deserves to be a U.S. senator (although it didn't take much to persuade me that he would represent a decisive upgrade over the incumbent), but it does seem to me a better qualification than I'm aware of from an awful lot of people currently occupying seats in that august chamber.

I'm just saying.

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