Photo via Shavar.

What do you do in a society where you have little voice, little ability to attract attention to your needs other than in extreme circumstances? Or no means to hire lobbyists or votes to withhold to force your issues front and center?

As the economy tanks, the most vulnerable in our society feel the impact of that most keenly.

America’s children are facing an increasing crisis, caught between economic fears and rising levels of poverty, and the resulting violence, tension and abuse those difficulties can bring into their already tenuous home lives.

"We’re seeing parents facing unemployment, foreclosure, losing their automobiles," Reid said. "And that increase in stress can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, and that’s directly linked to child abuse.". . .

Montgomery’s swelling caseload is largely due to families living without utilities or skipping their children’s medications — for asthma, for example — because they lack the money, Leshner said. This was particularly notable in October and November, which were up more than 40 percent compared with the previous year.

"Kids who have chronic health problems are not getting to the doctor and not getting the medications they need," she said.

Still, Cathy Mols, executive director of the state Social Services Administration in Maryland, cautioned against drawing too close a link between child maltreatment and the economy. She noted that such cases usually arise when multiple problems take hold at the same time: families struggling with substance abuse, domestic violence or mental illness, for example, that find themselves hit by hard times, such as a lost job or a foreclosed home. "The combination of those risk factors increases the likelihood, increases the risk to the children," she said. . . .

And it isn’t just children in the DC area, either. Indiana’s children are facing similar daunting issues:

The number of children living in households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunches at schools increased 1.5 percentage points, to 29.7 percent in the last school year.

The monthly average of Hoosiers issued food stamps grew by more than 12,000 individuals between 2006 and 2007 but has increased 92 percent since 2000.

Having worked with at risk children, there is one thing I know for certain: it’s nearly impossible for them to properly learn and develop on an empty stomach, day in and day out. Harder still when their home is a violent, uncaring mess. And I’m not willing to simply give up on their potential because these children were born on the "wrong side of the tracks." That just isn’t good enough.

What to do?

There have been a number of recent reports and studies pointing to what does work, and what isn’t working. More on that to come. . . .

PS — Happy new year to all of you. Wishing you a year of comfort, joy and peace. . . and a lot of laughter where we can find it.